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A woman operates a drone under the government-backed “Drone Sister” programme, at a training centre in Manesar in the northern Indian state of Haryana. Women’s empowerment is key to unlocking the full potential of Asia-Pacific economies. Photo: AFP

Opinion | Faster, bolder action needed to empower women across the Asia-Pacific

Great strides made since 1995 Beijing Declaration of women’s rights but progress still uneven and often fragile. True equality remains elusive.

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OpenAI wants US to team up with allies to beat China in AI race

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Hong Kong enterprise AI adoption sees upswing on strong government policy

Bhutan aims to sell Southeast Asia on its 21-year ‘mindfulness city’ project

The tiny Himalayan kingdom is looking to raise US$100 million to get its planned special administrative region off the ground.

A Bhutanese man looks out over mountains in the South Asian nation. Photo: AFP

China unveils debt-relief plan, keeps further stimulus salvo in reserve arsenal

Week-long NPC Standing Committee meeting ends with mostly forward-looking plans to right China’s economic ship.

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‘China’s Instagram’ completes largest data migration ever to Alibaba Cloud

The popular lifestyle social platform Xiaohongshu spent a full year moving 500 petabytes of data to China’s largest cloud provider.

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Higher education: why are more schools in Asia favouring high-rise buildings?

Among them, three junior colleges in Singapore will move to new campuses in 2028 and occupy smaller sites with blocks up to 12 storeys.

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Eunoia Junior College. Photo: Facebook/Eunoia Junior College

China’s Huawei pushes network gear upgrades in friendly nations

Under US sanctions, the Chinese telecoms equipment giant has sharpened its focus on mobile carriers in other markets.

As Chinese official visits, Kenya says deal to fund and build highway is close

Kenyan President Ruto says talks are at a late stage for China to finance and build highway through Rift Valley and possible SGR extension.

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US tech firms warn Vietnam’s planned law to hamper social media, data centres

The draft law, being discussed in Vietnam’s parliament, aims to tighten information-protection rules and limit data transfers abroad.

Vietnam’s proposed new data law is expected to make it challenging for tech firms, social media platforms and data centre operators to reach the customers that rely on them daily. Photo: Shutterstock

‘No master plan’: Philippines’ Marcos Jnr faces outrage over disaster response

Senator Imee Marcos and a group of retired generals have separately demanded accountability for flood control funds.

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The aftermath of heavy rains in Laurel town, Batangas province on October 30 following Typhoon Trami. Photo: AFP

Toyota, NTT to spend US$3.27 billion on mobility AI system for self-driving cars

The mobility AI platform is envisioned to support autonomous driving, while targeting a reduction of traffic accidents to zero.

Chinese data centre firm GDS raises US$1 billion for overseas expansion

That funding will help capitalise the development of up to 1 gigawatt of total data centre capacity outside China, according to GDS.

Opinion | Brics is not anti-West, it just wants a fairer world order

In championing economic inclusivity and strategic autonomy, pioneering financial innovation and promoting peace, Brics is a force for good.

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Illustration: Craig Stephens

Thitu Island: at the heart of the Philippines’ South China Sea defence strategy

A major upgrade of the airstrip on the island, known locally as Pag-asa, is among the most critical projects in Manila’s new defence concept.

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Thitu Island pictured from the air in 2017. Photo: AP

China leveraging Laos to link up its Southeast Asian economic interests

Premier Li Qiang visited Laos earlier this month, with the relatively undeveloped and small Southeast Asia nation seen as key to China’s plans in the region.

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Excavation begins below East China Sea for undersea high-speed railway tunnel

Jintang tunnel will link Ningbo and Zhoushan islands in China’s east and is expected to be built by the end of 2026.

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How Prabowo’s cabinet choices could affect Indonesia’s growth targets, economy

Analysts say Sri Mulyani’s reappointment as finance chief can reassure markets, but warn retaining most of Widodo’s team may affect economic policy.

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A street vendor waits for customers at a clothing market in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. New president Prabowo Subianto has set a target of 8 per cent economic growth in five years. Photo: EPA-EFE

China could tap 12 trillion yuan in new debt for stimulus in 2025: economist

To ensure stimulus measures are long-lasting and effective, a Chinese economist said, speed and scale must be prioritised.

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Microsoft closes Azure path for individuals to access OpenAI in mainland China

Owing to local regulatory requirements, only enterprise customers are eligible to subscribe to Azure OpenAI Service in mainland China.

China adds to technology self-reliance with massive pile-driving cylinder

As tall as a 10-storey building, it will be used to construct the foundations of marine engineering projects.

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The massive hydraulic cylinder for large pile-driving vessels engaged in marine infrastructure projects rolled off the assembly line in Changzhou, Jiangsu province, on Tuesday. Photo: CCTV

Prabowo’s sea wall plan ‘not the cure’ for Indonesia’s land subsidence issues

Prabowo to court Chinese investment for project that critics say will only increase exposure to climate risks instead of reducing flood hazards.

Boats on the water are seen beside a sea wall, holding back waters from residences built on land below sea level, along the northern coast of Jakarta, Indonesia. Photo: AFP

Opinion | Back Hong Kong’s tech hub bet with more funding and focus

Despite Hong Kong’s academic and research prowess, government support for innovation has historically been lower than in Singapore and Shenzhen.

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Opinion | As AI takes the world by storm, Asia stands to benefit

Amid rising demand for AI and cybersecurity, Southeast Asia’s lower costs, renewable energy and political neutrality are proving attractive.

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How big is Beijing’s war chest, and why does a stimulus figure remain elusive?

Some prominent economists have called for China to roll out a stimulus plan worth 10 trillion yuan, but the real number is anyone’s guess as prudence is at play.

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To empower debt sales, China’s finance ministry has set up a working-group mechanism with the People’s Bank of China (pictured). Photo: Reuters

Opinion | As attacks on Chinese workers in Pakistan grow, how will Beijing respond?

In the wake of deadly attacks on Chinese nationals in Pakistan, Beijing looks likely to get more directly involved in counterterrorism.

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Security officials inspect the scene of a blast outside Jinnah International Airport in Karachi, Pakistan, on October 7. Photo: EPA-EFE

Explainer | Who makes China’s stimulus decisions, and what’s the procedure?

What has changed since China rolled out a 4-trillion-yuan stimulus package in 2008, and why a concrete stimulus figure now remains elusive.

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China think tank suggests Nvidia chips for data centres to avoid transfer costs

The Beijing-based think tank warned that transferring AI models trained on Nvidia GPUs to domestic solutions involved ‘complex engineering’.

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Infrastructure
The latest news, analysis and opinion on Infrastructure. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.
last updated:
9 September, 2024
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