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B2B Asia News
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This is a B2B Asia News Daily Update for 28 August 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. Shares in Asia turned cautious on Friday after a Nvidia-fuelled technology rally, while currency and bond markets held their breath for the world's most powerful central banker to speak on U.S. interest rates.
- MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan edged up 0.2%, while Japan's Nikkei rose 0.5%. Taiwanese shares gained 0.8% after Nvidia jumped nearly 9% overnight after the chipmaker reported robust results and signalled the AI spending boom has years left to run. South Korea's KOSPI, however, fell 1.5%, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.4%.
- Zooming in on Cambodia’s market—the Cambodia Securities Exchange Index was down 3.08 points or 0.57% to 541.7.
- Total trade volume was down with 844,079 shares changing hands at a total value of 4.7 billion riel or over $1.18 million US dollars.
- On the main board, only one stock, Sihanoukville Autonomous Port, was up, while four stocks were down, with Royal Group Phnom Penh SEZ as the biggest loser of the day.
- Over on the growth board, Picasso City Garden was up, JS Land was down, while DBD Engineering stayed flat.
- Shifting to the exchange rate, the Khmer riel to USD remained stable at 4,046 riel per US Dollar, while the US Dollar index hovered around 99.19.
- Looking at global commodities, oil prices fell on Friday and were on track to snap a two-week winning streak, despite settling higher in the previous session following a report that U.S. President Donald Trump is not interested in returning to previous deal terms with Iran.
- Brent crude futures were down 0.67% to $89.10 US dollars a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 0.77% to $82.89 US dollars. (0636 GMT)
- Gold prices ticked up on Friday, with investors looking out for U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh's remarks at the Jackson Hole symposium later in the day to gauge the central bank's future monetary policy.
- Spot gold was up 0.1% at $4,607.47 US dollars per ounce. It touched a more than three-month high of $4,696.18 US dollars on Tuesday, following the U.S. Treasury's announcement of support measures for long-duration bonds. U.S. gold futures were little changed at $4,661.20 US dollars. (0839 GMT)
Looking at the crypto market, Bitcoin was hovering near $80,000 dollars with a positive "Coinbase premium," the market is currently navigating the uncertainty surrounding $6.4 billion dollars in Bitcoin options expiring tomorrow. Ethereum’s price was at $2,496.70 US dollars, up 1.7% over the last 24 hours.
- Moving on now to other business-related news,
- On August 28, the Securities and Exchange Regulator of Cambodia (SERC)—in collaboration with the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) and supported by the Australian Embassy in Cambodia and the Sustainable Finance Institute Asia (SFIA)—held the Final Round of the “Cambodia National Qualifier: ASEAN Environmental, Social and Governance Challenge 2026” at the Himawari Hotel in Phnom Penh. In his opening remarks, H.E. Sou Socheat, Director General of the SERC, emphasised that the final round plays a vital role in building ESG knowledge among university students and strengthening Cambodia’s financial sector by preparing the next generation of sustainable finance leaders for regional competition. He added that he was proud to see young Cambodian talent get ready to stand on the international stage. University students from CamEd Business School were named the winners of the national qualifier and will be representing Cambodia at the regional ASEAN ESG Challenge 2026 in
- The Royal Government of Cambodia and the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to further strengthen cooperation in the education sector, contributing to the implementation of the Pentagonal Strategy-Phase 1 and the Cambodia Education Strategic Plan 2024-2028. The MoU was signed in Phnom Penh on August 27 by H.E. Dr. Hang Chuon Naron, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education, Youth and Sport of Cambodia, and Baroness Winterton, UK Minister for the Indo-Pacific. Under the MoU, Cambodia and the UK will further expand cooperation in three key areas: primary education; higher education and institutional partnerships; and scholarship programmes.
- H.E. Sun Chanthol, Deputy Prime Minister and First Vice Chairman of the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC), presided over a meeting on August 27 with agro-industrial investors and development partners to present investment opportunities under Cambodia’s new Agri-Food Industrial Park (AIP) Framework. The event was co-organised by the CDC and the Embassy of Australia in Cambodia, bringing together relevant stakeholders to explore opportunities for investment in Cambodia’s agri-food processing sector. The framework aims to accelerate the industrialisation of Cambodia’s agricultural sector through a “Private Sector-Led and Government-Linked” business model. It is designed to attract quality investment, create employment opportunities, promote value-added processing, strengthen agricultural value chains and enhance the competitiveness of Cambodian exports.
Watch the 28 August 2026 Daily Update in Khmer below: