Asia - South China Morning Post

Indonesia will press on with reforms of its capital markets and go after market manipulators with the full force of the law well ahead of a May deadline set by leading index MSCI, the country’s top economic minister, Airlangga Hartarto, has vowed.

A massive sell-off last Wednesday prompted the government to act, as investors exited after MSCI said it would stop making adjustments to Indonesian stocks, citing a lack of transparency in shareholding structures and concerns over coordinated trading...

South Korea has emerged as one of the countries experiencing the world’s largest outflow of wealthy individuals, in part due to its rigid inheritance tax system.

A recent analysis by British consultancy Henley & Partners showed on Tuesday that the net outflow of Korean millionaires last year was estimated at 2,400, double the 1,200 recorded in 2024. The figure was the fourth largest globally, following the United Kingdom, China and India.

“Korea’s inheritance tax rate of up to 60 per cent may...

Two men are set to be charged with murder in Malaysia following the discovery of the charred skeletal remains of six people – including three young children – in a remote, abandoned house in Johor state.

Johor police chief Ab Rahaman Arsad confirmed on Tuesday that the grisly findings were made on January 9 in Kangkar Pulai. The remains were discovered by a 48-year-old local man who had been searching for his family after losing contact with them three months prior.

“The man claimed that his...

A social media warning to transnational scam networks by South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has ignited backlash from Cambodians accusing him of tarnishing their country’s image, prompting the post’s deletion amid diplomatic clarifications.

On Friday, Lee shared a report by Korean outlet OhMyNews stating that Chinese organised crime groups in Cambodia were shunning Korean recruits for fear of Seoul’s police raids, as reported by the Khmer Times and The Korea Herald.

“If you dare to mess with...

The sultan of Pahang in Malaysia has urged the public to view royal pardons with “calmness of emotion” and not as “a political gift”, in what analysts describe as a pointed reminder that clemency is a constitutional process, amid a furore over a decree supposedly extended to ex-prime minister Najib Razak.

According to Najib, the supplementary royal decree, or “addendum”, would allow him to serve the remainder of his reduced prison sentence at home. The Kuala Lumpur High Court dismissed his bid...

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1. Singapore begins ban on ‘undesirable’ visitors, airlines to comply or face fine

Singapore’s move to bar undesirable visitors from boarding planes to the city state has begun, with airlines flying into its airports required to deny access to passengers flagged as...

Any decision by Australia to regain control of Darwin Port is likely to differ from Panama’s move to nullify a contract on its geostrategically vital canal, as fears of Chinese retaliation and a limited security consensus limit Canberra’s options, analysts said – though they warned the issue could still reopen strains in the bilateral relationship.

Panama’s Supreme Court ruled on Friday against a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison Holdings, ending its rights to operate two ports on the...

Pakistan says it has fielded requests for its JF-17 fighter jet from five countries in recent months – a surge of interest that could overwhelm its capacity to jointly produce the jet with China.

In the past month, Iraq, Bangladesh and Indonesia have expressed interest in acquiring the JF-17 Thunder, according to Pakistan’s Armed Forces.

Saudi Arabia and Libya were also exploring the aircraft, Reuters reported separately, after Pakistan hailed the performance of its Chinese-developed jets during...

Japan’s exports of agricultural, forestry and fishery products rose 12.8 per cent to an all-time high ‌in 2025, lifted by stronger shipments to the United States despite ‍new tariffs, and by a rebound in exports to China from the previous year’s slump.

Exports totalled 1.701 trillion yen (US$10.9 billion) last year, up from 1.507 trillion yen in 2024, marking ⁠a 13th consecutive annual gain and a record high, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) said on Tuesday.

“Rising...

Japan is reeling from a Russian espionage scandal that has laid bare how easily industrial secrets can slip through the country’s grasp, just as Tokyo is pushing to strengthen its laws against spying.

Police in the Japanese capital referred a case to prosecutors on January 20 involving a former Russian trade official suspected of violating Japan’s laws on unfair competition.

While neither he nor the Japanese employee accused of selling data for cash has been publicly named, the details of the...