Good infrastructures are a key to economic activity and development. To boost their growth, ASEAN countries are planning to invest heavily in infrastructures in the coming years: not only will they provide better transport, power and sanitation but also interesting opportunities for suppliers of building materials.
Welcome to the ASEAN Economic Community
Since 31 December 2015, the ten ASEAN member countries have officially launched the long awaited ASEAN Economic Community. With this important milestone, Southeast Asia sets its eyes towards new heights of development and a more integrated region that will gain in global competitiveness.
Open Data Philippines: the official data hub [tool]
To provide a better access to official data and work towards more transparency, the Philippine government has created a website to centralize the country’s official information and statistics. With this objective, the portal Data.gov.ph allows people and businesses to consult varied, accurate and well-structured data.
Indonesia’s economy overview [reports]
Indonesia has been one of the fastest growing economies of Southeast Asia for several years, and so it remains in 2015. Other positive results in poverty reduction, governance and abundant natural resources compensate certain negative aspects in Indonesia and challenges to apprehend in several key sectors.
Vietnam startup ecosystem [list-tips]
With a young population showing a highly entrepreneurial spirit, Vietnam is home to a growing startup ecosystem. Well-versed in programming and hungry for success in the growing Vietnamese middle-class, a new generation leads Vietnam to become a regional hot spot for tech entrepreneurship.
Strengths and challenges of the Vietnamese economy
Vietnam is one of the successes of Asia with consistently high GDP growth, strong exports and manufacturing sector, and a growing openness to business. Though it also faces challenges, especially in the public and financial sectors, Vietnam has many underlying strengths in support of very positive long-term perspectives.
Vertical farming in Singapore
With very little land available for agriculture, Singapore is importing most of its food. To relieve this dependence, new techniques now enable the local production of vegetables through vertical farms. Thanks to this innovative system, Singaporeans enjoy “home-grown”, environment-friendly and fresher green products.
ASEAN Business Club: “Open ASEAN for business”
The ASEAN Business Club is a group of business leaders gathering to support the ASEAN integration. With top-level executives from many large companies of Southeast Asia, the ASEAN Business Club provides a place for high-level networking; it voices concerns of private enterprises and gives assistance to governments.
Investment opportunities for innovators in Thailand
After several troublesome years, Thailand is undergoing a wave of political and economic reforms aimed for the long term. At the heart of this economic transformation, some innovating approaches are leading the way towards a sustainable future for Thailand in some key industries: digital technologies, bioplastics and energy.
Malaysia’s economic plan 2016-2020
The Malaysian government has released its eleventh economic development plan for the years 2016 to 2020. With ambitious economic objectives, the plan sets targets and defines some economic policies that will be implemented in the coming years, with the ultimate goal to make Malaysia a high income economy by 2020.