The Singapore government has so far, like the rest of ASEAN, largely been silent on Beijing's aggression in waters that -- under international law -- are the Philippines'. ZB's language & signals are not insignificant in this context, not just domestically but geopolitically.

Look ma, I’m a columnist! Pleased to share my first view of many for Reuters Breakingviews: China trading-data restrictions are self-defeating breakingviews.com/considered-vie…

ASEAN now beats China as destinations for OECD investment in manufacturing. fdiintelligence.com/content/data-t…

What became of Rahile Dawut? The Uyghur academic pursued her life’s work under an increasingly authoritarian Chinese state. Then she vanished FT Weekend Magazine ft.com/content/ca0364…

Perennial The Society of Publishers in Asia contenders Caixin, Sixth Tone, even SCMP have dropped out and are no longer submitting nominees, "for obvious reasons," two senior Caixin staffers said. "Even if we get invitations from overseas organizations, we just cannot participate." Good story Nikkei Asia

The FT (that’s me and my excellent colleagues Eva Xiao + Patrick Mathurin) spent months on this series, which sought to unpack who the next generation of leaders at Berkshire were and how they were performing

Lawrence Wong, Singapore’s next PM faces an ever trickier balancing act via Financial Times on.ft.com/3UAYpCa

smh.com.au/world/asia/ban…

Singapore and its chop houses have changed so much since I stayed in Chinatown as kid in the early 80s..now the market for the chophouses may be hotter than Fifth Avenue, rpts Mercedes Ruehl ft.com/content/e1a53c…

I’m on the KLIA Express to head to the airport & I can’t help but think that Malaysia is such an under valued country. The infra here is amazing (best in Southeast Asia), people are nice, food is great & diverse & should be on people’s radar as a travel & investment destination.

This can’t help but remind me of the dynamics that led to the sad end of the successful Yale-NUS programme several years ago. Singapore marks the end of a more liberal era in higher education on.ft.com/3tIcf7I

Multinationals are leaving Nigeria. Singaporean group Tolaram is sensing an opportunity. By Madeleine Speed, Mercedes Ruehl + me, via Financial Times: ft.com/content/84a7ba…

“Brexit happened and the Conservatives promised to make the UK like Singapore and instead they turned this place into Belarus,” said a billionaire businessman who has lived in London for 15 years and is now moving his tax residency to Abu Dhabi. on.ft.com/4b9c7T2

Malaysian officials joke that Singapore's move to woo data centres is typically 'kiasu' — Hokkien for fear of losing out — after the likes of Microsoft and Nvidia visited its larger neighbour. But this is an overly simplistic sneer, writes Mercedes Ruehl on.ft.com/45CV36G

In defence of the state via Financial Times “What is happening is destruction, not reform. Whatever they have been told, ordinary Americans will not benefit from the chaos. But we know who will.” on.ft.com/41lCdAv

Austria says it uncovered Russian disinformation operation ft.com/content/cd157b… via Mercedes Ruehl

Downfall in Davos: Klaus Schwab fights for legacy after WEF whistleblower claims ft.com/content/011d57… via @ft

The other crucial part of this is the proposed tax would also affect those running the thousands of SMEs and entrepreneurial families spread across the country, many of which have their money entirely tied up in the business. on.ft.com/4nd3rCb