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Vietnam’s Tourism Advisory Board (TAB) has proposed a long-term visa program to the government to maintain its lead in Southeast Asia’s fast-evolving travel market. The recommendations, submitted to Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, include a “golden visa” valid for five to ten years to compete with Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia—countries that already offer such schemes to long-stay travellers, Báo Văn Hóa reported. The proposal comes at a time when Vietnam has regained 98% of its pre-pandemic tourism levels, making it the fastest-recovering destination in the region. In 2024, the country welcomed 17.5 million international visitors, overtaking Singapore and trailing only Malaysia and Thailand. The advisory board also suggested introducing a 10-year investor visa with the possibility of permanent residency after five years, and a five-year talent visa with a simplified renewal process, as reported by Thanh Nien newspaper. These programs could be piloted in key tourism hubs like Phu Quoc, Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, and Da Nang.

Enforcement Directorate (ED) probing a money laundering and alleged forex violation case against Indian Premier League (IPL) founder Lalit Modi has recently sent a letter rogatory (LR) to Singapore and Hong Kong seeking details of the alleged money trail that the agency is investigating to trace the ultimate beneficiary, if any, sources in the know told ET. Between 2008 and 2010, Modi was the IPL chief before being sacked by BCCI after allegations of financial misconduct linked to alleged proxy ownership of the franchises surfaced.

In 2024, at the India-ASEAN Summit, Modi gifted a vintage brass Buddha statue to Laos President Thongloun Sisoulith, symbolizing shared heritage and India’s commitment to cultural diplomacy. In the same year, India sent several sacred relics of Lord Buddha and his disciples to Thailand. The relics of Lord Buddha and his disciples, Arahant Sariputta and Arahant Maha Moggallana, were taken to Bangkok by an Indian delegation and displayed for 25 days in four cities of Thailand . In 2023, PM Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visited the Bal Bodhi Tree at Buddha Jayanti Park in Delhi, reinforcing the deep-rooted Buddhism ties between India and Japan. India also hosted the first-ever Global Buddhist Summit, bringing together scholars and practitioners to discuss contemporary challenges through the lens of Buddhist philosophy, where Modi stressed that Buddha’s teachings provide solutions to global issues. In 2022, PM Modi visited Lumbini, Nepal, on Buddha Purnima and laid the foundation stone for the India International Centre for Buddhist Culture and Heritage, a landmark project promoting Buddhist culture and strengthening Indo-Nepal spiritual ties.

Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia have for years worked to turn themselves into alternatives to China for factories making the bags, electronics, shoes and auto parts that eventually end up in the United States. Now, they will face some of the most punishing tariffs. All three countries have said in recent days that they’re open to negotiations over the “reciprocal tariffs” Trump announced this week, while Singapore, a finance and trade hub, has said that it doesn’t plan to strike back. The offers come as nations worldwide weigh how to respond to Trump’s decision to slap tariffs from 10% to as high as 50% on every country. Since his announcement, trillions of dollars in market value have been wiped out globally and triggered widespread recession alarms. Southeast Asia’s offers to negotiate contrast with China’s immediate retaliation, while the European Union is preparing its own countermeasures if talks fail. Trump and Vietnam's leader To Lam have agreed to discuss a deal to remove tariffs, both leaders said after a phone call that Trump said was «very productive», as Hanoi has escalated its campaign to dodge duties of 46%.

Global investors have yearned for clarity over U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs, but now they have it, they don't much like what they see. As part of his «Liberation Day» on April 2, Trump slapped hefty tariffs on major trading partners, plunging markets into turmoil, just as investors parse through the first new quarterly earnings, along with Chinese inflation data, waiting for the rest of the world to respond.

Act East Policy is the reflection of PM Narendra Modi’s foreign policy marked by dynamism and action. With the changing dynamics of the world, PM Modi in 2014, introduced a new vigour in India’s foreign policy. He transformed the Look East Policywith a more dynamic Act East Policy (AEP). Introduced in 1992, the Look East policy focused largely on economic ties with the Southeast Asia region. This shift was not just symbolic but marked a significant strategic approach that emphasized deeper diplomatic engagement, stronger trade partnerships, enhanced security cooperation, and cultural exchanges with Southeast Asia and the broader Indo-Pacific region. The Act East Policy placed India as an active stakeholder in regional affairs. Over the past 10 years, the Act East Policy has positioned India as an active and influential player in Southeast Asia. The Indian PM’s frequent engagements, high-profile summits, and strategic partnerships have strengthened India's presence in the Indo-Pacific, making India not just a participant but a leader in regional affairs. Modi has himself visited SE Asia multiple times. This include trips to Singapore (2015, 2018, 2024), which have strengthened economic and fintech collaboration, and visits to Indonesia (2018, 2022, 2023), where India expanded its maritime security cooperation.

Goldman Sachs struck an optimistic tone on Zomato on Friday, arguing that concerns around its quick commerce arm Blinkit are exaggerated and current valuations overly pessimistic, even as the stock fell as much as 2.4% to Rs 205.85 on the day. Goldman Sachs reiterated a «buy» rating on Zomato with a target price of Rs 310, implying an upside of over 50% from current levels. The brokerage believes that at the current market price, investors are effectively assigning negligible value to Zomato’s food delivery business or assuming that Blinkit’s EBITDA margins have structurally halved — both scenarios it considers highly unlikely.

Bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies dipped after President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on US trading partners worldwide, triggering a slump in risk assets. The largest digital asset fell as much as 4% to about $82,000 on Thursday morning in Singapore before paring losses, while other tokens including Ether and XRP also declined. Solana had at one point shed more than 9% of its value.

