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B2B Asia News
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This is a B2B Asia News Daily Update for 18 February 2026, reviewing regional and global markets, and covering the daily business news you shouldn’t miss.
Watch the video in English above.
- We start with a quick look at regional markets. Asian financial markets showed signs of recovery on Wednesday, while some hubs have holiday impact, most major markets such as Japan and Australia are fully operational today.
- The Nikkei 225 surged significantly, gaining roughly 1.23%, over 680 points, bolstered by news of a fresh US-Japan infrastructure funding deal.
- The S&P/ASX 200 extended its winning streak, rising 0.30% to sit near the 8,985 mark, led by gains in the technology and energy sectors.
- Zooming in on Cambodia’s market—the Cambodia Securities Exchange was down by 0.4 points to 425.62.
The total trade volume for the day reached 132,356 shares, representing a significant increase in liquidity.
These shares changed hands at a total trading value of 577.9 million riel, approximately $143,650 US dollars . - On the main board, Royal Group Phnom Penh SEZ and Sihanoukville Autonomous Port saw modest gains, while Pestech Cambodia attempted to stabilize after recent volatility.
- On the Growth board, all stock were down.
- Shifting to the exchange rate, the KHR remains steady at 4,022 Riel per US Dollar, while US Dollar Index was up to 97.30.
- Turning to global commodities, Brent oil prices continued to drift lower in Asian trade on Wednesday as investors monitored the fallout from regional naval drills and the progress of nuclear discussions.
Brent crude futures were down 0.8% to $67.42 US dollars a barrel.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude also saw a pullback, trading at $62.30 US dollars a barrel, down 1.4% from its previous high. (0738 GMT)
- Gold rebounded by more than 1% as buyers returned to the market following the holiday-induced liquidity crunch.
- Spot gold rose 1.1% to $4,934.66 US dollars per ounce, recovering from its recent weekly lows.
- U.S. gold futures for April delivery followed suit, gaining 1.0% to reach $4,958.80 US dollars per ounce as the initial pressure from a stronger dollar began to ease. (0800 GMT)
- Looking at the crypto market, there are mixed signals across major assets. Bitcoin trades at $67,840 US dollars, down 0.76%, while Ethereum fell 1.06% to $1,960 US dollars.
- Moving on now to other business-related news:
- According to Techo Startup Center, On February 17, 2026, Techo Startup Center Deputy Director Mrs. Hean Lorida met with an ADB delegation led by Senior Economist Sion L. Morton to review public finance initiatives. The discussion focused on the progress of sub-program 3 policy actions, the identification of new priorities, and the implementation of the "Digital Adoption Initiative" aimed at fostering innovation in MSMEs, alongside further technical assistance.
- In 2025, Cambodian citizens lost over $45 million to online scams, with less than $20 million recovered. Interior Minister Sar Sokha revealed these figures Tuesday at the launch of the Safer Internet Day 2026 campaign,the Minister also highlighted a surge in "bank impersonation" fraud and framed the local crisis against a $44 billion global loss to online fraud. This year’s campaign, themed "Safe, Ethical, and Responsible Use of AI," focuses on digital literacy to combat increasingly sophisticated AI-driven syndicates.
Watch the 18 February 2026 Daily Update in Khmer below: