The myth of Chinese investment in Afghanistan
Raffaello Pantucci is a senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore and a senior associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute in London.
Among the many overblown narratives bouncing around amid the chaos of the Taliban victory in Afghanistan is the notion that China is champing at the bit to sweep in and pluck the country's economic riches once the country has been cleared of its Western impedimenta.
There is no doubt that Beijing's companies will look at some of the resources in Afghanistan as potential opportunities
Tencent Music's plan for $5bn Hong Kong listing in 2021 stalls
HONG KONG -- Tencent Music Entertainment Group's plans to sell up to $5 billion in shares while acquiring a listing in Hong Kong by the end of the year are fading amid market volatility and China's crackdown on online platforms.
The music streaming unit of Tencent Holdings, which raised $1.1 billion in a New York initial public offering in 2018, has lost almost 70% of its market value since the stock peaked in March. While the company's desire to list
Thai Airways posts first profit in pandemic thanks to restructure
BANGKOK -- Thai Airways International reported a net profit in the first half of 2021, its first since the COVID-19 pandemic hit, thanks to a restructure of its business as part of a rehabilitation plan, although uncertainty still clouds its passenger flight services.
Thai Airways posted on Monday a consolidated net profit of 11.1 billion baht ($333 million), reversing a 28 billion baht loss it recorded in the same period in the last year. This was due to
Fear looms large as Taliban take over Afghanistan
KABUL -- Female staff gathered at the Ministry of Women's Affairs in Kabul cried out as the radio crackled to deliver the news they had been dreading: the Taliban have arrived at Afghanistan's capital.
The workers, gathered for a security briefing on Sunday on the country's escalating crisis, hugged each other in fear of the oppression they think the Islamist militant group will bring on its return to power.
"It's over!" several wailed, in a sign of the panic triggered after the
Muhyiddin quits as Malaysia PM after plea for bipartisanship fails
KUALA LUMPUR -- Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin tendered his resignation on Monday after his largest coalition ally cornered him and the opposition rejected a last-ditch appeal to maintain stability.
"I have resigned together with the ministerial cabinet, as stipulated in the federal constitution," Muhyiddin said in a televised address in the afternoon, after a special cabinet meeting and an audience with King Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin, where he handed in his notice.
"I could have tested my support in the parliament as I told all of
Taliban declare 'war is over'; Afghans rush to airport
KABUL (Reuters) -- The Taliban declared the war in Afghanistan over after taking control of the presidential palace in Kabul while Western nations scrambled on Monday to evacuate their citizens amid chaos at the airport as frantic Afghans searched for a way out.
President Ashraf Ghani fled the country on Sunday as the Islamist militants entered the capital virtually unopposed, saying he wanted to avoid bloodshed, while hundreds of Afghans desperate to leave flooded Kabul airport.
"Today is a great day for the Afghan people and the mujahideen. They have witnessed
Fear looms large as Taliban takes over Afghanistan
KABUL -- Female staff gathered at the Ministry of Women's Affairs in Kabul cried out as the radio crackled to deliver the news they had been dreading: the Taliban had arrived at Afghanistan's capital.
The workers, gathered for a security briefing on Sunday on the country's escalating crisis, hugged each other in fear of the oppression they think the Islamist militant group will bring on its return to power.
"It's over!" several wailed, in a sign of the panic triggered after the
Thailand GDP expands 7.5% on year in Q2, but outlook is grim
BANGKOK -- Thailand's gross domestic product grew 7.5% year on year during the three months to June, its first expansion in six quarters, Thailand's economic planning agency said on Monday, although the outlook remains grim due to the outbreak of the delta variant.
The economy shrank 2.6% in the first quarter compared with the previous year.
The growth largely reflects a rebound from last year's sharp decline. During the entire second quarter, Thailand battled a third wave of the pandemic
Malaysia cabinet quits as Muhyiddin reaches end of road
KUALA LUMPUR -- Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin is believed to have tendered his resignation on Monday after his largest coalition ally cornered him and the opposition rejected a last-ditch appeal to maintain stability.
While the country is expecting official statements from Muhyiddin or the palace, federal ministers have begun publicly acknowledging the prime minister's resignation after a special cabinet meeting. Science and Technology Minister Khairy Jamaluddin posted on Instagram that the cabinet had folded.
"The Cabinet has tendered our resignation to the Agong," Khairy wrote, referring
Get Janet Yellen to Beijing and let the healing begin
William Pesek is an award-winning Tokyo-based journalist and author of "Japanization: What the World Can Learn from Japan's Lost Decades."
Janet Yellen must be dreading her maiden trip to Beijing as U.S. Treasury secretary.
The two previous senior face-to-face talks between President Joe Biden's team and their Chinese counterparts went about as well as a car crash. A March meetup in Alaska, for example, descended into recriminations and bickering over trade, global alliances and human rights
