Data show 5 commercial vessels transited the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, well below the 10-day average of 15.

The State Council’s Taiwan Affairs Office said at a regular briefing that the Taiwan Industrial Association’s 2026 white paper, themed “Confident and Steady: Building a New Phase of Cross‑Strait Development,” calls for simplified vetting of mainland professionals visiting Taiwan and urges faster improvement of mainland visitor application procedures. Spokesperson Zhang Han said frequent, orderly cross‑strait business and people‑to‑people exchanges are popular and a prevailing trend; the office said it has long promoted cross‑strait cooperation and taken measures to ease travel. The office urged the DPP authorities to heed industry appeals and remove what it described as unreasonable restrictions that impede cross‑strait exchanges and integration.

Citi expects Korean corporates to post a record level of global equity and bond issuance in 2026 as firms raise growth capital from international investors, highlighted by SK Hynix’s roughly $26.5 billion U.S. listing. Jangho Park, CEO of Citi Global Markets Korea, said an expanding cohort of world‑class companies and emerging industry leaders are tapping capital markets on competitive terms to fund growth. The outlook coincides with Korea’s two major chipmakers benefiting from AI infrastructure demand; Seoul aims to steer at least 1,350 trillion won ($975 billion) of investment toward chips and data centers, though many projects remain at early planning stages.