ASIANOMICS

🇨🇳 China Targets “Involution” Competition China’s State Administration for Market Regulation said it will use a policy mix to curb “involution-style” competition , focusing on standards, price enforcement, and quality supervision. Officials said at a State Council Information Office briefing on Sunday that the aim is to shift firms away from low-price internal attrition and toward productivity and quality gains. The…

🇲🇾 Najib Stays in Prison Former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak said he will remain in Kajang Prison while his legal team reviews the terms of a conditional pardon that requires payment of a 50 million ringgit (US$12.3 million) fine before any transfer to house arrest. In a statement, he said the move depends on fulfilling the conditions set out in the pardon, while authorities are also awaiting official…

🇰🇷 🇰🇵 Seoul Prepares Medical Aid to Pyongyang South Korea’s unification ministry plans to send 1,431 medical items across 166 categories to a hospital in Pyongyang , according to a document submitted to a lawmaker. The package, which includes AEDs, X-ray machines, stethoscopes, blood pressure monitors and operating tables, was drawn up as part of a humanitarian medical support program with an estimated cost of $6.75…

🇰🇷 🇺🇸 Samsung Holds U.S. AI Forum Samsung Electronics said it held its eighth annual technology forum in Silicon Valley to present artificial intelligence technologies and business strategies to global developers. Around 80 executives from Samsung and international IT companies attended the 2026 Tech Forum in the United States . Samsung executives including DX division head Roh Tae-moon and CTO Yoon Jang-hyun…

🇨🇳 China Housing Gets Policy Lift Sales of new homes in Shanghai and Shenzhen have risen after Beijing introduced fresh measures to revive buyer confidence, according to a South China Morning Post report . Property brokers in major cities reported a surge in inquiries and said they are trying to close more deals as sentiment improves. The rebound follows central government efforts to support China’s weak real estate…

🇨🇳 Huang Zhijiang Takes CDB Post China’s State Development Bank has appointed Huang Zhijiang as party deputy secretary, vice chairman and president, according to an update on the bank’s leadership page showing his new role . Huang, 56, previously served as executive vice governor of Inner Mongolia and is an alternate member of the 20th CPC Central Committee. Huang spent much of his career in finance, including…

🇨🇳 CXMT Starts Fifth-Gen DRAM Production Chinese DRAM maker CXMT on Sept. 20 announced mass production of its fifth-generation technology platform at the 2026 World Manufacturing Convention in China . The company said the platform reaches an 11.95nm half-pitch in the active memory array, a capacitor aspect ratio of 45:1, and a core active area height of 6,762nm. CXMT said the new platform lifts output per wafer by…

🇰🇷 South Korea Unveils New Submarine South Korea gave reporters a rare look at the 3,600-ton Seo Hui attack submarine at Hanwha Ocean’s shipyard in Geoje , with the vessel set for launch in November under the Jang Bogo-III Batch-II program. Yonhap reported that the 89-meter submarine carries vertical launch tubes for submarine-launched ballistic missiles, torpedo tubes for 20 rounds, and an upgraded combat…

🇨🇳 China Extends Fiscal Retrenchment China’s government spending contraction deepened in August , with Bloomberg calculations based on finance ministry data showing broad budget expenditure down 6.7% year on year after a 4.4% drop in July. Broad fiscal revenue rose 2.9%, while the fiscal deficit narrowed by one-fifth, according to data released by the Finance Ministry . The deficit for the first eight months of 2026…

🇰🇷 Justice nominee withdraws South Korean President Lee Jae Myung’s nominee for justice minister withdrew from consideration on Saturday, marking another cabinet setback for the administration, according to the Reuters report . The move concerns a key ministerial post in South Korea . It is the second of Lee’s cabinet picks to step aside this month. The withdrawal comes as the president’s approval ratings are…