Asia Pacific

Headlines

7 Techniques To Enhance Your Marketing Email Click-Through Rate (CTR)

Do you suspect your email marketing strategy is ineffective? If your email click-through rate is disappointing, you are most likely correct. Let's face it: if your subscribers don't click your links, you'll have fewer leads and sales, which will reduce your income. That is why enticing more subscribers to click is critical. When we talk about email...

Making access to climate finance a priority

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is calling for a sharper financial focus on putting climate actions at the centre of development and recovery for the region. Read More

TRENDSETTERS at-a-glance: Korean, Indian regulators sharpen ESG focus; and more

Korean watchdog cracks down on ESG compliance; India to enhance ESG reporting; Singapore fintechs to drive green finance; and StashAway expands to Hong Kong. Read More

PEOPLE MOVES at-a-glance: IMF adds new finance director; fund houses bulk up in Asia

IMF names new director of finance; Robeco strengthens Greater China team; Income Partners hires distribution head from Vanguard; PineBridge appoints global head of corporate responsibility; and AXA IM enhances Asian institutional business. Read More

When the SPACs come marching into Asia

The rapid pace at which special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) are raising money is putting regulators across the region in a quandary: either further accommodate an unproven investment structure or risk being left behind. Read More

Finance

India is recording more cases of covid-19 than any other country

ON APRIL 7TH India detected more than 125,000 new cases of covid-19—more than any other country in the world. The same day neighbouring Bangladesh registered far fewer—just over 7,600—but that was nonetheless a record for the country. Pakistan, too, is suffering a surge in infections, with the president, prime minister and minister of...

Pakistan’s generals are ever more involved in running the country

BEFORE HE BECAME prime minister, Imran Khan was happy to hold forth about the role of the armed forces in Pakistan. They were so influential in politics, he told The Economist, only because civilian governments had been so ineffectual. Once in office, he said, he would change all that. Yet in early March, when his government lost an important Senate...

China tries to nick another speck in the sea from the Philippines

THE CHINESE ships that appeared around Whitsun Reef in March were unusual for fishing vessels. They seemed to do little fishing, for a start. Satellite images revealed them to be pristine and lined up with military precision. China said the ships were simply sheltering from bad weather. But the Philippine government said they belonged to China’s “maritime...

Another species harmed by climate change: Japanese poets

“HOW MANY, many things/they call to mind/these cherry blossoms!” the poet Basho once wrote of Japan’s favourite flower. The blossoms have long provoked reflections on beauty, transience and the unceasing rhythms of the natural world. This year, their annual appearance has many thinking about how those rhythms are changing. The cherry trees in...

Thailand’s democracy protests are dwindling

LAST SUMMER, despite the tropical heat and humidity, more than 10,000 mostly young protesters paraded repeatedly through central Bangkok. The protests had a carnival atmosphere. Students dressed as Harry Potter, the better to vanquish He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named (King Maha Vajiralongkorn); held aloft giant yellow ducks (a symbol popular with democracy...

Legal

Acq Lite

Actor Park Si Hoo denies rape accusation

Hallyu star Park Si Hoo issued an official statement this morning, denying allegations by a 22-year-old woman that the actor had sexually assaulted her. He wrote: ‘There are misrepresentations in the reports regarding this incident. I hope to explain the truth to the media and to my fans.’ According to the alleged victim, she got [...]The...

Actor Park Si-hoo Accused of Rape

Actor Park Si-hoo has been charged with rape, Seoul police said Monday. The victim, a 22-year-old woman, met Park through a mutual acquaintance last Thursday night and drank with him in a bar in the trendy Gangnam district of southern Seoul. Police said the woman claims to have lost consciousness and realized she had been [...]The post Actor Park Si-hoo...

Grace Wong: “We slept in separate bedrooms!”

“Friendly Fire” actress Grace Wong recently denied claims of her supposedly ‘losing her virginity’ to her boyfriend during a vacation in Taiwan. According to Jayne Stars website, the actress, who attended a wedding exhibition on 17 February, explained that she and her boyfriend had stayed in separate rooms during their trip,...

Park Si-hoo Fails To Appear For Police Questioning

Actor Park Si-hoo, who has been charged with raping an aspiring starlet, has again failed to present himself for questioning by police. He had been summoned for 7 p.m. on Sunday. “At around 6 p.m., an hour before he was scheduled to appear, Park’s lawyer informed us that he wouldn’t show after all,” a police [...]The post Park...

CCTV Footage Backs Rape Charge Against Park Si Hoo

Surveillance camera footage casts doubt on actor Park Si-hoo’s denials that he raped a 22-year-old aspiring starlet. The CCTV footage shows his accuser being carried on the back of the acquaintance who introduced them as they arrive at Park’s home in Cheongdam-dong, Seoul on the night of the incident. According to police, the acquaintance...