Vietnam’s economy has shown resilience in the face of global headwinds. In 2016 Vietnam GDP growth was an estimated 6.2 per cent — higher than the larger Asean economies of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. This […]
On November 8, 2015, the Aung San Suu Kyi-led National League for Democracy (NLD) party won the general election in an overwhelming victory, putting an end to decades of military rule. Myanmar’s democratic progress was […]
On October 9, 2016, 200 armed attackers from the Aqa Mul Mujahidin — an organisation with links to the Rohingya Solidarity Organisation (RSO) — carried out a surprise attack on Myanmar police at the Maungdaw […]
The year 2016 ended with Malaysia Prime Minister Najib Razak still firmly entrenched, despite two years of scandal, scrutiny and speculation over funds missing from state development fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), including US$800 million […]
With a gross domestic product (GDP) averaging 7 per cent since 2000, the Laos economy is among the fastest growing in Asean. Despite this, in recent years the Laos economy has trended downwards. Amid global […]
Despite major domestic and external challenges Indonesia’s economy is expected to grow at around 5 per cent again this year — much like last year — and only slightly below the official estimate of 5.3 […]
The Singaporean economy is slowing much faster than anticipated. The latest forecast by the Ministry of Trade and Industry Singapore (MTI) projects 2016 Singapore GDP growth at 1.0-1.5 per cent — the slowest since the […]
Malaysia’s trade with the United States has been in decline. But with the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement dead in the water, what’s next for Malaysia’s trade agenda? If there is a flicker of hope for […]
The food sector has the potential to benefit greatly in the new Asean Economic Community (AEC). But because food products attract higher levels of regulation, which often varies between member countries, a significant number of […]
In October serious concerns began being raised about the situation in Myanmar’s northern Rakhine State after reports surfaced that nine police officers had been killed in the region. But the state’s precarious situation continues to […]
Before and since the September 2015 Singapore general election, the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) has been introducing political reforms in response to Singapore’s increasingly questioning populace. But the striking theme of these changes is […]
On Monday September 5, former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad did the unthinkable. He turned up at the High Court for Anwar Ibrahim’s filing of an interim injunction to stop the enforcement of the newly-passed […]