Una Galani

A long-running battle between overseas activists and a Japanese elevator and escalator maker has finally reached a conclusion - courtesy of a private equity buyout. Five years after pushy shareholders publicly targeted it, Fujitec has agreed to sell itself to Sweden-based EQT . The $2.7 billion deal is the largest sponsor-backed buyout in the Asian country in 2025, a step toward potential industry consolidation, and a neat end to a long messy fight.

CEO Dilhan Pillay is creating three separate units for its $338 bln portfolio of Singapore businesses, global investments, and partnerships, and will be firmer with companies it controls. That should boost performance. The next step is to commit to more transparency on returns.

The Asian country can probably absorb the blow from the US president’s 50% tariff on its goods exports. Rising hostility to its outsourced services industry represents a bigger threat. A stalling economy will undermine India’s ability to present itself as an alternative to China.

Slapping a $100,000 fee on specialist visas opens a new front in Donald Trump’s anti-immigration push. Absent a tax on outsourcing, it will speed up offshoring and AI use. Yet the order’s loopholes hint at concerns that curbing talent migration will hurt US exceptionalism.

A sense of relief permeated Hong Kong’s annual gathering of Global Financial Leaders this week as a truce in the Sino-American trade war and a rebound in Chinese equities set a relaxed tone for discussions. An impressive roster of executives, including Carlyle CEO Harvey Schwartz and Macquarie CEO Shemara Wikramanayake, convened at the Rosewood hotel - recently crowned the world's best - to discuss global trade, private markets and energy. At a dinner the night before, delegates watched a robot demonstrate boxing and were introduced to the city's most extreme trail runners. Yet even as the mood in Hong Kong brightens, the opportunity for global firms is shifting.

In just a decade the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank has become a credible lender distinct from Beijing’s Belt and Road. Doing half its lending alongside US-led peers like the World Bank helped. As Washington rethinks its international role, AIIB may have to recalibrate too.

The world’s second-largest economy posted a record $1 trln trade surplus for the first 11 months of 2025. In this Viewsroom podcast, Breakingviews columnists discuss how Beijing’s plan to make high-end tech goods has paid off, and why a US trade war could spoil the party.

President Xi Jinping’s campaign to end ruinous price wars and curb overcapacity in the world’s second-largest economy will fatten corporate profits. If it lasts, that could turn mandated payouts into lasting returns – and provide China’s $15 trln equities a sturdier backbone.

The ​US-Israel war on Iran ⁠is throttling ​oil and gas supplies. ​The disruption will prompt countries to build ​up big stockpiles ​like China, which may ‌have ⁠around 1 bln barrels in reserve. When governments put ​resilience ​over ⁠efficiency, the result is higher ​oil prices ​for ⁠longer.

Sentiment towards ​the $20 trln economy ​is no longer at ⁠rock bottom. Fund ​allocations are recovering and ​foreign investment is rising. China’s innovation edge helps but, ​in an uncertain ​world, investors still prefer liquid exposure ‌they ⁠can cut quickly.