Showing 1 - 10 of 179
Hope for the marginalised in India
Asia focus, Nareerat Wiriyapong, Published on 25/07/2022
» While the final no-confidence debate targeting Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and his crew was under way at home last week, my focus was on India's presidential election. The result was widely welcomed as veteran tribal politician Draupadi Murmu made history.
3 ways to advance the EV industry in 1 year
Asia focus, Terrence Lim, Published on 11/07/2022
» The verdict is in: the future is electric. Global electric vehicle (EV) sales are projected to soar to 31.2 million units by 2030, compared with 2.5 million in 2020, according to the consultancy Deloitte. It sees EVs making up 32% of all motor vehicle sales by 2030, and other industry analysts estimate that by 2040, electric cars will outsell internal-combustion engine (ICE) models.
Creating Asean's interconnected energy future
Asia focus, Kar Min Lim and Marko Lackovic, Published on 04/07/2022
» A comprehensive interconnection of Southeast Asia's power grid has been a long-held dream, first emerging into serious discourse in the 1980s. Now, almost four decades later, we might finally be approaching a moment when the pressure for climate action moves this idea towards a more established reality.
Sri Lanka needs a currency board
Asia focus, RM Manivannan, Published on 13/06/2022
» The war in Ukraine has generated an economic tidal wave that is crashing over countries near and far. Among the more far-flung is Sri Lanka, half a world away from the battlefield, where surging food and fuel prices have supercharged a downward spiral that was already under way.
Sihanoukville pays the price for heavy reliance on Chinese
Asia focus, Matthias Alffram, Published on 09/05/2022
» For several years now, Cambodia has been receiving billions of dollars in Chinese investment as part of China's Belt & Road initiative (BRI). Between 2013 and 2017, Beijing invested US$5.3 billion in the Southeast Asian country. Between 2016 and 2019, the two countries signed 65 cooperation agreements to finance infrastructure projects such as seaports, highways, airports, power stations and even an oil refinery.
China must rethink Zero Covid
Asia focus, Nareerat Wiriyapong, Published on 25/04/2022
» It finally feels like the world, collectively, is moving in one direction. Toward reopening. Toward the new normal. Hong Kong, after some of the world's strictest quarantine rules kept Covid-19 at bay for almost two years, last Thursday reopened gyms, beauty parlours, theme parks and cinemas for the first time in more than four months.
Catalysing Thailand's circular economy transformation
Asia focus, Arun Rajamani, Published on 25/04/2022
» Plastics have been a major driver of human progress over the last century. This diverse group of materials has evolved to underpin our modern world with numerous applications that make our daily lives more comfortable.
Will China's 'common prosperity' survive Putin's war?
Asia focus, George Magnus, Published on 18/04/2022
» Last month, as Russian forces shelled Ukrainian cities and Covid-19 infections soared, Communist Party of China (CPC) leaders gathered for their most important annual political meetings: the National People's Congress and Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.
Gold-medal viewing
Asia focus, Pattama Kuentak, Published on 04/04/2022
» The Covid-19 pandemic left Olympic sporting venues almost empty of fans, but the experience of watching the Games has become richer and more enjoyable than ever thanks to cloud-enabled broadcasting technology.
Connecting Asean innovators to battle plastic waste
Asia focus, Simon Baldwin, Published on 04/04/2022
» Southeast Asia is the world's largest source of marine plastic waste, a problem that poses acute risks to the region's environments, people and economies.