February 2024
Japan’s sharemarket hits record high after 34-year wait
The milestone was powered by foreign investors who are encouraged by the corporate-governance changes and are piling into the country as China’s lure fades.
April 2023
Police question employees at Bain’s Shanghai office
Police took away computers and phones but did not detain any team members, according to two people briefed on the incident.
Investors take fresh look at Japanese stocks but doubts persist
An equity market foreign investors have ignored since 2018 may now represent an opportunity they cannot afford to miss.
March 2023
- Opinion
- SVB collapse
Parts of the SVB model would not go amiss in Japan
A visit by the now-failed bank’s executives has lessons for Tokyo, but it also highlights the need for change. Japanese start-ups struggle to secure funding from traditional lenders.
February 2023
BoJ’s new ‘dark horse’ governor sends shockwaves
Economist and academic Kazuo Ueda, a surprise appointment, will face strong market pressure to abandon the central bank’s aggressive monetary easing.
January 2023
- Opinion
- Monetary policy
Japan must start culling its zombie companies soon
The Bank of Japan’s decision to maintain ultra-loose monetary policy for now merely defers the euthanasia of persistently unprofitable companies.
- Opinion
- Air travel
Resurgent Chinese travel would reset the country’s global image
As well as an expected spike in business trips, the clearest effect of the resumption of large-scale Chinese travel abroad is likely to be a release of pent-up demand for tourism by a vast middle class.
Japan to offer families $11,000 per child to leave Tokyo
Japan’s shrinking and ageing population and the migration of younger people to the capital have disproportionately hit the regions beyond Tokyo, Osaka and a handful of other major cities.
- Opinion
- Monetary policy
Uncertainty over Bank of Japan casts a shadow over markets
Lack of clarity on the successor to governor Haruhiko Kuroda adds to questions over last month’s abrupt policy change.
December 2022
- Opinion
- Coronavirus pandemic
The punctured global bike boom could yet receive a boost
While the post-pandemic demand for two wheels has slowed, decarbonisation might create a new generation of cyclists.
- Opinion
- World markets
Is FOMO the new greed when it comes to investing?
Fear of missing out on the rewards of tech and crypto led to irrational exuberance.
August 2022
SoftBank’s $34b loss could push founder to reconsider going private
Analysts and investors say the latest results raise questions on whether group still needs to be listed.
- Updated
July 2022
The sultan, his family and a $22b Malaysia oil dispute
The heirs to the last ruler of Sulu have seized state-owned energy assets in a lawsuit that dates back to colonial times.
- Opinion
- World politics
What Shinzo Abe’s assassination means for Pax Japonica
The notion that political stability rests on disinterest of the Japanese electorate is a dangerous one.
March 2022
- Opinion
- Inside China
Chinese market rally disguises concerns over decoupling
Many investors applaud Beijing’s confidence-boosting measures but the risk of technology nationalism, the redrawing of supply chains and other megatrends are revising calculations about investing in Chinese stocks.
January 2022
- Analysis
- Mergers & acquisitions outlook
Why gaming is the new big tech battleground
As Microsoft reaches for a big new global audience, the gaming industry’s long-term structure looks to be very much in play.
- Updated
- Opinion
- Manufacturing
The great Japanese toaster problem
It is an article of national faith that manufacturers of domestic appliances should be able to have a crack at mobile phones.
December 2021
Can Macau survive in Xi Jinping’s China?
The city made its fortune from gambling, delivering huge profits to global casino groups. But pandemic travel restrictions and Beijing’s puritanical turn have raised the stakes.
October 2021
- Opinion
- China relations
Companies prepare for a ‘selective decoupling’ with China
For foreign businesses operating in the Middle Kingdom, it may be best to plan for uncertainty.
- Updated
- Opinion
- World politics
Kishida will need to defy the odds of Japanese political longevity
The real test for the new Prime Minister will be whether he can, like Shinzo Abe, beat the trend of Japanese postwar leaders lasting only about two years.