Author: admin

Chinese autonomous-driving technology firm Pony.ai is betting on an “asset-light” strategy and newer generations of low-cost driverless cars to drive growth for its robotaxi operation as the company expects to break even by 2030.Under the asset-light model, Pony.ai would team up with third-party companies – such as taxi operators or ride-hailing platforms – that would fund the deployment of its robotaxi fleet, according to Leo Wang Haojun, chief financial officer.Instead of taking on the full weight of owning the fleets, the Guangzhou-based company would sell its driverless cars to third parties and license its autonomous-driving technology and fleet-management expertise for…

Hongkong Land is set to launch what it expects to be the largest private real estate fund in Singapore, with more than S$8 billion (US$6.2 billion) in assets under management, including prime commercial projects in the waterfront Marina Bay district.At inception, the Singapore Central Private Real Estate Fund (SCPREF) would include one-third stakes in One Raffles Quay and Marina Bay Financial Centre Towers 1 and 2, the Hong Kong-based commercial landlord and developer said in a statement on Friday.The transfer of these assets to the fund came following the lapse of pre-emptive offers by Hongkong Land to its joint venture…

The mayor of Taipei is set to travel to Shanghai for a rare joint forum while being watched closely by Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).Chiang Wan-an, mayor of Taipei, will travel to Shanghai on December 27 and 28 for the Shanghai-Taipei City Forum, Taiwan’s Central News Agency said on Thursday.On Friday, Xinhua stated that the annual forum, carrying the theme “Technology Transforming Life”, would convene in Shanghai on December 28.The forum, which was first held in 2010, will run for one day, matching the duration of last year’s event in Taipei. 01:33Taiwan ban on mainland app RedNote sparks download…

Copper prices hit fresh record highs this week, driven by two dominant forces: China’s shift toward stronger economic support and rising expectations that the US Federal Reserve will begin cutting interest rates soon. Together, these factors have pushed investors toward the metal, while simultaneously amplifying concerns about a potential supply deficit by 2026.   On the London Metal Exchange, the benchmark three-month copper contract touched $11,771 per ton, while Shanghai contracts climbed toward 93,300 yuan per ton. Futures in New York and Mumbai moved in the same direction, underscoring the global breadth of the rally.   China’s push for growth…

Indonesia should tread carefully before deepening ties with Russia, analysts said, after President Prabowo Subianto made an unplanned visit to Moscow this week, raising questions about the diplomatic and economic costs of closer engagement – including how Washington could respond.Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomed Prabowo on Wednesday, hailing 75 years of what the Kremlin described as “solid and steady” diplomatic relations between the two countries.The visit was Prabowo’s second to Russia this year, following his participation in an economic forum in St Petersburg in June, and came as Moscow stepped up overtures on energy, trade and military cooperation.During the meeting,…

As Beijing prepared to mark the 88th anniversary of the Nanking massacre, China’s military mouthpiece warned on Friday that provocative actions by right-wing Japanese politicians risked plunging Asia into peril.According to China’s official estimate, more than 300,000 civilians and soldiers were killed in the six weeks after Japanese troops entered Nanking, now called Nanjing, on December 13, 1937. Japan disputes the number of fatalities.In the commentary titled “Never Allow the Tragedies of History to Repeat Themselves”, author Xu Yizhen took aim at Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remarks to Japan’s parliament last month.In those remarks, Takaichi suggested that a Taiwan…

As emphasized in the newly published National Security Strategy, President Donald Trump’s administration has placed renewed focus on maintaining influence and control in Latin America. Washington’s growing pressure on Venezuela is a clear expression of this new foreign-policy doctrine, with the recent seizure of an oil tanker off the Venezuelan coast marking the latest escalation. Against this backdrop, it is important to understand how the country’s oil sector has become part of a larger geopolitical contest.   Since the United States imposed sanctions on Venezuelan crude in 2015, the country’s oil production has deteriorated dramatically. Years of declining oil revenue…

India’s parliament is debating a draft law that would give employees the right to ignore work calls, emails and messages outside official hours, weeks after a tycoon’s call for a 72-hour work week sparked a furore on social media.The Right to Disconnect Bill 2025, introduced on December 5 by MP Supriya Sule, would empower authorities to impose penalties on non-compliant firms.Supporters argue the proposal recognises workers’ rights in an era of always-on corporate culture. Critics, however, say enforcement would be difficult in a labour-surplus economy with many Indian employees working long hours.In an interview with Republic TV last month, N.…

Hong Kong will need to attract global champion firms across different sectors to raise funds to strengthen the city’s role as an international financial centre over the next 10 years, according to a concept paper issued by the Financial Services Development Council (FSDC) on Friday.“Global markets do not stand still,” said Benjamin Hung Pi-cheng, chairman of the FSDC, at a media briefing where the council outlined a wide range of ideas to bring the city’s capital market to the next level. “Hong Kong has every opportunity to shape, innovate and lead.”While Hong Kong’s stock market had been a fundraising hub…

The secretive aftermath of a United States review of the three-nation Aukus defence deal to supply Australia with nuclear-powered submarines is necessary to shield the pact from any doubts over its viability, which analysts say could undermine political and public support.The Pentagon last Thursday announced it had completed its assessment of the project and found areas to put the deal on the “strongest possible footing”, citing US President Donald Trump’s bid to move the arrangement “full steam ahead”.Set up in 2021, Aukus is a trilateral security partnership between Australia, the UK and the US to share advanced defence technology.In June,…