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Chinese robotaxi firm Pony.ai bets on ‘asset-light’...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/12

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

Manulife becomes first insurer to redomicile in Hong...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/12

Manulife (International), one of the biggest life insurers and pension providers in Hong Kong and Macau, has finished moving its domicile to Hong Kong from Bermuda, making it the first insurer to successfully complete the process under a new regime, according to a statement on Friday. The insurer said the redomiciling was a “strategic milestone” that underscored its confidence in Hong Kong’s role as a leading international financial centre and reinforced the company’s long-standing commitment

Hongkong Land poised to launch US$6 billion Singapore...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/12

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...

UK ‘super flu’ outbreak sparks ‘worst-case’ fears...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/12

The UK is facing an “unprecedented wave of super flu”, a health chief warned on Friday as the health minister urged doctors to call off a threatened five-day strike ahead of Christmas. Wes Streeting said the state-funded National Health Service (NHS) was in an “incredibly precarious situation” as flu cases mounted, and was facing a “challenge unlike any it has seen since the pandemic”. NHS figures published on Thursday showed flu cases at a record level for the time of year. The number of

Taipei mayor Chiang Wan-an to attend annual forum in...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/12

Taipei mayor Chiang Wan-an is set to visit Shanghai for a joint forum, an event that will be watched closely by Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). Chiang will travel to Shanghai on December 27 and 28 for the Shanghai-Taipei City Forum, Taiwan’s Central News Agency reported on Thursday. On Friday, mainland state news agency Xinhua said the annual forum would convene in Shanghai on December 28 and be based on the theme “Technology Transforming Life”. The forum, which was first...

Indonesia urged to tread carefully as Russia courts...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/12

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...

Japan finally airs Oscar-nominated #MeToo film ‘Black...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/12

A Japanese #MeToo campaigner’s documentary premiered in her homeland on Friday after months of delays, with one audience member saying she hoped it triggered a change in society. Shiori Ito won a landmark 2019 civil case against a Japanese TV reporter accused of raping her – a charge he denies – and turned her ordeal into a film released last year and screened worldwide. But some segments of Black Box Diaries contained video and audio that had been clandestinely shot or meant only for use in...

Provocative Japanese actions risk plunging Asia into...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/12

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. PLA Daily published the warning in a commentary the day before sirens will sound out across Nanjing, the capital of eastern Jiangsu province, at 10.01am during national commemorations led by the Communist Party’s Central Committee and the State Council. According to China’s official...

Huawei bolsters AI ambitions with dedicated...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/12

Huawei Technologies is doubling down on foundation models with a newly formed unit, heating up the race for dominance among Chinese tech giants in the artificial intelligence sector. The AI foundation model unit was established under Huawei’s 2012 Laboratories, the company’s strategic research and development arm that covered domains ranging from wireless technology to AI, according to a report by Chinese media outlet China Star Markets this week. The department was actively recruiting AI...

China ‘Drink Can Queen’ Guan Yuxiang grows US$1.4...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/12

Chinese entrepreneur Guan Yuxiang built her drink can empire from scratch after retirement, earning her the titles of the country’s “Drink Can Queen” and “the greatest retired female worker.” Born in Shenyang, in northeastern China’s Liaoning province in 1939, Guan joined a factory in Beijing at the age of 19. Like many in her generation, she dedicated three decades of her life to the same company before retiring at 50. However, unlike many who embrace a restful retirement, Guan chose to

In India, tycoon’s call to adopt ‘996’ work culture...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/12

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,...

Hong Kong national security police arrest 9 over...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/12

Hong Kong police have arrested nine men for suspected involvement in military-style combat training, the first such case under the domestic national security law, after raiding a factory space in San Po Kong. The force’s National Security Department said on Friday that some of the suspects were friends and had allegedly gathered near the scene of the Tai Po fire wearing clothing typically associated with anti-government activists during the 2019 social unrest. Officers raided the factory

Philippines’ Vice-President Duterte faces new...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/12

A group of civilians including two former government officials, filed a corruption complaint against Philippine Vice-President Sara Duterte, in a fresh political challenge for the estranged deputy of President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr. The complaint, filed with the Ombudsman’s office on Friday, alleged that Duterte and 15 other officials, misused 612.5 million pesos (US$10.4 million) in public funds through “coordinated schemes” implemented across both the Office of the Vice-President and the...

Flood expert Xu Chongyu leaves Europe for China as...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/12

For three decades, Xu Chongyu was Europe’s secret weapon against the rising tides. From his quiet office at the University of Oslo, his hydrological models have guarded cities from Copenhagen to Brussels, predicting floods before the first clouds formed.But the climate clock was ticking fast and his homeland needed him, so the Chinese-born scientist decided to leave. A homecoming ceremony was held for Xu on December 3 at North China University of Water Resources and Electric Power (NCWU) in...

US Christmas shoppers are paying a high price for...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/12

It is almost eight years since US President Donald Trump first declared that “trade wars are good, and easy to win”. How much longer will it take him and his tariff hawks to eat those words, and acknowledge the crass economic illiteracy of that conviction? How high a price must everyone pay – in particular, US consumers – before he calls off his tariff war? As America’s Christmas shopping season gets into full swing, typically accounting for around one third of US retailers’ annual profits,

Singapore court dismisses negligence suit after corgi...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/12

A man fell and hit his head, suffering a traumatic brain injury, after seeing his neighbour’s dog exit a lift at their condominium in Singapore. His daughter later sued the neighbour for negligence in how he had handled the dog and for breach of the condo by-laws. A court dismissed the suit, finding that the estate of the man, who died after the trial commenced, had failed to prove negligence or breaching of the condo’s by-laws. According to a judgment on Thursday, Tan Kut Fai was waiting on...

Hong Kong to host Apec finance ministers’ meeting in...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/12

Hong Kong will hold the Apec finance ministers’ meeting in October next year as part of China’s efforts to host the regional economic forum, the Post has learned. A source also revealed on Friday that Macau would host the tourism ministers’ meeting for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. Last month, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced that the 33rd Apec economic leaders’ meeting would be held in Shenzhen next year. He said the country would use its role as forum host to work with...

Why US review of Aukus submarine deal for Australia...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/12

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...

Electoral commission head David Lok to lead committee...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/12

Judge David Lok Kai-hong, who chairs the Electoral Affairs Commission, will lead an independent review committee set up by the government to investigate the Tai Po fire that killed at least 160 people, Hong Kong’s leader has announced. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said on Friday that the appointed committee members included Chan Kin-por, chairman of the Legislative Council’s Finance Committee, and outgoing MTR Corporation chairman Rex Auyeung Pak-kuen. An investigation is expected to be...

Chinese firms slam EU anti-subsidy probes as...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2025/12/12

A Chinese business group has urged the European Union to halt its “discriminatory and disproportionate” use of anti-subsidy probes to target Chinese companies, as Brussels steps up its scrutiny of firms allegedly receiving unfair state subsidies. The EU launched an in-depth foreign subsidy regulation (FSR) investigation against the Chinese security firm Nuctech on Thursday, just days after Brussels reportedly raided the Chinese-invested e-commerce platform Temu’s European headquarters in

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