Cambodia’s central bank has reportedly revoked the banking license of a conglomerate accused of illicit online activities. But doubts abound about Phnom Penh’s commitment to taking action against cyberfraud networks.
Southeast Asia’s vast cyber scam industry exploded during the COVID-19 pandemic when many of the region’s illegal casino operators turned to online fraudImage: allOver-MEV/IMAGO
The banking arm of a Cambodia-based conglomerate accused of running the world’s “largest ever illicit online marketplace” has had its banking license revoked by the Cambodia’s central bank, Radio Free Asia reported last week.
Huione Guarantee, the Telegram marketplace of Huione Group, has reportedly processed up to €22 billion ($24 billion) in illicit transactions since 2021, making it by far the world’s largest illegal online marketplace, cryptocurrency compliance firm Elliptic reported last year.
Huione Pay, the group’s banking arm, had its license withdrawn because of noncompliance with “existing regulations and recommendations that may have been made by the regulators,” a National Bank of Cambodia spokesperson told Radio Free Asia, a US Congress-funded media outlet.
Massive glacial bursts are becoming more frequent and more dangerous due to the climate crisis, experts tell Mukesh Pokhrel, warning: ‘They are not going to stop anytime soon’
Wednesday 16 July 2025 12:25 BST
Up until a disastrous day earlier this month, more than 150 trucks crossed daily over a border bridge between Nepal and China. Known by locals as the Miteri Pul (Friendship Bridge), the Rasuwagadhi crossing served as the main trade route between the two countries, with over $50m of goods passing over it last year alone.
But on the 8 July, floodwaters tore through northern Nepal’s Rasuwa district, sweeping away parts of this critical border highway. According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction & Management Authority, seven people lost their lives, and 20 were missing, including six Chinese nationals.
The Chinese nationals were working on a 200 megawatt hydro project in the Tirsuli River, which was also damaged by the floods. Initial estimates suggest Nepal has sustained losses of over $100m in the incident as a whole.
China, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia are the top three emerging markets by FDI confidence in 2025
Brazil overtook India to take the fourth spot, with both countries making the top five
Domestic economic performance and efficiency of legal and regulatory processes were the top two priorities for FDI investors
Emerging markets often attract foreign investors with prospects for higher economic growth and diversification.
Where are global business leaders placing their foreign direct investment (FDI) bets in 2025?
This chart highlights the top 25 emerging markets by FDI confidence score in 2025, based on a survey conducted by Kearney. The rankings are drawn from responses by 536 senior executives at global companies with annual revenues above $500 million.
China Leads in Foreign Investor Sentiment
China (including Hong Kong) remains the top emerging market for foreign investor confidence in 2025. However, FDI inflows have slowed in recent years, hitting multi-year lows in 2023.
Following China, the UAE and Saudi Arabia also retain their places as the second and third-most favored developing economies for FDI.
Here’s a look at the full list of top emerging markets for FDI confidence in 2025:Search:
Rank
Country
FDI Confidence Score
1
China (including Hong Kong) 🇨🇳🇭🇰
1.97
2
United Arab Emirates 🇦🇪
1.86
3
Saudi Arabia 🇸🇦
1.76
4
Brazil 🇧🇷
1.59
5
India 🇮🇳
1.53
6
Mexico 🇲🇽
1.51
7
South Africa 🇿🇦
1.48
8
Poland 🇵🇱
1.46
9
Argentina 🇦🇷
1.46
10
Thailand 🇹🇭
1.45
Brazil and India—two of the biggest emerging economies by GDP—round out the top five, with Brazil overtaking India in FDI confidence in the 2025 rankings.
These rankings align with investors’ FDI priorities from the same survey, where the efficiency of legal and regulatory processes and domestic economic performance top the list.
South Africa made the largest upward move in 2025, jumping from 11th to 7th in the rankings. It also recorded FDI inflows of around $661 million in Q1 2025, up 56% from the fourth quarter of 2024.
Overall, 11 of the top 25 emerging markets for FDI confidence are in Asia and the Middle East.
What’s Driving Investor Confidence?
The factors driving FDI confidence vary for each economy.
In China, tech innovation was the leading driver of investor confidence, while economic performance ranked highest for the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
Meanwhile, the talent/skill of the labor pools in India and Mexico were the strongest factors attracting investors.
