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Razib Dawood, executive director of the Asean Centre for Energy, said that it might eventually be possible for nuclear energy to be traded in the region.

Nuclear potential, data centre boom may be addressed in new Asean energy masterplan

But Asean Power Grid projects need rules to be in place to deliver on potential, say industry players

State-backed South-east Asia budget carriers handle elevated fuel prices better

Scoot’s operating ⁠loss balloons to S$32 million for the quarter ended Jun 30, from S$17 million a year earlier, as passenger unit cost rose 21.7%.

Those with government or parent company support are better positioned to take on higher costs

Can ‘affordable luxury’ survive – and thrive – in Vietnam?

Experts say the “affordable luxury” trend is most visible in premium bubble tea, speciality coffee, beauty products, apparel and experiential dining.

Foreign brands see emerging premiumisation; local operators see mass-market reality

Analysts cut target price for Wilmar amid regulatory overhang, higher raw material costs

Wilmar on Wednesday announced that it has reversed its loss in the year-ago period, reporting a Q3 profit of US$281 million for the period ended Sep 30.

The company’s nine-month earnings for the period ended Sep 30 are below banks’ estimates

Senior Minister K Shanmugam (left, centre) at a meeting with the senior leadership of Singaporean companies allegedly linked to haze-related activities.

FTI Consulting, WongPartnership among seven members on specialist panel for haze probes

Wilmar International says it told NEA it will engage firms from the panel

Goh Ruoxue

ADB expands Singapore presence to draw more private capital into Asian projects

ADB expects family offices, which have seen significant growth in Singapore, to play a larger role in financing regional development.

The lender expects to play an active role in supporting Singapore’s 2027 Asean chairmanship

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The limits of China’s trade concessions to Europe

An "In Europe For Europe" sign beside an XPeng EV at the Paris Motor Show in Paris, France, on Oct 13.

Beijing’s agreement to curb hybrid car imports into Europe is a calculated compromise to preserve access

Cambodia wants to shed its scam image, but will it go after powerful individuals?

Cambodia’s anti-scam chief Chhay Sinarith concedes that despite ongoing eradication efforts, fraudulent activities remain.

In the space of about a year, the authorities have referred cases to court involving around 4,000 individuals

Should young Americans study in China? Xi’s invitation reignites debate over risks and rewards

Others, including Americans whose careers were shaped by years in China, question whether the benefits of being there now outweigh the risks.

Some analysts warn that the US risks losing a generation with the first-hand experience needed to understand China

Opinion

SGX needs still-tougher governance rules to attract the smart money

Jude Chan

How’s the US-China tech war going? Ask AI

Andy Mukherjee

When did entry-level jobs stop being for beginners?

Low Youjin

Behind The Name

No chicken feed: How Malayan Flour Mills built an empire from flour to fowl

Malayan Flour Mills executive deputy chairman and managing director Teh Wee Chye constantly pursues diversification, recognising that even defensive food businesses remain vulnerable to global events.

The second-generation leader of Malaysia’s oldest flour mill has turned it into a regional food giant

He built the Vingroup empire. Now South-east Asia’s richest man is handing some key roles to his sons

From left: Pham Nhat Quan Anh, Pham Nhat Vuong, Pham Thu Huong and Pham Nhat Minh Hoang. The couple (centre) remain senior figures in Vingroup, with their children’s presence in the ecosystem growing.

Vingroup founder Pham Nhat Vuong is accelerating succession plans while retaining a central role

What’s luck got to do with it? Everything, says Malaysian jewellery king Tomei’s chief

“I consider myself lucky. I don’t consider myself successful,” says Ng Yih Pyng, the second-generation leader of Tomei Consolidated.

Failed overseas ventures, painful exits are unexpectedly a blessing in disguise for the jeweller

Singapore

The loan restrictions will not apply to commercial vehicles (including goods vehicles and buses), PHCs owned by businesses, or motorcycles.

Singapore government slaps loan curbs on individual private-hire car buyers

Financing restrictions for PHCs will match those for regular cars, but experts expect no drop in COE premiums

Meta rolls out consumer AI agent in Singapore amid global safety, retail pushback

Muse’s rollout here follows its global debut in the United States and Canada on Sept 8, and a subsequent launch in Japan on Oct 23.

Muse is free to use with a weekly usage limit, which Meta said is sufficient for most of what people need

Singapore’s easy wins in attracting global capital are over, say industry watchers

From left: Ng Chun Ying of Dentons Rodyk; Emily Low of Dentons Rodyk; Prof Dan W Puchniak from SMU; Gopi Mirchandani of Schroders; Selena Ling from OCBC; and Mark Wong of Dentons Rodyk.

Tax incentives often not the deciding factor for companies looking at where to relocate

Chairman’s role in spotlight with raft of proposed new rules for Singapore boards

Rent premiums from greening offices least likely in Singapore among major cities

The Leadership Playbook

Mekong Capital’s Chris Freund turns hard lessons into better leadership

Chris Freund founded Mekong Capital in 2001 as Vietnam’s first hands-on PE firm focused on private local businesses.

The Vietnamese PE firm now wants to build a company led by a new generation of partners

Master a niche, then listen to experts: How Haas F1’s Ayao Komatsu rose to the top job

Ayao Komatsu rose to the team principal role at Haas F1 team in 2024.

Despite his deep technical knowledge, he believes his primary role these days is to take a step back

The only common thing in S-E Asia is that we all eat rice: Cisco’s Asean president

Cisco’s Tay Bee Kheng says that her value-add as the tech giant’s Asean chief lies in identifying what each regional market needs specifically, and presenting that to her global bosses.

Tay Bee Kheng says her role is to help the US company understand this region in a simplified manner

Numerous airlines have embarked on or announced makeovers for their aircraft interiors in recent years.

BRUNCH

Cabin fever: Airlines are rushing to refurbish plane interiors, but will their bets pay off?

The focus is on whether such moves will boost carriers’ competitiveness – and if customers will pay the price

Asean

During the 2015 haze crisis, share prices of SGX-listed plantation companies corrected sharply in late July before recovering in late September.

Plantation stocks trading at ‘sizeable’ upside after haze-induced sell-off: OCBC

For Bumitama, Golden Agri and Wilmar, it is ‘unclear how long share prices will remain under pressure’

San Lwin (left), Asean deputy secretary-general (socio-cultural community), and Stanley Loh, MOM’s permanent secretary, officiating the launch of the Asean Labour Statisticians Network.

Singapore-led Asean network aims to spot emerging labour market trends

It is part of the city-state’s efforts to strengthen regional cooperation ahead of its 2027 Asean chairmanship

High-end hotels are rapidly expanding in Hanoi as the city undergoes its biggest overhaul in decades.

Hanoi’s oldest luxury hotel tested by new rivals in tourism wave

This comes as Vietnam seeks to attract wealthier travellers and chase double-digit growth

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