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Singapore shines as stable investment oasis amid global storms: ‘very appetising’

Wealthy families are trading global uncertainty for Singapore’s regulatory rigour, driving record inflows and a revitalised stock exchange She cited the recent case of a Northeast Asian tech founder with US$50 million in assets who decided to restructure his family holdings and consolidate cross-border investments by setting up a corporate structure in the city state. To him, Singapore was a natural choice as a financial safe haven – offering, in Tanaporn’s words, “long-term succession planning under a stable, English common law jurisdiction”, without requiring him to relocate. That combination of stability and accessibility was a common refrain among wealth managers who told This Week in Asia that inflows into Singapore had steadily picked up among high- and ultra-high-net-worth individuals seeking to manage geopolitical risk. The island country’s stoic positioning amid a turbulent global environment has also contributed to the recent resurgence of its stock exchange, with the benchmark Straits Times Index crossing the 5,000-mark for the first time in February.

May 9, 2026

Business

How a China-backed highway may turn landlocked Laos into a trade gateway

The project is part of wider efforts to build overland trade corridors linking southern China with the Mekong region The initiative underscores Beijing’s broader effort to strengthen its economic footprint in the region through roads and railway infrastructure, as it seeks alternative trade routes amid a fractious relationship with the United States. Laos is conducting route surveys for an expressway linking the capital Vientiane to its northeastern border with Vietnam, the Laotian Times reported. From Vientiane, a chain of sections is expected to eventually reach the Chinese border, with a Chinese firm responsible for part of that work. Henan ZhongGong Design and Research Group, a 62-year-old state-owned firm, would conduct a feasibility study and a preliminary design survey for the expressway, which is expected to extend 186km to 207km (116 to 129 miles), according to the report published on Thursday. The highway would support Laos’ ambition to “expand regional connectivity and develop the country into a land-linked transport hub” connecting China, Thailand, Vietnam and other parts of the Mekong River region in Southeast Asia, the media outlet reported.

May 8, 2026

Business

Trump appeals latest court loss on tariffs as chaos and uncertainty amp up

Trump administration on Friday appealed court ruling that 10 per cent global tariff imposed in February was not justified by 1970s trade law The appeal follows a decision on Thursday by the US Court of International Trade that invalidated his use of a Section 122 trade provision that saw him slap 10 per cent import taxes on nearly every country on earth. In its ruling, the court found that he failed to meet the “large and serious” trade deficit test required under the 1974 statute. Section 122 was something of a stopgap until he could impose tougher provisions, so its impact will be capped. “That said, psychologically and politically, the ruling is still a setback for the Trump administration,” said Yilun Zhang, trade manager at the Institute for China-America Studies. “It forces the White House to scramble for alternative tariff authorities and reinforces the perception that the administration’s tariff toolkit is becoming more legally constrained.” Trump slaps 34% reciprocal tariffs on Chinese imports as part of ‘Liberation Day’ package

May 8, 2026

Business

Latest US-China rivalry combines undersea dominance with a race to riches

US President Donald Trump’s landmark visit to China comes as the Iran war disrupts global energy supplies, fuels economic uncertainty and adds fresh strain to Washington-Beijing ties. In the latest part of a series examining how rivalry, interdependence and geopolitical crises are reshaping the relationship between the two powers, we look at their make-or-break contest unfolding beneath the ocean surface. Last year’s military blockbuster Operation Hadal was China’s first high-budget film to...

May 8, 2026

Business

Thanks to Trump, the gloves are off. There may be no new global order

With the UN, IMF and World Bank mired in old power structures, universities could be the platform to shape how the global future unfolds The old order is dead. We just don’t know what will replace it. As Henry Kissinger reminded us in his 2014 book World Order, “no truly global order has ever existed”. After US President Donald Trump’s erratic actions, the gloves are off. American comedians and Iranian Lego cartoons tell us all we need to know about the demise of the old order. If the unipolar order is not viable, and America is abandoning the multilateral order and the rules of the game it created after World War II, what are the alternatives? The top two – China and the US – account for 32.8 per cent of world gross domestic product in purchasing power parity terms as of 2025. The next 16 UN members with the largest proportion of world GDP – with the sole exception of India at 8.7 per cent – have shares ranging from 3.5 per cent to 1.3 per cent. These 16 countries account for 40.2 per cent of world GDP. This leaves the vast remainder of 175 countries making up 27 per cent of global GDP

May 8, 2026

Business

‘Almost zero’ chance Dutch man got hantavirus in Argentina’s Ushuaia, official says

The patient and his wife, both MV Hondius passengers who died of the disease, were in the city only a few days before showing symptoms There is an “almost zero” chance that the Dutch man linked to the hantavirus outbreak on the MV Hondius cruise ship contracted the disease in the Argentine port of Ushuaia, a provincial health official said on Friday. Juan Petrina, director of epidemiology for Tierra del Fuego province, where Ushuaia is located, told reporters that his assessment was based on the virus’s incubation period, among other factors. The Dutch man and his wife, both of whom died of the virus, boarded the Hondius in Ushuaia on April 1. They spent 48 hours in the city before they set sail. The Dutch man first displayed symptoms of the virus five days later on April 6, while at sea, Petrina noted. “The time frames do not correspond to a possible infection in Ushuaia,” Petrina said. According to the World Health Organization, the incubation period – the time between infection and the onset of symptoms – for hantavirus is between one and six weeks.

