HOCK LOCK SIEW

Decarbonisation is making a comeback thanks to the Iran war. The test is whether it can be sustained

Efforts to accelerate renewable energy deployment across South-east Asia have been slow

In Asean, where many family businesses are transitioning from founder-led leadership to sibling partnerships, it is important to build strong governance foundations.
THE BOTTOM LINE

Why family enterprises must move from ‘paper boards’ to real boards

Without strong governance structures, the board becomes the stage for conflict

Anthony Tan, Grab's group CEO and co-founder, says: “We have been deploying auto-adaptive technology to optimise our core marketplace in each city, enabling us to scale in a lean and agile fashion.”
HOCK LOCK SIEW

Instead of reducing the need for humans, Grab’s AI push might result in the opposite

Artificial intelligence can impair conceptual understanding, code reading and debugging; software developers still needed for such higher value roles

The chokehold on Strait of Hormuz has revealed a new geo-economic weapon that impacts not only energy but sectors such as transport, fertilisers and chemicals.
THE POLITICS THAT MATTER

Singapore’s resilience and ‘unnatural resourcefulness’ amid global shocks

The nation’s ‘resources’, built through infrastructure, markets and trusted relationships, may prove critical in times of disruption

Asean's green transition and broader economic future depend on the region's ability to ensure supply chain integrity.

Why Asean needs to pay more attention to supply chain integrity

Illicit trade has implications for sustainability and beyond

Rising employee discontent is a worrying blindspot for some CEOs.
THINKING ALOUD

Wake-up call for sleepless CEOs

There’s a non-financial metric affecting the bottom line that bosses shouldn’t ignore

Attendees walk past AI signage at the Canton Fair trade event in Guangzhou.  Despite China’s manufacturing prowess, it is far from being a tech leader across the board, says the writer.

The world wants Chinese tech. China is determined to keep it

China’s rivals are learning how to get what Beijing won’t share

To draw emotional succour from virtual companions is to risk losing some of the very humanity that they were designed to replicate.
THINKING ALOUD

Love in the time of chatbots

Virtual companions are filling a gap that real humans used to fill. Their success as a product speaks to our failures as a species.

Leaders at the fifth Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Summit in Kuala Lumpur last October. The 10 Asean states, along with Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea, are signatories to the trade pact.
NEW GLOBAL ORDER

Strengthening Asean’s economic resilience through RCEP’s 2027 review

Practical reforms will make South-east Asia’s biggest trade pact more effective and beneficial

As international perceptions of Chinese power change, its global favourability becomes more difficult to manage.

China’s ‘Trump-sized’ window of opportunity

Global sentiment is shifting, presenting Beijing a generational moment – and a familiar problem