Asian Economy

As jet fuel bills surge, budget airlines are being pushed to their limit in southeast Asia. Yet in a region dotted by weakly linked islands, air carriers are a lifeline. Governments should step in with bailouts, as these are essential services.

The Hormuz crisis shows how quickly chokepoints can be weaponized. With the Strait of Malacca exposed to tensions between the US and China, Asia must put up a unified front to keep this trade passage free of threats.

Asian megacities from Mumbai to Manila have been burdened by rising oil prices and exploding populations. But China has already faced this crisis and found a way out. Its playbook shows how electrifying everyday transport can cut costs, clean up cities and make them more liveable.

The long shift towards smaller families across Asia did not happen overnight and it can’t be reversed quickly. Singapore’s struggle to lift its birth rate shows why state incentives and public nudges can only go so far once a society changes its view of family.

Japan has handed Sanae Takaichi an extraordinary personal mandate, one even Shinzo Abe never achieved. With unrivalled power within reach, expectations are soaring. But her real test starts now—as she goes about fixing Japan’s economy.

Capital controls were once taboo for countries courting global investors. Indonesia is now testing that assumption by tightening its rules on the use of export earnings—and betting that foreign investment won’t be deterred. Others in Asia may be watching closely.

As China’s fertility rate falls to roughly half the replacement level of 2.1, Beijing is scrambling to boost births through policy incentives. But the decline now resembles a boulder rolling downhill—hard to stop and harder to reverse. With deep socioeconomic factors at play, success looks steep.

Asia’s Gen-Z is caught in a storm not of its making. As China floods the region with cheap exports, factory jobs are disappearing, wages are stagnating and frustration is spilling into the streets. The fallout is increasingly political.

In a world saturated with dramatic disaster news, social media gets suffused with earnest messages of concern. Yet, they’re often misplaced, misdirected at those who aren’t in any danger, or worse, a distraction for anyone in the thick of a crisis.

Unexpected rate moves across Southeast Asia show how easily economists can be misled by central bank cues. Politics, currency pressures and shifting global trends are reshaping decisions—a reminder to treat guidance from the top with the scepticism it often deserves.