China Executive Insights
Strategic Capital to call for 'maximum returns' to reward shareholders Nissan Shatai makes sport utility vehicles for parent Nissan Motor. © Reuters TOKYO -- Strategic Capital will submit a shareholder proposal calling on Nissan Shatai to greatly increase dividend payouts, the Japanese activist investor said Thursday.
Motorbike startup expands Vietnam battery swapping with state gas-station firm A VinFast charging station in Hanoi. Vietnam's largest EV maker has built a proprietary charging network that is slowing the country's adoption of electric vehicles. (Photo by Yuki Kohara) HO CHI MINH CITY -- VinFast rival Selex launched a joint venture with Vietnamese gas-station giant Petrolimex to build electric vehicle charging and battery-swap stations that do not demand brand loyalty.
President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping tour the Forbidden City in Beijing in November 2017. The U.S. leader is poised to visit the Chinese capital again next week. © AP China expected to use leverage to preserve trade truce, shape US policy on Taiwan TOKYO/HONG KONG -- When Donald Trump met Xi Jinping for the first time in Florida in 2017, the U.S. president told his Chinese counterpart of missile strikes on Syria over what he called the "most beautiful piece of chocolate cake." Now, their plans to meet next week in Beijing are being overshadowed by another American military engagement in the Middle East.
Economist predicts further slowdown in Q2 as inflation soars Jeepney drivers gather to receive government cash aid in Manila on April 16. Transportation workers are among those hit hardest by soaring fuel prices in the Philippines, which imports 98% of its oil needs. © Reuters MANILA -- The Philippine economy grew 2.8% on an annualized basis in the January-March period, the slowest quarterly growth in five years, due to fallout from the Iran war, the government said Thursday.
ASEAN collaboration also in the spotlight as cross-border QR transactions surge QR payments in Malaysia surged to about 3.48 billion in 2024, up from 109 million five years earlier, a more than thirtyfold increase. They remain on the rise. © Visa Malaysia KUALA LUMPUR/SINGAPORE -- Malaysia's real-time payments system is entering a phase of greater complexity as artificial intelligence begins to take on a more active role in how money moves, raising concerns that fraud and systemic risks are evolving faster than safeguards.
Pathway to success and prosperity under software boom looks uncertain amid tech shift The arrival of artificial intelligence is threatening the core business model of manpower-based billing, as clients now gravitate towards rewarding impact over input. (Nikkei montage/Source photos by Reuters) BENGALURU -- In the mid-1990s, dinner table conversations at Rajdeep Palchowdhury's one-bedroom tenement in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata often revolved around his future. Almost every time, his parents concluded that he ought to work in software.
Chipmaker to use Nvidia-powered facility for own research and development work MediaTek took the wraps off its immersion-cooled AI data center on Thursday, with Taiwan's Gigabyte assembling its servers and key hardware coming from Intel and AMD. (Photo by Cheng Ting-Fang) MIAOLI, Taiwan -- MediaTek, the world's leading mobile chip developer, is building Taiwan's most advanced AI data center, as chipmakers increasingly invest in artificial intelligence infrastructure to maintain their technology edge.
Hanoi's clampdown on fake goods seen as move to secure access to US export market Counterfeit products openly on sale in a Ho Chi Minh City mall. Some experts believe Vietnam's trade surplus might have made it a U.S. target for intellectual property scrutiny. © Reuters HO CHI MINH CITY -- The U.S. released a report on intellectual property abuse last week, reserving its harshest label for just one country: Vietnam.
PM Takaichi could learn from tough political choices during 1970s oil crunch Japanese Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka meets with U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. (Photo acquired by Nikkei) TOKYO -- As Japan faces its worst energy crisis since the 1970s due to the Iran war, a look back at how it weathered the last storm -- on the shoulders of a headstrong prime minister and finance minister and with a solid Plan B in hand -- could offer some lessons.
Government says plan will help create 'downward pressure' and ward off shortages Australian LNG Tanker Northwest Sandpiper is at anchor in Yokohama port, near Tokyo, on April 12, 2022. © AP CANBERRA -- The Australian government on Thursday announced a plan that will require east coast gas producers to reserve a portion of their supply -- equivalent to 20% of their exports -- for the domestic market with the goal of lowering prices for local users and easing shortfalls in the country's southeast.
Long-term investor boosts Sumitomo, Marubeni holdings under new CEO Greg Abel Warren Buffett, chairman and former CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, speaks with Nikkei in Tokyo in 2023. (Photo by Shinya Sawai) TOKYO -- Prominent U.S. investment firm Berkshire Hathaway has raised its stakes in two Japanese trading houses to over 10%, cementing its position as the largest shareholder in the companies it has continued to champion.
Nikkei average posts largest single-day point increase; tech stocks hit upper trading limit Japanese stocks jumped on Thursday morning after Japan's Golden Week holidays. (Photo by Hazumu Urushiyama) TOKYO -- Japanese stocks leaped to a historic high on Thursday as optimism grew around Iran and the U.S. possibly nearing an agreement to end their war.