Thailand’s central bank will take further steps to ease restrictions on capital outflows in coming months as it tries to curb gains in the baht. It plans to increase the amount of proceeds exporters can hold overseas, liberalize foreign-currency deposit accounts and take steps to enable insurance companies to invest more abroad.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Wednesday reaffirmed his country's sovereignty during a visit to a group of islands at the edge of the South China Sea that China claims as its traditional fishing area.

Indonesia said it expects to begin a World Trade Organization process to resolve a dispute with the European Union over palm oil by the end of December 2019.

At the start of the year, Hanoi is wasting little time to shine a global spotlight on its position, prestige, and responsibility as the new chair of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council.

Indonesia said on Wednesday (Jan 1) it rejected China's claims over a disputed part of the South China Sea as "having no legal basis", after two days earlier protesting to Beijing over the presence of a Chinese coastguard vessel in its territorial waters.

The death toll from flooding in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta has risen to 66, authorities say, with two people still missing after the megalopolis was hit by some of the most powerful monsoon rains seen in years.

The government is planning to work with members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to promote the development of the aviation industry, according to informed sources.

The Asian economy in the new year will be marked by 5G networks in Southeast Asia lifting the earnings of top telecommunications suppliers, according to outlooks by regional market analysts.

On the surface, digital banking may not seem like much of a growth market for startup companies. Big traditional banks rolled out online services years ago. Today their mobile apps reside on untold millions of customers’ screens, probably including yours.

Australia and the U.S. are both providing infrastructure investments in ASEAN, sometimes in direct competition with each other.

Terrorism in Southeast Asia has long been a threat. Previously, the spectre of terrorism haunted the region via threats of physical violence, from bombings to kidnappings. However, in the current internet age, terrorism has found new ways to attack its targets. Cyberterrorism in the region has been a growing concern and experts have called out ASEAN’s slow response to it.

With the telecom industry growing at 6-12 percent annually, faster than the GDP growth rates of many Asian developing economies, the industry is a “prime contributor” to economic development in the five countries, said Hans Martin Hoegh Henrichsen, Telenor Myanmar’s chief corporate affairs officer.

Vietnam has approved an amended Labor Code which will come into effect in January 2021. The amendment to the labor regulations are a step towards aligning with international labor standards particularly as Vietnam integrates into the world economy as noted by the International Labor Organization (ILO).

There is clear potential upside for Malaysia as a key destination for high value-added foreign direct investments (FDI) when looking beyond the ongoing US-China trade tensions. Citi’s head of corporate banking Asia Pacific Gerry Keefe and within ASEAN, the country is among the top in relocation opportunities for supply chain shifts besides Vietnam and Thailand, adding there is also an upward trend in accelerating investment flows to grow local presence.

As Chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 2020, Vietnam will be responsible for promoting and increasing ASEAN’s interests and prosperity, Vietnamese Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Quoc Dung has said.

Venture capital funding pouring into Vietnamese fintech companies accounted for 36 percent of the total fintech investment in Southeast Asia.

The Philippines' auto industry appears to be coming into its own thanks to government support, with Toyota Motor and Mitsubishi Motors using a majority of locally supplied parts when assembling flagship models in the Southeast Asian nation.

Thailand looks poised to improve free trade agreements under the Asean framework next year, aiming to extend tariff cuts to cover more products, particularly sensitive items.

The Republic climbed five spots to become the 13th most expensive city in the world for expatriates. It also rose two places in Asian rankings to become the seventh most costly location in the continent.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, currently Asia’s longest-serving ruler, faces no tangible political competition.