Malaysia will formally invite Myanmar leader Minh Aung Hlaing to visit Kuala Lumpur to discuss efforts to repatriate nearly 200,000 refugees from the war-torn nation that Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim says have placed a heavy social and economic burden on his country. Refugees from Myanmar, particularly ethnic Rohingya, have faced worsening hostility in recent months in Malaysia, where they are accused of causing social problems and taking over small local businesses in areas where they have set...

Taipei’s newest startup gathering didn’t pretend Gen Z needed a seat at the kids’ table. It gave them the microphone instead, and put YouTube’s and Twitch’s co-founders in the audience listening back. The inaugural Boba Tech Summit ran September 9 and 10 in Taipei, pulling in more than 300 attendees from over 15 countries for […] The post Taiwan bets on Gen Z founders to move beyond its chip-supplier image appeared first on e27.

Forest and peatland fires raging across Indonesia are threatening to become more than an environmental emergency, with analysts warning that the thickening haze could weigh on economic activity, strain public health and test confidence in the nation’s fledgling carbon market. Indonesia is no stranger to forest and peat fires, but this year’s super El Nino has helped make it the country’s most intense wildfire season in 11 years. Toxic haze and smoke have also drifted to neighbouring countries...

Plaud, the maker of the credit-card-sized AI voice recorder that has become a fixture on lanyards and phone cases across Asia, has opened an Asia-Pacific headquarters in Singapore. The Chinese-founded, San Francisco-incorporated firm has also committed at least SGD20 million (~US$15.7 million) to the island nation. This is double the amount it pledged when it […] The post Plaud doubles its Singapore bet to US$15.7M. Now it has to prove the growth is real appeared first on e27.

Cambodia’s startup ecosystem is still small by Southeast Asian standards, but its newest crop of founders is starting to build with a wider market in mind. Newwave Tech Foundry, a Phnom Penh-based artificial intelligence and software development company, is one example: barely two years old, it already says more than 70 per cent of its […] The post Cambodia’s Newwave wins CIFC backing to build AI tools for regional businesses appeared first on e27.

A Singapore family court rejected a 90-year-old man’s claim for spousal maintenance from his 89-year-old wife, noting that both of them are in the twilight of their lives. The court also noted that the man would receive more than S$2 million (US$1.6 million) from the matrimonial pool, comprising the couple’s assets to be divided in the divorce, and his wife was a retiree living on a pension. The former couple were married for more than 64 years and have three children, all aged above 60, a...

In the era of hyper-liquidity and ultra-low interest rates, the corporate software market witnessed an extraordinary transformation. The rapid global expansion of certain comprehensive business management applications, most notably Odoo, serves as a textbook example of a highly successful “capital + brand” growth narrative. Propelled by substantial venture capital injections and private equity backing, the […] The post The Capital-Driven Rise of Modern Business Suites appeared first on e27.

Southeast Asia’s robotics sector just posted a record year. Look closer, and the story isn’t strength; it’s fragility wearing a big number as a costume. Tracxn’s new Robotics – SEA report says the region’s robotics companies raised US$696 million so far in 2026, blowing past the US$52 million raised in all of 2025. On its […] The post Singapore’s robotics dominance is a warning sign dressed up as good news appeared first on e27.

Hong Kong has retained its status as Asia’s top financial hub for a fourth consecutive edition of the Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI), even as many of the world’s leading centres saw their scores slip slightly amid rising geopolitical headwinds. The city also ranked third globally in the 40th edition of the twice-yearly report, released on Wednesday amid a remarkably tight race at the top of global finance. Hong Kong scored 756, just one point behind London and a point ahead of Singapore....

A Malaysian city councillor has resigned over remarks he made about the Democratic Action Party (DAP) at the recent Umno general assembly. Permatang Pauh Umno division chief Mohd Zaidi Mohd Said’s resignation as a Seberang Perai city councillor took effect on Monday, according to a letter made public by state local government committee chairman Jason H’ng Mooi Lye on Wednesday. In the letter, Zaidi apologised for his remarks during the assembly in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday, where he represented...