As Malaysia approaches its 2025 ASEAN chairmanship, it brings with it the weight of a relatively successful, albeit ongoing, democratic transition. At a time and in a region where democratic backslidi…
Investment
Bangladesh’s Startup revolution: creating jobs, driving innovation, and securing the future
Bangladesh’s startup ecosystem has become a driving force for economic growth, job creation, and innovation over the past decade. Startups are solving local challenges, building infrastructure, and ge…
China’s Strategic Dilemma in Bangladesh: Navigating Uncertainty Amid Political Turmoil
China’s growing influence in South Asia has been one of the most notable shifts in regional geopolitics over the past decade. Through a mix of ambitious infrastructure projects, strategic alliances, a…
ASEAN continues to emerge as a winner of U.S.-China trade tensions, IMF says
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has continued to emerge as an economic winner of increasing geopolitical tensions between China and the United States, though risks from fragmentatio…
$5 billion road, rail link between India and Sri Lanka in closing stages
Discussions are in the final stages for a $5 billion road-and-rail link between India and Sri Lanka with India set to bear the cost of the strategic project, said the island-nation’s environment secre…
Changing threads: Bangladesh’s setback fuels India’s RMG surge
Bangladesh’s mounting economic struggles Bangladesh’s economic difficulties, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, have reached a critical point. The pandemic’s disruption to global supply chains hit …
Middle East growth spurs new opportunities for Asean collaboration: Standard Chartered
The UAE and Singapore are vital gateways for business between the two regions, says the bank’s Singapore CEO Patrick Lee Standard Chartered’s Singapore and Asean chief executive officer Patrick Lee sa…
Malaysian banking sector can drive Asean financial integration: ABM executive director
The domestic banking sector is uniquely positioned to drive deeper cross-border financial integration across the region when Malaysia assumes the Asean chairmanship next year. The Association of Banks…
What is behind Vietnam’s economic success story?
The World Bank has forecast that Vietnam will show the strongest growth of the emerging economies in Southeast Asia. According to a new forecast from the World Bank, economic growth in Vietnam is expe…
China+1 isn’t coming to India. Let’s go India+2
In a study done by Nomura Capital three years ago, at the height of the US-China relationship meltdown, 56 US companies relocated their manufacturing base from China to Vietnam. Surprisingly, only thr…