Hong Kong activist is denied entry to Singapore

Good morning and welcome back to FirstFT Asia. In today’s newsletter:

• Singapore denies entry to dissident

• South Korea’s struggling realtors

• An interview with Ringo Starr

Singapore denied entry to Nathan Law, one of the student leaders of the 2014 pro-democracy Umbrella Movement in Hong Kong, after he arrived in the city state on Saturday to attend a conference. Here’s what we know.

What happened: Law, a political dissident and former Hong Kong lawmaker, told the FT that he was detained after landing on Saturday following a flight from San Francisco. The authorities questioned Law for several hours without explanation before informing him that he had been denied entry. Law, who holds a UK-issued refugee passport, said he had been given a visa for Singapore three weeks before this trip. “I was not told why I was detained,” Law said.

While in detention, Law reached contacts who raised his case with the UK and US governments, according to people familiar with his situation. It is unclear if the governments contacted Singapore. After 14 hours, Law was put on a flight to San Francisco and arrived back on Sunday morning.

‘I think the decision was political’: Law has lived in exile in the UK and US since fleeing Hong Kong in 2020 after Beijing imposed a national security law on the territory, under which pro-democracy activists have been arrested and imprisoned. “I think the decision to deny entry was political, although I am unsure whether external forces, such as the People’s Republic of China, are involved, directly or indirectly,” Law said. Read the full story.

Here’s what else we’re keeping tabs on today:

• Economic data: Malaysia reports producer prices for August.

• Trump-Netanyahu meeting: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set for crunch talks on Gaza with Donald Trump in Washington.

• Moldova: Results are expected from yesterday’s critical parliamentary election, where voters chose between further integration with the EU and a renewed alignment with Russia.

Five more top stories

1. US President Donald Trump will meet congressional leaders today for crunch talks as the threat of a costly government shutdown within days looms over Washington. The federal government will run out of funding unless lawmakers can strike an agreement to keep the government open by a Tuesday 11.59pm deadline. Here’s what’s at stake if the government shuts down.

2. Ukraine’s limited air defences fought to repel a large-scale Russian air attack in the early hours of Sunday, but four people were killed and several buildings in Kyiv and its outskirts were destroyed or damaged, according to officials. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the “massive Russian attack” on Ukraine lasted for more than 12 hours, calling it “deliberate, targeted terror against ordinary cities”.

3. Occidental Petroleum is in talks to sell its OxyChem division in a deal expected to be worth about $10bn that would carve out one of the world’s largest standalone petrochemicals units. The Houston-based company, which is backed by Warren Buffett, has been steadily divesting assets in recent years in an effort to reduce its heavy debt load, which now stands at $24bn. Here are more details.

4. Big private equity groups want to raise three times as much cash in Europe next year as they are likely to secure in 2025, setting up a shake-out for the sector at a time when many investors have been starved of returns. The lofty fundraising targets may force investors to choose between buyout firms, leaving some short of new funds to invest.

5. Denmark is banning all civil drones for a week ahead of two European summits after a third incursion of unmanned aircraft over various military locations in the Scandinavian country. “Our airspace has not been violated like we’ve seen in recent days since the second world war”, transport minister Thomas Danielsen told broadcaster TV2 as he announced the ban. Read the full story.

News in-depth

China is locking in European dependence on its technology by sending thousands of workers to build cutting-edge car battery factories that the continent needs to breathe new life into its auto industry. The large-scale movement of labour underscores big gaps in Europe’s skills and knowhow in electric vehicle batteries — and aligns with Chinese President Xi Jinping’s strategy of fostering foreign dependence on China’s high-end manufacturing.

We’re also reading . . . 

• CEOs and Trump: The history of antitrust policy in the US shows that executives ignore Washington at their peril, writes Tevi Troy.

• No shame in sleeping in: Bosses who get up at 4am deserve more pity than praise, writes Pilita Clark.

• FT Magazine: Convicted Israeli assassin Avner Harari dreamt of being a pop star. How far would he go in pursuit of fame?

Chart of the day

Seoul’s property market may be booming, but estate agents in South Korea earn some of the lowest commissions among major economies owing to a government cap on fees, and intense competition between realtors. A surplus of agents is partly because of retirees and married middle-aged women entering the profession and staying in it for longer, attracted by its flexible hours and minimal entry requirements.

Take a break from the news . . . 

. . . and read the FT’s interview of Ringo Starr, the drummer for The Beatles. Now showing his art in Las Vegas, Ringo reflects on how the band’s appeal refuses to grow old. “Every generation, if they’re into music, listens to us,” he says. “We’re still selling records. We do billions of streams a year!”