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APAC Edition
30th March 2026
 
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THE HOT STORY

Standard Chartered 'balances the scales' for women in the workplace

Business Times Singapore reports on the policies that are part of Standard Chartered's commitment to “balancing the scales” - empowering and supporting its female employees to thrive within the organisation. Standard Chartered was among the first banks in Singapore to offer shared parental leave of at least 21 weeks to all employees regardless of gender or how a child came to join the family. The bank also provides support to staff managing menopause, including medical coverage for related symptoms. Patrick Lee, Standard Chartered's chief executive for Singapore, Asean and South Asia, says an inclusive culture is now “deeply ingrained” throughout the organisation. “We know that having a diversity of perspectives and lived experiences improves our ability to innovate, solve problems and enable better outcomes for our diverse client base, and is key to how we execute and accelerate our strategy,” he explains.
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WORKFORCE

Coupang boss thanks delivery workers after overnight shift experience

Harold Rogers, Coupang's interim chief executive, participated in a dawn delivery shift on March 19, and afterwards expressed his gratitude to delivery workers. He joined Coupang delivery drivers, known as "Coupang Friends," at a logistics camp, fulfilling a pledge he had previously made to assess working conditions first-hand. “It was a valuable experience meeting customers on the front lines,” he said. “The entire process - from sorting items to loading and final delivery - was precisely designed and carried out in a way that reflects Coupang's biggest strengths . . . I was struck by how the system determines which items to load and deliver first, along with its tightly managed operations. It was meaningful to see firsthand Coupang's core competitiveness, built through continuous innovation based on on-site experience and feedback.”

We need more plumbers and fewer lawyers in AI era, BlackRock boss says

BlackRock chief executive Larry Fink has said people's perception of skilled trades must change. The boss of the world's largest asset manager observed that the average plumber had been portrayed on television as being overweight and having their pants hanging below their waistline, while investment bankers are idolised in drama series like Industry. "I think what we did [was] wrong," he said. "We really put judgment on so many jobs and so many people who probably should not have gone into banking or media or law, probably should have been a great worker with their hands, and we need to now rebalance that approach." He told the BBC that, in the US after World War Two, "we built the foundation of education, and we said to all the young people, go to college, go to college, go to college. And we probably overdid it." He added: "We need to balance that out, and we need to be proud that . . . a career can be just as strong in these fields of plumbing and electricians."
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REGULATION

China reviews $2bn Manus sale to Meta as founders barred from leaving country

China has restricted two co-founders of Manus from leaving the country as regulators review whether Meta’s $2bn acquisition of the AI agent company violates Beijing’s investment rules.
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STRATEGY

Tiger Beer maker to cut 130 roles in Singapore over two years

Asia Pacific Breweries Singapore (APBS), the brewer of Tiger Beer, will lay off about 130 workers over the next two years as it reduces brewing operations by the end of 2027. The company is collaborating with the Food, Drinks and Allied Workers Union (FDAWU) to support affected employees through severance packages, job placement services, and reskilling initiatives. FDAWU general-secretary Sankaradass Chami noted the difficulty of this decision but emphasised fair treatment for employees.
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ECONOMY

China's factories cut output as Iran war drives surge in costs

Chinese consumer goods manufacturers are cutting production and delaying orders as the Iran conflict disrupts shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, sharply increasing energy, raw material and logistics costs. Factory operators report significant cost inflation, including a 30% rise in aluminium prices and logistics costs up around 15%, with some export orders cancelled and operations temporarily suspended as margins come under pressure. Shipping costs have surged by 50%–100% in some cases, while longer rerouted journeys are adding 10–14 days to delivery times and pushing container rates up by 15%–20%. The disruption has also driven sharp increases in key industrial inputs such as iron ore, copper and chemical feedstocks, with some prices rising more than 50%, while war-risk insurance premiums have multiplied several times, further inflating costs across supply chains.
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CORPORATE

Microsoft announces overhaul of its human resources team

Microsoft is making changes across human resources, and the company's chief diversity officer, Lindsay-Rae McIntyre, is leaving to become chief people officer of another organisation. Meanwhile, the tech giant is close to hiring a new talent acquisition head who will report to chief people officer Amy Coleman. The company is going through an “AI-powered transformation,” wrote Coleman, who took on her role last year. “As technology and the way we work at Microsoft continue to evolve, we are transforming our people function so Microsoft remains a place where our employees can do their best work,” a spokesperson said in an email to CNBC. “The organisational updates we are making today align closely to our business priorities, and help us work more closely across teams, move faster, and simplify how we operate in support of our employees and customers.”
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INTERNATIONAL

Senators introduce ban on government use of Chinese robots

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) have introduced legislation to ban the US federal government from obtaining or operating unmanned Chinese robots. The American Security Robotics Act seeks to bar government use of “unmanned ground vehicle systems” - including humanoid robots and remote surveillance vehicles - made by foreign adversaries such as China. “The Chinese Communist Party has shown that they are willing to lie and cheat to get ahead at the expense of the American people and our national security,” Schumer said, adding: “They are running their standard playbook - this time in robotics - trying to flood the US market with their technology, which presents real security risks and threats to Americans’ privacy and American research and industry.”

British Airways offers pilots financial incentive to cut fuel consumption

British Airways is offering its pilots a financial incentive to reduce their aircraft's fuel consumption. Pilots would be required to cut their jets' carbon dioxide emissions by 60,000 tonnes above 2025 levels to achieve a bonus that could equal 1% of their basic salary, according to a document seen by Bloomberg. The proposal is to be voted on by members of the British Airline Pilots’ Association at the end of April. “Flight crew decisions have a direct and measurable impact on fuel burn and emissions,” states a document sent to BA pilots in the union. “The incentive exists only to recognise and reward fuel efficient behaviours when, and only when, they are compatible with uncompromised safety and sound airmanship.”

VW to shift from cars to missile defence

Volkswagen is in talks with Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defence Systems over a deal that would switch production at one of the German group’s factories from cars to missile defence. Hans Christoph Atzpodien, general manager of the German Federal Association of the Security and Defense Industry, has previously told Deutsche Welle that while the qualifications of car industry workers will often meet the requirements of defence companies, retraining and security clearance requirements may slow the process. "The timelines for issuing these authorisations are currently nowhere near fast enough to enable a rapid transition of the relevant personnel," he told DW last year.

AI will not lead to staff cuts at Norway's wealth fund, CEO says

The use of artificial intelligence at Norway's $2.1tn wealth fund, which is improving investment decisions and saving "billions of kroner" in trading costs, will not lead to job cuts, its chief executive officer Nicolai Tangen has said. “You should introduce AI in society to increase your production and value creation rather than cutting people out,” he said, describing such cuts to staff as “destructive.” Bloomberg notes that more than half of the fund’s 650 employees currently write code as part of a drive to boost efficiency by 20% across the organisation.
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OTHER

Roblox to introduce new controls in Indonesia

US children's gaming platform Roblox is to introduce content and communications controls for players under 16 in ​Indonesia to comply with the country's social media ‌block for children. Roblox was among platforms identified by the Communications and Digital Ministry earlier this month as ​high risk. "This week, we announced that in order to ​address regional requirements in Indonesia, we will soon introduce additional controls ‌on ⁠content and communication for players under the age of 16 years old in Indonesia," Matt Kaufman, Roblox's chief safety officer, said.
 
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