South East

• Chinese semiconductor equipment makers CCtech and Nextool Technology are deepening presence in SEA's OSAT centers as Malaysia and Singapore emerge as packaging and testing hubs. • Expansion driven by global supply chain shifts, southbound strategies, surging AI demand, and power electronics growth. • The moves signal a new upcycle for test and packaging equipment amid regional semiconductor boom.

• Echelon Singapore 2026, set for June 3-4, features exhibitors in AI-powered sustainability, cybersecurity, and HR platforms across ASEAN. • Leaders from Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam will highlight digital transformation initiatives amid regional tech growth. • The event underscores Southeast Asia's rising role in global AI and green tech innovation, drawing investors and startups.

• Ms Grace Fu, Singapore's Minister, delivered a keynote at the 13th Singapore Dialogue on Sustainable World Resources on May 7, 2026, describing Southeast Asia facing a 'perfect storm' from geopolitical developments and climate change. • She emphasized severe implications for the region, including supply chain disruptions and resource scarcity due to the dual threats. • The speech underscores the need for sustainable resource strategies to mitigate risks to economic stability and security.

• Grab's Q1 2026 earnings surged 466.7% to US$136 million from US$24 million in Q1 2025, reinforcing analyst confidence in the ride-hailing and delivery platform. • Analysts view Grab as the clear regional leader in Southeast Asia despite facing ongoing regulatory challenges across multiple markets. • The company's strong profit growth demonstrates the sustainability of its business model even amid tightening regulatory scrutiny in the region.

• UBS has strengthened its Southeast Asia wealth management presence through strategic appointments, including Vivian Li as senior client advisor in its global wealth management team. • The expansion reflects UBS's commitment to capturing high-net-worth client growth across Southeast Asian markets amid intensifying competition. • These moves position UBS to deepen regional client relationships and expand its private banking footprint in a key growth market.

• Delta Electronics presented cutting-edge smart manufacturing solutions at SEMICON Southeast Asia 2026 in Kuala Lumpur on May 5, 2026, emphasizing AI-enabled systems for semiconductor packaging production. • The company demonstrated how integrated, connected AI systems can enhance speed, precision, and scalability in advanced semiconductor manufacturing across the region. • Delta's focus on AI integration reflects growing industry demand for smarter manufacturing approaches in Southeast Asia's semiconductor sector, positioning the company as a key player in the region's tech infrastructure development.

• Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi announced an updated Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) strategy during her visit to Vietnam last weekend, emphasizing Tokyo's increased reliance on Southeast Asia amid U.S.-China rivalry. • The decade-old FOIP policy now prioritizes energy security, critical minerals, and deeper ties with ASEAN nations to bolster economic and security roles in the region. • This pivot underscores Japan's strategic shift toward Southeast Asia as a counterbalance to great-power competition, enhancing regional stability and supply chain resilience.

• Ecosystem Roundup from e27.co reports that the AI pay gap in Southeast Asia's startup industry has emerged and is accelerating, with AI-skilled workers commanding significantly higher salaries than non-AI peers as of May 5, 2026. • Key details highlight disparities where AI engineers in Singapore, Indonesia, and Malaysia earn 30-50% more than general software developers, driven by demand from firms like Sea Limited and Grab. • This matters as it risks exacerbating talent shortages and inequality across ASEAN tech hubs, potentially slowing non-AI startup growth while fueling AI dominance in Vietnam and Thailand.

• A May 5, 2026, report from Express Press Release details how cybersecurity has shifted to a core business priority in expanding digital ecosystems across Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia amid rising AI-powered threats. • Key trends include zero trust architectures reducing breach risks by 40% in Thai banks and AI-driven attacks increasing incident frequency by 25% in Vietnamese firms, per regional data. • This development matters as ASEAN businesses face sophisticated threat actors, with experts quoting 'cyber resilience now defines competitive survival' in the face of geopolitically motivated hacks.

• ReN3, an enterprise agentic AI work productivity platform, announced a US$5 million seed funding round to expand operations across Southeast Asia, focusing on accuracy and deployment flexibility for regional enterprises. • The funding will support ReN3's growth in the region as it positions itself as a solution for enterprise productivity automation through agentic AI technology. • The investment reflects growing venture capital interest in AI-powered enterprise solutions targeting the Southeast Asian market, where digital transformation adoption is accelerating.

• Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi concluded a five‑day diplomatic tour of Cambodia, Thailand, and Myanmar on April 26, underscoring Beijing’s push to strengthen strategic partnerships across Southeast Asia amid intensifying great‑power competition. • Analysts quoted in regional reports said Wang’s visit aimed to counterbalance growing US influence by reinforcing economic and security cooperation, including support for infrastructure and connectivity projects under the Belt and Road Initiative. • Wang affirmed China’s commitment to ASEAN centrality in regional affairs and pledged continued dialogue on maritime disputes in the South China Sea, while also offering political backing to military‑backed governments such as Myanmar’s junta.

• Alpaca, a brokerage API platform, named Rohit Mulani as President of Southeast Asia and David Grant as CEO of Alpaca Singapore. • The leadership additions aim to accelerate growth in the region's fintech and trading sectors. • This move strengthens Alpaca's presence amid rising demand for embedded trading solutions in ASEAN markets.

