Singapore punta a far ripartire tre quarti delle attività economiche a giugno. Dopo un lockdown nazionale che ha fermato le attività nel Paese, le Autorità a Singapore puntano a riaprire tre quarti delle attività entro il 2 giugno. Le restrizioni saranno allentate in diverse fasi, permettendo a tutte le aziende di adeguarsi alle misure di sicurezza stabilite. Tuttavia, regna la cautela, e le riaperture dovranno avvenire in linea con il calo del tasso di contagio nel Paese.

Lo scandalo Hin Leong trading rischia di rovinare l'immagine di Singapore. Una serie di scandali a Singapore, tra cui una sorprendente ammissione di irregolarità finanziarie da parte di uno degli uomini d'affari di maggior successo del Paese, sta minacciando l'ambizione della città-Stato di diventare il principale hub mondiale per il commercio di materie prime.

While the government of Indonesia struggles to contain the public health side of the COVID-19 crisis, the economic hit from the pandemic is starting to bite in earnest. The government now expects GDP growth to slow to between 2.3 and .4 percent for the year – and even this may be optimistic.

Heather Variava and Melissa Brown, respectively head of the US Mission to Indonesia and the US Mission to ASEAN , appear in The Jakarta Post to highlight the importance of the partnership between the US and ASEAN. These statements reveal the US intention to strengthen its position in the Pacific by focusing on alliances in Southeast Asia.

ASEAN became China’s largest trading partner in the first three months of 2020, surpassing both the EU and the United States. During this period, ASEAN-China trade increased by 6 percent year-on-year to US$140 billion and accounting for 15 percent of China’s total trade volume. This comes as the country’s traditional, largest trading partner, the EU, has been on lockdown.

Panasonic will close an appliance factory near Bangkok and consolidate production at a larger facility in Vietnam. During the trade dispute between Washington and Beijing, many companies had initially moved production from China to Thailand. Now, however, it seems that they are moving towards more competitive countries, such as Vietnam and Indonesia.

Indonesia and Singapore currently dominate the venture capital (VC) fundraising in Southeast Asia, despite a slower pace of capital raising in the first quarter this year. Indonesia raised US$161 million in the first quarter while Singapore leads with $865 million over the same period, according to a recent report by Deal Street Asia.

In the context of the health crisis and the slowdown in travel, Thai Airways suffered significant losses that left it on the verge of bankruptcy. As reported by the Financial Times, it appears that the government is intent on intervening with a plan to save the company and revitalize it.

Thailand has experienced the strongest economic contraction for over eight years, with GDP down 1.8% in the first quarter of 2020 compared to the previous year. The government will now try to revive domestic consumption, tourism and trade to try to cope with this drop.

Ant Financial, an affiliate company of the Chinese group Alibaba, has announced it will invest $73.5 million in the Burmese fintech company Wave Money as part of a strategic partnership to promote financial inclusion in Myanmar. The initiative is part of the government's plan to increase financial inclusion in the country from 48% to 60% by 2022.

Southeast Asia has been mentioned as the place where the Korean financial industry should expand its presence over the next three years to accomplish the country's grand plan of becoming an international financial hub.

Tutto quello di cui Singapore avrà bisogno per ripartire. Questa settimana le Autorità singaporiane spiegheranno come intendono revocare le restrizioni vigenti ormai da molte settimane. I funzionari governativi hanno assicurato che l'abolizione delle restrizioni sarà effettuata in modo graduale e calibrato, fissando alcuni criteri che entro il primo giugno dovranno essere necessariamente soddisfatti. Bloomberg analizza la situazione economico-sanitaria della città-Stato e le prospettive di breve termine.

DBS assumerà più di 2000 impiegati a Singapore nonostante la pandemia. Una delle più grandi banche del Sud-Est asiatico ha dichiarato di volersi impegnare ad assumere più di 2.000 persone a Singapore quest'anno, nonostante l'attuale recessione economica causata dalla pandemia di Covid-19.

Singapore Airlines registra la prima perdita netta annuale in 48 anni di storia. SIA Group ha registrato una perdita netta di 212 milioni di dollari negli ultimi 12 mesi. Il COVID-19 ha paralizzato la domanda di viaggi aerei, la compagnia ha istituito di conseguenza una task force interna per gestire la difficile situazione e prepararsi a quando i viaggi aerei riprenderanno con regolarità.

La Malesia tra le preferite per gli acquirenti immobiliari cinesi. La Malesia ha mantenuto la sua posizione di sesta destinazione più gradita al mondo per gli acquirenti cinesi di immobili per il secondo anno consecutivo. Le prime cinque destinazioni preferite sono la Thailandia, l'Australia, il Giappone, gli Stati Uniti e il Canada.

Vietnam's Civil Aviation Authority stated that the country won't consider new requests from foreign airlines in order to prioritize the recovery of the domestic aviation sector following the heavy impact of the coronavirus crisis

Thailand has been an ally of the United States since 1954, but some geopolitical choices and an improvement in relations with Beijing in recent years are putting a strain on this historic alliance. A break is not naturally imminent and the military relationship remains solid, fortified by multiple bilateral exercises every year. According to some, however, several Thai business families would welcome a more evident shift in China's orbit.

Mitsubishi Motors aims to trim its workforce in Thailand as the automaker reduces output in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Mitsubishi Motors informed plant workers of the early retirement offer on May 7, it was revealed Wednesday. The company has offered severance packages equivalent to eight to 35 months of wages, depending on employee age and seniority.

The Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) introduces an extensive study exploring possible policy responses to the coronavirus pandemic and its problematic effects on international trade and global value chains in Asia. The focal point of the document is undoubtedly the coordination of regional policies, which is essential to mitigate and slow down the devastating effects of the epidemic.

Ambassadors and chargé d'affaires of ASEAN countries in Mexico, including Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam, on May 13 had an online exchange with Director General for Asia-Pacific at the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs Claudia Franco Hijuelos about the COVID-19 fight in Southeast Asia and Mexico.