TOKYO -- Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group on Tuesday announced it will acquire one of India's largest nonbank lenders for around $2 billion.

The deal will give Sumitomo Mitsui a 74.9% stake in Fullerton India Credit Co. and is part of the Japanese bank's effort to expand across Asia. The company has already invested in several financial institutions in Vietnam and the Philippines this year.

Sumitomo Mitsui will acquire the stake from Singaporean investment company Temasek, pending regulatory approval, and said it aims to eventually

HONG KONG -- Troubled Chinese retailer Suning.com has secured a $1.4 billion bailout, backed by local government funds, suppliers and Alibaba Group Holding, as Beijing seeks to calm jittery debt markets that could undermine economic momentum.

Suning.com, a leading seller of home appliances and consumer electronics, said in a filing Tuesday that billionaire founder Zhang Jindong, his trust and two of his Suning holding companies had agreed to yield their controlling interest in the retailer, with a 16.96% stake

Criselda Yabes is a journalist based in the Philippines. She is author of "The Battle of Marawi," her 10th book, which was published last year.

Yellow was the color of the 1986 People Power Revolution that brought the Philippines to the world democracy stage. The same color, sullied and denigrated by President Rodrigo Duterte as part of his attempts to usher in his own brand of authoritarianism, is now almost a badge of dishonor.

But just when we thought that revisionism had wiped our nation

KUALA LUMPUR -- In normal times, passersby would assume Karupiah Rangan had hung his white dhoti up to dry. But when the factory worker raised the traditional Indian sarong outside his wooden house this week, it was a plea for help.

Karupiah, 54, joined thousands of Malaysians seeking aid by displaying the international symbol of surrender. These people are telling the world they have lost the battle for financial survival through the various COVID-19 restrictions imposed since March 2020.

A year and a half

HO CHI MINH CITY -- Vietnam's Tiki will add AIA insurance to its e-commerce site's offerings, marking a further push into financial services aimed at grabbing market share from bigger rivals Shopee and Lazada.

Vietnamese customers will be able to buy health and life insurance first, part of a long-term strategy to meet more of online shoppers' "financial needs," a Tiki representative told Nikkei Asia on Tuesday. The startup said it will personalize services for individual customers, such as recommending particular insurance

BANGKOK -- Two recent stories about the former and current Philippine presidents struck very different chords.

On June 24, former President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino passed away at the young age of 61 from kidney disease.

Four days later, President Rodrigo Duterte -- a man 15 years older than his predecessor -- said running for vice president in May was "not at all a bad idea."

Philippine presidents are limited to a six-year term and are barred from reelection. Duterte defeated Aquino'

TAIPEI -- China's biggest smartphone assembler, Wingtech Technology, is buying the largest chip facility in the U.K. in a move to secure additional capacity amid a global semiconductor supply crunch.

The purchase of the Wales-based Newport Wafer Fab could invite scrutiny from the U.K. government, however, as countries around the world prioritize domestic chip manufacturing as a matter of national security.

Wingtech said it has agreed to buy the loss-making Welsh facility from its owner, Neptune 6, which builds

TOKYO -- Increasing numbers of young people are switching jobs in midcareer in Japan, reflecting how the pursuit of jobs in growth sectors is growing more active amid tough employment environments caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

While new recruits may be unable to accumulate enough experience if they choose to leave quickly, the employer suffers greatly from the loss of workers after putting them through training programs. Nevertheless, the shift of human capital to growth sectors is indispensable for enhancing the productivity of society as a whole.

Young job hoppers

TOKYO -- Japan needs to ensure mutual recognition of its planned COVID-19 vaccine certificate, which would allow foreigners who have received their shots abroad to enter the country without restrictions, an executive from the country's largest foreign business lobby has told Nikkei Asia.

Christopher LaFleur, special adviser and former chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan, has asked the Japanese government to ensure that free entry is guaranteed for vaccinated foreign travelers from countries that lift entry restrictions for such travelers from Japan, as "the