There is a human trafficking crisis in Southeast Asia. The UN estimates that 120,000 people have been trafficked to scam centres in Myanmar and another 100,000 in Cambodia. Many of them are brought through the border with Thailand. The victims are often forced to work as scammers, defrauding billions of dollars from unsuspecting targets across the world. These scam syndicates have been linked to the Chinese mafia as well as local rebels in Myanmar.
How do these scam centres operate? Who are the trafficking victims and how did they end up in this predicament? How is Thailand’s economy suffering from these trafficking networks, and what is being done to stamp them out? Insight investigates.
Indonesia received the most funding from China over the last decade, according to a new report by Zero Carbon Analytics. But uncertainties caused by US-driven tariff plans could see Southeast Asian countries retract green investments, said an analyst.
China’s PowerChina Huadong Engineering Corporation Limited constructed the Cirata floating solar plant in West Java, Indonesia. Image: PLN Nusantara
China is the leading source of public clean energy investments in Southeast Asia over the last decade, channeling over US$ 2.7 billion into projects across the region, according to a report by international research organisation Zero Carbon Analytics.
Tibetan spiritual leader says in a new book that his people’s aspiration for freedom cannot be indefinitely delayed.
The Dalai Lama offers blessings to his followers at his Himalayan residence in the northern hill town of Dharamshala, India, on December 20, 2024 [Priyanshu Singh/Reuters]
Published On 11 Mar 202511 Mar 2025
The Dalai Lama has said that his successor will be born in the “free world” outside of China.
In a new book released on Tuesday, the 89-year-old spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism says that he will be reincarnated outside of Tibet, which is an autonomous region of China.
“Since the purpose of a reincarnation is to carry on the work of the predecessor, the new Dalai Lama will be born in the free world so that the traditional mission of the Dalai Lama – that is, to be the voice for universal compassion, the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, and the symbol of Tibet embodying the aspirations of the Tibetan people – will continue,” the Dalai Lama, who fled Tibet for India in 1959, writes in Voice for the Voiceless.
China considers Tibet, which has alternated between independence and Chinese control over the centuries, as an integral part of the country and views movements advocating greater autonomy or independence as threats to its national sovereignty.
Beijing has labelled the current Dalai Lama, who was identified as the reincarnation of his predecessor at two years old, a “separatist” and insisted on the right to appoint his successor after his death.
The Dalai Lama, who stepped down as the political leader of the Tibetan government-in-exile in 2011 to focus on his spiritual role, has denied advocating Tibetan independence and argued for a “Middle Way” approach, which would grant the mainly Buddhist territory greater autonomy.
In his book, the Dalai Lama writes that he has received numerous petitions from people in and outside Tibet asking him to ensure that his lineage continues, and says that Tibetan people’s aspirations for freedom cannot be denied indefinitely.
“One clear lesson we know from history is this: If you keep people permanently unhappy, you cannot have a stable society,” he writes.
US President Donald Trump has made South America a priority for his administration, citing concerns about China’s growing influence in the region. Through Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative, China has invested heavily in major projects in the region, particularly related to lithium reserves, transport and energy infrastructure. As a result, China has replaced the US as South America’s main trading partner over the past two decades. Early into his second term, Trump attempted to strong-arm control back in the US’ favour by threatening to seize the Panama Canal away from China’s growing influence. However, experts suggest his methods will not be enough to turn the momentum, as China’s flexible business approach and significant investments have reshaped the continent’s landscape.
Trump’s rent-seeking foreign policy pertaining to energy and critical minerals will force Southeast Asian countries to do what they least desire: making a choice between China and the US.
The Trump administration’s insular and rent-seeking foreign policy will significantly alter the geopolitics of energy transition in Southeast Asia. This will manifest in two ways. First, the potential cessation of US involvement in the region’s energy sector will heighten fears of China’s dominance in energy infrastructure projects — including the ASEAN Power Grid (APG). Second, Trump’s intentions of using critical minerals as a bargaining chip for providing military assistance, if applied to the ASEAN region, will impact the regional vision for sustainable mineral development.
