Showing 1 - 10 of 101
Robust and risky Asean
Asia focus, Ismira Lutfia Tisnadibrata, Published on 30/05/2022
» Asian economies are looking ahead with optimism for a recovery in economic growth but with some reservations about the current global dynamics marked by the Russia-Ukraine conflict, rising inflation and commodity prices.
Post-pandemic healthcare
Asia focus, Published on 16/05/2022
» Health crises and emergencies such as Covid-19 have brought into sharp focus the critical need for preparedness. The unprecedented pandemic has led to a dynamically changing environment across the healthcare industry, posing challenges that call for innovative solutions.
Stumbling but hopeful
Asia focus, Pattama Kuentak, Published on 07/03/2022
» Domestic travellers have been the lifeline for tourism-reliant countries, especially in Southeast Asia, for the past two pandemic-battered years. But even as countries start scrapping restrictions to welcome international visitors back, some pandemic uncertainties persist and now a crisis in Ukraine threatens the global economic recovery as a whole.
Year of Turbulence
Asia focus, Asia Focus Team, Published on 27/12/2021
» Pandemic drags on recovery: In the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, many Asian countries had enviable success, avoiding large-scale outbreaks and mass deaths. But the arrival of the more transmissible Delta variant this year and sluggish vaccine rollouts compounded by low availability sent cases surging. Combined with poor monitoring and easy movement among countries, often unofficially, Southeast Asia became a virus hotspot. The ballooning health crisis collided with churning political discontent in the case of Myanmar, Thailand and Malaysia. Economically, the new wave of infections, and attendant restrictions imposed to curb the spread, stalled recoveries. After nearly two years of strict border controls, many countries started to loosen up and live with Covid. But the rise of the Omicron variant now threatens to scuttle those tentative reopening plans and usher in a third year of economic anxiety.
Unlocking potential in South Asia
Asia focus, Apiradee Treerutkuarkul, Published on 20/12/2021
» South Asia, home to nearly two billion people, has been among the fastest-growing regions in the world over the past decade. Yet intraregional trade is well below expected levels, suggesting that regional spillover from the growth of some individual countries has been limited.
Enabling the future
Asia focus, Pattama Kuentak, Published on 29/11/2021
» Seen in a small box on a Zoom screen, Adrian Tan could easily pass for someone in his late 20s or early 30s, but his long CV and his current position as country head for Thailand of Anchanto, a Singapore-based global software company, tell you a lot of other stories.
Asean's next move
Asia focus, Nareerat Wiriyapong, Published on 29/11/2021
» The coronavirus pandemic has taken a severe toll on Asean countries again this year, with millions infected and tens of thousands of fatalities. While the worst of the surge appears to have passed, recovery will depend on pandemic management, especially the pace and efficacy of vaccinations, and response to the risks of new variants emerging.
Is Asia Pacific ready for the global climate stage?
Asia focus, Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, Published on 01/11/2021
» As the leaders of Asia and the Pacific gather in Glasgow for the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26), they can be sure that our region will be in the spotlight: many of the most vulnerable countries to the impacts of climate change are located here; the seven G20 members from this region are responsible for over half of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions; and five of the 10 top countries with the greatest historic responsibility for emissions since the beginning of the twentieth century are from Asia.
Women's work
Asia focus, Paritta Wangkiat, Published on 18/10/2021
» Amid wave after wave of Covid-19 in Japan, Mariko, a college lecturer and mother, has been working and raising her four-year-old daughter in an apartment shared by a family of four in Tokyo.
What a waste
Asia focus, Apiradee Treerutkuarkul, Published on 11/10/2021
» Crates of paper, metal, plastic and unwanted rubbish from developed countries are piled up at ports in the Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam, while vast toxic wastelands of imported plastics have emerged across Malaysia.