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APAC Edition
12th February 2026
 
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THE HOT STORY

Coupang faulted for data preservation failures in Korean breach probe

South Korea’s science ministry has said Coupang failed to comply with government orders to preserve data during an investigation into a breach affecting nearly 34m shoppers, limiting authorities’ ability to fully assess the incident. The ministry said Coupang did not adjust its automatic data-retention policies as instructed, leading to the deletion of access logs linked to the probe. According to officials, a former staff engineer improperly accessed and exposed 25.6 terabytes of personal data, including names, phone numbers, addresses, and building access codes, over several months. Coupang said it has cooperated with investigators and that there is no evidence of secondary harm, but the case has escalated into a political dispute between Seoul and Washington, with US officials criticising Korea’s regulatory response. Multiple Korean agencies are continuing investigations, while Coupang has pushed back against what it describes as an unfair crackdown.
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REGULATION

Labour codes trigger job surge in India's smaller cities

New labour legislation in India is reshaping job distribution, with smaller cities experiencing rapid growth. A report by WorkIndia revealed an 8.4% increase in job postings, particularly in tier III and IV markets. Kolhapur and Udaipur saw job placements rise by over 55%. While metros like Ahmedabad and Pune also grew, smaller cities are emerging as significant employment hubs. The shift towards on-site work has increased by 8.7%, although average wages remain stagnant. Notably, women's hiring rose by 10%, indicating a more inclusive job market following the new regulations.
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LEGAL

Singaporian union helps members affected by salary arrears at tech firms

Singaporean tech firm OTSAW Digital and its subsidiary, OTSAW Swisslog Healthcare Robotics, are under investigation for salary arrears affecting at least 28 workers. The National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) is assisting affected employees, many of whom are members of affiliated unions. NTUC said: "Non-payment or delayed payment of salaries is a serious violation of employment law." While some payments have been made, many employees have gone without salaries for over six months. The Ministry of Manpower is investigating potential violations, and the companies have been granted a court adjournment to address outstanding payments.

China's BYD joins firms challenging Trump’s tariffs in US court

The American units of China's BYD, the world's biggest electric vehicle manufacturer, have filed a lawsuit in the US Court of International Trade arguing that executive orders underpinning US President Donald Trump's import tariffs are invalid, thus making the collection of the duties unlawful. BYD said it has paid and continues to pay "significant" duties on materials it imports to sustain its operations in the US, where it designs and manufactures electric buses and trucks.  More than 1,000 corporate entities, including household names such as Costco Wholesale and Goodyear Tire & Rubber, are pushing to be refunded for their share of the billions of dollars in tariffs that the US has collected so far.
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WORKFORCE

Job growth in Korea slows to weakest pace in 13 months

Korean job growth in January slowed to its weakest level in 13 months, with youth employment particularly affected. The Ministry of Data and Statistics reported an increase of 108,000 employed individuals aged 15 and older, marking the smallest gain since December 2024. Employment in professional services fell by 98,000, the largest decline since 2013. Bin Hyun-joon, chief of the social statistics bureau, noted that AI may be impacting entry-level hiring. The youth unemployment rate rose to 6.8%, attributed to a shift towards experienced workers, while the overall unemployment rate climbed to 4.1%.
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LEADERSHIP

Myntra appoints Google veteran Pramod Adiddam as CTO

Myntra has named former Google executive Pramod Adiddam as its new chief technology officer, strengthening its leadership as it scales its platform and advances its long-term technology strategy. Mr Adiddam, who brings more than two decades of experience from senior roles at Google and Instacart, will oversee Myntra’s technology roadmap with a focus on innovation, platform scalability and supporting sustained growth, and will report directly to chief executive Nandita Sinha.
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ECONOMY

China's CPI rises, but falls short of expectations

China's consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.2% year on year in January, according to the National Bureau of Statistics, marking the fourth consecutive month of increases, though it fell short of the expected 0.44% rise. Dong Lijuan, a senior statistician, attributed the slower growth to the timing of the Lunar New Year and declining global oil prices. Core inflation, excluding food and energy, increased by 0.8%. China's producer price index also contracted for the 40th month, but the decline is narrowing.
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INTERNATIONAL

Italian sports journalists to strike over Olympic opening farce

Journalists from Italy's RaiSport television channel are to stage a three-day strike to protest an error-strewn opening ceremony broadcast by RaiSport director Paolo Petrecca. The journalists said Petrecca’s "disastrous coverage" was "embarrassing." Petrecca welcomed viewers to Rome’s Stadio Olimpico instead of Milan’s San Siro, where Friday’s ceremony was held, before mistaking Kirsty Coventry, president of the International Olympic Committee, for Laura Mattarella, daughter of the Italian president. RaiSport's internal union body representing journalists at the public broadcaster said all journalists would withhold bylines during the Games and then strike for three days once the event is completed. "We have all been embarrassed, no one excluded, and through no fault of our own," it said.

Nike prepares Converse for layoffs as sales slide toward 15-year low

Nike has warned staff at its Converse brand to brace for job cuts and restructuring as sales continue to deteriorate, with revenues heading toward a 15-year low. Converse employees have been told to work from home ahead of the changes, which chief executive Aaron Cain said would involve “difficult decisions” and the departure of multiple senior executives, though no details were given on the scale of the layoffs. The brand has struggled to diversify beyond its flagship Chuck Taylor shoes, while broader weakness in China has added pressure on Nike’s results. The restructuring forms part of wider efforts under Nike chief executive Elliott Hill to stabilise the group after several quarters of declining sales.

Lufthansa pilots and crew to strike on Thursday

German pilots' union VC (Vereinigung Cockpit) has called a 24-hour strike on Thursday at Lufthansa Group's main German airline and Lufthansa Cargo in a dispute over pensions. Separately, the UFO union of flight attendants has called on its members at CityLine to strike on Thursday over the planned shutdown of its flight operations and "the employer’s continued refusal to negotiate a collective social plan." Lufthansa spokesperson Marc Baron said the announcements were "extremely short-notice," adding "Sustainable solutions can only be found through dialogue; strikes must always remain a last resort . . . We therefore call on the unions to resume talks with us. We are ready to do so at any time."
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OTHER

Alibaba’s AI shopping push stalls as Qwen chatbot buckles under demand

Alibaba’s AI chatbot Qwen has temporarily stopped issuing shopping coupons after being overwhelmed by user demand, disrupting a high-profile campaign designed to showcase the tool’s shopping capabilities during China’s Spring Festival holiday. The company launched the initiative last Friday, offering coupons that allowed users to make purchases on Alibaba-owned platforms directly through chatbot prompts. The promotion marked the first phase of a planned 3bn yuan ($433m) investment aimed at boosting Qwen’s user base and positioning it as a one-stop “agentic AI” platform that integrates apps and payments, similar to Google’s Gemini strategy. Demand quickly exceeded expectations, with Alibaba saying 10m orders were placed within the first nine hours. Over the weekend, the chatbot became overloaded, prompting Qwen to post on Weibo asking users for patience. By Monday, repeated purchase attempts triggered automated refusals citing oversubscription, although the chatbot reassured users that coupons would remain valid until February 28th.
 
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