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Pressure on the economy is already visible in trade and commodity data. Merchandise trade with the Middle East has been hit by shipping disruption linked to the conflict, even as stronger exports to the United States helped keep March’s overall trade deficit lower than expected. At the same time, the fertiliser bill has jumped sharply: urea import offers to Indian Potash Ltd clustered near $1,000 a tonne this week, roughly double the level seen two months ago, raising the prospect of a larger subsidy burden just as the kharif cycle approaches. For policymakers, that combination matters because it hits both external accounts and domestic costs, especially in food production.

Energy remains the central fault line. The Strait of Hormuz handles about a fifth of global oil and gas shipments, and for India it is a vital corridor for roughly half of crude and LPG imports. That vulnerability has been laid bare by delays to vessel movements and the stranding of India-flagged ships in the Gulf. Iran’s envoy in New Delhi has denied any toll demand on tankers, and India has also said no such payments were made, but the broader message from the episode is that the route can no longer be treated as a routine artery for commerce when conflict risk is this high.

Oil traders have taken some comfort from ceasefire diplomacy and indirect talks between Washington and Tehran, yet prices remain elevated because markets do not believe a durable fix is close. Brent crude was still around $95 a barrel on April 16, and analysts say disruptions to flows through Hormuz remain severe. That leaves New Delhi facing a familiar but uncomfortable calculation: protect households from a fuel shock and risk wider fiscal stress, or let higher import costs work their way through the system and accept stronger inflation. The International Monetary Fund and World Bank have both warned that the conflict could scar global growth, raise prices and impose lasting damage even if the battlefield quietens.

Those warnings matter because the shock is broader than petrol and diesel. Wholesale prices are already climbing, and manufacturers are absorbing costlier freight, energy and feedstock. Fertiliser is a particular worry. If elevated urea prices persist, the state may have to spend more to shield farmers, while any squeeze on supply would carry risks for sowing costs and food inflation later in the year. Economists have argued for targeted support rather than broad subsidies, but that is easier said than done in a country where energy and fertiliser costs have immediate political as well as economic consequences.

There are, however, offsets that could soften the blow. March trade numbers showed that stronger shipments to the United States helped compensate for weaker business with the Middle East, and India continues to diversify its energy basket through Russian supplies and other alternatives where pricing works in its favour. A sanctioned LNG cargo from Russia is heading to Dahej, underlining the government’s willingness to prioritise supply security and consumer interests over diplomatic noise around purchasing patterns. That flexibility has given India more room than many pure importers, though it does not erase the strategic dependence on Gulf routes.

Singapore leads the region in maturity but faces critical scaling bottlenecks.

SINGAPORE – Media OutReach Newswire – 15 April 2026 – ST Telemedia Global Data Centres (STT GDC), one of the world’s fastest-growing data centre colocation service providers headquartered in Singapore, today announced the findings of a new regional research study, Mind the Gap: Bridging the AI Infrastructure Readiness Divide, examining how organisations across Asia are progressing from AI ambition to execution. Commissioned by STT GDC with research partner Ecosystm, the study surveyed more than 600 enterprise and digital-native leaders across nine Asian markets: India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam.

High adoption, limited readiness across Asia

The report reveals that AI ambition across Asia is high, with nearly 90% of organisations having embarked on their AI journeys. However, a significant 71% remain in the “Builder” stage of maturity, where initial AI pilots struggle to scale into production environments capable of delivering consistent and measurable return on investment (ROI). In contrast, only 17% of organisations are considered “future ready”, having invested in scalable infrastructure, mature data governance and specialised operational expertise, highlighting a widening readiness gap across the region.

Challenges faced by the Builders

Across Asia, the research identifies a reinforcing cycle that keeps many organisations stuck in pilot mode. AI initiatives are often launched on infrastructure that cannot scale to production, limiting their ability to demonstrate measurable ROI and making it harder to justify further investment in purpose-built, high-density environments. This challenge is compounded by gaps in in-house expertise, with many organisations lacking the specialist operational skills required to manage increasingly complex AI infrastructure at scale.

“Across Asia, organisations are moving quickly from experimentation to implementation, but many are discovering that AI success now depends less on training models and more on foundations,” said Chris Street, Group Chief Revenue Officer of ST Telemedia Global Data Centres. “Without scalable infrastructure and operational readiness in place, it becomes difficult to convert early AI ambition into consistent business value.”

The Sustainability Blind Spot

Despite rising energy and cooling demands driven by AI workloads, sustainability considerations remain secondary for most organisations when evaluating infrastructure options. Although 27% of organisations say ESG goals will actively shape or be central to their future plans, 64% of organisations across Asia continue to prioritise performance or cost, even as power density, thermal efficiency and long‑term total cost of ownership become increasingly critical factors in scaling AI responsibly.

