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Swedish chip expert Henry Homayoun Radamson dies in China of ‘sudden illness’, aged 63
SCMP

Swedish chip expert Henry Homayoun Radamson dies in China of ‘sudden illness’, aged 63

Award-winning Swedish chip expert Henry Homayoun Radamson has died in Shanghai at the age of 63. Radamson, who moved to China in 2016, was working as the chief scientist at the Guangdong Greater Bay Area Institute of Integrated Circuit and System. The institute said on Tuesday that he died from a “sudden illness” on August 12. In 2023, Radamson was awarded the Chinese Government Friendship Award, ...

Swedish chip and nanotech expert Henry Homayoun Radamson dies in China, aged 63
SCMP

Swedish chip and nanotech expert Henry Homayoun Radamson dies in China, aged 63

Award-winning Swedish chip expert Henry Homayoun Radamson has died in Shanghai at the age of 63. Radamson, who moved to China in 2016, was working as the chief scientist at the Guangdong Greater Bay Area Institute of Integrated Circuit and System. The institute said on Tuesday that he died from a “sudden illness” on August 12. Radamson was best known for his research into nanotechnology and its us...

Manus resumes solo operations after collapse of US$2 billion Meta deal
SCMP

Manus resumes solo operations after collapse of US$2 billion Meta deal

The Chinese-founded artificial intelligence start-up Manus announced on Tuesday that it had formally resumed independent operations, more than four months after Beijing blocked its US$2 billion acquisition by Meta Platforms. The company’s founding team would continue to lead Manus as an “independent agent lab”, the firm said in a blog post on its website, as it sought to move on from a months-long...

China highlights advanced wartime tech in defence mobilisation law update
SCMP

China highlights advanced wartime tech in defence mobilisation law update

China has made the first amendment in 16 years to its national defence mobilisation law to include a fresh focus on new technologies – a move experts said would cover AI and drones. Analysts said the inclusion would make it possible to rapidly convert emerging infrastructure, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and unmanned systems, into defence capabilities. The revised law, passed by the top le...

Chinese mahjong club owner pays US$2,800 over failed first aid, then gets refunded

Chinese mahjong club owner pays US$2,800 over failed first aid, then gets refunded

SCMP

A mahjong parlour owner in central China paid compensation of 19,000 yuan (US$2,800) following a failed first aid attempt on an elderly customer but received a refund after government intervention. On August 17, a man in his 60s, surnamed Luo, visited the mahjong parlour in Hunan province and passed out while resting in a chair. The shop’s owner, Xiao Aihua, sensed something was wrong with Luo and...

Hong Kong tycoon empires and foundations pledge 30m yuan for China-Nepal flood relief

Hong Kong tycoon empires and foundations pledge 30m yuan for China-Nepal flood relief

SCMP

Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing and his business empire, along with Henderson Land Development and the Lee Shau Kee Foundation, have pledged 15 million yuan (US$2.2 million) each to support relief efforts for victims of the deadly flash flooding along the Nepal-Tibet border. Nina Wang Charity Management also pledged HK$10 million (US$1.27 million) to support relief efforts. CK Asset Holdings, CK Hutc...

Hong Kong tycoon empires and foundations pledge 30m yuan for flood relief

Hong Kong tycoon empires and foundations pledge 30m yuan for flood relief

SCMP

Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing and his business empire, along with Henderson Land Development and the Lee Shau Kee Foundation, have pledged 15 million yuan (US$2.2 million) each to support relief efforts for victims of the deadly flash flooding along the Nepal-Tibet border. Nina Wang Charitable Management also pledged HK$10 million (US$1.27 million) to support relief efforts. CK Asset Holdings, CK H...

CK Hutchison, Henderson Land donate 15 million yuan each for Nepal-Tibet flood relief

CK Hutchison, Henderson Land donate 15 million yuan each for Nepal-Tibet flood relief

SCMP

Tycoon Li Ka-shing and his family-backed conglomerate, along with Henderson Land Development and the Lee Shau Kee Foundation, have pledged 15 million yuan (US$2.2 million) each to support relief efforts for victims of the deadly flash floods along the Nepal-Tibet border. Li family-owned CK Asset Holdings, CK Hutchison Holdings and the Li Ka Shing Foundation, as well as Henderson Land and the Lee S...

UK-Philippines troop deal to boost Nato’s South China Sea reach

UK-Philippines troop deal to boost Nato’s South China Sea reach

SCMP

A proposed troop access pact between the Philippines and Britain is the latest sign of Manila’s aim to draw in more European and other powers sharing similar concerns about security in the South China Sea and the continuous flow of goods along the vital waterways. The visiting forces agreement would allow troops from both countries to train and operate temporarily on each other’s soil, a move anal...

