ASEAN governments are backing a tougher regional crackdown on cross-border scam networks, with new banking and payments rules aimed at slowing the movement of stolen funds across digital channels. Officials and compliance specialists say the measures reflect growing frustration with fraud operations that exploit differences between national banking systems. Online scams have become a regional…
Hong Kong is moving to streamline compliance procedures for technology listings as the city seeks to revive its IPO market and defend its role as a preferred fundraising venue for Chinese and Asian growth companies. Lawyers and bankers say the effort is aimed at reducing procedural uncertainty without weakening disclosure standards. The exchange has faced…
Indonesia has revised its digital tax framework for foreign online platforms, stepping up efforts to capture revenue from streaming services, e-commerce marketplaces, app stores and digital advertising providers that earn income from Indonesian users. Tax advisers say the changes signal a more assertive phase in Jakarta’s regulation of the digital economy. The government has spent…
China’s evolving data governance regime has entered a new and more consequential phase. A revised set of cross-border data transfer regulations, finalized in March 2026 by the Cyberspace Administration of China, imposes stricter requirements on how companies move personal data and operationally sensitive information out of mainland China. The updated rules expand the categories of…
China is tightening oversight of artificial-intelligence-related exports as policymakers seek greater control over technologies that could shape industrial competitiveness, national security and data sovereignty. Lawyers and technology executives say the latest regulatory direction is prompting companies to review cross-border licensing, model deployment, cloud access and the transfer of specialised chips or AI-enabled systems. The move…
Five weeks of the Hormuz crisis have exposed a truth that Asia’s energy regulators have been reluctant to confront: the region’s energy security regulatory architecture is designed for a world that assumed the Strait of Hormuz would always remain open. Japan’s emergency reserve framework, Korea’s petroleum business regulations, India’s strategic reserve management, and the IEA’s…
The regulatory developments of Q1 2026 defied every major forecast published at the start of the year. Consensus outlooks anticipated incremental tightening of semiconductor export controls, gradual implementation of corporate governance reforms in Korea, continued BOJ normalization, and the adoption of China’s 15th Five-Year Plan. All of these occurred. None of them proved to be…
Iran has established a shipping channel north of Larak Island through which vessels can transit the Strait of Hormuz under supervision of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, with payments assessed in Chinese yuan. At least one vessel has paid $2 million for passage, and Malaysia has reported that Iran allowed its ships to pass through…
South Korea is considering implementing an oil price cap for the first time in nearly 30 years, invoking Article 23 of the Petroleum and Alternative Fuel Business Act, which authorizes the government to set maximum retail fuel prices during periods of sharp market fluctuation. The provision, last activated during the oil price spikes of the…
The framework for expanded bilateral trade announced at today’s White House summit between Prime Minister Takaichi and President Trump includes commitments on defense procurement, automotive trade, and energy cooperation that, while politically significant, require regulatory implementation across multiple agencies in both countries. The gap between a summit communique and binding regulatory change is measured in…
