Markets, business, and economic intelligence for Southeast Asia
SOUTHEAST ASIA EDITION
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The SoftBank founder told an audience in Tokyo that building the world's AI infrastructure will swallow 5 trillion dollars a year by 2040, and he brushed aside warnings of a bubble as absurd.
South East Money Editorial ·
A wave of young, digitally minded hobbyists in China has turned cheap desktop 3D printers into a mass market gadget, powering a boom that has handed a cluster of Shenzhen firms about 90 percent of global sales.
South East Money Editorial ·
The Japanese footwear retailer, with about 1,500 stores at home and abroad, wants to raise the share of sales it makes overseas from around 30 percent to 50 percent, and it is betting on fast growing Southeast Asia to get there.
South East Money Editorial ·
The Thai energy drink maker, a longtime challenger to Red Bull at home, is pouring effort into its domestic market after a border dispute with Cambodia and softer exports pushed its profit down sharply.
South East Money Editorial ·
A Saudi founded technology summit has opened in Hong Kong for the first time, part of a push by the Chinese financial hub to deepen ties with the Gulf and cast itself as the bridge between Chinese companies and Middle Eastern capital.
South East Money Editorial ·
A buoyant stock market and a steadier economy pushed the combined fortune of Thailand's wealthiest people up 10 percent to 187 billion dollars, with the Red Bull family holding the top spot for a third straight year.
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The Singapore state investor plans to lift its AI related holdings to about 15 percent of its portfolio by 2031, up from 6 percent today, after its net assets climbed to a record 518 billion Singapore dollars.
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The Nasdaq listed hotel chain, part of the DoubleDragon empire built by Jollibee founder Tony Tan Caktiong and real estate magnate Edgar Sia, will spend 200 million dollars on three properties in Bangkok, Pattaya and Phuket as it chases a global build out.
South East Money Editorial ·
Two Japanese cities have landed in the top ten of the Economist Intelligence Unit's latest liveability ranking, with Osaka in seventh place edging ahead of Tokyo in tenth, as Copenhagen holds the crown for a second year.
South East Money Editorial ·
Jakarta will buy Astra air to air missiles and BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles from New Delhi in a package sealed during Narendra Modi's visit, a sign of India's push to become a serious arms supplier to the region.
South East Money Editorial ·
Japan's largest bank and its home grown card network are teaming up to sell exclusive dining, booking and concierge perks in Japan to affluent customers in Indonesia, Thailand and beyond, chasing one of the region's fastest growing pools of money.
South East Money Editorial ·
A mix of long term vision, cash incentives and hard building rules has pushed developers to drape sky terraces, planted facades and rooftop groves across the city, turning greenery from decoration into a design requirement.
South East Money Editorial ·
The carrier is adding daily services, extra frequencies and its first Madrid flights in more than two decades, lifting its European schedule to record levels as it fights for premium traffic between Asia and the continent.
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The overnight increase, blamed on soaring memory and storage chip costs from the AI boom, landed just before the June 30 deadline and sent Apple's own share price sliding.
South East Money Editorial ·
The government is opening its Digital ID framework to accredited private providers from December, with businesses set to start paying for access from the new year under a cost recovery model.
South East Money Editorial ·
The Meta owned app is rolling out unique usernames and an optional access code for first contact, addressing scarcity across its more than 3 billion users while giving people a way to stay reachable without handing out a number.
South East Money Editorial ·
The central bank held the cash rate at 4.35 percent but signaled it will keep tightening if needed, after three hikes this year cooled housing demand and left financial conditions somewhat restrictive.
South East Money Editorial ·
Sydney and Melbourne both fell a percent in June and auction clearance rates have sunk to levels last seen during the pandemic, as rate settings, tax changes and stretched affordability weigh on buyers.
South East Money Editorial ·
The cash only deal saves one of Australia's oldest startup communities after unresolved rental debt tied to a NSW government program pushed it into voluntary administration.
