Asia - South China Morning Post

Indonesia is planning to create a financial hub in tourist hotspot Bali as it seeks to boost its lagging economy by attracting international banks, asset managers and private equity firms, according to people familiar with the matter.

President Prabowo Subianto has endorsed his government’s proposal to model the tourist island after the likes of India’s Gujarat International Finance ­Tec-­City, also known as GIFT City, and the Dubai International Financial Centre, said the people who asked not...

Beneath the turquoise waters of a remote Pacific atoll, a Japanese warship sunk more than 80 years ago has begun leaking fuel oil, threatening ecological disaster.

The source of the leak is the Rio de Janeiro Maru, a huge vessel used by the Imperial Japanese Navy as a submarine tender during World War II that was sunk by American bombers more than 80 years ago.

Today, as oil streams from its rusting hulk, officials in the Chuuk Islands fear this may be just the first instance of hazardous waste...

In a fast and furious year of devastating wars and high-stakes diplomacy, the historic meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi stands out as a potential harbinger of a new global order.

In his first visit to China in seven years, Modi agreed with Xi that Asia’s two powers should be “partners” rather than “rivals”, on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Tianjin.

Modi stressed that “their differences should not turn into...

Three workers have died since Hyundai Motor started construction of its US$7.6 billion car factory in Georgia in 2022, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday, citing a review of federal records.

Apart from the deaths, more than a dozen workers have suffered serious injuries, including from falling without wearing harnesses and getting crushed by forklifts, according to The Wall Street Journal.

“We conducted a comprehensive audit and strengthened safety oversight across the site. We have...

The United States is likely to seriously consider Pakistan’s proposal for a new port in the Arabian Sea and use it to ship the South Asian country’s rare minerals, even as observers warn of commercial and geopolitical risks of investing in a volatile region.

Advisers to Pakistani army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir have approached US officials regarding the proposal for American investors to build and run the port in Pakistan, according to a Financial Times report last week.

Located in Gwadar...

South Korean police plan to conduct a joint autopsy with Cambodian authorities on a Korean college student who was kidnapped and allegedly tortured to death, officials said on Sunday, amid rising concerns over similar crimes against Koreans in the Southeast Asian country.

The move comes as diplomatic tensions between the two nations escalated over organised crime involving online scams and kidnappings targeting South Korean nationals.

The Gyeongbuk provincial police agency said it will carry out...

Marina Mahathir readily acknowledges the privileges of her birth and says that being able to “get a foot in the door” only made her more determined to speak up for those who could not.

The 68-year-old daughter of Malaysia’s former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad told an audience at Singapore Management University (SMU) on Friday that her family name gave her a platform – and a responsibility – to champion marginalised communities, particularly women and people living with HIV.

“I had a way of...

The collapse of two bridges in the northern Philippines just months apart has cast a harsh spotlight on the country’s ageing infrastructure and stirred renewed scrutiny of corruption in public works projects.

While officials have pinned the latest incident on overloaded trucks, critics and engineering experts warn that poor maintenance and cost-cutting in construction may be to blame, potentially undermining President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr’s push to clean up the country’s infrastructure...

The education ministry has asked the Malaysian Communications and Multi­media Commission (MCMC) to block the spread of videos ­related to the recent gang rape case involving students at a ­secondary school in Melaka state.

Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek said the action was taken to ensure that videos of the alleged crime did not ­continue to be ­disseminated.

“We have asked the relevant ministry to take action to ensure that this issue does not continue to spread because it involves our...

Just weeks ago, securing US President Donald Trump’s attendance at this month’s Asean summit was seen by many as a diplomatic masterstroke by Malaysia’s leader.

But the fanfare surrounding the notoriously fickle American president’s impending arrival in Southeast Asia has since faded, with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s apparent triumph of statesmanship transforming into a high-wire act fraught with risk.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ next summit is set to be held in...