Parliamentary committee takes unusual step of declaring no confidence in executives at utility providerMPs have accused the leadership of South East Water of incompetence over repeated water outages for tens of thousands of customers, and expressed no confidence in their ability to reform the company.MPs from across the political spectrum said David Hinton, SEW’s chief executive, and the board of directors operated a culture of unaccountability at the company, which provides drinking water for 2.3 million customers in Berkshire, Hampshire, Kent, Surrey and Sussex. Continue reading...

Queensland and NSW set for lower than usual rainfall in May, June and July, while temperatures in most of the country likely to be higher than normalFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastLarge parts of south-east Australia look set for drier and hotter conditions over the next three months as a potential El Niño weather phenomenon takes shape in the Pacific Ocean.Much of Queensland and New South Wales are forecast to have lower than usual rainfall in May, June and July, with almost the entire country likely to experience hotter than average maximum temperatures. Continue reading...

David Hinton will receive only his £400,000 salary this year after thousands of customers were left without waterThe chief executive of South East Water has said he will forgo his bonus in an act of penitence for “unacceptable outages” that left thousands of customers in Kent and Sussex without water.David Hinton told MPs on the environment, food and rural affairs select committee that he had decided not to accept an additional “performance payment” this year. Instead, he will receive only his £400,000 salary. Continue reading...

Fourteen-, 16- and 18-year-olds arrested on suspicion of murder after incident near Woolwich Dockyard stationPolice have launched a murder investigation after a 14-year-old boy was fatally shot in Woolwich, south-east London. Three teenagers have been arrested on suspicion of murder.Officers received reports of a shooting on Lord Warwick Street, Woolwich, at about 3.40pm on Thursday, the Metropolitan police said. Continue reading...

New unitary councils will replace 43 counties and districts under latest round of local government overhaulFifteen new councils will be created in the south and east of England under the latest round of a major local government overhaul, aimed at boosting economic growth and accelerating mass housebuilding plans.The new unitary councils will replace 43 counties and districts across Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and Hampshire, with hundreds of councillors’ roles axed. A decision on future arrangements for East Sussex and West Sussex has been delayed. Continue reading...

Almost 60 injured and three others missing after blaze breaks out at building in DaejeonA fire at a car parts factory in South Korea has killed 11 people and injured almost 60 others.Firefighters said the death toll could rise further. Rescuers were using dogs to search the wreckage of the three-storey building for three people who were still missing. Continue reading...

US president says Israel will not launch another attack on the giant gasfield shared by Iran and Qatar, but promises to destroy it if Tehran retaliatesIsrael strikes Iran’s South Pars gasfield hours after forces kill intelligence minister Fighting intensifies between Israel and Hezbollah in southern LebanonWelcome to our continuing live coverage of the US-Israel war on Iran and the broader crisis in the region, and global economy.Donald Trump has threatened to “massively blow up” the entire South Pars gas field if Iran carries out any more retaliatory attacks on Qatar’s LNG gas facilities.The Pentagon “has asked the White House to approve a more than $200bn request to Congress to fund the war in Iran, according to a senior administration official”, the Washington Post reports.The oil price climbed towards $110 a barrel on Wednesday as the mounting threat to the Gulf’s oil and gas infrastructure fuelled concerns of more disruption to global supplies, amid the continuing blockade of the strait of Hormuz.QatarEnergy said “sizeable fires” caused extensive damage at its LNG facilities after Iranian missile attacks in the early hours of Thursday.An attack set a ship ablaze early on Thursday off the UAE coast, authorities said. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre said “a vessel has been hit by an unknown projectile, which has resulted in a fire onboard”.French president Emmanuel Macron called for an immediate moratorium on striking civilian infrastructure, and said civilian populations and their needs must be “protected from military escalation”.Three Palestinian women were killed in an Iranian missile attack in the occupied West Bank late on Wednesday, the Palestinian Red Crescent said, in the first deadly Iranian strike there.A man was killed in central Israel in the latest round of Iranian missile fire, medics say. It brings the death roll in Israel from the war to 15.Republicans in the US Senate blocked a measure that aimed to reign in Donald Trump’s power to wage war against Iran without congressional authorisation, winning a 53-47 vote. Continue reading...

Governments in countries heavily reliant on Middle Eastern oil introduce measures to shield public from soaring costsMiddle East crisis – live updatesIn Thailand, news anchors ditched their jackets on air as the government called on the public to reduce their use of air conditioning to save energy. In the Philippines, many government workers are now operating on a four-day week. In Vietnam, officials have urged employers to allow staff to work from home.Across south-east Asia, governments are scrambling to find ways to conserve energy and shield the public from soaring costs as war in the Middle East causes what the International Energy Agency has described as the largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market. Continue reading...

ByteDance is assembling high-end Nvidia chip clusters outside China, partnering with Southeast Asian firms for black-white computing systems in Malaysia to fuel AI development, reported March 13, 2026. The Wall Street Journal detailed efforts to bypass US export restrictions. This expansion supports TikTok parent’s global AI ambitions amid geopolitical tensions. US regulators monitor for compliance.