Asia Economy
World’s most livable cities: Vienna climbs back to its No. 1 spot. These are the biggest decliners
Vienna ranked first in 2018 and 2019, but was overtaken by Auckland, New Zealand, during the pandemic and slipped to 12th place in 2021, according to the Global Liveability Index 2022. Sylvain Sonnet | The Image Bank | Getty Images After two years, Vienna has overtaken Auckland as the world’s most livable city, according to […]
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China’s steel mill owners are in a bad mood as demand takes a hit
Steel mill owners in parts of China are in a bad mood, Beijing-based commodities consultant Simon Wu said. Steel inventories are slowly piling up in the warehouses of the country’s biggest steelmaking hub, the northeastern city of Tangshan, as well as in the provinces of Jiangsu and Shandong, mill owners told Wu, a senior consultant at […]
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Tourists are flocking back to Southeast Asia — but the robust recovery is showing signs of cracks
After more than two years of lockdowns and border controls, Southeast Asia is finally experiencing some semblance of the old days of travel. Flights are steadily returning to 2019 levels in the region’s major economies, with Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia being the most popular destinations this year, according to the flight data analytics firm Cirium. […]
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Bangladesh is trying to secure wheat from Russia as India stops exports: Reuters, citing sources
A woman makes bundle of wheat in Bangladesh. Bangladesh is trying to secure wheat supplies from Russia in a government-to-government deal after it’s biggest supplier India banned exports of the grain last month to contain local prices, government and trade officials told Reuters on Wednesday. Majority World | Universal Images Group | Getty Images Bangladesh […]
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China’s Xi vows ‘more forceful’ tools to achieve this year’s economic targets
China is hosting the annual BRICS summit virtually this year. Pictured here is Chinese President Xi Jinping speaking via video at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, U.S., on Tuesday, Sept. 21, 2021. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images BEIJING — Chinese President Xi Jinping made a rare statement Wednesday about his country’s […]
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Southeast Asia’s start-ups have fired hundreds of workers, and this may be just the beginning
Southeast Asia’s tech companies are laying off workers as they brace themselves for a tougher fundraising environment. Guilliermo Perales Gonzalez | E+ | Getty Images Hundreds of workers from start-ups in Southeast Asia have been fired in the last few months, proving that the fast-growing industry is not immune to the global economic slowdown. At […]
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Here’s what China’s e-commerce giants are telling us about the economy
Across five major e-commerce platforms’ GMV, Alibaba’s market share fell by 6% in the first quarter versus the fourth, according to Bernstein analysis. Str | Afp | Getty Images BEIJING — Alibaba was once the poster child for investing in modern China. Now the e-commerce market that fueled its growth is slowing, while new players […]
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This 32-year-old has a toy business worth millions. Here’s how he got his big break with DC Comics
“I’m not the best artist. I’m terrible,” said Jackson Aw with a sheepish laugh. That may seem ironic, given how the 32-year old is the founder and chief executive officer of Mighty Jaxx, a designer toy company from Singapore. But to Aw, acknowledging his own shortcomings has helped him turn his start-up into a multimillion-dollar […]
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China’s electric vehicle battery supply chain shows signs of forced labor, report says
Hundreds of Uyghurs are working for a mining conglomerate that produces raw materials for electric vehicles as part of a so-called work transfer program in China, the New York Times reported. Shen Longquan | Visual China Group | Getty Images Chinese companies that produce raw materials for electric vehicle batteries show indications of using forced […]
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Australia’s leading wine authority to close office in China as exports plunge
Lin Tiangui, a representative of Winston Wine, looks at a bottles of wine produced from Winston Wine’s own Australian winery at one of its stores in Shanghai, China on October 18, 2011. Qilai Shen | Bloomberg | In Pictures | Corbis Historical | Getty Images Australia’s leading wine industry body Wine Australia will be closing […]
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