De-dollarisation trend to continue, favouring Asian assets: Societe Generale

The rotation to emerging markets in Asia that spurred the US dollar’s worst performance in more than five decades will probably continue, as a de-dollarisation trend outweighs a record rally in US stocks, according to Societe Generale.
Global investors had turned cautious about their estimated US$62 trillion in dollar-based assets – equivalent to the size of the Nasdaq – as the Trump administration’s “reciprocal tariffs” eroded the status of the world’s reserve currency, analysts led by Frank…

‘A national crisis’: why Philippines is still struggling to legalise divorce

Philippine lawmakers have refiled a long-delayed bill legalising divorce in the country just a few days into the new Congress after its passage fell short in the previous term, with divorce advocates hopeful that the legislation will finally see the light of day.
Lawmakers have been trying to pass a divorce law since 2005, but continue to face resistance in the Catholic-majority country.
Nearly 79 per cent of Filipinos are Roman Catholic and the Philippines and the Vatican are the only countries…

Johor-Singapore SEZ eyes Indonesia for expanded investment zone: trade minister

Singapore and Malaysia are in talks with Indonesia to expand the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ), according to Singapore’s Trade Minister Gan Kim Yong.
The JS-SEZ was officially launched in January, with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and his Singaporean counterpart Lawrence Wong agreeing to develop various industries, including aerospace, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, chemicals and electronics in the 3,571 sq km (1,379 square mile) zone.
During the 9th Asean…

‘Better than expected’: Chinese firms in Vietnam upbeat over US tariff deal

Chinese manufacturers in Vietnam breathed a sigh of relief on Wednesday, after Washington and Hanoi agreed a “better than expected” trade deal that will reduce US tariffs to 20 per cent and bring an end to three months of uncertainty.
Most Chinese exporters are likely to continue operating in the Southeast Asian nation in the wake of the agreement, with firms viewing the final tariff rate as manageable, analysts and businesspeople in the country told the Post.
US President Donald Trump announced…

‘He just barked’: pitiful tale of 8-year-old raised by dogs in Thailand

An eight-year-old boy, abandoned in the company of his family’s six dogs for years in Thailand, could communicate only by barking, authorities found when they turned up to check on him in response to reports from a local school principal and child activist.
The boy had not been to school in two years despite his mother receiving about 400 baht (US$12) in government education support funds to enrol him in classes, according to news site Khaosod English.
Neighbours said the 46-year-old would beg…

Blast from the past: US ammo hub for Philippines sparks China retaliation fears

A proposal to build a US ammunition manufacturing and storage hub in Subic Bay – the site of a former American naval base in the northern Philippines – is raising fears of strategic entrapment, local economic disruption and Chinese retaliation, despite tentative backing from Manila’s defence chief.
Experts said while the move could help plug logistics gaps in the Indo-Pacific and deepen alliance coordination, it might also undermine the Philippines’ policy of strategic ambiguity and reignite…