Update for September, 2018: Thailand ranks at the same spot (30th place) in this year's competitiveness index as in 2015 when this article was originally published. As such, Thailand's problems remain and this article is still very relevant. International...
Last updated September 13th, 2018. The Philippine economy will grow by a huge amount before 2030 and become one of Southeast Asia's largest. Meanwhile, a burgeoning middle class and strong industry are supporting optimism among both individual and corporate...
Last updated April 6th, 2022. Beijing is gathering worldwide support for China's New Silk Road, setting aside over US$100 billion to build massive infrastructure projects that will connect Asia to Europe. Also referred to as the "Belt and Road Initiative" this...
Last updated May 14th, 2019. The ASEAN Economic Community (AEC 2015) arrived recently. Yet the difficulties of creating a single market of over 600 million people makes investors concerned about the economic bloc and its future. Here's a quick overview if you...
Last updated June 15th, 2019. Indonesia is one of the world's largest phone makers. And they're quickly becoming one of the biggest consumers of phones too. eMarketer says the country will have over 100 million active monthly smartphone users before 2021, making...
Last updated November 16th, 2018. Falling commodity prices remain a huge problem for the Malaysia economy, Southeast Asia’s third biggest. Some of the country’s major exports such as palm oil, tin, and crude oil are hovering near four-year lows. The Bloomberg...
Last updated March 2nd, 2020. Companies in Thailand are starting to invest in Myanmar once again as political fears subside. Thailand's total outward FDI into Myanmar’s emerging economy amounted to over US$15 billion last year. This amount is the second largest...
Last updated March 26th, 2023. China's economy is forecast to grow at a weaker pace than other Asian markets, particularly compared to emerging economies in Southeast Asia. According to the World Bank, this is because of China "solving structural issues" and...
Last updated May 21st, 2024. Because of its rare combination of low wages, skilled labor, strategic location, and lax regulations, Vietnam is arguably Asia's best country for manufacturing. According to numbers by the International Trade Center (ITC), Vietnam’s...
The Indonesia property market is Asia's most transparent and efficient according to Cushman and Wakefield's Emerging and Frontier Markets Report. The study focused on office and retail property in 42 emerging nations, excluding Brazil, Russia, China, and India. Demand...