Asia Pick of the Week hits 200

This Friday, we’re thrilled to mark the 200^th edition of Asia Pick of the Week – our weekly bulletin on the news from Asia that interested us the most. (If you haven't subscribed yet, you can do that here.)

Conceived almost four years ago during a company pub lunch, I could never have predicted that this little short-term experiment would have grown into what it has become today – a staple part of thousands of regular readers’ Friday lunchtimes. We’re always delighted to hear that people are looking forward to it landing in their inbox every week, and hope that it has helped everyone keep their finger on the pulse in Asia, as much as it has for us in researching it! 

As we approach the ‘200 editions’ mark, we thought it would be an appropriate time to look back on some of our favourite stories from the last few years – from the serious, to the more light-hearted… 

The stories our readers have clicked the most… 

• Hyundai motor closes its combustion engine division
• Green push ends the 150-year tradition of bank passbooks in Japan
• Samsung to open its eco-friendly tech to competitors
• China to overtake America in core 21^st century technologies within the next decade, Harvard report predicts

It may come as no surprise to see a huge increase in the number of stories surrounding sustainability coming out of Asia – and this is reflected in some of the top stories viewed by our readers. As countries throughout Asia commit to lofty carbon neutrality goals in the coming decades, we’ve seen a paradigm shift across almost every industry, with demand for eco-friendly products and solutions well represented in the weekly news. 

This is matched by an increasingly voracious appetite for all kind of digital solutions – from the digitalisation of factories to national shifts toward online banking, and more. And, of course, this presents a significant opportunity to western firms with innovative technologies and products that can help Asian corporations solve the issues at hand.  

…and some of our favourite fun stories 

It would be rude not to sign-off without a reference to the part of the newsletter that I enjoy the most. Here’s a hand-picked selection of a few of my favourite light-hearted stories from the past year: 

• Cat escorted off a high-speed train in China after being caught without a ticket
• Taiwan urges people to stop changing their name to ‘salmon’ to get free sushi
• Japanese fans go wild after a horse named Sumomomomomomomomo claims its first victory

Thanks once again to our regular readers for your ongoing support – here’s to issue 300 and beyond!