Le Journal

We have selected seven stories from the SCMP’s coverage of Asia over the past week that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. ‘No oil here’: Malaysians turn US embassy space post into foreign-policy satire A well-intentioned US embassy post featuring a satellite image of Malaysia has sparked a distinctly local burst of self-deprecating humour, with social media users quipping in response to the...

Busy Ming Group, China’s largest snack and drink retailer, is seeking to raise up to HK$3.34 billion (US$428 million) in a Hong Kong initial public offering (IPO), testing investors’ appetite for consumer-oriented stocks. The firm, which focuses on a value model, planned to sell 14.1 million shares at HK$229.60 to HK$236.60, according to its prospectus filed with the Hong Kong stock exchange on Tuesday. The stock is expected to begin trading on January 28. Busy Ming owns two brands – Busy for...

The biggest snowfall in 60 years ‌on Russia’s Far Eastern Kamchatka Peninsula created ‍vast drifts several metres tall that blocked building entrances and buried cars, according to Reuters visuals and weather monitoring ⁠stations. In some areas more than 2 metres (6.5 feet) of snow has fallen in the first half of January after 3.7 metres in December, ‍according to weather monitoring stations. Heavy snow is not uncommon in Kamchatka - a peninsula which stretches down towards Japan. Reuters...

When Singapore’s trade minister Gan Kim Yong revealed that locals owned nearly 90 per cent of registered retail businesses in the city state while Chinese nationals came in second at a distant 3 per cent, the figures drew mixed reactions from the public and analysts. The discourse online centred on what the statistics implied – critics felt that though the proportion of foreign-owned entities, especially from China, might be minuscule, most could actually be big brands with multiple outlets,...

If you’re looking for a lengthy debate about the merits of authentic cuisine, ask a Bahamian about their grandmother’s recipe for guava duff. The national dessert of the Bahamas, the duff is a steamed, doughy dumpling furrowed with fresh mashed guava (canned fruit is not acceptable, we are told), served piping hot and swimming in rum-spiked butter sauce. After listening to our waitress wax lyrical, we had to order one at Daddy Joe’s, more a living room than a restaurant in North Eleuthera, on...