Showing 1 - 10 of 90
The promise of agritech
Asia focus, Published on 06/06/2022
» Food is essential for every life. But the prolonged coronavirus pandemic, coupled with severe climate events, the crisis in Ukraine, and most recently food protectionism by countries including Indonesia, Malaysia and India, have caused shocks across the global food supply chain.
'My coconut farm looks like a forest'
Asia focus, Pattama Kuentak, Published on 06/06/2022
» Environmental issues such as climate change, plastic pollution, and now the Russia-Ukraine war, have shed light on the importance of food sustainability across the world. Thailand is no exception.
China debates a financial stability guarantee fund
Asia focus, Wei Hongxu, Published on 16/05/2022
» A Chinese government proposal for a financial stability guarantee fund to safeguard against systemic risks has attracted attention from many parties. Some have differing opinions on how to best resolve the current financial risks related to defaults and debt reduction, especially among property developers.
Malaysia's digital challenges
Asia focus, W Audi Pattarapatumthong, Published on 04/04/2022
» The digitisation of the global economy has been helping many businesses to thrive in ways not possible just a decade ago. At a time of fragile economic recovery, digital technologies such as e-commerce platforms can play an important role in promoting trade expansion, notably cross-border trade, as well as productivity gains.
Groundwater: Making the invisible visible
Asia focus, Pia Yasuko Rask, Published on 28/03/2022
» Climate change is causing global temperatures to rise, putting our most visible sources of water at risk. From Spain to parts of the African continent, droughts are being experienced at unprecedented levels. Madagascar last year faced a food crisis that left 1.3 million people facing severe hunger following the worst drought in four decades.
How to free the money the world needs
Asia focus, Jayati Ghosh, Published on 14/03/2022
» The main factor limiting the global recovery is not the much-discussed increase in inflation in advanced economies, but rather the massive inequalities between most rich countries and the rest of the world, with the exception of China.
Hun Sen's Myanmar gamble
Asia focus, Nareerat Wiriyapong, Published on 17/01/2022
» I'm not a fan of Hun Sen, the strongman who has ruled Cambodia for more than 38 years. A co-premier from 1993-97 before seizing power in a 1997 coup, the Cambodian leader has won all subsequent elections while political rivals have been jailed or exiled and critical media crushed. His legacy appears secure now that his Cambodian People's Party has endorsed his eldest son, 44-year-old army commander Hun Manet, as "future prime minister".
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.
Adapt or else
Asia focus, W Audi Pattarapatumthong, Published on 13/12/2021
» Climate change is known to be an existential threat for humanity worldwide. Clear evidence of the challenge is the increasing frequency and severity of extreme weather events, at a high cost to the global economy.
Assertive Asean more vital than ever
Asia focus, Nareerat Wiriyapong, Published on 01/11/2021
» While Myanmar's "unusual crisis" dominated talks at the summits of Asean and its dialogue partners last week, the group's centrality and relevance in the new world order were also highlighted as the 10-country bloc has been dealing with critical challenges both at home and abroad.