Tuesday, July 1, 2026 Independent journalism & policy analysis across the Indo-Pacific
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THE ASIA PACIFIC HERALD

Where Asia Meets the World
Section building out. Markets · Corporations · Trade · Development Finance · Infrastructure · Supply Chains. Eight business stories published so far.
Automotive · Trade · Supply Chains

Stranded at the Border: How a Himalayan Flood Exposed Nepal's Chinese EV Boom

BYD and China's other automakers have turned Nepal into the world's No. 2 EV adoption market. A washed-out mountain bridge shows how fragile that success still is — and what it means for Chinese EV expansion elsewhere.

July 1, 2026 · Corporations: BYD · Regions: South Asia, East Asia

Manufacturing · Supply Chains

Where Is the World's Football Really Made?

Forward Sports has made the official ball for four straight World Cups from a single city in Pakistan. Robots have taken over less of the job than the "hand-stitched" reputation suggests.

July 1, 2026 · Corporations: Forward Sports, Adidas · Region: South Asia

Manufacturing · Tariffs

The Asian Factory Behind Every Goal

Vietnam makes 51 percent of Nike's footwear worldwide, Indonesia 28 percent. A tariff regime aimed at China is landing on the countries that moved production out of it.

July 1, 2026 · Corporations: Nike, Adidas · Regions: Southeast Asia

Infrastructure

The $100 Billion Road Across Asia

The Asian Highway Network is more than 92 percent up to minimum standard, with $43.8 billion still needed for priority sections and Myanmar and Afghanistan the hardest gaps to close.

July 1, 2026 · Organizations: ADB, ESCAP

Development Finance

A Decade After Its Launch, Has China's AIIB Changed Development Finance?

Ten years in, AIIB has become the World Bank's largest co-financing partner rather than the rival Washington feared.

July 1, 2026 · Organizations: AIIB, World Bank

Development Finance

The New Great Game of Development Finance

ADB, AIIB, the World Bank, JICA and Chinese state banks increasingly co-finance the same projects they compete over.

July 1, 2026 · Organizations: ADB, AIIB, World Bank, JICA, JBIC

Media · Tourism

From BTS to Semiconductors: How South Korea Turned Pop Culture into Economic Strategy

K-content exports reached $14.9 billion in 2025. Seoul has built beauty, food and gaming into the same export strategy as music and film.

July 1, 2026 · Region: East Asia

Technology · Semiconductors

Beyond Silicon Valley: Asia's Quiet AI Revolution

TSMC and SK Hynix supply the chips and memory behind nearly every major AI accelerator, regardless of which country's model runs on top.

July 1, 2026 · Corporations: TSMC, SK Hynix

Shipping · Logistics

The Shipping Routes That Built Modern Asia

Singapore's port set a container record in 2025 while Red Sea diversions added two weeks to Asia-Europe transit times.

July 1, 2026 · Region: Southeast Asia