Business

Laopu Gold has become the latest homegrown darling of China’s wealthy and investors alike, with designs that often incorporate traditional motifs and materials. (Source photos by Laopu Gold and Cissy Zhou) Big in Asia Laopu Gold boss shrugs off metal’s price drop amid Iran war, eyes Southeast Asia and Japan

Property Japanese firm looks to buy up midsize properties overlooked by foreign investors Advantage is looking to invest between 5 billion yen and 15 billion yen per deal in properties like offices, logistics facilities, factories and hotels. (Source photos by Nikkei) TOKYO — Japanese corporate acquisition firm Advantage Partners will enter the real estate investment […]

Food & Beverage Trading house to help small manufacturers’ products reach region’s local shops DKSH handles wholesale and logistics for the likes of Nestle, PepsiCo and Kraft Heinz in Southeast Asia. (DKSH) TOKYO — Japanese trading house Mitsubishi Corp. has partnered with Switzerland’s DKSH, the largest food and consumer goods wholesaler in Southeast Asia, to […]

Interview Mideast war will lead to more collaboration with governments, Brad Smith says Microsoft President Brad Smith told Nikkei that his company is sticking to its aggressive data center development plan. (Photo by Yuki Nakao) KAZUYUKI OKUDAIRA and KOSUKE SHIMIZU TOKYO — With artificial intelligence data centers emerging as targets for drone and missile attacks, including […]

An Australia visit by Sanae Takaichi would be the first by a Japanese prime minister since 2022. (Photo by Ken Suzuki) TOKYO — Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is planning a visit to Australia during the upcoming national holiday period starting later this month, Nikkei learned Friday, seeking to discuss strengthening supply chains for rare-earth […]

BEIJING (Reuters )– Ma Xingrui, a member of China’s elite Politburo, is under investigation over suspected “serious violation of law and discipline”, becoming the latest senior Chinese leader to fall under the anti-graft watchdog’s scrutiny. China is stepping up its years-long fight to root out corruption with the purge of sitting members of the Politburo, […]

Medical personnel and Sri Lanka Navy sailors provide emergency treatment to an injured Iranian crew member rescued after responding to a distress call from the Iranian military ship IRIS Dena, torpedoed by a U.S. Navy submarine while in the Indian Ocean near Sri Lanka, on March 4. © Reuters

Iran was Shares rise as top players turn bullish after pressure from overcapacity, renewables Dunes of coal are piled near a mine in Ruzhou, in China’s Henan province, in 2021. Coal, mostly produced domestically, shields China against oil supply risks. © Reuters SHANGHAI — The global oil supply shock triggered by the Iran war is generating […]

Hello from Tokyo. As I was drafting this newsletter, U.S. President Donald Trump concluded a televised address. Speaking about the war with Iran, he said that the “core strategic objectives are near completion,” and made opaque remarks suggesting that the Strait of Hormuz, a key bottleneck in the global energy crisis, would “open up naturally.” […]

Myanmar Crisis Former chief of military regime wins parliamentary vote by a landslide Myanmar’s military representatives in parliament and other lawmakers arrive for a session of the assembly in the capital, Naypyidaw, on April 3 to elect the new president. © AP YANGON — Myanmar’s military-dominated parliament on Friday elected regime leader Min Aung Hlaing as the […]