Big Take Asia

A leaked phone call between Thailand's Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra and Cambodia's Hun Sen has ignited a significant political crisis in Thailand, leading to large-scale protests and her suspension from office.

On today’s Big Take Asia Podcast, host K. Oanh Ha talks to Bloomberg’s Patpicha Tanakasempipat about the political fallout and its impact on the powerful Shinawatra clan, which has dominated Thai politics for almost three decades.

Read more: Humbled Thai Billionaire Is a Warning to Trump-Era Populists

Further listening: What Thailand's Same-Sex Marriage Victory Means for the Economy

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Mahathir Mohamad, Malaysia’s longest-serving prime minister, turned 100 this week. Bloomberg Weekend Editor-at-Large Mishal Husain sat down with the veteran former leader for an interview in the offices of his foundation, just outside Kuala Lumpur.

Husain asked him about his thoughts on aging and leadership; what he thinks Donald Trump’s tariff war means for Malaysia; and what he sees as the way forward, in a world that’s getting more tense and divided by the day.

Read more: Mahathir Mohamad: Trump Is ‘Against the Whole World’

Further listening: Bloomberg’s Interview With UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer

Bloomberg’s Elon Musk Interview

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In a remote part of China's northwestern Xinjiang region, dozens of data centers rise from the desert. A Bloomberg analysis of investor and tax documents and company filings found Chinese companies plan to buy more than 115,000 high-tech Nvidia chips — chips the US has banned from being exported to China – to power these centers, which could then be used for training AI models.

On today’s Big Take Asia Podcast, host K. Oanh Ha talks to Bloomberg’s Andy Lin and James Mayger about the story, and what it means for China’s AI master plan.

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Trump’s trade war has thrown American businesses, which source everything from aircraft parts to baby strollers from China, into chaos. Now some companies are challenging the president’s tariff rulings in the courts.

On today’s Big Take Asia Podcast, host K. Oanh Ha is joined by Rick Woldenberg, CEO of the toy company Learning Resources, and Bloomberg’s Lucille Liu, to talk about the impact of the trade war on US importers and Chinese manufacturers and what it ultimately means for American consumers.

Read more: Chinese Toymaker Takes Drastic Action to Survive Trump’s Tariffs

Further listening: Live from Hong Kong: Why China Can Afford to Wait for a Deal, and the US Can’t
The US and China’s High-Stakes Diplomacy

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On Tuesday morning, in a series of posts celebrating the fragile ceasefire between Iran and Israel, Donald Trump touched on one of Iran’s most significant economic relationships, writing, “China can now continue to purchase oil from Iran.”

Today on Big Take Asia, host Oanh Ha is joined by John Liu, who oversees Bloomberg’s China coverage from Beijing, to discuss what’s at stake for China in Iran and how the conflict could change China’s game plan — not just in the Middle East, but on the global stage.

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Teams from China used to dominate international hacking competitions, until Beijing ordered them to stop attending and take part only in domestic tournaments.

On today’s Big Take Asia Podcast, host K. Oanh Ha talks to Bloomberg’s Jamie Tarabay about how tournaments are helping boost China’s cyber-espionage capabilities and what that means for the world.

Read more: Chinese Hacking Competitions Fuel the Country’s Broad Cyber Ambitions - Bloomberg

Further listening: The ‘Everything, Everywhere, All at Once’ Cyber Threat

Watch, from Originals: How China Is Building an Army of Hackers

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President Donald Trump said a trade framework with China has been completed after two days of talks in London. He said Beijing would supply rare earths and magnets “UP FRONT” and the US would allow Chinese students into colleges and universities.

On today’s episode, Big Take hosts Sarah Holder and K. Oanh Ha speak to Bloomberg’s Brendan Murray, who’s on the ground in London, and John Liu about how the two countries will hammer out a deal. This conversation was taped before Trump announced a deal had been done.

Read more: Trump Says China Will Ship Rare Earths in ‘Done’ Trade Deal

Further listening: A Turning Point in Trump’s Trade War
Is the US-China Trade War Over?

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Japan’s hottest banking talent is in high demand as Wall Street goes all out to woo new hires with fancy dinners, strong-arm tactics and higher salaries.

On today’s Big Take Asia Podcast, Bloomberg’s Lisa Du talks to host K. Oanh Ha about why firms are resorting to extreme measures and the problems they face in hiring top talent.

Read more: Global Banks Scramble to Hire Top Talent in Booming Japan

Further listening: Can’t Get Enough of Matcha? Too Bad – Japan Is Running Low
South Korea Has Plenty of Botox But Not Enough Doctors

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The Nintendo Switch has generated some $100 billion in sales for the Japanese gaming giant since its launch in 2017, propelling the company’s shares to record highs.

Now the game-maker is under pressure to do even better with the new Switch 2, out this week. On today’s Big Take Asia Podcast, Bloomberg Opinion’s Gearoid Reidy joins host K. Oanh Ha to talk about why the Switch 2 is so important to Nintendo’s business and whether it can live up to the hype.

Read more: If the Switch 2 Stumbles, Nintendo Has No Plan B

Watch, from Originals: Nintendo’s High-Stakes Bet on the Switch 2

Further listening: A Turning Point in Trump’s Trade War

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As Donald Trump tries to remake global trade, the dollar’s historic dominance in Asia is under pressure. After Taiwan’s currency saw the biggest surge against the dollar in almost 40 years in early May, some money managers are saying the spike signals the acceleration of a bigger trend of moving investments back home.

On today’s Big Take Asia Podcast, host Rebecca Choong Wilkins talks to Bloomberg’s Ruth Carson about what’s driving Asia’s shift away from the greenback and what a rewiring of global financial ties means for the region’s biggest economies.

Read more:
Asia’s $7.5 Trillion Bet on US Assets Is Suddenly Unravelling

Further listening:
Carry Trades, Explained
Could the Chinese Yuan Ever Replace the US Dollar? 

Big Take DC: Stephen Miran on Market Woes and Currency

Watch, from Originals: Why the US Is Getting Downgraded

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