The shutting down of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), an important player in the energy sector, will intensify existing fears of China’s dominance in electricity transmission and generation. As shown in Table 1, China provided approximately US$534 million in aid to the region’s energy sector in 2022, accounting for more than a quarter of the total share. Comparatively, the US provided only US$23.7 million, or 1 per cent of total energy-related aid to Southeast Asia. In addition, the China Southern Power Grid Company and State Grid Corporation of China own and operate significant portions of the national grids in Laos and the Philippines, respectively.
China Leads in Energy Aid
Table 1 Energy-related aid to Southeast Asia 2022 (excerpt) (USD, in %)
Donor
Amount
Contribution
China
534 million
26
ADB
368 million
18
Germany
274 million
13
Canada
231 million
11
South Korea
211 million
10
Japan
167 million
8
World Bank
90.0 million
4
EU Institutions
42.3 million
2
France
42.2 million
2
AIIB
34.8 million
2
United States
23.7 million
1
The table is modified from Lowy Institute’s (2024) Southeast Asia Aid Map.
Myanmar’s military regime is under pressure, four years after it seized back power in a coup. The military has lost significant territory and a patchwork of anti-military groups now control different parts of the country. What’s happening? Who are the groups fighting against the military? And could the regime actually fall? #AJStartHere with Sandra Gathmann explains
China has the world’s longest high-speed railway. It only took about 20 years for the country to develop the 45,000km (28,000-mile) network. Known as an “infrastructure monster”, it is an example of the sort of development that has benefited China’s political system. The country also exports railway technology as a key part of the Belt and Road Initiative, the central government’s plan to link economies into a China-centred trading network. However, the rapid development of the high-speed transport system has also raised some important concerns.
More travellers are visiting an unusual destination – Afghanistan. Since 2021, the war-torn nation has seen tourism rise more than 900 per cent. Some attribute the change to official data reporting a sharp drop in violence and increased flight connections from major cities like Dubai. Most foreign visitors are from China, reportedly because of proximity and relative ease of obtaining tourist visas. The tourism buzz has undoubtedly brought economic benefits, but others worry the nation’s efforts to draw visitors amount to propaganda hiding the dark side of Taliban rule.
Slowing growth, weak investor confidence and brain drain – Hong Kong, the Pearl of the Orient, may be losing its lustre. Could its future lie in the Greater Bay Area, an economic integration project joining the Special Administrative Region to Guangdong and Macau?
Over the next decade, greater transport, administrative and economic links will tie Hong Kong inextricably to Southern China. But will Hong Kong find opportunity or obsolescence in the Greater Bay Area? And with around two decades till the end of “One Country Two Systems” in 2047, is the Greater Bay Area a way to assimilate Hong Kong with the Mainland?
For decades, the Middle East has been a central focus of US foreign policy. But today, America is scaling down its involvement in one of the world’s most volatile regions.
Vying to fill the vacuum are China and India. Billions of dollars’ worth of infrastructure projects from Asia have moved to the Middle East. Cross border investment from the region to Asia has also gained momentum. The region is counting on trade with China and India for its post-oil future. At the same time, the gulf countries are strategically important to the superpowers. For example, China and India are looking to expand military cooperation with Oman.
With the war in Gaza and the spreading Lebanon conflict, the Middle East is leaning even further away from the American pole. How will the pivot to Asia change the dynamics of the region?
THIS WEEK: U.S.-China tensions at APEC 2024, PLA Navy flexes muscles in Hong Kong, videos boost agrotechnology, overtures to overseas Chinese, and Beijing updates dual-use export control list
People walk by the entrance of the Lima Convention Center, part of the government complex where the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit took place, in Lima, Peru. (Photo by Cris Bouroncle / AFP via Getty Images)
75 years since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the once impoverished and underdeveloped nation has transformed itself to become the world’s second-largest economy. From revolutionary beginnings to breaking new frontiers, China has charted a path of modernisation as it seeks to create opportunities to build common prosperity. CNA Correspondent looks at how China navigates economic headwinds and a turbulent geopolitical landscape as it pursues high quality development.
![The Dalai Lama offers blessings to his followers at his Himalayan residence in the northern hill town of Dharamshala, India, on December 20, 2024 [Priyanshu Singh/Reuters]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/2025-03-11T023323Z_218289473_RC2RSBA1K164_RTRMADP_3_INDIA-DALAI-LAMA-CHINA-1-1741677530.jpg?resize=770%2C513&quality=80)
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