A disconnect between what organisations want and what they need

The study also highlights a persistent disconnect between how organisations evaluate infrastructure partners and the capabilities they actually need to scale AI. Across Asia, organisations continue to prioritise baseline requirements like security and reliability, despite identifying operational expertise, scalability and cost efficiency as their most significant challenges.

Singapore: ahead of the region, but facing a new constraint

These challenges are visible across the region, but they manifest differently in more mature markets. Singapore stands out against the regional baseline with a significantly larger share of organisations having progressed beyond early-stage pilots. While only 17% of organisations across Asia are considered future‑ready, 40% of Singapore organisations have reached the Integrator stage, reflecting stronger early execution and deployment capability.

However, the study also finds that the final step to leadership remains the most difficult. Only 3% of Singapore organisations have reached the “Leader” stage of AI infrastructure maturity, signalling that even in Asia’s most mature AI market, the transition from integration to full leadership remains difficult.

Scaling, not adoption, is now the key challenge

In Singapore, where adoption is more advanced, the constraints have shifted. Limited infrastructure headroom, shortages in specialised operational expertise and continued investment discipline are now emerging as the primary barriers to scaling AI workloads and sustaining leadership.

“For Singapore, AI adoption is relatively mature; the defining challenge now is scaling deployments fast enough to support real‑world demand,” said Mingcheng Lim, Country Head – Singapore, ST Telemedia Global Data Centres. “Whether the country can maintain its lead in the region will depend on whether infrastructure capacity, specialist expertise and investment approaches can evolve at the same pace as AI workloads.”

Sustainability awareness has yet to shape infrastructure choices

In Singapore, regulatory expectations have driven relatively high awareness of sustainability issues. However, sustainability continues to rank among the lowest priorities when organisations evaluate infrastructure providers, highlighting a gap between awareness and action, even as power density, thermal efficiency and long‑term cost efficiency become increasingly important to scaling AI responsibly.

The mismatch between wants and needs persists

As with the wider region, Singapore organisations continue to evaluate infrastructure providers based on familiar baseline criteria, even as their scaling challenges point to a growing need for specialist expertise, speed to scale and sustainable, high‑density infrastructure capability.

These findings suggest that Asia’s next phase of AI progress will be defined not by ambition alone, but by execution capability. For Singapore, sustaining regional leadership will depend on infrastructure strategies that support scale, resilience and speed, enabling organisations to convert early AI momentum into enduring competitive advantage.

To download the report, Mind the Gap: Bridging the AI Infrastructure Readiness Divide, please visit: https://www.sttelemediagdc.com/resources/ai-readiness-assessment-report.Hashtag: #STTelemedia #STTGDC

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

About ST Telemedia Global Data Centres

ST Telemedia Global Data Centres (STT GDC) is one of the fastest-growing data centre providers with a global platform serving as a cornerstone of the digital ecosystem that helps the world to connect. Powering a sustainable digital future, STT GDC operates across Singapore, the UK, Germany, India, Italy, Thailand, South Korea, Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam, providing businesses an exceptional foundation that is built for their growth anywhere. For more information, visit https://www.sttelemediagdc.com/.

As the world’s first humanoid robot marathon event brand, this competition has reached new heights in terms of scale, technological innovation, and organizational requirements. Therefore, the drill was conducted to drive a further upgrade in the quality of event preparations.

In terms of scale, the number of participating teams for this year has grown by nearly five times compared to last year, exceeding 100 teams. Covering two major categories—autonomous navigation and remote control—with autonomous teams accounting for nearly 40%, the number of participants, types of technology, and scope of testing have all reached historic highs. Consequently, full-process drills are required to solidify operational links, hone team coordination, and ensure the efficient operation of the event.

Regarding technological innovation, the first large-scale application of autonomous navigation technology has become a major highlight and challenge. In complex and changing environments, robots face difficulties in perceiving and making decisions within intricate surroundings, posing huge challenges to their computing power. At the same time, long-distance running places severe tests on the robots’ endurance, specifically examining their long-range stamina and energy management capabilities. Furthermore, dynamic balance and gait control capabilities are put to the test; robots must maintain dynamic balance at all times. Especially during high-speed running or sharp turns, the requirements for adaptive gait and millisecond-level posture correction are extremely high to prevent falls caused by shifts in the center of gravity.

In terms of regulations, this year’s event has also seen systematic upgrades in five areas: stricter rules on human intervention, more scientific start and movement protocols, clearer scoring and penalty criteria, more standardized supply and equipment management, and tighter safety and emergency procedures.

