Showing 1 - 10 of 68
Financial transformation
Asia focus, Pattama Kuentak, Published on 04/07/2022
» The financial sector is on the cusp of yet another transformation. Customers emerging from Covid-19 are demanding new and better sets of services to meet their new consumption patterns, be it how they shop, eat, work or transfer money. It's a dramatic shift that is compelling banks to transform or risk being left behind.
Will China hit its growth target?
Asia focus, Shang-Jin Wei, Published on 09/05/2022
» In early March, Premier Li Keqiang announced that China was targeting GDP growth of "about 5.5%" this year. That would be ambitious even without Russia's war against Ukraine and the attendant increases in global energy and food prices.
Food price solutions a priority
Asia focus, Nareerat Wiriyapong, Published on 02/05/2022
» Food prices are on the rise everywhere in the world. In Thailand, prices of limes have been at historical highs for months, now as much as 10 baht each in wet markets. Instant noodle makers want to hike their prices by up to 20% as raw material costs have surged, but Commerce Minister Jurin Laksanawisit insists they can't.
Breaking down digital divide barriers
Asia focus, Jeff Paine, Published on 02/05/2022
» Southeast Asia's digital economy is emerging from the Covid-19 pandemic stronger than before, and on course to surpass previous estimates of US$1 trillion in gross merchandise value by 2030.
Transforming Japan
Asia focus, Apiradee Treerutkuarkul and Nareerat Wiriyapong, Published on 14/03/2022
» Japan has started to pursue a "new form of capitalism" as the flagship agenda of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida amid the challenges posed by the lingering pandemic and new shocks delivered by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Where To Next?
Asia focus, Pattama Kuentak, Published on 10/01/2022
» The world has entered its third year of living with a global pandemic. We have witnessed almost 300 million Covid-19 cases with 5.47 million lives lost, yet the toll might have been much worse but for an almost superhuman global effort to develop effective vaccines in record time.
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.
Why is China's growth rate falling so fast?
Asia focus, Shang-Jin Wei, Published on 01/12/2021
» In early 2021, the consensus forecast for Chinese gross domestic product (GDP) growth this year among 25 major global banks and other professional forecasters was 8.3%. In contrast, the Chinese government's own target was around 6%.
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.
Facebook needs a serious fix
Asia focus, Nareerat Wiriyapong, Published on 11/10/2021
» Over the years, we have seen an increasing number of people worldwide becoming hugely reliant on Facebook, using the platform of the social media giant to connect with loved ones or reconnect with lost ones.