Across Southeast Asia, millions of young people are launching start-ups and driving rapid digitalisation, with new unicorns emerging in a sign that the region is becoming a global force in entrepreneurship, according to former Indonesian president Joko Widodo.
Speaking at the closing of the Bloomberg New Economy Forum on Friday, Widodo said the next unicorn – meaning a privately held start-up valued at more than US$1 billion – might emerge not from Silicon Valley or Shenzhen but from Jakarta,…
EU digital simplification to soften data, AI rules
Plans to relax data protection laws to facilitate AI development and use in the EU have been outlined as part of a series of measures designed to boost growth and innovation in the trading bloc.
Premier League clubs to vote on new financial reforms
Premier League football clubs in England are to vote on Friday on prospective changes to financial regulations that apply to them.
Singaporean Amos Yee released on parole from US prison after child porn sentence
Singaporean Amos Yee on Thursday was released from a United States prison on parole.
Yee, now 27, was serving time at Danville Correctional Center in Illinois after being sentenced in 2021 to six years’ jail by a US court for possession of child pornography and grooming.
According to a victim’s information network, Yee had been released on November 7 and immediately taken back into custody.
He was then released again on November 20.
Yee has been registered as a sex offender, according to checks…
13 killed in Cambodia bus crash near Angkor Wat en route to Phnom Penh
A passenger bus in Cambodia crashed off a bridge into a river on Thursday, killing at least 13 passengers and injuring two dozen others, police said.
The bus was travelling from Siem Reap, home to the country’s fabled Angkor Wat temple complex, to the capital Phnom Penh, when it crashed in the predawn hours in the central province of Kampong Thom, the deputy police chief for the area, Siv Sovanna, said.
All those on the bus were Cambodian nationals, he said.
A preliminary investigation suggested…
‘Don’t trust the pension system’: why young South Koreans back later retirement
Kim Sung-ho, 38, an office worker, said he is increasingly open to the idea of raising the retirement age in South Korea.
“A few years ago, I opposed extending the retirement age,” he said. “But now, living costs and housing prices are getting higher. I worry more about my own future. I think I will need a stable source of income until I get older. Extending retirement age isn’t about the older generation any more. It’s about preparing for the future for my generation too.”
Similarly, An…
Singapore PM hopes China, Japan ‘find ways to resolve’ Taiwan Strait row
Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong has voiced hope that China and Japan can de-escalate tensions, following a row sparked by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s comments on the Taiwan Strait.
At the Bloomberg New Economy Forum on Wednesday, Wong said Singapore and fellow Southeast Asian states supported Tokyo stepping into a bigger role in the region, including on the security front, for greater stability.
Takaichi earlier this month said Japan could deploy its military in the event…
Mauritania joins wave of local content regulation adopters
Mauritania has become the latest African country to join a growing trend of enforcing local content regulations for mining and energy extraction, increasing pressure on international investors.
On Taiwan, Japan’s Takaichi shouldn’t play with fire
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s recent remarks suggesting that Japan could intervene militarily in the Taiwan Strait under the pretext of a “survival-threatening situation” represent a strategic pivot away from Japan’s post-war pacifist ethos.
These statements, explicitly condemned by Beijing as “blatant interference in China’s internal affairs”, transcend mere diplomatic indiscretion. They reflect a calculated alignment with containment strategies aimed at curtailing China’s…
Planned Irish tax benefits offer boost to multinationals
The Irish government’s draft Finance Bill 2025 aims to underscore Ireland’s attractiveness as a place for foreign direct investment, and to enhance aspects of the Irish tax system that can offer attractive benefits for multinationals doing business in Ireland.