Asia's Private Credit Funds Muscle Into Bank Territory as Mid-Market Financing Demand Surges

South Korea's Shipbuilders Ride an LNG Carrier Boom as Order Books Stretch Into 2030

Asia's Rare-Earth Race Heats Up as China Tightens Its Grip on Critical Minerals

China's expanding rare-earth export licensing regime is forcing Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, India and Australia to race toward magnet and mineral supply chains that no longer depend on Chinese refining.

Asia's Data-Centre Boom Is Colliding With Power and Land Limits

From Johor to Mumbai to Chiba, Asia's data-centre build-out is running into power and land constraints that are reshaping where hyperscalers build next.

Asia's Parametric Insurance Market Expands as Climate Losses Outpace Traditional Coverage

Insurers across the Philippines, India and Japan are shifting catastrophe cover from loss-assessed payouts to index-triggered ones, with reinsurers and catastrophe bonds absorbing the risk upstream.

Asia's Digital Banks Push Into Profit as Regulators Hand Out a Fresh Wave of Licences

Several of Asia's largest digital-only banks reported sustained profits in early 2026 as regulators in Thailand, Malaysia and beyond prepare a fresh wave of virtual banking licences.

Asia's LNG Buyers Rebuild Long-Term Contracts as a Supply Glut Looms

Asian utilities and trading houses are locking in long-term LNG supply into the late 2030s, even as new US and Qatari capacity threatens to tip the global market into surplus.

Chip Packaging Emerges as Asia's Next Battleground in the Semiconductor Supply Chain

The contest over chips is moving downstream. Across Asia, the assembly, testing and packaging of semiconductors has become a strategic prize.

Indonesia's Nickel Downstreaming Push Confronts a Smelter Glut as Global Prices Stay Low

Indonesia built a nickel processing industry by banning raw ore exports. Now a wave of new smelters meets low prices, testing whether the strategy can stay profitable.

Japan's Tourism Boom Holds Near Records as Weak Yen Cushions a Soft Economy

Japan's inbound tourism is holding near record highs as a persistently weak yen turns the country into a value destination, offsetting soft domestic demand while straining hotels and labour.

Asia's Budget Airlines Race to Add Capacity as Summer Travel Demand Outstrips Aircraft Supply

Asia's Local-Currency Bond Markets: How the Region Built Depth After the 1997 Crisis

After the 1997 financial crisis exposed the dangers of US-dollar borrowing, Asian governments built local-currency bond markets from scratch. Here is what two decades of that effort produced.

India Set for Record Share of Global iPhone Output as Apple Deepens Shift From China

India is on track to assemble a record share of the world's iPhones in 2026, but the production remains low-margin assembly while the component base lags far behind.

Malaysia's Johor Data-Centre Boom Tops $30 Billion in Committed Capital as Power Cap Bites

Committed data-centre investment in Johor has passed 30 billion dollars, but Malaysia's new power and water conditions are now deciding which projects actually get built.

Where Asia's Sovereign Wealth Funds Are Moving the Money — and Why Whole Sectors Follow

Southeast Asia's Remittance Corridor: Why Grab, GCash, and Regional Fintechs Are Challenging Bank Transfer Fees

Southeast Asia's $80 billion annual remittance market is being repriced by mobile payment linkages between Grab, GCash, PromptPay, and DuitNow — but fee compression has been uneven, reaching major corridors first and rural routes last.

Why Japan's return to positive interest rates is reshaping Asian capital flows

After years of ultra-low rates, Japan's shift back to positive interest rates is one of the most consequential changes in Asian finance — and its effects reach far beyond Tokyo.

Asia business briefing 24 May 2026: BOJ hold reads as hike, Korean Q1 soft, Nifty divergence, TSMC capex raised

BOJ's normalisation signal moves yen to 148.5, Korean Q1 GDP +0.4% disappoints, Nifty top-10 carry the index, China PMI 50.4 with 25bp MLF cut, TSMC raises capex to $44-47B. The week that mattered.

Singapore MAS Issues First Tokenised Bond Rules, Sets Q4 2026 Compliance Deadline

Singapore's MAS issued its first retail tokenised bond rulebook on May 20, 2026, with a 15-minute reporting requirement and a November compliance deadline.

Vietnam Semiconductor Roadmap Update May 2026: What the Five-Year Plan Actually Commits To

Hanoi released its updated semiconductor industry roadmap on 12 May 2026 with US$25 billion in committed FDI through 2030. The detail behind the headline tells a more specific story about Vietnam's place in the Asian chip value chain — and the limits of where it can go next.

China Consumer Deflation Persists Q2 2026: Why Beijing's New Stimulus Won't Fix the Real Problem

China's April CPI print of -0.4% extends the deflation streak into its 14th consecutive month. The April 26 stimulus package was the largest since the pandemic — but it doesn't address the property wealth destruction and household savings glut that are the actual causes.

Indian Rupee Internationalisation Accelerates as RBI Approves Settlement With Five New Asian Partners

The RBI approved five new Asian SRVA partners on May 8, expanding rupee trade settlement to Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines, Kazakhstan and Mongolia. Indonesia is the strategically most important addition.

Bank of Japan Begins Quiet QT: Halved JGB Purchases as Yields and Yen Reset

The Bank of Japan confirmed it will halve monthly JGB purchases by year-end, the most significant balance-sheet move since 2013. Ten-year yields jumped to 1.64 percent and the yen strengthened modestly.

LG Electronics Triples Vietnam Manufacturing Footprint to $7.2 Billion Under Strategic Partnership With Hanoi

LG Electronics has formalized a $7.2 billion expansion of its Vietnam manufacturing operations through 2030, marking the largest single Korean FDI commitment in Southeast Asia.

