Richard McGregor is a senior fellow at the Lowy Institute in Sydney.

Beijing's label for its economic system -- "socialism with Chinese characteristics" -- has long prompted sniggers outside the country as a rhetorical fig leaf that allows the Communist Party to preside over unbridled capitalism.

Xi Jinping's sweeping crackdown on China's tech giants, combined with a devil-may-care attitude to the fallout in local and global capital markets, is making many think again.

Private companies that grew into household names in

SEOUL -- Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, who has served 60% of his 30-month jail term for corruption, will be granted parole on Friday, South Korea's justice ministry announced on Monday.

The ministry said that Lee was included in the list of prisoners to be released on the occasion of Liberation Day which falls on Sunday. The nine-member Parole Review Committee, chaired by Vice Justice Minister Kang Sung-kook, hosted a meeting in the afternoon to discuss the matter

TOKYO -- Japan's restaurant industry experienced a series of transformative events in 1971.

The biggest by far was the opening of the first McDonald's restaurant in Japan at the Mitsukoshi department store in Tokyo's Ginza district on July 20. The restaurant was built in 39 hours of frenzied work that began with the removal of display windows immediately after the store's closing at 6 p.m. on Sunday, July 18, and continued through Monday, Mitsukoshi's regular

NEW DELHI -- India's new cashless and contactless instrument for digital payments, the e-RUPI, which aims to provide leakproof welfare services, is expected to make doing business in the country more efficient and is likely to bolster Prime Minister Narendra Modi's political support, according to analysts.

The e-RUPI is a person- and purpose-specific payment system that uses a QR code or SMS-based electronic voucher that is delivered to the mobile phone of a beneficiary. Under this one-time payment

SEOUL -- South Korean video game developer Krafton, the company behind the global hit "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds," or PUBG, stands on the cusp of a new stage ahead of its stock market debut on Tuesday.

Here is a look at the complex mix of personalities, talent and corporate connections that have propelled Krafton to this moment.

Chang Byung-gyu

A key secret of Krafton's success, boasts founder and Chairman Chang Byung-gyu, is being fearless in the face of the unfamiliar, a trait

TOKYO -- After two weeks, the sporting events of the Tokyo Olympics are over . The U.S. pipped China by 39 to 38 to win the most golds, while Japan came in third with a record 27. The closing ceremony on Sunday evening brought the Games to a conclusion, with the Olympic flag handed over to Paris.

Here is the final medal count .

Here are the latest developments:

Monday, Aug. 9 (Tokyo time)

1:32 p.m. Tokyo

JAKARTA -- With undeniably dreamy backdrops and colorful local culture, the Indonesian island of Bali has lured foreign filmmakers for nearly as long as there has been film.

From "Legong, Dance of the Virgins," a cultural exploitation film shot in 1935, and the 1992 cult documentary "Baraka" to the 1994 surf biopic "The Endless Summer II" and the 2010 screen adaptation of the bestselling memoir "Eat, Pray, Love" starring Julia Roberts,

National Australia Bank said on Monday it will buy Citigroup's local consumer unit in a deal valued at about A$1.2 billion ($882.24 million), creating the second-largest credit card provider in Australia.

The deal, which includes a A$250 million premium, will elevate NAB's personal banking business as the lender vies for a bigger share among Australia's "Big Four" banks that control more than 80% of the market.

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KUALA LUMPUR -- Malaysia's rocky politics have descended into a full-blown crisis, with Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin attempting to fend off not only the opposition but his own erstwhile allies.

The United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) -- the strongest ally of the ruling National Alliance -- formally withdrew its support earlier this month and demanded Muhyiddin's immediate resignation.

But Muhyiddin, 74 and a cancer survivor, maintains that he has sufficient backing to remain in control, thanks to a division within UMNO.