Here's a look at some of the new tariff regime's key features, as detailed in Trump's executive order.

IPO) for its portfolio company Straive in India, said people familiar with the matter. EQT has appointed Axis Capital, JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley to manage the offering for the edtech-focused data and solutions provider, the people said.

At present, such individuals can buy into India's primary and secondary markets only through the foreign portfolio investor (FPIs) route.

Indian equities ended the financial year to March 31 on a positive note, but gains were modest against the previous fiscal year and compared with many other global markets. A wave of selling pressure from foreigners in the second-half of April-March eroded most of the gains, pushing indices to multi-month lows and denting overall sentiment. India, the world’s fifth-largest equity market in value, lagged behind more than six major global markets, including Hong Kong, Singapore, Germany, China, the UK, Taiwan and the US as foreign investors turned bearish on India on account of slowing growth concerns and expensive share valuations.

Alpha Wave Global — according to a release. However, the statement did not disclose the details of the deal. The announcement comes a day after Haldiram confirmed acquisition of a minority stake by Singapore-based global investment firm Temasek. The details of this deal were also not disclosed. «Haldirams, India's leading snack and food brand, is pleased to announce the addition of two new investors, IHC (International Holding Company) and Alpha Wave Global, to its ongoing equity round, following Temasek's recent participation,» the statement said.

Planetcast, a leading provider of broadcast technology and media services, has announced that it has been selected by beIN Asia Pacific as its strategic technology partner to enhance the management and delivery of programming for 14 HD sports channels across Southeast Asia and Australia. By utilising Planetcast’s NexC suite of cloud-first products and services, this collaboration will enable beIN to optimise content preparation, processing, distribution, and monetisation, supporting business growth across the Asia Pacific (APAC) region. Planetcast Media Services’ support for beIN’s live sports content management and delivery is based on two key NexC modules: Cloud.X Turbo, an agile, high-performance sports playout solution optimised for multiplatform distribution with ultra-low latency, and Recaster, the managed IP delivery solution that uses public internet to deliver broadcast-quality video streams globally.

Under the mission, India has launched initiatives addressing various aspects of the Innovation landscape, from infrastructural capacity building to spurring innovation. India has allocated approximately 10,300 rupees under this mission over the coming five years. A major focus of the mission is to build high-end common computing facilities equipped with 18,693 Graphics Processing Units.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. India’s ambitious push to bring home trading in Nifty 50 derivatives has made limited progress in nearly two years, as many traders tempted by cost and logistical advantages keep faith in the Singapore Exchange (SGX). While the share of GIFT Nifty volumes originating from within GIFT City has nearly doubled to 33% during the period, it is still a long way from realizing the goal of attracting the majority of these trades to India.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. New Delhi: Gross refining margins (GRM) of oil marketing companies (OMC) in India are likely to continue to narrow in the ongoing fourth quarter of fiscal year 2025 (FY25) with declining discounts on Russian oil and shrinking crack spreads. The benchmark Singapore GRMs in the January-March quarter as of February-end stood at $2.7 per barrel, compared with $4 per barrel in the fourth of the previous fiscal, showed data from Icra Ltd.

They told ET in an interview that macroeconomic uncertainty, potential tariff wars and inflation concerns may slow down global real estate recovery, but India's strong fundamentals continue to attract long-term investors. «We think 2025 will continue to be a little bit more choppy, just because of the potential tariff wars. But as that gets resolved, we expect strong growth heading into 2026,» Robinson said.

This marks legendary player Messi's return to subcontinent after 14 years. Notably, in November last year, Kerala Sports Minister V Abdurahiman had announced the news of Argentina visiting the southern state and playing two friendly matches in Kochi. The visit comes as part of a newly announced partnership between the Argentine Football Association (AFA) and HSBC, covering India and Singapore. The one-year agreement, signed ahead of Argentina’s 2026 World Cup qualification final matches, makes HSBC the official banking partner of the Argentina National Team in both countries. As part of the deal, HSBC will hold branding and activation rights while offering its customers exclusive benefits such as match tickets, fan experiences, and meet-and-greet opportunities with Argentine football stars.

Vietnam, which has now emerged as the fastest-growing tourism destination in Southeast Asia. Now, Vietnam has emerged as the third-most-visited country in the region, with 17.5 million international arrivals in 2024, edging ahead of Singapore. It follows Malaysia, which had 25 million visitors, and Thailand, which remains at the top with 35 million. The numbers also make Vietnam, also referred to as the Land of the Ascending Dragon, the regional leader in tourism recovery. Five years after the Covid-19 pandemic brought global travel to a halt, Vietnam has regained 98% of its pre-pandemic tourism business, outpacing all its neighbours, including Thailand (87.5%) and Singapore (86%). The momentum shows no signs of slowing down. Nearly four million international tourists arrived in Vietnam in January and February this year, a 30.2% increase from the same period last year, according to figures from the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism.

Singapore on Tuesday signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) for Green and Digital Shipping Corridor (GDSC), with a focus on digitalisation and decarbonisation. The Singapore-India GDSC, when established, will enhance collaboration from both countries and help accelerate the development and uptake of zero or near-zero GHG emission technologies and the adoption of digital solutions, a joint release from Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore and Ministry of Ports, Shipping said. The minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal said his visit to Singapore with a high-level marine sector delegation will strengthen the long-standing relationship. Moreover, the «Comprehensive Strategic Partnership» will deepen and broaden cooperation between the two countries, he noted.