Alibaba's Jack Ma Yun, never a stranger to the spotlight, was a major headline producer in 2018. In September, he announced his decision to step back from the management of the e-commerce giant -- the subject of the Nikkei Asian Review's most popular story of the year. In November, China's official media revealed that Ma is a member of the Communist Party.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and Malaysia's Prime Minister Mahathir also made waves and grabbed readers' attention. Here's the list of our top 10 most read stories of 2018.
1) Jack Ma's untidy departure typical of impulsive Alibaba boss
2) Philippines -- 'sick man of Asia' risks relapse
3) 'New Malaysia' makes Singapore look outdated
4) Maldives faces Chinese 'land grab' over unpayable debts, ex-leader warns
5) Airbnb removes 80% of Japan home-share listings
6) Thailand's biggest shopping mall set to open in Bangkok
7) Sri Lanka's currency suffers as debt trap deepens
8) Malaysia reveals national debt far higher than figure under Najib
9) Nestle threatens to close Philippine plant unless taxes cut
10) How Beijing is winning control of the South China Sea
Read more of our most popular stories here.
