Tens of millions of people across the country face restrictions, including the entire Jilin province and technology hub Shenzhen, as authorities report record numbers of cases.Toyota, Volkswagen and Apple supplier Foxconn are among the firms affected.The lockdowns have raised concerns that crucial supply chains may be disrupted.China on Tuesday reported a record high of more than 5,000 cases, most of it in Jilin.All 24 million residents of the north-eastern province were placed under quaranti

Thai Premier Prayut Chan-o-cha announced Thursday that vaccinated travellers from more than 40 countries will be allowed to enter the kingdom without undergoing quarantine come 1 November, as it readies for a much-anticipated re-opening.The 46 countries and territories are a significant jump from the 10 initially announced last week by Prayut, when he unveiled plans to reopen the country next month.The ballooning list is due to Thailand's urgent need "to stimulate the tourism sector

Is there a larger purpose to the Chinese government’s recent actions against the country’s largest corporations, and does its clean-up of the financial sector fit into its economic strategy? China has sought for at least 15 years to rebalance its growth from exports and fixed-asset investment to greater domestic consumption – efforts that have assumed a new urgency, owing to conflicts with the United States (US) and other countries. As long as its domestic market expands, Ch

Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) were the saviours of the Indonesian economy out of the 1998 financial crisis. But now, MSMEs are collapsing in times of crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic.MSMEs are one of the sectors severely affected by the social restriction policies implemented by the government.

The late George Shultz, United States (US) Secretary of the Treasury under President Richard Nixon and Secretary of State under President Ronald Reagan, was one of the finest public servants in recent American history. When I was the last British governor of Hong Kong, he once offered me wise advice about dealing with the People’s Republic of China.

Technological disruption will significantly affect ASEAN’s workforce, driving growth and creating new demand for workers. Based on a 2018 study, ‘Technology and the future of ASEAN jobs’ by technology company Cisco and Oxford Economics Data, 6.6 million jobs will become redundant by 2028 across the six largest ASEAN economies – Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

While President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo may have shocked some Indonesians on Thursday when he announced the government wants to replace some civil service positions with artificial intelligence (AI), the idea of using AI to streamline government processes is increasingly gaining prominence across the world.Intent on starting his second five-year term with a solid push to cut red tape and encourage more investment, Jokowi instructed his ministers to reduce the ranks of Indonesia’s public servants

China’s digital transformation is touted by many economists and trade experts as the single largest contributor to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth between now and 2025. That explains why most companies in China are transitioning from traditional ways of doing business to more efficient digitised business models. This transition is precipitating many changes, most notable of them all being the adoption of a customer-centric management style.

For up to US$50,000, Vietnamese migrants can get the "VIP package" to Britain - flight, fake passport and even a lawyer - illegal, but billed as safer than cheaper overland routes by people smugglers who provide a menu of options for those trying to reach the UK.Details of well-oiled smuggling routes spanning Vietnam to Europe have come under renewed scrutiny after 39 people were found dead in a truck in Britain. Initially identified as Chinese, many are now believed to be

Getting business done in the Philippines has just become a whole lot easier.Jumping 29 spots in the World Bank’s Doing Business 2020 study – the biggest mover in ASEAN – the Philippines can attribute its rise from 124th to 95th to a variety of factors. Thailand and Myanmar were Southeast Asia’s other big movers after both shifted up six spots, while Singapore remains the best Southeast Asian nation in second.Released yesterday, the study is the 17th in an annual series that