The Bank of Japan is expected to raise its policy rate by 25 basis points to 1.25% next week, the highest level in 31 years, according to sources familiar with the matter. The move, coming just three months after the last hike in June, signals an acceleration in the tightening cycle. Though inflation remains above target, the BOJ believes financial conditions will remain accommodative even after the increase. Governor Kazuo Ueda may provide clues on the terminal rate in his post-meeting press conference.

Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 1.93% to 64,011.34, while South Korea's KOSPI dropped 1.76% to 6,909.92, as regional markets were hit by rising global bond yields. Japan's 10-year government bond yield climbed 7.5 basis points to 2.985%, its highest in years. The selloff in Asian equities mirrored global concerns over inflation and the potential for further rate hikes.

India's Securities and Exchange Board and Reserve Bank have launched a tokenization pilot for the country's $62 billion corporate bond market, using the wholesale digital rupee for settlement. The system connects tokenized bonds to the RBI's unified market interface, enabling atomic delivery-versus-payment settlement. Three issuers have already raised a combined 102.5 billion rupees in tokenized bonds, with smart contracts automating interest payments and redemptions.

Chinese memory chipmaker ChangXin Memory Technologies achieved a 82% EBIT margin in the second quarter, surpassing SK Hynix at 76% and Samsung Electronics at 70%, according to QUICK FactSet. Revenue grew tenfold year-over-year as the company benefited from a DRAM supply crunch caused by rivals shifting capacity to AI-focused high-bandwidth memory. CXMT's global DRAM market share rose to 9.5% in Q2, ranking fourth worldwide.

The Chinese city of Xiamen officially launched its "Shumaotong" platform at the China International Fair for Investment and Trade. The platform leverages the digital yuan for cross-border trade settlement, offering T+0 arrival, traceability, and reduced FX costs for foreign trade enterprises and e-commerce merchants. It integrates with multiple commercial banks and payment institutions, forming a closed loop of platform, banks, and enterprises.

At the Bund Summit, Alipay announced plans to introduce an AI wallet agent along with three new "AI collection" capabilities: VibePay, SkillPay, and MachinePay. The company also unveiled AI-powered scenarios such as AI cycle purchase, AI snatch, and AI booking. The move highlights the deepening integration of artificial intelligence into China's dominant mobile payment ecosystem.

Japan's Digital Agency disclosed that its government solutions service network suffered unauthorized access via a maintenance account in late June. Attackers exploited a VPN vulnerability to extract files containing personal information of approximately 246,000 public officials. The agency has not yet found evidence of misuse, but Japan recorded a record 123 ransomware attacks in the first half of this year.

A former senior Bank of Japan official warned that U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's "unusual" intervention in Japanese monetary affairs could undermine the BOJ's credibility and increase global market volatility. Bessent has intensified verbal pressure in recent weeks, claiming insider knowledge of the BOJ's intentions, while Japanese Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato described his warning to bond traders as "a bit scary" when translated into Japanese.

Micron Technology announced its highest-ever compensation package for employees in Taiwan, with production line workers receiving bonuses equivalent to 35 to 68 months of salary. New employees will receive a NT$1 million thank-you bonus, while entry-level engineers can expect average cash compensation of NT$3.4 million. The generous package reflects the intense competition for semiconductor talent in Asia.

Mastercard unveiled Mastercard Wallet Pay, a global digital wallet solution supporting NFC, QR code, and online payments. The service aims to improve interoperability across wallets and platforms, with first partners including AlipayHK, GCash, KakaoPay, TNG eWallet, and TrueMoney. Mastercard expects digital wallet users to exceed 6 billion by 2030, up from 4.3 billion today.