Where startups are born, global firms grow and capital flows - Asia in 2025

From 2017 to 2023, private equity and venture capital assets under management in Asia surged by an astonishing 130%, significantly outpacing growth in Western markets.

Global banking’s new powerhouse: Asia

Asia's level of digital banking infrastructure has enabled it to challenge and even surpass traditional Western players such as Citi and HSBC in key regional markets.

ASIA BLOG: Southeast Asia should pivot away from Trump’s America and steer in the direction of Europe

Trump's confrontational approach to China, while superficially aligned with concerns within ASEAN, is neither strategic nor consultative. It is built more on spectacle than substance, more on division than dialogue.

ETF investment trends in Asia in 2025

While ETF markets in Asia have historically lagged behind those in North America and Europe in terms of depth and diversity, 2025 is witnessing a decisive maturing of the regional ETF ecosystem.

ASIA BLOG: Which side leading Asian nations would back if Iran VS Israel escalates

In the event of an escalation, Beijing would likely call for restraint and push for a negotiated settlement. It may be doing so already behind the scenes. However, its silence or perceived tilt towards Tehran could provoke criticism from the West.

What the Iran-Israel war could mean for much of Asia

From energy security and trade disruptions to political polarisation and rising tensions among Muslim-majority nations such as Indonesia, Malaysia and nuclear armed Pakistan, the consequences for Asia could reshape regional dynamics.

COMMENT: What Japan, Southeast Asia and the US can expect from South Korea’s new president

While he has not shied away from criticising Tokyo, Lee has sensibly signalled a willingness to compartmentalise some issues in order to foster cooperation on trade, technology and regional security.

COMMENT: Asian unity in a fragmenting world boosted by the RCEP

In the face of renewed US protectionism and the use of tariffs as economic weapons, RCEP offers the Indo-Pacific region something far more strategic: a framework for resilience, integration and independence.

COMMENT: Asia's team lists in the Washington VS Beijing bout

While fewer in number, some Asian nations have displayed clear signs of alignment or strategic proximity to China.

COMMENT: US Defence Secretary Hegseth tells Asian countries war with China “could be imminent”

US Secretary for Defence Pete Hegseth put the cat amongst the pigeons during a speech at the at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on May 31, by telling the leading Asian countries they should join with the US and get ready for war with China.

BERTRAND: ASEAN, GCC countries and China come together, forming the world’s largest economic bloc

China, the countries of South-East Asia (ASEAN) and the Arab states (GCC) just held a summit in Kuala Lumpur to forge what could become the world's largest economic bloc, covering everything from free trade agreements to de-dollarisation.

Combined effort to tackle Asian climate change gaining momentum

Over the past five years Asia has witnessed unprecedented heatwaves, with countries like Bangladesh recording temperatures up to 43.8°C in 2024, leading to nationwide school closures affecting tens of millions of children

Gulf States, China dominate ASEAN Summit with a pledge to strengthen ties

Meeting in the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur, the GCC, China and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations issued a joint declaration committing to “chart a unified and collective path towards a peaceful, prosperous and just future.

US tariffs: threat or opportunity for ASEAN’s clean energy ambitions?

In April, when US President Donald Trump announced steep import tariffs targeting a swathe of sectors, reigniting concerns among many ASEAN countries that have flourished under the China+1 strategy.

South Korea, ASEAN launch first joint economic think-tank talks

ASEAN, comprising Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam, has become an increasingly vital partner for Korea in recent years.

COMMENT: China’s quiet power play in Southeast Asia

COMMENT: Why Asia should not follow the failed European model

Over the past 15 years, Europe’s trade frameworks have faltered, integration has stalled, and a number of its core political and economic ideas have failed under real-world pressure.

ASIA BLOG: Beijing’s South China Sea strategy is about Taiwan — and the world needs to sit up and take notice

Even as Taiwan is described as potentially the most dangerous flashpoint in Asia, it is actually the fulcrum upon which the future of the Indo-Pacific — and by extension the global balance of power — may pivot.

HALLIGAN: Power struggle in OPEC+ is pulling oil prices down

The oil market has entered choppy waters once again. Crude prices fell by a dramatic 18% in April y/y – the sharpest monthly drop since November 2021 – partly due to a global slowdown, but more due to a power struggle within OPEC+.

ASEAN aligns with Japan, China and South Korea in warning against protectionist risks

Meeting on the sidelines of the recent Asian Development Bank’s annual gathering in Milan, Italy, the officials reiterated their support for a rules-based, free and fair multilateral trading system.