Across Asia

• Samsung Electronics, Grab, and Standard Chartered are leading a trend of geographic expansion across Asian markets. • Data indicates that geographic expansion is the primary driver of activity in the region, accounting for 23% of signals, followed closely by capital-raising efforts. • This shift highlights a strategic push by major corporate and financial entities to scale their operations and capture new customer bases within Asia.

• Twelve leading payment startups in Southeast Asia have collectively raised over $2.7 billion in equity funding to date, according to a Tracxn report released Wednesday. • Airwallex dominates the sector, raising $1.9 billion since 2015—including a $320 million round in June 2026—which accounts for nearly 70% of the total capital. • The funding landscape is heavily concentrated, with the top two companies representing approximately 83% of all capital raised across the 12 firms.

• Mercis and WildBrain CPLG have partnered to expand the "Miffy and Friends" brand into location-based entertainment (LBE) across multiple global regions. • The expansion targets the development of theme parks, resorts, and family entertainment centers in China, South Korea, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East. • This strategic move aims to increase the brand's physical presence and consumer engagement through immersive experiences beyond traditional merchandise.

From Afghanistan to Taiwan, unprecedented deluge highlights devastating impact of climate breakdown“It rained for 10 days and 10 nights, non-stop – I’d never seen anything like it,” says Anar Gul, a construction worker who lives in the remote district of Dur Baba in eastern Afghanistan.The houses in his village are built from stone and mud, which makes them extremely vulnerable to heavy rains. After days of rain, Gul’s kitchen collapsed and his neighbour, Sayed Afsar Sadat, saw a large part of his house completely destroyed. “Rains like this are coming heavier and earlier each year,” says Sadat. “They are destroying the roads and washing away our crops. It’s impacting us directly.” Continue reading...

• A youth-led movement in India, dubbed the ‘cockroach’ protests, has rapidly expanded from a massive online presence to a potent political force, eclipsing the BJP's social media reach. • The movement follows a broader South Asian trend where digital outrage translates into mass street mobilizations, similar to recent government-toppling protests in Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. • Despite these parallels, analyst Namita Singh suggests a crucial difference exists that makes a similar regime-change outcome far less likely within the Indian context.

• Entertainment company CJ ENM has received 12 nominations across seven different categories at the ContentAsia Awards 2026. • Hosted by the ContentAsia media platform, these awards highlight premium content and creative talent from the Asia-Pacific region. • The nominations underscore CJ ENM's growing competitiveness and influence within the global content market.

• South Korea's KOSPI index triggered a circuit breaker as a significant selloff in AI-driven technology stocks swept across Asian markets. • Key industry players were impacted, with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing slipping about 2% and Foxconn Technology Co Ltd easing roughly 1.6%. • The volatility follows preliminary earnings from Samsung Electronics, which failed to convince investors that memory-chip profits can sustain the massive capital spending required for AI.