Nikkei Asian Review

One weekend in late May, car dealerships in Singapore’s Queenstown were packed with families and middle-aged couples hunting for new cars. Brochures in hand, a 50-year-old businessman had been visiting showrooms of upscale brands such as BMW and Volvo, looking for a second auto. Singapore ...

A TV commercial for an energy drink has become a social phenomenon in Thailand as it depicts the privileged elite being humbled, to the delight of the majority here. In the commercial for Lipovitan D, a drink from drugmaker Osotspa Taisho, a wealthy young woman ...

The Nikkei Thailand Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index, or PMI, fell marginally to 49.7 in May from 49.8 in April. A reading above 50 indicates economic expansion, while one below 50 points toward contraction. May’s data marked the second consecutive month of contraction. “Latest survey data ...

General Electric Co said on May 31 it had signed deals in Vietnam worth about $5.58 billion for power generation, aircraft engines and services, its largest single combined sale with the country in GE’s history. The agreements came as Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc was on a ...

U.S. President Donald Trump discussed trade with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc during a White House visit on May 31 and welcomed the signing of business deals worth billions of dollars and the jobs they would bring. General Electric Co said earlier it had signed ...

The Nikkei Vietnam Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index, or PMI, fell to a 14-month low of 51.6 in May from 54.1 in April. A reading above 50 indicates economic expansion, while a reading below 50 points toward contraction. “Output and new orders each rose at much ...

Sumitomo group members including Sumitomo Chemical and Sumitomo Metal Mining plan to construct a liquefied natural gas receiving terminal and a gas-fired power plant in Ehime Prefecture, moving away from coal as they upgrade domestic infrastructure. The project will cost around 60 billion yen to ...

Japan’s first investment fund focusing on drone-related startups begins operation in June, offering financial assistance and business management advice for budding entrepreneurs. Though the small, unmanned aerial vehicles are increasingly employed in various industries such as construction, logistics and tourism, Japanese companies have a weak ...

Japan’s new strategy to stoke growth in key industries includes case-by-case regulatory exemptions to spur innovation, but the government’s piecemeal proposals lack the fundamental changes needed to re-energize the overall economy. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government debuted the draft of its 2017 strategic growth plan Tuesday at a ...

The Japanese retail investors behind the latest bitcoin boom may be in for a wilder ride than they expected, given the stiff challenges in determining virtual currencies’ underlying value and the ease with which souring sentiment can sink prices. The value of one bitcoin, the ...