Showing 1 - 10 of 70
Empowering SMEs
Asia focus, Apiradee Treerutkuarkul, Published on 01/08/2022
» 2022 has seen an "unprecedented confluence" of challenges for businesses across the world, from the protracted Covid-19 pandemic, economic slowdown and heightened inflation to geopolitical uncertainties. Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) globally are among those hit hard by such an unfavourable environment.
Funding the future
Asia focus, Nareerat Wiriyapong, Published on 18/07/2022
» Makhtar Diop is energetic, always eager to learn new things, and a humble leader. Since becoming managing director of the International Finance Corp (IFC) in March last year, the Senegalese economist has been actively exploring potential areas where the World Bank affiliate could expand as a financial backer, including the health sector, with a focus on Africa.
The fight for press freedom is local
Asia focus, Jos Midas Bartman, Published on 20/06/2022
» A macabre political thriller recently unfolded in the Philippine province of Palawan, an island known mostly for its rich biodiversity and pristine beaches.
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.
We need new weapons against packaging waste
Asia focus, Simon Baldwin, Published on 16/05/2022
» Last month, researchers found microplastics -- small, microscopic pieces of plastic fragments -- within human lungs for the first time. This comes on the heels of news that microplastics were found in human blood, which may travel around the body and enter organs.
Can Yoon heal South Korea?
Asia focus, Nareerat Wiriyapong, Published on 21/03/2022
» In the run-up to the South Korean presidential election on March 9, most observers were focusing mainly on regional implications the poll might have and the regional agendas that the new leader of Asia's fourth-largest economy would pursue.
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.
Crystal clear
Asia focus, Paritta Wangkiat, Published on 27/09/2021
» Brands and people are Lars Schmidt's passion.
Shaping the Asean identity
Asia focus, Apiradee Treerutkuarkul, Published on 20/09/2021
» The Association of Southeast Asian Nations has come a long way in building its identity in the 54 years since it was founded. The concept of a regional community is well developed in areas such as trade and economic cooperation, but the cultural dimension remains a challenge.
On the platforms
Asia focus, Pattama Kuentak, Published on 15/03/2021
» Work is no longer something that takes place only in brick-and-mortar stores, high-rise office buildings or factories, but also in virtual space, thanks to the rise of fast and always-on information technology.