Your weekly lineup of Asia's biggest business and political events
A COP31, the U.N.'s annual climate change conference, will get underway in Antalya, Turkey, on Nov. 9. © Getty Images
The United Nations' annual climate conference kicks off, with host Turkey putting electrification center stage as a way to arrest human-induced global warming. Asia would sit at the heart of any move to speed up the rollout of technologies such as electric vehicles and heat pumps, while the region's companies have emerged as a growing center of corporate climate targets .
Southeast Asian leaders will descend on Manila for the start of the ASEAN Summit, which will run into next week. The gathering's 49th edition, which is expected to be joined by international partners, will address economic security and integration challenges.
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The COP31 climate conference runs through Nov. 20 in Antalya, Turkey, as the world reckons with another year of global warming-linked disasters, including extreme heat waves and devastating flooding along the Nepal-Tibet border. With U.N. scientists recently confirming that humanity will overshoot the Paris climate agreement's most ambitious target of limiting warming to 1.5 C beyond preindustrial levels, there is greater pressure on participants to deliver practical solutions.
The Philippines releases third-quarter gross domestic product data, with analysts warning the economy will still miss its full-year 2026 growth target. Persistent headwinds, led by accelerating consumer inflation and weak domestic demand, continue to cap expansion.
Data: China inflation, Taiwan trade, Bangladesh inflation
The 2026 Global Management Dialogue, a forum organized by Nikkei and Swiss business school IMD, starts in Tokyo under the theme "Take Off: Toward a New Upward Trajectory." At the annual two-day event, business leaders, including Anthropic Chief Economist Peter McCrory and TSMC Senior Vice President Kevin Zhang, will discuss the role of artificial intelligence and other business trends.
China reports trade figures for October, as the country's rising exports draw scrutiny from global partners wary of their industries being swamped. Chinese shipments in September grew 36% on the year, the fastest pace in months.
Earnings: Singapore Airlines, Nissan
The Indonesian Palm Oil Conference 2026, an annual two-day palm oil market outlook event, kicks off in the world's largest producer. This year, in addition to focusing on export capacity following the implementation of a mandatory blending rate for palm-based biodiesel at 50%, the impact of El Nino on the market outlook and governance issues highlighted by recent forest fires will also be discussed.
Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake will present the South Asian nation's budget for 2027 in parliament. It will mark a significant moment for Dissanayake, who is also the finance minister, as this budget will be the first financial road map that Colombo has been able to shape as Sri Lanka comes out of its bailout from the International Monetary Fund, which dictated terms for Sri Lanka to achieve macroeconomic stability following the island nation's financial meltdown and economic collapse in 2022.
The Pakistan Mineral Investment Forum, a two-day annual event, kicks off with executives from international mining companies and investors, including John Thornton, chairman of Canada's Barrick Mining, participating. Pakistani Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik is scheduled to speak, and several announcements and memorandum of understanding signings are also expected.
Earnings: Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Sumitomo Financial Group, Mizuho
Nearly 690,000 voters in Malaysia's Malacca state are eligible to elect a new 28-seat assembly, which will test the country's shifting political alliances ahead of the next general election. Barisan Nasional, a partner in Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's federal government, is teaming up with opposition Perikatan Nasional to challenge his Pakatan Harapan coalition. The outcome could offer clues to whether cooperation between Malay nationalist party UMNO and Islamist PAS can reshape the national electoral landscape.
Southeast Asian leaders will gather in Manila for the annual ASEAN Summit to address pressing security and economic priorities. High-level discussions will focus on the possible conclusion of negotiations for a South China Sea pact, the conflict in Myanmar, regional digital trade integration and persistent cross-border haze.
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