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"Crazy Rich Asians," which has topped U.S. movie charts, gives a brazenly self-confident view of the continent's moneyed elite. Drenched in brand-name excess, the film has been praised for its breakthrough all-Asian cast. But rather than a celebration, Crazy Rich Asians should be viewed as a…

Having arrived at a Singaporean airstrip in garish Ferraris and Lamborghinis, the bridal group head off by private jet to a tropical island. Meanwhile the groomsmen commandeer a fleet of helicopters and fly to a nearby container ship, its deck filled with imported showgirls and transformed into an…

A colorful and revealing portrait of the rise of India’s new billionaire class in a radically unequal societyIndia is the world’s largest democracy, with more than one billion people and an economy expanding faster than China’s. But the rewards of this growth have been far from evenly shared, and…

Dressed in an elegant black suit, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi stood up in January this year at Davos, the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, and launched a spirited defense of globalization. Twelve months earlier on the same stage, China’s Xi Jinping had painted himself as an…

Malaysia's recent election marks a moment of genuine optimism for Asia. Too many governments around the region have slid backward of late toward corruption and incompetence. Mahathir Mohamad's return as prime minister suggests a better path forward might be possible. But now the hard part begins.…

He might not be a global name like Roman Abramovich, but in India the billionaire jeweller Nirav Modi is notorious enough. Authorities in New Delhi hunted the fugitive magnate for months, following one of India’s largest financial scandals. News that he is now preparing to seek asylum in Britain…

On the roads just outside Singapore’s Capella Hotel last Friday, gardeners were replanting the flower beds and laborers were touching up road markings, shading their heads from the fierce midday heat. Two uniformed men stood by the resort’s long driveway armed with clipboards and walkie-talkies,…

For the second time this year, Narendra Modi has delivered a major speech aiming to explain India's place in the world. And for the second time, the response would charitably be described as underwhelming. Back in January, Modi stood up at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the first…

The recent trade truce has provided a welcome cessation of hostilities between the U.S. and China. But given the festering issue of technology, and China's need to acquire more of it, the ceasefire agreed on the weekend of May 19-20 will only be temporary. For all its other faults, President…

Narendra Modi and Xi Jinping met in China’s historic city of Wuhan last month. Greeting each other warmly, the Indian and Chinese leaders talked over cups of tea and strolled in bucolic gardens. President Xi noted he had only twice met a visiting foreign leader outside Beijing. On both occasions, it…

Last week's Malaysian election result is sending shock waves across the region, not least in China. The surprise outcome is now likely to see a partial reversal of Malaysia's recent ardently pro-Chinese foreign policy. It also ought to act as a wake-up call for Beijing and prompt a rethink of…

It takes a couple of hundred pages before anything approaching a controversial idea emerges from Dambisa Moyo’s Edge of Chaos, in which the Zambian-born author takes aim at the economic failings of the west. Indeed, until her conclusion, Moyo’s argument is oddly conventional. In her account, the…

Open pdf Alarms have been ringing over recent weeks about possible Asian aftershocks from a trade war between America and China. Much of this is overblown, given the regional knock-on effect of threatened tariffs is likely to be minimal. Far more worrying are the potential long-term…