May 8, 2026

Business

US nears US$400 million settlement with TikTok on child-privacy violations, report says

The money will be used to fund Trump’s ‘beautification’ projects in Washington, the report says US President ⁠Donald Trump’s administration is nearing a US$400 million settlement with TikTok to resolve an ongoing lawsuit over alleged child-privacy violations, ABC News reported on Friday, citing sources familiar with the matter. The White House declined to comment, referring questions to the Justice Department, ‌which did not immediately comment. TikTok did not respond to a request for comment. ABC said the settlement monies would be used to fund Trump’s “beautification” projects in Washington, sources familiar with the discussions told ABC News. Trump has asked for US$10 billion from Congress to fund a wide range of projects in the District of Columbia area. ABC reported ⁠that White House officials have held talks for weeks about whether they could legally use the ‌money to pay for Trump’s proposed 76-metre (250-foot) triumphal arch near Arlington National Cemetery. Typically, settlements are used to aid victims. The Justice Department in 2024 ‌sued TikTok and parent company ByteDance for failing to protect children’s privacy on ⁠the social media app. Is the proposed TikTok sale to US and global investors a done deal?

May 8, 2026

Business

Trump announces 3-day ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine

US president says ceasefire will include suspension of all ‘kinetic activity’ and an exchange of prisoners “I am pleased to announce that there will be a THREE DAY CEASEFIRE (May 9th, 10th, and 11th) in the War between Russia and Ukraine,” Trump posted on social media. “The Celebration in Russia is for Victory Day, but likewise in Ukraine, because they were also a big part and factor of World War II.” The pause in fighting will take place over Victory Day in Russia, celebrated on May 9, which commemorates the Soviet Union’s defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II. Trump claimed the ceasefire request was made directly by him, adding that he appreciated “its agreement by President Vladimir Putin and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy” in the post. “Hopefully, it is the beginning of the end of a very long, deadly and hard fought War.”

May 8, 2026

Business

Trump trade chief says US wants balanced trade, not change to China’s system

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer wants key meeting in Beijing to help ‘achieve more balance’ economically between the two countries “I think there’s not really a situation where we go and get China to change the way they govern, the way they manage their economy, that’s all baked into their system. But I think there is a world where we find out where we can optimise trade between China and the US to achieve more balance.” “We think we can have a conversation with China about bottom line outcomes, how much can we be shipping to them, how much should they ship to us, [and] what kind of goods should those be,” he added. Trump threatens to delay China visit if Beijing does not send ships to help secure Hormuz

May 8, 2026

Business

US to host new Israel-Lebanon talks as Trump team presses for Hezbollah disarmament

Marco Rubio says Washington is also awaiting Iran’s response to a new US proposal to end the conflict in the region In the statement, the US said Israeli and Lebanese delegations would engage in “detailed discussions” aimed at advancing “a comprehensive peace and security agreement” addressing the core concerns of both countries. Washington framed the effort as a break from what it called the “failed approach of the past two decades”, accusing militant groups of exploiting instability in southern Lebanon to weaken the Lebanese state and threaten Israel’s northern border. The discussions are expected to focus on security arrangements, border delineation, the restoration of Lebanese state authority and pathways for humanitarian relief and reconstruction in Lebanon, according to the statement.

May 8, 2026

Business

New suspected hantavirus cases found in Spain and remote Tristan da Cunha

The latest patient had briefly sat on a plane behind a Dutch woman who contracted the disease on the MV Hondius Two new suspected cases of hantavirus were ⁠reported on Friday, one in Spain and the other on the remote South Atlantic island of Tristan da Cunha, as experts race to contain an outbreak that began on a luxury cruise ship. The announcements in locations thousands of kilometres apart will fuel concern about a cluster of cases so far associated with three deaths – though the World Health Organization has repeatedly said the risk to the wider public is low and the virus does not transmit easily. A 32-year-old woman in the southeastern Spanish province of Alicante has symptoms consistent with a hantavirus infection and is being tested, Spanish health authorities said. She ‌was briefly sitting on a plane behind a Dutch woman who had contracted the virus on the MV Hondius, Secretary of State for Health Javier Padilla told reporters. That Dutch woman left the flight in Johannesburg feeling ill before it took off on April 25 and later died in hospital. A British man was also suspected of having the disease on Tristan da Cunha, the UK Health Security Agency said.

May 8, 2026 · 2 dk okuma

Business

Trust is key if China’s international arbitration goals are to succeed, experts say

China’s newly revised Arbitration Law marks the most significant overhaul of the country’s commercial dispute framework since 1994 But a harder question for Beijing is not the amount of energy or resources poured in, but whether foreign parties, particularly Western ones, will actually choose mainland China as a seat, according to arbitrators and legal scholars. “An international arbitration centre should be a place that everyone chooses as a base for arbitration, even if it has no connection to their country,” said Tao Jingzhou, an independent arbitrator at Arbitration Chambers and one of China’s earliest international arbitrators. Beijing and Manila trade blame over ‘provocative’ moves with ship collisions near disputed shoal Beijing’s drive to grow its arbitration capacity reflects more than a desire to attract a slice of a high-value professional services market.

May 8, 2026