Showing 1 - 10 of 10
When flood warnings come too late
News, Simon Wang, Published on 29/11/2025
» Pictures can speak a thousand words; images can induce rivers of tears and break so many hearts. Viral images are too grim to look at. Thirty newborns in a darkened ward. Nurses working by flashlight. Outside, streets had become rivers. Parents could not reach their children. In Hat Yai, the water pushed past the second floor.
Rethinking finance beyond aid
Oped, Justin Yifu Lin & Yan Wang, Published on 06/11/2025
» Traditional donors have sharply scaled back their aid commitments to developing countries over the past year. Some, like the United States, have virtually eliminated their aid programmes. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), official development assistance (ODA) from member countries declined by 7.1% in 2024, its first annual drop in six years.
Commodities nearing super cycle
News, Taosha Wang, Published on 22/09/2025
» Commodities have had a rough decade, but a confluence of structural factors suggests that after years of underinvestment, the stage may be set for the next super cycle.
This UN debt initiative is different
News, Mahmoud Mohieldin, Paolo Gentiloni, Trevor Manuel and Yan Wang, Published on 07/04/2025
» Economic development requires financing that is affordable, accessible and has maturities matched to development outcomes. Yet for most developing countries, none of the above apply. Instead, an escalating "debt disaster" is unfolding across much of the developing world, exacerbated by a series of cascading global crises.
AI will force tech investors to become macro aware
News, Taosha Wang, Published on 22/11/2024
» Tech investors are facing a new form of disruption. This investment cohort has historically paid little attention to macroeconomics, as ever-improving product features and innovative growth strategies have driven investment returns in high tech far more than things like aggregate growth and inflation.
Deglobalisation breeds inflation
Oped, Shang-Jin Wei and Tao Wang, Published on 26/07/2022
» The return of high inflation in many developed economies seems to have surprised central banks and has quickly become people's leading economic worry. While monetary tightening is necessary, the role of structural factors warrants attention, too. Specifically, besides pandemic-related supply-chain disruptions and the energy and food-price shocks amplified by the Ukraine war, policymakers must also acknowledge more explicitly the inflationary consequences of deglobalisation.
Taiwanese health held hostage
Asia focus, Yu-hsiang Wang, Published on 24/02/2020
» On the second day of my internship in Thailand, I attended a panel discussion on how the Thai government and its regional peers are dealing with the coronavirus. As one of the panelists -- the World Health Organization (WHO) representative in Thailand -- reiterated the UN agency's suggestions about helping people avoid infection and reassured the audience that the world has been collaborating closely on effective treatments, I felt a disturbing mixture of emotions.
Using AI to build smart cities of the future
News, Lance Wang, Published on 03/11/2018
» Thailand has set itself an ambitious goal as part of Thailand 4.0 — 100 smart cities within two decades to improve the quality of urban life. A National Smart City Committee has already been established to drive this initiative which is envisaged to transform cities like Bangkok, Phuket, Chiang Mai and Khon Kaen into technology hubs.
Mobile ad fraud and what SMEs can do about it
News, Vivi Wang, Published on 25/10/2018
» The internet has made a giant leap towards a mobile-first future. Businesses -- particularly Asia-based SMEs -- would find that the handheld screen is now the most important window through which to reach consumers. According to a recent article by Asean Business, Thailand comes first with the largest amount of time spent on the mobile internet, boasting an average of 4.2 hours per day, more than anywhere else in the world.
A new way to pay for infrastructure
News, Justin Yifu Lin & Håvard Halland & Yan Wang, Published on 20/03/2018
» Lawmakers in the US have introduced legislation that, if enacted, would create a new development finance institution (DFI) to replace the Overseas Private Investment Corporation. Unlike its predecessor, the new agency would be able to make equity investments, a reform that reflects growing global recognition that ownership stakes are an essential component of sustainable-development financing.