South East Money Editorial ·
Melbourne founders Kasey and Michael Giarratana sold their home to bootstrap Xali Organics, turning 13,000 dollars in first year sales into more than 20 million dollars a year without taking on outside capital.
South East Money Editorial ·
The 50-50 joint venture officially began on July 1 and could deliver up to 30,000 new homes across a portfolio that includes Euston Station and a 60 acre site at Silvertown.
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The Sydney cardiovascular diagnostics company secured the funding through an institutional placement days after striking a strategic tie up with imaging giant Pro Medicus.
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The microbiome health company said full year sales rose 30 percent to 23.9 million dollars, keeping it on track for its three year growth plan even as consumer health spending stays soft.
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The Leipzig based medtech company has enrolled 30 women across two trials of its absorbable breast implant technology, months after striking a licensing deal with a Johnson and Johnson MedTech subsidiary.
South East Money Editorial ·
Lawmakers in Jakarta have begun formal work on legislation for a self governing financial zone with its own tax rules, faster immigration and special legal status, a central plank of the plan to turn Southeast Asia's largest economy into a regional money hub.
South East Money Editorial ·
The Brisbane robotics firm behind drone based mapping technology for underground mines will use the funding to scale manufacturing and expand its workforce, in a landmark deal for the federal investment body.
South East Money Editorial ·
The Australian security monitoring firm is buying ADT's UK residential business from Johnson Controls, adding more than 160,000 customers and a debt fueled push that management says will triple earnings.
South East Money Editorial ·
Western Sydney International has partnered with Freightquip to run a mostly electric fleet of baggage tractors, loaders and pushback vehicles across the airport, built into the site from the outset rather than retrofitted later.
South East Money Editorial ·
Australia's richest woman backed Elon Musk's rocket company through its June initial public offering, in the largest investment her mining group has made outside iron ore.
South East Money Editorial ·
Most Australian visa applications rose a quarter from July 1, but the steepest hit landed on New Zealanders applying for a family relationship visa, whose fee climbed almost 200 percent.
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Transaction volumes hit 19 billion dollars in the first half of 2026 as domestic institutions and fund managers picked up the slack left by retreating offshore investors.
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The country now counts 1.6 million residents with net assets above one million US dollars, with property once again doing most of the work behind the gains.
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Grollo Group chief executive Lorenz Grollo says he pairs heavy meeting days with an intense morning workout, a routine he credits with helping him handle almost anything the boardroom throws at him.
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Australia's benchmark index slipped 0.64 percent as the major lenders sold off on weak house price figures and Coles dropped after a regulatory setback, even as a handful of takeover driven stocks surged.
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The supermarket giant is in discussions to buy Greencross Pet Wellness Company from private equity firm TPG, a deal that would take Coles well beyond groceries and liquor for the first time.
South East Money Editorial ·
A 22 year old Melbourne first home buyer says roughly eight of her friends are planning a move to the United States within three years, pointing to Victoria's rising tax burden and a tougher path to building wealth at home.
South East Money Editorial ·
Australia's largest gold miner has turned to a 25 year mining veteran from Glencore to replace its long serving chief executive, after an activist investor built a stake worth roughly 716 million dollars and pushed for change.
South East Money Editorial ·
Two low cost BlackRock index funds will anchor the government's new Trump Accounts program, with a Vanguard fund offered as an alternative, days before the accounts open to millions of children.
South East Money Editorial ·
A review of 53 publicly traded business development companies found more than half in the red for the first quarter, the clearest sign yet of strain building in the 3.5 trillion dollar private credit market.
South East Money Editorial ·
Indirect talks in Qatar aim to turn a fragile ceasefire into a lasting peace deal after a week of tit for tat strikes left the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz patchy and uneven.
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A 927 page annual financial disclosure shows the president took in more than $1.4 billion from crypto ventures in 2025, far outpacing income from his hotels and golf resorts.
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