Facing these numerous challenges, the main purpose of this full-process, all-element test is to conduct technical validation, process refinement, risk prevention, and standard consolidation, ensuring the official race proceeds safely, smoothly, efficiently, and in an orderly manner. This drill, adhering to the standards of “full-process, all-scenarios, and all-elements,” followed the complete official race route of 21.0975 kilometers for the first time. It followed official race timelines, track rules, and support systems, covering two categories of teams (autonomous and remote-controlled), two types of scenarios (urban main roads and eco-parks), and two major segments (technical competition and service support). Through full-chain stress testing, the organizers carried out targeted breakthrough verifications to precisely identify potential issues and optimize procedural details.

The entire event involves a full chain of operations including start-line assembly, track control, battery swapping and resupply, finish-line diversion, emergency containment, vehicle dispatch, timing and judging, and security and medical services. All these must undergo practical drills to identify risks, optimize movement lines, and unify standards. This test comprehensively inspects the stability and reliability of humanoid robot technology, laying a solid foundation for the successful hosting of the official event.

During this test, team positioning was strictly verified and orderly arranged based on technical data submitted by each team, ensuring the process was open, standardized, fair, and orderly. As a realistic pre-race simulation drill, the test focused on process refinement, problem identification, and detail optimization. Test results were for reference only and did not count towards official rankings or race results. At the same time, speed performance and operational data of the teams during the test were within the scope of verification and do not represent their level in the official competition.

Currently, the short-distance speed of robots has improved significantly, and some teams predict that their half-marathon results may approach the level of elite human athletes. As a competition that serves as an extreme test of comprehensive performance and adaptability to complex terrain, the final results are worth looking forward to. On April 19, this human-robot co-running half-marathon will officially kick off, providing more impetus for the development of the robotics industry and accelerating the transition of humanoid robots from the laboratory to real-world applications.

Hashtag: #2026BeijingE-TownHalf-MarathonandHumanoidRobotHalf-Marathon

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

Sánchez, on his fourth trip to China in four years, arrived with a message that mixed engagement with caution. On the eve of meeting Xi, he told an audience at Tsinghua University that China should assume a larger role in tackling climate change, inequality, global health, responsible artificial intelligence and major conflicts, while also arguing that Europe must step up as the United States pulls back from several fronts. That language reflected Madrid’s attempt to deepen economic relations with Beijing without ignoring the strategic unease that still colours China’s ties with much of the West.

For Xi, Spain offers a politically valuable counterpart inside the European Union. Beijing has been looking for reliable European interlocutors as Brussels tries to defend industrial interests, scrutinise state-backed Chinese investment and manage disputes over electric vehicles and market access. Spain has often sounded less confrontational than some other European capitals. Sánchez has previously urged compromise over tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles and has continued to frame China as a strategic partner rather than only a rival. That posture does not place Madrid outside the EU mainstream, but it does make Spain one of the more open major economies for Chinese diplomacy.

Trade remains the hardest fact beneath the warmer language. Sánchez acknowledged in Beijing that China accounts for 74 per cent of Spain’s overall trade deficit, and Reuters reported that Spain’s deficit with China approached $50 billion in 2025 after more than doubling over four years. Madrid wants better access for agricultural and manufactured exports while preserving inward investment that could help its green transition and industrial base. Chinese capital has already been tied to projects in batteries, hydrogen and manufacturing in Spain, underlining why the government sees practical gains in staying engaged even as the imbalance in trade grows harder to ignore.

That commercial logic is colliding with a tougher geopolitical climate. Sánchez’s visit has drawn scrutiny because it comes as China seeks stronger European ties during a period of strain with Washington. Reuters reported before the trip that Sánchez’s independent line on China had already irritated U. S. President Donald Trump, while Spain also rejected sharp U. S. criticism of moves to expand trade with Beijing. Chinese officials, for their part, signalled before the visit that they wanted to use it to deepen strategic trust, cooperation and multilateral coordination. The result is a diplomatic balancing act in which Madrid is trying to protect its autonomy, retain access to both superpowers and avoid being forced into a binary choice.

The political symbolism runs beyond bilateral ties. Sánchez’s stop in Beijing follows a succession of other European leaders visiting China this year, suggesting that even governments wary of Beijing’s security posture and industrial policies still see a need for direct dialogue. China is encouraging that trend, presenting stable relations with Europe as proof that it is not isolated despite mounting tension elsewhere. Spain’s government has echoed part of that argument, with Sánchez saying in Beijing that Europe and China had prospered together before and could do so again. That sentiment fits neatly with Xi’s effort to frame China as a pillar of order against a backdrop of war, protectionism and institutional drift.