Also the Vietnamese car sector has suffered the heavy consequences of the pandemic. Furthermore, many companies in the country are in great difficulty due to unfavourable tax policies. It is therefore necessary for the Vietnamese government to think about more flexible policies to support its automotive industry at this delicate time.

Nuovo intervento economico a Singapore. A Singapore le previsioni di crescita per quest'anno sono state riviste tra il -7% e il -4%, evidenziando le difficoltà dell'economia singaporiana. Alla luce di questi dati, il governo ha annunciato ulteriori misure di sostegno alle imprese colpite dall'emergenza per un valore complessivo di circa 23 miliardi di dollari.

Singapore incrementa i finanziamenti per le startup. Il governo di Singapore ha annunciato lo stanziamento di altri 200 milioni di dollari per potenziare i finanziamenti alle startup tecnologiche nel Paese. Dato il calo nei flussi di capitale causato dalle incertezze della pandemia, le autorità singaporiane proveranno a colmare il vuoto, con l'obiettivo di stimolare il settore delle startup digitali.

Huawei apre un’accademia in Malesia. Huawei Malaysia ha presentato la Huawei ASEAN Academy, un centro di formazione per potenziare i talenti digitali nella regione. L'azienda cinese punta ad espandere la propria presenza nel Sud-Est asiatico, contribuendo a formare circa 50.000 persone nei prossimi cinque anni.

In addition to ties with China and South Korea, several ASEAN Countries seem determined to strengthen their relationship with Japan by increasing exports, encouraging Japanese companies to produce in ASEAN and improving diplomatic relations.

Based on a 2019 study by Facebook and Bain & Company, a global management consulting firm, digital consumers in ASEAN will be spending three times as much in 2025. The joint study found that while consumers in Southeast Asia spent US$125 on average on online purchases in 2018, that sum is expected to more than triple to US$390 in 2025.

Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam have had fewer cases of coronavirus than their neighbours in Southeast Asia, but their economies are still suffering the consequences of the pandemic. However, it seems that these countries will be able to emerge stronger from the crisis, diversifying their economies and focusing on their competitiveness.

During the trade war between Washington and Beijing, Vietnam managed to attract important trade flows into the country through its competitiveness. According to several experts, Vietnam has in fact been one of the major beneficiaries of the transformations initiated by the trade war. However, an interesting article by Asiatimes claims that Vietnam's growth won't be able to replace the "Made in China" brand, mainly because of the large Chinese population and the greater resources available to Beijing

Panasonic is shutting down a domestic appliance factory near Bangkok to consolidate production in a larger plant in Vietnam. During the trade war between Washington and Beijing, many companies had initially moved production from China to Thailand. Now they seem interested in moving to even more competitive countries like Vietnam and Indonesia.

The Vietnamese government aims to achieve a double-digit annual growth in e-commerce sales up to $35 billion by 2025. According to the sector development strategy presented by the Vietnamese government, more than half of Vietnam's population of 95 million people will shop online within the next five years.

La difficile transizione politica in Malesia. Negli ultimi giorni, una tanto attesa quanto animata sessione del Parlamento ha dato vita ad un nuovo momento di turbolenza nella politica della Malesia. Un articolo di The Diplomat racconta gli ultimi risvolti nello scenario politico malese, con un focus sull'impatto di questa transizione sulla democrazia nel Sud-Est asiatico.

L'India riprende ad acquistare olio di palma dalla Malesia. I compratori indiani hanno ripreso gli acquisti di olio di palma malese dopo un lungo periodo di gelo diplomatico tra India e Malesia. La notizia si inquadra nel miglioramento del rapporto politico e commerciale tra i due Paesi dopo la formazione di un nuovo governo a Kuala Lumpur

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.