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Minister K Shanmugam (left, centre) says the government will publicly name the CEOs and companies that voluntarily agree to assessments of their operations and supply chains.

Firms linked to haze pledge cooperation in meeting with Shanmugam; government to table changes to haze law

Amendments to the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act will be tabled next week

SGX RegCo seeks further disclosures from plantation firms, including links to haze notice recipients

SGX RegCo has asked the companies to explain their policies and measures to monitor, prevent and respond to fires.

Regulator also requests details on fire prevention and operational impact

Singapore, Indonesia reach political commitment to address transboundary issues

Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan (left) met Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto in the latter’s private residence in Hambalang, Bogor.

With agreement achieved at the highest levels of government, plans must now be executed: Vivian Balakrishnan

Ambani’s Jio surges in debut after India-record US$3.1 billion IPO

Nita (left) and Mukesh Ambani at Mumbai’s National Stock Exchange for the listing of Jio Platforms on Oct 28.

The gain has made it the country’s second-most valuable listed company after parent Reliance Industries

Keppel has operated for about four decades in Vietnam and built a portfolio of 30 projects with total registered investment capital exceeding S$5 billion.

Keppel seeks US$1 billion for Vietnam investments as it joins country’s international financial centre

It is among VIFC’s first 10 members, which target US$2.7 billion in capital mobilisation and investment

VinFast, Mitsubishi weigh Philippine EV production as state incentives near

Vingroup is planning a US$500 million production hub in the province of Batangas, around 94 km south of Manila.

The automakers’ proposed investments could be Manila’s most serious step yet towards local manufacturing

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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

Asean’s financial market is fragmented. Tokenisation could fix that

Tan Chong Huat &

Ch’ng Li-Ling

Making payments invisible is the next competitive edge for businesses

Phil Pomford

Tamagotchis and Toy Story: Why the market for millennials is booming

Joyce Hooi

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

In 2025, 70 listed entities, or 11.4% of the total 615 entities, did not appoint a lead independent director despite having a non-independent chairman.

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

New guardrails are put forward for board independence, director accountability and capital management disclosure

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 invests S$150 million in AI-driven materials discovery, launches business AI adoption support

DPM Gan Kim Yong (centre, left) with representatives of the 24 companies that are part of the Champions of AI programme.

Marvel-AI platform will focus on four material classes, with applications in areas such as energy and chemicals

Singapore aims to tighten haze law amid hurdles in gathering evidence, securing cooperation: Grace Fu

Policy reforms needed to decarbonise Singapore’s industrial heating: report

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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