Showing 31 - 40 of 439
Indonesia’s Akulaku lands $100 million from SCB
Published on 15/02/2022
» Akulaku, an Indonesian online lender backed by Jack Ma’s Ant Group, has pulled in US$100 million from one of Thailand’s biggest lenders to expand its business in Southeast Asia.
India's year of the unicorn: Startups in spotlight of 2021 tech boom
AFP, Published on 31/12/2021
» MUMBAI - Sumit Gupta has had a big year -- turning 30, getting married and seeing his startup become one of India's newest tech unicorns.
A last look back at Asia this year
Oped, Published on 31/12/2021
» 2022 could not have come fast enough. For many in Thailand and no doubt the rest of the world, new hope based on increased vaccination rates against Covid-19 was overwhelmed by the spread of the Omicron variant at year-end. Thailand's travel and tourism sector continues to be particularly hard hit as entry and quarantine rules continue to change.
Year of Turbulence
Asia focus, Published on 27/12/2021
» Pandemic drags on recovery: In the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, many Asian countries had enviable success, avoiding large-scale outbreaks and mass deaths. But the arrival of the more transmissible Delta variant this year and sluggish vaccine rollouts compounded by low availability sent cases surging. Combined with poor monitoring and easy movement among countries, often unofficially, Southeast Asia became a virus hotspot. The ballooning health crisis collided with churning political discontent in the case of Myanmar, Thailand and Malaysia. Economically, the new wave of infections, and attendant restrictions imposed to curb the spread, stalled recoveries. After nearly two years of strict border controls, many countries started to loosen up and live with Covid. But the rise of the Omicron variant now threatens to scuttle those tentative reopening plans and usher in a third year of economic anxiety.
Beijing reins in the Central Bank
Business, Published on 10/12/2021
» The People's Bank of China has never been politically independent like a Western central bank, but it has nonetheless enjoyed a special status in the nation's economic hierarchy. Now, President Xi Jinping's shake-up of China's financial sector is stripping that away.
India's biggest-ever IPO Paytm slumps on market debut
AFP, Published on 18/11/2021
» MUMBAI - Indian mobile payments giant Paytm lost a quarter of its value on its market debut Thursday, after raising $2.5 billion in the country's biggest ever IPO, as traders questioned whether the loss-making firm would ever turn a profit.
China's 'Single's Day' shopping fest subdued by tech crackdown
AFP, Published on 11/11/2021
» SHANGHAI: China on Thursday held a subdued version of its annual "Single's Day" shopping spree, shorn of the usual boasting on sales volume as the country's chastened e-commerce sector reels under a government crackdown on platforms like Alibaba.
Mobile payments firm Paytm kicks off India's biggest IPO
AFP, Published on 08/11/2021
» MUMBAI - India's biggest-ever initial public offering opened Monday with digital payments platform Paytm looking to raise nearly $2.5 billion, in what has already been a record year for share listings.
Xi Faces Resistance to Property Tax Planned to Combat Bubble
Business, Published on 21/10/2021
» Chinese President Xi Jinping has made no secret of his desire to deflate property bubble. But according to people with knowledge of government deliberations, he is facing resistance over a measure aimed at curbing housing speculation: a nationwide property tax.
Alibaba Faces New Threat as Shopping Habits Change
Business, Published on 19/10/2021
» Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., challenged by Beijing's yearlong clampdown on private enterprise, is facing another problem: growing competition.