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…
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…
The International Energy Agency’s governing framework for emergency oil stock releases, established by the Agreement on an International Energy Program in 1974, was designed in response to the Arab oil embargo. The framework requires member countries to hold emergency reserves equivalent to at least 90 days of net oil imports, establishes a collective action mechanism…
The 14th National People’s Congress opened its fourth session on Thursday with an eight-day agenda that encompasses far more than the headline adoption of the 15th Five-Year Plan. The legislative program includes three major new laws, the Environmental Code, the Ethnic Unity and Progress Promotion Law, and the Law on National Development Planning, alongside the…
The U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran that began on February 28 have produced an immediate military response from Tehran, including retaliatory attacks across the Gulf and threats against shipping. But the mechanism that has actually closed the Strait of Hormuz to commercial traffic is not military action alone. It is the withdrawal of maritime insurance coverage…
Loan transaction balances at Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix have reached record levels of 18.78 trillion won and 15.62 trillion won respectively, making them the highest among all KOSPI-listed stocks. The balances, which represent securities borrowed for potential short-selling activity, have triggered a test of Korea’s recently reformed disclosure framework for short positions. The Financial…
Singapore’s Budget 2026, delivered by Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on February 12, has established the city-state as the most fiscally aggressive jurisdiction in Asia for artificial intelligence adoption. The centerpiece is the enhancement of the Enterprise Innovation Scheme to include a 400% tax deduction on qualifying AI expenditures for Years of Assessment 2027 and 2028,…
While Samsung’s HBM4 shipments and SK Hynix’s packaging investments have dominated headlines, the regulatory framework that supports Korea’s semiconductor investment has undergone a significant expansion that has received less attention from international investors. The K-Chips Act, which provides tax credits of up to 25% for large enterprises and 35% for SMEs on qualifying semiconductor facility…
