Andrew Woodman

Japanese telecom giant SoftBank raised eyebrows at the end of February by announcing that it will buy the publicly traded private equity titan Fortress Investment Group.

Given that China’s growth is slowing, the decision to replace Finance minister Lou Jiwei with Xiao Jie is controversial—yet not surprising. 

A smooth transition of power to crown prince of Thailand Maha Vajiralongkorn after his father, king Bhumibol Adulyadej, died in mid-October, is looking unlikely, however. 

Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s de facto leader and a Nobel Peace Prize winner, has a change of heart regarding US sanctions against her country. 

Japan | Elected Tokyo’s first female governor, Yuriko Koike has made history in Japan. She ran as an independent in defiance of her party—the ruling Liberal Democratic Party—which supported the lesser-known Hiroya Masuda. Koike, 64 years old and a veteran politician, hopes to bring the city’s financial center back to its former glory.

Private bankers looking to grow in Asia are investing heavily in innovation to stave off disruption, at the same time firms are also turning to technology to tackle more fundamental issues in the industry.

For the first time, Asia’s super-rich have surpassed their North American counterparts in both population and wealth. China and Japan, in particular, stood out as wealth powerhouses despite a volatile year for Asian equity markets.  Asia Pacific’s 5.1 million high-net-worth ...