China Executive Insights
Nestle products on display at a supermarket in Thailand. (Photo by Kosuke Inoue) BANGKOK -- Nestle, the world's largest food company, plans to build a plant in Thailand to produce instant coffee and other products.
JAXA is preparing to launch the RV-X experimental reusable rocket on July 11. (JAXA) TOKYO -- The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) will launch Saturday a prototype of a reusable rocket that would lower costs and serve as an answer to SpaceX's technology.
Crackdown on key Azad Kashmir civic movement risks radicalizing peaceful protest People chant slogans as they walk during a protest and shutter-down strike called by the banned Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), an alliance of civil society groups, in Neelum Valley, Pakistani Kashmir on June 21. © Reuters Salman Rafi Sheikh is an assistant professor of politics at the Mushtaq Ahmad Gurmani School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Lahore University of Management Sciences.
Companies seek new, larger spaces as they make work areas more comfortable Kenko Mayonnaise moved into a larger office in February, complete with a cafe. (Photo by Misaki Morikawa) TOKYO -- The office vacancy rate in central Tokyo has fallen to the 1% range for the first time in six years, as more companies relocate to the capital to secure labor and seek larger work spaces for employee interaction.
Physical AI to reduce facility size and lead to shorter last-mile deliveries A factory that has introduced the system developed by Taisei and Fanuc. (Fanuc) TOKYO -- Japanese companies Taisei and Fanuc have developed an automated warehouse equipped with industrial robots powered by artificial intelligence that can store twice as much cargo as conventional warehouses.
Automakers worldwide face declining profitability on Trump tariffs, EV headwinds Tesla's profit per vehicle figures have outstripped Toyota's for years, sometimes by a wide margin. (Nikkei composite) TOKYO -- Profits per vehicle for seven major global automakers fell in fiscal 2025 due to U.S. tariffs and a slowdown in demand for electric vehicles, with the traditionally highly profitable Tesla seeing a steep 40% drop.
Paul Reichler insists on 10th anniversary that ruling's legal force is as strong as ever Chinese coast guard vessels fire water cannons at the Philippine resupply vessel Unaizah in May 2024. The Philippine ship was on a resupply mission to Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea. © Reuters TOKYO -- Beijing's actions in the South China Sea over the past decade have weakened the practical impact of the 2016 arbitration ruling that rejected the communist country's claims to much of the disputed water but not its legal force, according to the Philippines' lead lawyer in the landmark case.
Company aims to use proceeds to expand output as AI demand remains strong SK Hynix is among the many chipmakers racing to expand production capacity to keep up with AI demand. (Photo by Ken Kobayashi) SEOUL -- SK Hynix has raised $26.5 billion on the Nasdaq market on Friday after the South Korea chipmaker set an offering price of $149 per share for its share sale, making it one of the bourse's biggest-ever listings.
3 taken into custody for demonstration over death of Tibet-born New York resident last week Protesters hold a banner reading "[UN High Commissioner for Human Rights] Volker Turk end your silence on Tibet" in front of the U.N. headquarters in New York on July 9. (Students for a Free Tibet) NEW YORK -- Hundreds demonstrated outside the U.N. headquarters on Thursday, a week after Tibetan activist Lobsang Palden lit himself on fire and died from severe burns.
Markets, not government direction, offer the best path to sustained economic growth The Summer Davos forum was held this year in the city of Dalian, Liaoning province. (Photo by Kohei Fujimura) TOKYO -- In late June, the World Economic Forum and the Chinese government jointly hosted the Summer Davos forum in the city of Dalian in Liaoning province, a city that once aspired to become the "Hong Kong of the north."
Beverage maker sees Vietnam as big opportunity for new growth engine Kirin Health Science International President Alastair Symington says the beverage maker is creating a portfolio of brands for health-conscious consumers with its new subsidiary. (Nikkei montage/Source photos by Yuji Murakami) TOKYO -- Japanese beverage maker Kirin Holdings said this week it was accelerating the Asia-Pacific expansion of its health science business with the aim of becoming one of the biggest regional players in the sector.
Ride-hailer seeks brand-neutral alternative to VinFast's proprietary infrastructure A Grab driver uses an Eboost charging station in Vietnam. The Singapore-based ride-hailing group is expanding charging access for multiple electric vehicle brands through local partners. (Grab) HANOI -- Southeast Asian ride-hailing and delivery giant Grab plans a fifteenfold expansion in a charging network for electric vehicles in Vietnam from about 400 ports at present to more than 6,000 by 2028, backing a brand-neutral alternative to VinFast's dominant proprietary charging system as the country accelerates its shift toward cleaner transport.