Temasek Holdings trimmed its stake in Alibaba Group Holding last quarter while the stock slumped to new lows, and added Chinese e-c0mmerce rivals Pinduoduo and JD.com to its portfolio, according to its latest 13F filing.The Singapore state investment firm cut its holding in Alibaba’s American depositary shares (ADS) by US$361.6 million to US$1.08 billion as the Hangzhou-based company’s value shrank by US$114 billion that quarter over concerns about regulatory crackdown in mainland China.Temasek…
Myanmar says it won’t attend Asean foreign ministers meeting
Myanmar will not participate in this week’s meetings in Cambodia of foreign ministers from Asean, spurning an invitation to send a non-political representative instead of its chief diplomat, its government said Monday.Cambodia, the current Asean chair, said earlier this month that members of the regional group had failed to reach a consensus on inviting Myanmar Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin to its meetings on Thursday and Friday in Cambodia’s capital, Phnom Penh.Wunna Maung Lwin was…
Convictions show South Africa’s ‘strong stance’ on international terrorism
The convictions of two South African brothers who attempted to join Islamic State show the country has taken a “strong stance” in fighting international terrorism, a legal expert has said.
As delays hit China-Thailand high speed railway, Bangkok counts the cost of paying its own way
Every day, Laos’ first high speed train linking its capital Vientiane to Boten, a city on the Chinese border, leaves the station and brings goods and people up and down along its 414km route.The daily routine started in December following the completion of the rail link that took five years to build.In the northeast of Thailand, a planned rail line is being constructed to connect with the Laos section. The route, part of Beijing’s global trade strategy known as the Belt and Road Initiative,…
Philippines’ Bongbong Marcos widens lead over Leni Robredo in presidential race, poll shows
The son and namesake of late Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos strengthened his lead over his closest rival ahead of the presidential election in May, results of a new poll released on Sunday showed.Ferdinand Marcos Jnr garnered a 44-point lead over Philippine Vice-President Leni Robredo in the January 19-24 survey by independent pollster Pulse Asia, an 11-point increase compared with the previous poll in early December.A total of 2,400 respondents were asked to pick their first choice for…
Philippine workers need jobs, not another migrant agency, critics say
A new Philippine government agency tasked to handle issues related to overseas Filipino workers is likely to bring more bureaucracy and confusion, migrant workers and specialists say, while others fear it may further increase the country’s reliance on exporting labour instead of creating jobs domestically.There were an estimated 2.2 million Filipinos abroad, according to figures released by the Philippine Statistics Authority in 2020. Overseas workers have been essential for the country’s…
Philippine gunmen kill 9 in road ambush in southern town, including Muslim rebel
Gunmen in the southern Philippines killed a Muslim rebel and eight of his companions in a road ambush Saturday that authorities said was apparently sparked by a land dispute.Several attackers raked two SUVs with assault rifle fire in an early morning ambush in an isolated farming village in Guindulungan town in Maguindanao province, killing nine people and wounding three others who were on their way to a meeting to resolve a long-standing clan dispute, police and local officials said…
Winter Olympics: Eileen Gu’s gold at Beijing 2022 Games shows China would benefit from more flexible citizenship rules
United States-born Eileen Gu’s first stunning Olympic gold medal for China has made her probably the most fascinating star of the Beijing Winter Games, on and off the snow.On Tuesday, the 18-year-old athlete jumped into first place at the Olympics’ inaugural women’s freeski big air final with a trick she had never tried in competition, making her the youngest freestyle skiing gold medallist in Olympic history and earning China’s first gold medal in a snow event. She is still heavily favoured to…
Online abuse of athletes can be combatted using digital tools
Football clubs and other sports organisations should harness the power of data and technology to combat online abuse of their athletes, according to an expert in employment law.
EU plans to label natural gas and nuclear ‘green’ ‘reflect Asia position’
The EU executive arm the European Commission has presented a plan to classify some gas and nuclear power as “transitional” green investments.