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APAC Edition
18th July 2025
 
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THE HOT STORY

Wells Fargo suspends all travel to China

Wells Fargo has suspended all travel to China after a banker was blocked from leaving the country, Reuters reports. The move follows Chenyue Mao, a Shanghai-born and Atlanta-based managing director at the US banking giant, being subjected to an exit ban after she recently entered China. "We are closely tracking this situation and working through the appropriate channels so our employee can return to the United States as soon as possible," Wells Fargo said. A White House official said they could not comment on the reports of Mao being refused permission to leave China.
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LEGAL

Qantas takes legal action on stolen data access

Australian carrier Qantas Airways has secured an interim injunction from the New South Wales Supreme Court to prevent third parties from accessing or publishing stolen customer data following a cyber breach. The airline reported that while the personal information of approximately 5.7m customers was compromised, there is no evidence that any data has been released, and sensitive information such as credit card details and passport information was not stored in the affected system. Qantas is collaborating with various authorities, including the Australian Federal Police, to investigate the breach thoroughly. The airline has already informed the impacted customers about the specific data fields that were compromised.
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CYBERSECURITY

Taiwan chip industry targeted by Chinese-linked hacking groups

Chinese-linked hackers are increasingly targeting Taiwan's semiconductor industry and investment analysts as part of a series of cyber espionage campaigns, according to researchers from cybersecurity firm Proofpoint. Mark Kelly, a threat researcher, noted, "We’ve seen entities that we hadn’t ever seen being targeted in the past being targeted," highlighting the growing sophistication and frequency of these attacks amid rising tensions over semiconductor negotiations between Beijing and Washington.
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STRATEGY

Amazon Web Services announces job cuts

Amazon has confirmed it will lay off an undisclosed number of employees in its Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud computing division, a decision that spokesperson Brad Glasser said is "necessary as we continue to invest, hire, and optimise resources to deliver innovation for our customers." The company declined to say which units within Amazon Web Services were impacted, or how many employees will be let go as a result of the job cuts. AWS’ training and certification unit was one of the groups to see cuts, according to a memo sent out by division head Michelle Vaz. AWS sales rose 17% in the first quarter to $29.3bn compared to a year earlier and operating income rose 23% to $11.5bn.
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ECONOMY

China’s Belt and Road investment and construction activity hits record

Chinese companies’ new investment and construction contracts in countries that are part of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has hit a record high this year, a new study has found. The China Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) Investment Report 2025 released by Griffith University in collaboration with the Green Finance & Development Center in China reveals that Chinese entities signed $66.2bn in construction contracts and $57.1bn in investments across BRI partner countries, surpassing the total for all of 2024. The energy sector led the way, China’s metals and mining sector broke previous records, and private companies are playing an increasingly prominent role, the report found. “China’s record BRI engagement in 2025 reflects a renewed push into critical sectors such as energy, mining and high-tech manufacturing,” said Professor Christoph Nedopil, Director of the Griffith Asia Institute. “What we’re seeing is China leveraging its industrial strengths to secure future competitiveness and supply chain resilience in a shifting global economy.”
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RISK

Cambodia to introduce military conscription next year amid tensions with Thailand

Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Manet has announced that military conscription will commence in 2026 amid ongoing border tensions with Thailand. Following a deadly confrontation in May, relations between the two nations have soured. The nation's conscription law, passed in 2006 but never enacted, mandates military service for Cambodians aged 18 to 30, with voluntary service for women.
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CORPORATE

Eco-Shop plans store expansion across SE Asia

Eco-Shop chief executive Jessica Ng has told the Wall Street Journal that the the $1.7bn discount retailer is looking to build on its Malaysian IPO to expand beyond its home market. The company is working on a broad rollout across Southeast Asia, tapping into the region's young demographics, rising middle class and growing retail demand, while also opening 70 new outlets annually over the next five years in Malaysia. Ms Ng also said she is watching how US tariffs will affect the business. The impact wouldn’t be direct, she said, because the company’s customer base is domestic, and though about 65% of its inventory comes from China, what it imports isn’t subject to US duties. At the same time, she added, if trade restrictions push more Chinese exporters into Southeast Asia, Eco-Shop could get better pricing from suppliers.
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INTERNATIONAL

US regulator drops bribery case against former Cognizant executives

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has moved to drop a long-running bribery case against two former executives of Cognizant Technology Solutions. In a filing in the Newark, New Jersey federal court, the SEC said it dismissed claims against Gordon Coburn and Steven Schwartz "in the exercise of its discretion and as a policy matter," and not on the merits. Coburn and Schwartz were charged by US authorities in February 2019 with authorising a $2m bribe to an Indian official for helping to obtain a construction permit for a new Cognizant office in Chennai. Bloomberg describes the move as the latest sign of the Trump administration’s shift away from enforcing the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

Booking.com to cut hundreds of jobs in Amsterdam

Booking.com is set to lay off “more than 200 and fewer than 1,000” employees in Amsterdam as part of a reorganisation aimed at improving efficiency. A spokesperson confirmed that the company, which employs 13,000 people globally, is in the process of determining the exact number of layoffs. The dismissals are not due to financial struggles: the company reported a 37% increase in net profit to $5.9bn last year. According to Booking.com, the layoffs are part of an effort to operate more efficiently. “We don't want to have so many layers in the organisation anymore,” a company spokesperson told NU.nl. “Our people are managing the work of other managers. It has become too bureaucratic.”

Wizz Air exit from Abu Dhabi leaves staff in limbo

Bloomberg reports that around 450 employees of Hungarian low cost carrier Wizz Air have been left in limbo after the airline announced the suspension of flights from Abu Dhabi from September. Wizz Air chief executive Jozsef Varadi held a call with the employees and offered them the opportunity to take another job across the budget carrier's European network; however it is reported that many will find it difficult to migrate to Europe. A Wizz Air Abu Dhabi employee, who did not wish to be named, confirmed that airline management had held a conference call with staff, offering them different options.
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OTHER

Proteins in human body reveal warning signs for Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s

International research into the human body’s proteins has revealed new clues about ageing and how to track and treat destructive neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. The results, drawn from samples from 18,645 people, reveal biochemical fingerprints of neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, frontotemporal dementia and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS. 
 
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