Japan's GPIF Shifts $52 Billion Out of Domestic Bonds Into Global Equities Citing Yen Stability and Inflation Outlook

The world's largest pension fund announced its biggest reallocation in five years on May 1, moving 7% of assets from Japanese government bonds into foreign equities.

Indonesia Approves Sovereign Wealth Fund Framework as Danantara Targets $30B in Foreign Inflows

President Prabowo signed Indonesia's expanded Danantara framework, unlocking a $42B project pipeline and up to $30B in foreign co-investment commitments.

Singapore Tightens Wealth Management Rules, Targeting Single-Family Office Inflows

MAS doubles family office asset threshold to S$50 million and adds local hiring rules from May 1.

Vietnam Q1 GDP Grows 7.3%, Outpacing Southeast Asian Peers on Electronics Export Surge

Vietnam's economy expanded 7.3% in Q1 2026, the fastest pace since 2019, driven by a 14.2% jump in exports and record foreign direct investment of $11.2 billion.

Hong Kong IPO Market Raises $22.4 Billion in Q1 2026, Strongest Start Since 2021

HKEX confirmed Q1 2026 IPO proceeds hit US$22.4 billion across 31 listings, putting Hong Kong back in the global top three for listing venues.

ADB Cuts Asia Growth Forecast to 5.1% as Middle East Conflict Raises Energy Costs

The Asian Development Bank lowered its economic growth forecast for developing Asia to 5.1% for 2026, down from 5.4% in 2025, citing Middle East conflict spillovers on energy prices.

Japan's Central Bank Holds Rates Steady as Yen Weakens Past 160 Mark

The Bank of Japan kept its benchmark rate unchanged at 0.5%, defying hawkish expectations as the yen slid past the 160-per-dollar level.

Asia Markets Rally as Fed Signals June Rate Cut

Asian markets rallied after Federal Reserve Chair Powell indicated a June rate cut was likely, pushing the MSCI Asia-Pacific index to an 18-month high.

Softbank Vision Fund Leads $800 Million Round in Korean AI Startup

SoftBank Vision Fund 2 led an $800 million investment in Korean AI company Upstage, valuing the enterprise AI platform at $4.5 billion in the largest Asian AI funding round of 2026.

ASEAN-China Free Trade Area Upgrade Negotiations Enter Final Stage

ASEAN and China entered final negotiations on upgrading their free trade agreement, with new chapters covering digital trade, supply chain resilience, and environmental standards.

India's UPI Crosses 15 Billion Monthly Transactions

India's UPI processed 15.3 billion transactions in March 2026, a 28% year-over-year surge that cements its status as the world's largest real-time payments network.

Shein Files for London IPO After US Listing Plans Stall

Fast-fashion company Shein filed for a London IPO after U.S. listing plans stalled amid political opposition, targeting a valuation of around $50 billion.

Indonesia Launches Sovereign Wealth Fund INA's $10 Billion Green Bond

Indonesia's sovereign wealth fund INA launched a $10 billion green bond program, with the inaugural $3 billion tranche drawing orders 4.2 times the offered amount.

Australia's Iron Ore Exports to China Fall 8% as Steel Demand Weakens

Australian iron ore exports to China dropped 8% in Q1 2026 as China's prolonged property downturn cut steel production, pushing benchmark prices below $100 per ton.

Singapore FinTech Startup Nium Raises $350 Million Ahead of IPO

Cross-border payments platform Nium raised $350 million in a pre-IPO round led by GIC at a $3 billion valuation, ahead of a planned Nasdaq listing in Q3 2026.

Belt and Road Investment Shifts Toward Renewables and Digital

China's Belt and Road Initiative directed 62% of new commitments toward renewables and digital infrastructure in 2025, pivoting away from coal and heavy construction.

Korea's Coupang Posts First Full-Year Profit as E-Commerce Market Matures

Coupang posted its first annual net profit of $420 million, achieving a milestone for the South Korean e-commerce giant as operating leverage from its logistics network materialized.

Reliance Industries Launches $5 Billion Green Hydrogen Push

Reliance Industries committed $5 billion to green hydrogen production in Gujarat, aiming for 1 million metric tons of annual output by 2030.

Japan's Inbound Tourism Spending Hits Record $48 Billion in 2025

Foreign visitors spent a record 7.2 trillion yen in Japan during 2025, as the weak yen and cultural tourism boom drove a surge in arrivals from Southeast Asia and the West.

Hyundai Motor Reports Record Operating Profit of $12 Billion

Hyundai Motor posted record operating profit of 16.1 trillion won ($12 billion) for 2025, fueled by premium SUV demand in North America and rapid growth in India.

Thai Government Unveils $15 Billion Eastern Economic Corridor Phase 2

Thailand launched the $15 billion second phase of its Eastern Economic Corridor, targeting EV manufacturing, semiconductor packaging, and biotechnology investment.

India Overtakes Japan as World's Fourth-Largest Economy

India surpassed Japan to become the world's fourth-largest economy, with nominal GDP of $4.27 trillion compared to Japan's $4.19 trillion in calendar year 2025.

Chinese Tech Giants Report $40 Billion Combined AI Investment for 2026

China's four largest tech companies committed a combined $40 billion in AI capital spending for 2026, doubling their 2025 investments as the race for AI self-sufficiency intensified.

Philippines Launches $9 Billion Manila Metro Rail Expansion

The Philippines broke ground on a $9 billion Manila metro rail expansion comprising two new subway lines and extensions, financed by JICA and the Asian Development Bank.

SK Hynix Overtakes Samsung in HBM Market Share for First Time

SK Hynix claimed 53% of the global HBM market in Q4, overtaking Samsung as Nvidia's primary supplier for AI accelerator memory modules.