Subdivided-flat registration rate at 42.5% as ‘early bird’ phase deadline passes

Subdivided-flat registration rate at 42.5% as ‘early bird’ phase deadline passes

SCMP

Property-ownership complications and low public awareness have slowed landlords’ registration of Hong Kong subdivided flats under new housing regulations, industry observers have said, after the government received only 42.5 per cent of the applications expected in the first phase. Monday marked the deadline for the initial six-month “early bird” registration phase under the Basic Housing Unit Ord...

As Chinese chipmakers snap up local gear, self-sufficiency drive faces commercial test

As Chinese chipmakers snap up local gear, self-sufficiency drive faces commercial test

SCMP

Chinese chipmakers are setting increasingly aggressive targets to source production equipment locally, adding pressure on domestic toolmakers to come up with machines that are reliable in the exacting environment of high-volume wafer production. Several new wafer fabrication plants, or fabs, in the country were setting explicit localisation targets, according to Jie Chen, chairman of Britech Semic...

Hong Kong school starts academic year without replacing head fired for swearing

Hong Kong school starts academic year without replacing head fired for swearing

SCMP

A Hong Kong secondary school has begun the new academic year without a principal while authorities vet a replacement for the former head, who was fired for swearing at security guards during a Singapore study trip. Former lawmaker Edmund Wong Chun-sek, who is also a manager of San Wui Commercial Society Secondary School, said on Tuesday that the Education Bureau was currently conducting background...

Global investors descend on China’s Shenzhen to ride wave of AI and robotics opportunities

Global investors descend on China’s Shenzhen to ride wave of AI and robotics opportunities

SCMP

Shenzhen, the southern Chinese city home to US-sanctioned telecoms giant Huawei Technologies and drone maker DJI, has seen an influx of investors and business leaders amid rising global interest in Chinese artificial intelligence and robotics. On Tuesday, the tech hub hosted investor conferences led by three international financial institutions – HSBC, UBS and Nomura – with AI, robotics and other ...

Why US sanctions threats against China aren’t credible

Why US sanctions threats against China aren’t credible

SCMP

The US threat of sanctions on China because of Beijing’s relationship with Iran isn’t credible. The artificial intelligence bubble and its own precarious bond market make the US more vulnerable to a shock than China. Even if the US risks massive self-harm and kicks major Chinese institutions off SWIFT, the global messaging system enabling dollar-based cross-border payments, it will merely accelera...

Thailand jails activist over royal motorcade live streaming

Thailand jails activist over royal motorcade live streaming

SCMP

A Thai court has sentenced a 25-year-old activist to two years in prison for violating the country’s strict royal insult law, a rights group said, with her lawyer on Tuesday vowing to appeal. A criminal court convicted Tantawan Tuatulanon on Monday over a live streaming she aired near a royal motorcade in March 2022, legal advocacy group Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) said in a statement. Th...

Trump’s US visa pause; elephant’s 100km trek home; rise of SEA-pop: 7 Asia highlights

Trump’s US visa pause; elephant’s 100km trek home; rise of SEA-pop: 7 Asia highlights

SCMP

We have selected seven stories from the SCMP’s coverage of Asia over the past week that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Why US visa pause could have ‘real consequences’ for Asian applicants Asian workers and families already facing years-long waits for US visas could be pushed deeper into u...

Malaysian police smash cross-border drug ring, seize US$1 million of meth disguised as tea

Malaysian police smash cross-border drug ring, seize US$1 million of meth disguised as tea

SCMP

Malaysian police have crippled a cross-border drug syndicate with the seizure of 86.2kg of methamphetamine worth 4.31 million ringgit (US$1 million) in Penang and Selangor. The bust resulted from intelligence sharing between Malaysian and Thai police after Thai authorities seized 166kg (370lbs) of suspected methamphetamine from a Malaysian man in Hua Hin on August 8. Penang police chief Dennis Lim...

Xi Jinping calls on SCO members to team up for bigger global tech-security role

Xi Jinping calls on SCO members to team up for bigger global tech-security role

SCMP

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation should take on a bigger global role in technology and security, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Tuesday, describing the Eurasian bloc as having vast potential. At the SCO’s summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Xi said the group had shown “strong vitality” since its founding 25 years ago amid the “sobering lessons of the Cold War”. In a veiled reference to Washi...

Xi calls on SCO members to team up for bigger global tech-security role

Xi calls on SCO members to team up for bigger global tech-security role

SCMP

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation should take on a bigger global role in technology and security, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Tuesday, describing the Eurasian bloc as having vast potential. At the SCO’s summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Xi said the group had shown “strong vitality” since emerging a quarter of a century ago amid the “sobering lessons of the Cold War”. In a veiled referenc...

Xi raises ‘universal security’ mission for SCO as Putin, Modi meet in Kyrgyzstan

Xi raises ‘universal security’ mission for SCO as Putin, Modi meet in Kyrgyzstan

SCMP

Chinese President Xi Jinping has called on world leaders to create an environment of “universal security”, and firmly prevent external forces from interfering in the internal affairs of other countries. At the 10-member Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on Tuesday, Xi said the grouping should safeguard regional stability. He called the Eurasian security bloc a ...

