Empowering business in Southeast Asia
With deep-rooted ties that go back thousands of years, India and Indonesia have always been natural partners in culture, economy and politics. However, with the changing dynamics in Asia and the world, the two countries are looking to develop their exchanges and cooperation further and bring their relations to a new level.
Taxes in Laos are among the lowest in the region: a low corporate income tax, a low progressive income tax and a low VAT make the country attractive for business. The Lao taxation system is quite simple and straightforward to encourage investment in the country and help develop its burgeoning economy.
While the journey of acclimatizing to a culturally different business ecosystem is not without its challenges, the Dutch startup Saleduck has successfully launched its operations in Malaysia with an eye on regional expansion. Here are some tips on their journey with a focus on the aspect of human resources.
Vietnam has a dynamic startup environment with many entrepreneurs and companies engaged in the most promising sectors. And financial technologies – FinTech – have a lot promising applications in Vietnam as the country’s large population can profit from mobile technologies to access a growing number of innovative financial services.
Singapore’s Straits Times index – the main stock index of Singapore – is composed of the 30 largest public listed companies which greatly influence the economy of Red Dot, Southeast Asia, and the world. The following list presents these economic heavyweights and their activities, together with useful links.
Through e-commerce, online travel booking or media, digital business is currently attracting a lot of interest in Southeast Asia. Set to grow to a total market size of US$ 200 Billion by 2025, the digital economy will expand through a host of startups that launch new technologies in the region’s most promising countries.
Though slightly above regional peers, taxes in the Philippines are rather low globally: low corporate income tax, low progressive income tax and and low VAT. Though the taxation system is rather simple, particular rates, formalities and methods of calculations have to be implemented to properly compute and declare taxes.
The opening of Myanmar enables businesses, NGOs and social enterprises to venture further in the country and tackle challenges of rural areas as well as of cities. In the countryside, a social enterprise is applying cutting-edge design principles to alleviate difficulties of farmers and rural inhabitants.
Urbanization is one of the major trends currently shaping Southeast Asian societies, cultures, economies, businesses and environments. Being on the verge of counting more than half of its population living in urban areas, ASEAN comprises some of the largest and some of the fastest growing cities of the world.
With a growing connectivity and a large population that is extremely active online, Indonesia is one of the world’s leading countries for the use of digital technologies. Through Internet, mobile, e-commerce or social media, digital in Indonesia is a very attractive market both for its size and growth potential.