• BUSINESS

  Hong Kong giving its image a makeover

  Asia focus, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 06/02/2017

  » What do travellers usually do when they visit Hong Kong? The answers may vary, but most are not hard to guess. Eating and shopping are high on most lists, especially for visitors from other Asian countries.

• THAILAND

  Predicting the unpredictable

  Asia focus, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 13/02/2017

  » With no political track record to speak of, Donald Trump is confounding the analysts attempting to forecast what the US president will do next. Everyone is on a steep learning curve, but the early lessons are that the billionaire reality TV star has a penchant for throwing away the playbook, disdains multilateralism, and is absolutely determined to deliver on campaign promises that many observers thought were just slogans.

• BUSINESS

  Cleaner energy for all

  Asia focus, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 20/02/2017

  » It sounds like a pipe dream when Liu Zhenya talks about China's aspiration to become the regional leader in renewable energy. Such talk appears at odds with the image many people have of smoke-belching fossil-fuel power plants and some of the world's most polluted cities.

• OPINION

  The Mekong deserves better

  Asia focus, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 27/02/2017

  » Last week, a regional forum was held in Luang Prabang for countries in the Mekong River Basin to discuss the Pak Beng hydroelectric dam planned by Laos. It was organised by the Mekong River Commission (MRC), the only organisation that works directly with the governments of Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam to jointly manage the shared resources and sustainable development of the river.

• BUSINESS

  Beyond the numbers

  Asia focus, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 06/03/2017

  » Anyone who meets Frank Lutz, the chief financial officer (CFO) of Covestro AG, the Germany-based polymer producer, will find it hard not to notice his wristwatch. Anyone expecting to see an extravagant chronometer or bespoke timepiece favoured by corporate executives and jet-setters will have a major letdown.

• BUSINESS

  Citizenship for sale

  Asia focus, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 13/03/2017

  » Having multiple passports and citizenship that bears no relation to where you were born is something most people associates with James Bond or Jason Bourne. But these days it is no longer simply the stuff of spy stories.

• OPINION

  Soaps and sensibility

  Asia focus, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 20/03/2017

  » I have never watched Plerng Phra Nang (A Lady's Flame), a prime-time soap opera on Thai television that depicts a bloody dynastic power struggle in a fictional kingdom. The series -- with elaborate period costumes and a lot of face-slapping and cat-fights among royal consorts -- has received bad press in Myanmar and Thailand alike.

• BUSINESS

  Sweet success

  Asia focus, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 27/03/2017

  » Does life really resemble a box of chocolates, as Forrest Gump observed, in which you never know what you're going to get? In terms of surprise and unpredictability, life could be more like the chocolate industry.

• WORLD

  Prognosis: Improving

  Asia focus, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 03/04/2017

  » Two decades ago, the healthcare system of Myanmar was best described as comatose. It had been in declining condition since independence from Britain in the late 1940s. Envisioned as offering free primary healthcare, the system failed to do so in practice and languished because of a lack of investment as the country grew increasingly isolated under Ne Win and subsequent military leaders. In 2000, the World Health Organization (WHO) ranked the healthcare system in Myanmar 190th out of 191 countries.

• BUSINESS

  The case for more female leaders

  Asia focus, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 10/04/2017

  » During a school swimming class, an East German girl with pale blonde hair stood at the edge of the high diving board, staring down at the pool below for 45 minutes. Just before the class bell rang, she finally jumped. Angela Merkel was determined to overcome her fears, no matter how long it took.

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