As Southeast Asia accelerates into electric vehicle manufacturing, industry leaders in the Philippines say their country risks falling behind neighbours that have moved quickly to support the sector, with policy uncertainty raising doubts about Manila’s commitment to long-term growth.
Those concerns sharpened last month when President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr vetoed 92.5 billion pesos (US$1.56 billion) in unprogrammed appropriations from the 2026 national budget, a move that also swept up funding…
Thailand election: who are the PM contenders vying to lead the nation?
From the principled and the populist to the outright eccentric, Thailand goes to the polls on February 8 with its main prime ministerial candidates wielding lofty promises to turn the country’s flagging fortunes around.
Here are the main contenders and some of their policies. Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut – People’s Party
Better known as “Teng”, the former tech executive took over leadership of the People’s Party in 2024 aged just 37. He leads them into the election as the most popular candidate to…
India’s rich splash out as luxury water becomes latest status symbol
At an Indian gourmet food store, Avanti Mehta is organising a blind tasting of drinks sourced from France, Italy and India. No, this is not wine, it is water.
Participants use tiny shot glasses to check the minerality, carbonation and salinity in samples of Evian from the French Alps, Perrier from southern France, San Pellegrino from Italy and India’s Aava from the foothills of the Aravalli mountains.
“They will all taste different … you should be choosing a water that can give you some sort of…
Will young Malaysians play a key role in next election through swing votes?
Muhammad Syafiq, a 25-year-old banker from Kuala Lumpur, has started noticing something recently that felt like “real politics” compared with the soft sell of an election campaign poster at train stations in the Malaysian capital.
“One government programme I think is pretty solid is the People’s Income Initiative, or IPR [Inisiatif Pendapatan Rakyat], where small vendors use vending machines to sell food and drinks,” he told This Week in Asia, pointing to what he described as affordable…
CMA looks for feedback after sounding alarm over ‘constrained’ civil engineering sector
The Competition and Markets Authority’s interim report on the UK’s civil engineering sector signals potentially significant implications for the industry, as it sets out early findings and proposed remedies aimed at addressing weaknesses in funding stability, procurement capability and regulatory processes, according to experts at Pinsent Masons.
Liabilities arising from use of AI explored by UK experts
Legal experts have highlighted the challenges businesses face in allocating liability for harms that might arise from use of AI, but their paper also gives useful examples that could guide their – and judges’ – understanding of how existing English law might apply, according to technology law specialists.
Human capital: Asia’s decisive advantage in the energy transition
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Asia is scaling renewable power, electrification and clean manufacturing faster than any other part of the world. Yet the pace is outstripping the availability of skilled workers, creating a bottleneck that could slow progress towards net zero.
Global renewable energy jobs reached 16.2 million in 2023, an 18 per cent increase year on year, driven largely by growth in solar energy, equipment manufacturing and power…
Thailand picks Blackpink’s Lisa as tourism ambassador – will Chinese visitors return?
Thailand’s slump in visitors from China has become so acute that Chinese tourism workers in Phuket are learning English for the first time to attract new customers, according to a boat tour organiser.
Chanchanat Boonlon said her catamaran business was once a cash cow, fully booked each day during high season by large groups of Chinese visitors who flocked to Phuket, Thailand’s largest island.
While the Lunar New Year holiday next month brings hopes of a seasonal bounce, data on arrivals from…
UK financial regulator shares proposals for new crypto assets market framework
Proposals on the way the UK’s financial watchdog plans to regulate businesses conducting crypto asset activities will mean significant changes for organisations which have previously not come under their remit, according to an expert.
Singapore to acquire Lee Kuan Yew’s 38 Oxley Road home for preservation
The site at 38 Oxley Road was gazetted for acquisition on Thursday, the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) and the National Heritage Board (NHB) said in a media release.
This follows the gazetting of the site as a national monument on December 12, 2025.
The site was the home of Singapore’s founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew. It was also where events took place that shaped the country’s independence movement and national history.
“The site was gazetted for acquisition today in order to safeguard…