Empowering business in Southeast Asia
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.
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.
Manila’s larger urban area, “Mega Manila”, is set to reach 30 million inhabitants by 2030. To cope with its growth and relieve the pressure from the population, the Philippine authorities have devised an ambitious plan of integrated urbanization and transports that will foster the sustainable development of the country’s capital city.
The Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore – IDA – is the government agency in charge of developing information technology and telecommunications in Singapore. IDA supports citizens and companies to assist them in learning, using and developing the information technology eco-system of Singapore.
The election of Joko Widodo has marked an inflection in Indonesian politics which could also bring new solutions for its infrastructure needs, endemic corruption and growing inequalities. This report provides some perspectives on how to approach business and investment in this new Indonesia.
With a high quality of medical services and affordable prices, Thailand has become a major hub for medical tourism in Asia. Thailand’s facilities, technologies, quality of medical services and expertise all factor in to attract healthcare services of medical devices, pharmaceuticals and medical food.
The Philippines is an interesting place for tech startups: a large population, a growing economy and a vast base of Internet users who are very involved in social media. These factors make the Philippines more and more attractive as it develops an eco-system to accompany the launch, development and maturation of startups.
The ASEAN Economic Community is attracting a lot of attention from local and foreign businesses thanks to its huge potential, yet several challenges need to be tackled to make the AEC a success… A panel of specialists from the public and private sectors share ideas about the AEC’s opportunities and difficulties still to be managed.
With its political opening, Myanmar is also experiencing an economic boom in various business sectors. Though companies face many challenges in areas of workforce skills and infrastructures, the general outlook for business in Myanmar remains quite positive for the coming years, as elections should create further opportunities.
The recent election of Joko Widodo as the new President of Indonesia has set in motion a new series of reforms and policies for business, foreign investment and international relations. Gita Wirjawan, former trade minister of Indonesia, presents his views on the economy of Indonesia and perspectives for the coming years.