Human Times

APAC Edition

1st July 2025

THE HOT STORY

Strike shuts Bangladesh's biggest port

Operations at Chittagong Port, Bangladesh's largest port, were suspended on Sunday due to a strike by customs officials. Mohammed Omar Faruq, secretary of the Chittagong Port Authority, said: "The port typically handles around 7,000 to 8,000 containers daily . . . But since this morning, there has been no movement in offloading or onboarding of goods." The halt is part of a dispute over plans to restructure the National Board of Revenue (NBR). Mahmud Hasan Khan, president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, estimated the cost to the industry at $222m, warning that "the cost of recovery will be staggering." Bangladesh's interim leader Muhammad Yunus urged NBR staff to return to work, as he emphasised the need to protect the economy.

Dawn

France 24

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LEGAL

Bupa fined $23m in Australia after ‘unconscionable conduct’

UK health insurer Bupa has agreed to pay a A$35m (US$23m) fine in Australia after it admitted to “unconscionable conduct” by denying legitimate claims made by patients over a five-year period. The company has apologised for misleading thousands of customers who were incorrectly told they could not claim some hospital treatments, forcing many to pay thousands of dollars or cancel medical procedures altogether. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, the country’s consumer watchdog, began legal proceeding against Bupa for allegedly misleading customers over five years after they were given incorrect information about claiming benefits in cases where two or more procedures were taking place at the same time. Nick Stone, head of Bupa Asia Pacific, said the health insurance giant had admitted to the “unconscionable conduct.”

Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Financial Times

Australian Financial Review

TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT

Thailand's future workforce needs revealed

According to a survey by the National Higher Education Science Research and Innovation Policy Council (NXPO) and IRIS Consulting, Thailand will require 1.08m high-skilled professionals across 10 targeted industries from 2025 to 2029. The sectors with the highest demand include aviation and logistics, smart electronics, and the digital industry. Experts emphasised the need for educational institutions to innovate and align curricula with industry requirements to address skill mismatches. Dr Surachai Sathitkunarat, NXPO President, said: “The private sector identifies workforce needs, educational institutions provide the knowledge to meet those needs, and the government supports and coordinates the process.”

The Nation

TECHNOLOGY

Studies suggest that ChatGPT harms critical thinking, diversity of thought

A series of experiments involving more than 4,500 participants at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School found that those who used ChatGPT and other large language models (LLMs) to research everyday topics demonstrated weaker understanding of those topics afterward and produced less original insights than people who looked up the same topics using Google. Overall, across five experiments, ChatGPT-assisted brainstorming sessions consistently produced narrower sets of ideas, according to the researchers. The findings highlight how overly relying on gen AI “can limit the breadth of perspectives, even when individual ideas seem original,” a media release stated.

Time

HR Dive

Wall Street Journal

Gartner predicts many agentic AI projects will be scrapped within two years

According to a report by Gartner, over 40% of agentic artificial intelligence projects are expected to be abandoned by 2027 due to rising costs and unclear business value. Anushree Verma, a senior director analyst at Gartner, noted that "most agentic AI projects right now are early stage experiments or proofs of concept that are mostly driven by hype," suggesting that many current models lack the maturity to autonomously achieve complex business goals. Despite these challenges, Gartner predicts that by 2028, at least 15% of daily work decisions will be made autonomously through agentic AI, a significant increase from 0% in 2024.

Reuters

STRATEGY

Microsoft plans further job cuts at Xbox gaming division

Microsoft is set to implement another significant round of layoffs in its Xbox division next week as part of a broader reorganisation. According to sources familiar with the situation, substantial cuts are anticipated across the group, marking the fourth major layoff in 18 months. This follows three significant reductions last year and the closure of several subsidiaries. Xbox has faced pressure to enhance profit margins since acquiring Activision Blizzard for $69bn in 2023.

Los Angeles Times

HIRING

DBS targets 40 new bankers

DBS Group, Singapore's largest lender, is focusing on hiring around 40 private bankers this year to serve affluent clients in North Asia. Carol Wu, head of private banking for North Asia, said: “The big trend is that a lot of mainland Chinese and Taiwanese are looking for offshore wealth management opportunities.” The bank has already recruited half of the targeted hires.

Business Times SG

MANAGEMENT

Vijay Chauhan to become general manager of Adidas India

Adidas has appointed Vijay Chauhan as general manager of its operations in India, effective August 1st. He succeeds Neelendra Singh, who will be stepping down after more than two decades with the Adidas brand, a tenure that saw him play a pivotal role in transforming the cricket jersey culture in India, driving brand affinity and commercial success.

Economic Times

INTERNATIONAL

Dubai's four-day workweek success

Dubai's 2024 pilot of a four-day workweek for civil servants has led to significant improvements in happiness, productivity, and workplace morale, prompting calls for similar practices in the private sector. The Dubai government will implement the "Our Flexible Summer" initiative across all 21 government entities from July 1 to September 12, 2025, offering two flexible working options. Abdullah Ali bin Zayed Al Falasi, director-general of the Dubai Government Human Resources Department, stated, “This isn't just a shift in working hours — it's a reflection of the government's evolving mindset.” The initiative aims to enhance work-life balance and support families during summer holidays, aligning with Dubai's public sector transformation strategy and the UAE's “Year of Community” campaign. While currently limited to government agencies, the initiative reflects a broader push for flexible work models in the private sector, as evidenced by a federal government white paper highlighting the benefits of such arrangements.

The Nation

Debt relief coalition launched in London

The UK government has established the London Coalition on Sustainable Sovereign Debt to assist developing nations in managing their sovereign debt and attracting private investment. Following a wave of defaults exacerbated by the pandemic and rising global interest rates, many countries still face significant debt repayment challenges. The coalition, co-chaired by Emma Reynolds, economic secretary to the Treasury, and Jose Vinals, former chair of Standard Chartered, aims to enhance the clarity of debt contracts, improve loan terms related to natural disasters, and promote fair debt restructuring. The initiative coincides with the upcoming United Nations Financing for Development conference in Seville, and highlights the urgent need for reform in the face of reduced aid from wealthier nations.

Reuters

Ford calls most workers into the office four days a week

Ford Motor Company is calling the majority of its salaried workforce back to the office four days a week. “Many of our employees have been in the office three or more days per week for some time now. We believe working together in person on a day-to-day basis will help accelerate Ford's transformation into a higher growth, higher margin, less cyclical and more dynamic company," a Ford spokesperson said, adding that the updated policy takes effect September 1.

U.S. News

OTHER

E-commerce festivals lose their buzz

The recent 618 e-commerce festival in China, which lasted 39 days, reported nearly 2trn yuan ($278.66bn) in online retail sales, marking a 9.8% increase from the previous year, according to Fudan University's Consumer Big Data Laboratory. However, the excitement surrounding these festivals has diminished, with many consumers expressing indifference. The decline in festival enthusiasm suggests a transition towards a more mature consumption pattern, where daily shopping experiences replace the once-thrilling mega-sales events. Zhou Shuchun, chief researcher at the China Watch Institute, notes that e-commerce festivals have fulfilled their role in popularising online shopping, signalling the end of an era.

China Daily

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