Foreign investors expected to eye more China A shares – but pace set to ease: analyst

Foreign investors expected to eye more China A shares – but pace set to ease: analyst

SCMP

Foreign investors are expected to keep adding to their China A-share holdings, though the pace of buying is likely to slow from the surge in the first half of the year, according to a UBS analyst. “We still expect net inflows in the second half, but the pace will be somewhat slower than in the first half,” said Meng Lei, China equity strategist at UBS Securities, at UBS’s annual China A-share stra...

‘Aloof’ but engaged: what India’s SCO comeback reveals

‘Aloof’ but engaged: what India’s SCO comeback reveals

SCMP

Two years ago, Narendra Modi skipped the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s (SCO) summit in Astana entirely, sending his foreign minister instead. That absence was redressed first at last year’s summit in Tianjin and again this week in Kyrgyzstan, where India’s prime minister stood shoulder to shoulder with China’s Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin and the leaders of other SCO member s...

‘Unprecedented’ path: eastern and southern China braces for revived Typhoon Saudel

‘Unprecedented’ path: eastern and southern China braces for revived Typhoon Saudel

SCMP

Parts of eastern and southern China are bracing for heavy to torrential rain over the next three days, with authorities warning of floods, landslides and mudslides, as Typhoon Saudel re-forms over the South China Sea. Several airports could be affected, including Guangzhou Baiyun, Shenzhen Baoan, Zhuhai Jinwan, Xiamen Gaoqi, Fuzhou Changle, Wenzhou Longwan, Ningbo Lishe and Hong Kong International...

‘Unprecedented’ path: revived Typhoon Saudel eyes eastern and southern China

‘Unprecedented’ path: revived Typhoon Saudel eyes eastern and southern China

SCMP

Parts of eastern and southern China are bracing for heavy to torrential rain over the next three days, with authorities warning of floods, landslides and mudslides, as Typhoon Saudel re-forms over the South China Sea. Several airports could be affected, including Guangzhou Baiyun, Shenzhen Bao’an, Zhuhai Jinwan, Xiamen Gaoqi, Fuzhou Changle, Wenzhou Longwan, Ningbo Lishe and Hong Kong Internationa...

Japan relaxes overtime rules under workaholic Takaichi: ‘unacceptable shift’

Japan relaxes overtime rules under workaholic Takaichi: ‘unacceptable shift’

SCMP

Japan eased overtime regulation starting on Tuesday in a move meant to help spur economic growth but criticised as a relapse into the country’s ingrained workaholic culture. The move comes after the government led by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi – a self-proclaimed workaholic – adopted a growth strategy in July, calling for revisions to the current oversight of work hours. The change in part refl...

Citigroup boosts headcount by 25% on north Asia desk, Invesco names new Asia-Pacific head

Citigroup boosts headcount by 25% on north Asia desk, Invesco names new Asia-Pacific head

SCMP

US financial institutions Citigroup and Invesco have separately announced that they would continue to expand their presence in Asia, even as the financial industry faces geopolitical uncertainties and Beijing tightens its control on overseas investment. Citi would boost the headcount of its north Asia and Japan corporate banking desk network by 25 per cent following double-digit growth in client a...

Citigroup boosts headcount by 25% on north Asia desk, Invesco has new Asia-Pacific head

Citigroup boosts headcount by 25% on north Asia desk, Invesco has new Asia-Pacific head

SCMP

US financial institutions Citigroup and Invesco have separately announced that they would continue to expand their presence in Asia, even as the financial industry faces geopolitical uncertainties and Beijing’s tightened control of overseas investment. Citi would boost the headcount of its north Asia and Japan corporate banking desk network by 25 per cent following double-digit growth in client ac...

Carney’s Liberals win 3 special elections in Canada amid trade clash with US

Carney’s Liberals win 3 special elections in Canada amid trade clash with US

SCMP

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s party swept to victory in special elections on Monday, boosting the leader’s parliamentary majority as a trade war with the United States escalates. Carney’s Liberal Party secured three seats, taking the district of Chicoutimi-Le Fjord in French-speaking Quebec from the opposition Conservatives, and two other districts in Ontario and British Columbia that were...

Former economic crime chief to head discipline team at Hong Kong, Macau office

Former economic crime chief to head discipline team at Hong Kong, Macau office

SCMP

A veteran mainland Chinese economic crime investigator and former police official has been appointed to lead the discipline inspection and supervision group at Beijing’s top office overseeing Hong Kong affairs. Hua Liebing, a former director of the Ministry of Public Security’s economic crime investigation bureau, fills the vacancy at the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office (HKMAO) left by Geng Cha...