The South China Morning Post has signed an agreement with a leading university in Kazakhstan to foster the exchange of knowledge between East and Central Asia while extending Hong Kong’s media presence in the region. The memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed on Monday in Astana, just ahead of the SCMP’s China Conference: Central Asia 2026, a flagship event making its debut in the region. According to the agreement, the strategic partnership formalises links between the SCMP and Nazarbayev...

Hong Kong is poised to play a bigger role in financing Chinese green-technology companies’ expansion into emerging markets, as geopolitical fragmentation and high funding costs reshape how capital is deployed in the global energy transition, according to senior banking executives. The city’s deep sustainable-finance market and offshore yuan liquidity could help channel capital into green and climate-resilience projects across developing economies, executives from Bank of China (Hong Kong), DBS,...

Nepal is seeking financial aid following the catastrophic flood that killed hundreds of people and caused billions of dollars in economic losses, tapping a global financial mechanism established to address the impacts of climate change in developing countries. Kathmandu has formally requested the UN-backed Fund for responding to Loss and Damage to “respond rapidly, directly and effectively” amid the country’s worst natural disaster in decades. In a letter signed by Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle...

Philippine prosecutors filed a criminal charge on Monday against a lawmaker and cousin of President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr over his alleged involvement in a massive corruption scandal involving bogus flood-control projects. The case came more than a year after Marcos put the so-called “ghost” infrastructure projects, believed to have cost Filipino taxpayers billions of dollars, centre stage in a public address. Several construction firm owners, government officials and politicians have been...

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s promise to unveil more projects in eight months’ time at the launch of the country’s second modern destroyer hints at another major strategic military asset, according to experts. “The nuclearisation of our navy is being realised, making it increasingly suited, diversified and practical for the use of our deterrent,” Kim said while commissioning the Kang Kon in the southeastern port of Wonsan on Sunday. Kim was accompanied by his daughter and potential...

China’s artificial intelligence developers are competing for paying users on a new consumer front: Alibaba Group Holding’s Tmall, where AI subscription plans are now being sold alongside smartphones, skincare and luxury fashion brands. Moonshot AI, developer of the Kimi K3 model, and MiniMax were in talks to open official flagship stores on the e-commerce platform, people familiar with the matter told the South China Morning Post on Monday. The move comes as AI developers look for new channels...

Malaysia called off a haze emergency in Sarawak state on Borneo island on Monday but said very unhealthy levels of air pollution remained as a result of forest fires in neighbouring Indonesia. Sarawak has been heavily affected by fires in Indonesia’s Kalimantan, with the haze forcing school closures in some parts of the state. Kuala Lumpur on Friday activated the emergency after obtaining royal consent when pollution levels reached critical levels in Serian, about 65 kilometres (40 miles) south...