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1. How Saudi diplomacy is thwarting Trump’s desire for war with Iran

   The new year is not off to a good start. In January, US president Donald Trump ordered the abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and now there is a massive US military build-up in the Middle East, apparently aimed at Iran. One aircraft carrier strike group has arrived in the region, with another one on the way. However, there does appear to be a silver lining to the stand-off. Unlike...

2. Hong Kong seeks to hone edge as offshore yuan hub, digital-asset front runner

   Hong Kong is aiming to sharpen its competitive edge as an offshore yuan hub, an asset and wealth management base, and a digital-asset front runner under Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po’s budget released on Wednesday. Market participants largely welcomed Hong Kong’s renewed push to strengthen its position as an international financial centre, after Chan highlighted the city’s unique role in...

3. ByteDance valuation said to hit record US$550 billion in proposed equity sale

   US private equity firm General Atlantic is selling an equity stake in TikTok owner ByteDance in a deal that raises its valuation of the private Chinese company to US$550 billion, Reuters reported on Wednesday, citing two unnamed sources. The deal, still pending, confirms a previous report by the South China Morning Post in December that ByteDance’s valuation had surged to US$500 billion on the...

4. Trump’s USMCA exit threat seen pushing Canada into China’s arms ‘as a hedge’

   A reported threat by US President Donald Trump to withdraw from the North American trade pact could push Canada closer to China, analysts say, even as his new global 15 per cent tariff has little immediate impact due to existing trade agreements. Washington, Ottawa and Mexico City are set to renegotiate terms of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) before a possible extension on July 1....

5. Paul Chan’s new budget sets aside HK$30 billion to kick-start Northern Metropolis

   Hong Kong’s finance chief has set aside HK$30 billion (US$3.8 billion) to kick-start the Northern Metropolis in his latest budget, aiming to accelerate the megaproject through the government’s partnership with developers and tech enterprises. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po announced on Wednesday that three companies overseeing the Hetao Hong Kong Park, the San Tin Technopole and the Hung...

6. China’s MiniMax, Moonshot top AI token use ranking, ending year of US dominance

   Chinese open-source artificial intelligence models, led by those from MiniMax AI and Moonshot AI, have topped global token usage, ending a year of market dominance for US developers, according to data from OpenRouter. Online AI hosting platform OpenRouter’s latest ranking reflected the increased international demand for Chinese open-source models on its site following a series of new...

7. Can China and Philippines replace ‘disputes with cooperation’ after years of tension?

   China and the Philippines may soon start joint coastguard patrols in the South China Sea after years of tensions over the disputed waters, according to a Philippine senator. Erwin Tulfo, chairman of the Senate’s foreign relations committee, met Chinese ambassador Jing Quan on Monday, and said afterwards that the two countries’ coastguards were expected to sign a memorandum of agreement by the...

8. Pressure mounts on Malaysia’s Anwar as allies seek new inquiry into MACC allegations

   Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is facing mounting pressure from within his own ruling coalition after a key partner called for an independent inquiry into allegations that a “corporate mafia” is operating within the country’s anti-corruption agency, placing his reform agenda under renewed scrutiny. The Democratic Action Party (DAP) – the largest party in Anwar’s uneasy alliance – said it...

9. Hong Kong’s home prices reach 19-month high as rise gathers pace

   Hong Kong’s lived-in home prices opened the year with a 0.53 per cent month-on-month gain in January, according to official data, sustaining a recovery that began in the second quarter of 2025. Rents in the city, meanwhile, continued to rise, surging by 0.3 per cent from a month earlier to set another peak, according to data released on Wednesday by the Rating and Valuation Department. With the...

10. In meeting with Merz, Xi urges efforts to advance China-Germany ties to ‘new levels’

    Chinese President Xi Jinping called for strengthening communication and trust amid global uncertainties in a meeting with visiting German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Wednesday. During the meeting in Beijing, Xi said the international landscape this year was marked by turbulence, saying the world was experiencing “changes unseen in a century”. “The more turbulent and complex the world becomes,...