News
Pressure builds on palm oil firm Goodhope after RSPO sanction
A month after the world’s largest sustainable palm oil association took action against one of its most prominent members, Goodhope Asia Holdings, over failures to comply with its standards on new planting, doubts remain over the future of their relationship. On Apr. 28, the Complaints ...
At 97, this Vietnamese grandma has mastered the Internet
At first glance, it’s easy to dismiss Le Thi as just another raddled old woman. At 97, she has lost almost all her teeth and a severe hunchback impedes her movement. She spends most of her time lying in bed on her side, slowly chewing ...
Sri Lanka deploys more troops as flood toll climbs to 180
Thousands of Sri Lankan troops battled on Monday (May 29) to get relief supplies to over half a million people displaced by the island’s worst flooding for 14 years, which has killed at least 180 people. The military said a lull in torrential monsoon rains allowed ...
Private sector can help unlock Asia's decarbonized future
Much of the world is now waking up to the idea that economic growth can be decoupled from emissions growth. With China, Japan and India leading the way, the Group of 20 leading industrialized countries is now decarbonizing at 2.8% a year. This is the ...
Panasonic turning up volume on Asian TV ops
Panasonic looks to build up to 50% more televisions in Asia outside Japan by fiscal 2020, taking advantage of low labor costs to churn out mass-market to top-of-the-line sets. The Japanese appliance manufacturer targets 3 million units of production capacity in the region by then. ...
MMC's net profit up 7.4% in first quarter
MMC Corp., a Malaysian diversified infrastructure and utilities conglomerate, said on Monday that net profit improved 7.4% year on year to 55 million ringgit ($13 million) in the first quarter of the year due to growth in its power generation unit. Revenue in the same ...
Samsung to pour $9bn into Chinese flash memory plant
Samsung Electronics will spend around 10 trillion won ($8.91 billion) to double capacity at a cutting-edge memory chip plant in China by 2019, aiming to solidify its position at the top as the sale of rival Toshiba’s memory operations drags on. The South Korean giant ...
Thailand to take on Singapore with $5.7 billion airport overhaul
Thailand is seeking to take on Singapore’s dominance in aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul with a $5.7 billion upgrade of a Vietnam War-era airport. Lockheed Martin Corp.’s Sikorsky Aircraft is the latest company to study a possible increase in MRO spend in Thailand in the wake ...
The Mekong and the battle for the ‘Mother of Rivers’
For wildlife enthusiasts in the region, these are exciting times. A horned lizard and rainbow-headed snake were among 163 delightful new species documented last year by scientists alongside 10 endangered Irrawaddy dolphin calves. Fewer than 90 Irrawaddy dolphins exist on the planet.But all is not ...
Yokohama Rubber to rev up Chinese capacity by nearly 50%
Yokohama Rubber will ramp up its tire output capability in China as it seeks to boost business with local automakers. The Japanese manufacturer will bolster its production capacity for passenger-car tires in China to 13.6 million units a year by 2020, up nearly 50% from 9.35 million units in ...