Empowering business in Southeast Asia
Where it is available, geothermal power is an almost perfect source of energy: much cleaner than fossil fuels, it is often renewable. Geothermal has greatly benefited the Philippines: limiting dependence on imports of hydrocarbons, it has also helped create technologies and know-how that can now be exported.
Leading nation in Asia and the world for business, wealth and quality of life, Singapore aims at becoming the first “Smart Nation”. To explain this idea and motivate its people and entrepreneurs to adopt and develop a more connected way of life through technology, a new visionary video presents some aspects of this Smart Nation.
Internet has brought a revolution, enabling virtually anyone to create an online business and reach a large consumer population easily. Thanks to the shift towards online shopping, businesses of all sizes can now compete against bigger traditional companies and quickly grab a large market share on Internet.
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.
Social entrepreneurship is a way of creating business that emphasizes a greater care for the people and natural resources employed. Producing organic cosmetics and benefiting to the welfare of its workers, this Philippine company also found a way to build a profitable and fast-growing business.
The labor market of Southeast Asia is evolving towards more mobility for skilled professionals in the region. Even though some obstacles remain in the ASEAN job market integration, certain professions can already benefit from special arrangements in certain countries, waiting for better hopes to be realized.
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.
Getting sold in a supermarket is a big step forward for food or other B2C products manufacturers. Scaling up the production without loosing quality and developing the right marketing, brand, promotion and distribution channels, will however be determining factors in the ultimate commercial success.
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.
After years of slump, the Philippines is now one of the fastest growing countries in Asia. Multinational and local corporations are benefiting from strong macroeconomics and large untapped market to seize growth opportunities. Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala shares his views on opportunities and challenges of the Philippines.