THE HOT STORY

Young workers are most worried about AI affecting jobs

Four in five workers believe ‌artificial intelligence is going to affect ‌their daily tasks in the workplace, according to a survey ‍ of 27,000 workers and 1,225 employers that covered more than 3 million job postings across 35 markets conducted by Randstad. Gen Z were found to be among those most concerned as job vacancies requiring "AI agent" skills surged by 1,587%, the survey showed. The annual 'Workmonitor' report by the recruitment agency indicated that AI and automation are increasingly replacing low-complexity, transactional roles.

Bangkok Post

Business Times SG

Livemint.com

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LEGAL

Prudential Life faces fraud scandal fallout

Prudential Life Insurance has revealed that around 100 employees in Japan engaged in misconduct, including promoting fake investment products and defrauding customers. Between 1991 and 2025, approximately JPY3.1bn ($19.5m) was fraudulently obtained from about 500 individuals, with JPY2.3bn still outstanding. President Kan Mahara will resign on 1 February 2026. The company identified inadequate sales management, poor governance, and a problematic culture as root causes. Prudential Life is now compensating affected customers and implementing measures to prevent future misconduct. The Financial Services Agency is investigating further.

Asia Insurance Review

Korea moves to extend labour protections

The South Korean Ministry of Employment and Labor plans to introduce new rights for freelancers and platform workers by May 1. The proposed Basic Rights of Working People Act will presume worker status in civil disputes, shifting the burden of proof to employers. The change aims to protect up to 8.6m workers, allowing them to claim unpaid wages and severance. The act also strengthens labour inspectors' authority. However, critics argue it falls short, as it does not redefine "worker" in the Labor Standards Act, thus limiting its effectiveness. Yoon Ji-young from Workplace Gapjil 119 noted the need for stronger enforcement.

The Korea Times

ECONOMY

IMF warns of trade tension risk to global growth

Trade tensions and a reversal in the artificial intelligence boom are among the main risks to global economic growth, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned in its World Economic Outlook update, in which it nevertheless described the global economy as "steady," with growth expected to remain "resilient" this year. The IMF's forecast was produced ahead of US President Donald Trump's threat at the weekend to impose tariffs on eight European countries opposed to his proposed takeover of Greenland. The fund also said the independence of central banks was "paramount" for global economic stability and growth. The IMF said global growth was projected to reach 3.3% this year - an increase from its previous forecast of 3.1% - before slowing slightly to 3.2% in 2027.

Financial Times

Reuters

BBC News

TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT

China launches long-term plan to boost national language literacy

China has issued a national plan to systematically promote linguistic and cultural heritage, aiming to establish a structured framework for inheritance and development by 2030 and significantly raise public language literacy by 2035. The guideline, led by the Ministry of Education and six other departments, prioritises wider use of standard spoken and written Chinese while protecting ethnic minority languages. Measures include integrating language and culture across the education system, boosting research into ancient scripts such as oracle bone inscriptions, expanding digitisation of language resources, developing specialised corpora and supporting talent development in key disciplines.

China Daily

CORPORATE

Major Priceline franchisee faces collapse with A$400m debt

Infinity Pharmacy Group, the largest franchisee of Priceline in Australia, is on the brink of collapse after a failed rescue deal with parent company Wesfarmers. The group, which operated over 50 stores, owes more than A$400m ($269.1m) to creditors, including A$110m to Wesfarmers and over A$145m to major banks. Wesfarmers withdrew its support in December 2025, leading to the appointment of KPMG as receivers. Thirty-six stores were placed into voluntary administration, but all staff have so far been retained. The collapse has been attributed to overexpansion through high-interest debt and unmet financial obligations.

News.com.au

INVESTMENT

Beijing pours cash into Belt and Road financing in global resources grab

China’s overseas infrastructure finance programme the Belt and Road Initiative increased by three-quarters to a record $213.5bn in 2025, according to Australia’s Griffith University and Shanghai's Green Finance & Development Center.

Financial Times

INTERNATIONAL

FTC to scrutinise Big Tech's talent acquisition deals

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is scrutinising big tech firms that hire employees of a start-up instead of buying the companies outright. The growing practice is seen as a way to sidestep antitrust review. "We are beginning to examine these acqui-hires to make sure they are not an attempt to get around" the agency’s merger review process, FTC chairman Andrew Ferguson said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. He blamed the Biden administration's aggressive antitrust enforcement for encouraging companies to increase the practice.

Bloomberg

Capgemini plans to cut up to 2,400 French jobs

IT services group Capgemini plans to cut up to 2,400 jobs in France, or about 6% of its local workforce. The plan will proceed only on a voluntary basis and is subject to negotiations with unions, Capgemini said. The company said it would offer offer internal retraining programmes for workers in units affected by shifting client demand.

Reuters

UK business leaders shun juniors over false allegations fears

One in ten UK business leaders avoids meeting junior colleagues due to fears of false allegations, according to a YouGov survey by global investigations firm Nardello & Co. The study revealed that 25% of leaders consider reputational damage a top concern, with 20% worried about managing wrongful allegations. Alan Kennedy, managing director at Nardello, noted that advancements in AI complicate the challenge of false narratives. Additionally, 42% of businesses are concerned about the reputational impact of data breaches, while 30% cite financial crime as a major threat. Joseph Pochron at Nardello points out that the UK Cyber Security and Resilience Bill, which is expected to be enforced later this year, will force organisations to adopt risk-based cybersecurity measures.

The Times

Petroperu workers launch three-day strike over privatisation plan

At least 30% of 2,200 unionised workers at Peru's state-run oil company, Petroperu, have launched a 72-hour strike to protest a plan to privatise parts of the firm. Petroperu however said that all its facilities were operating normally, and observed that Peru's labour ministry had ruled the strike call "inadmissible." Jose Luis Saavedra, general secretary of the administrative workers' union, said: "The speed with which the government wants to privatise Petroperu is striking."

Reuters

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