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.

It is a tradition for ASEAN’s 10 members to take turns chairing the regional bloc in alphabetical order, and come 1 January, 2020, Vietnam will formally take over from Thailand fully aware of the responsibilities it will have to shoulder.Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha proudly handed a gavel, the symbol of ASEAN’s leadership, to a smiling Vietnamese Prime Minister, Nguyen Xuan Phuc at the closing of the 35th ASEAN Summit in Bangkok on Monday – and the pressure is now on one of Asia’s fa

Martial-arts film star Jackie Chan’s planned visit to Vietnam for a charity has been cancelled following an online backlash related to Beijing’s expansive claims in the disputed South China Sea.The Hong Kong-born actor was set to visit Hanoi on 10 November to support Operation Smile, a charity that gives free surgery to children with facial disfigurements.But the plans were scrapped after thousands of angry Facebook users flooded the charity’s official page when his visit was announced last w

Chinese President Xi Jinping has expressed a "high degree of trust" in Hong Kong's unpopular leader Carrie Lam as the two met after months of increasingly violent protests in the semi-autonomous city.Xi's show of support follows speculation that Beijing was preparing to remove Lam as city authorities struggle to contain pro-democracy demonstrations that have rocked the financial hub.Their meeting in Shanghai on Monday followed another weekend of violence in Hong Kong that

The United States (US) on Monday accused China of intimidation in the South China Sea as it put forward its strongest language yet rejecting Beijing’s claims in the strategic, dispute-rife waters.The Pacific powers traded tit-for-tat barbs over the South China Sea at a regional summit in Bangkok, with Beijing accusing the US of ratcheting up tensions in the waters, a key global shipping route.Beijing lays claim to huge swathes of the sea, where it is accused of building military inst

Vietnam’s decision to ban the animated film Abominable earlier this month is just the latest in a string of pushbacks against China’s infamous nine-dash line.Vietnam’s censors were forced to apologise after the Hollywood film, which was jointly produced by a Chinese studio, was screened across Vietnam’s cinemas for a week despite a scene which showed the disputed nine-dash line – China’s depiction of its territorial delineation in the South China Sea.China claims nearly 80 percent of the reso

Will the end of Chinese involvement in ASEAN’s online gambling sector see a spiral in property prices?A stark example of this is playing out in Cambodia, where there have been reports of the property bubble bursting in Sihanoukville – a beach town now known for its casinos – after Prime Minister Hun Sen announced that the country would stop issuing online gambling permits on 18 August.In the Philippines, though, President Rodrigo Duterte has remained steadfast in his support for online gambli

Despite rising trade tensions and geopolitical risks, half of ASEAN’s member states are among the top drivers of global growth.The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) World Economic Outlook released last week painted a bleak future for the global economy which is in a “synchronised slowdown” and is anticipated to grow 3.0 percent this year – the weakest since the 2008 global financial crisis. It is also a 0.3 percentage point downgrade from the IMF’s World Economic Outlook in April a

Hotels on Thailand's most popular holiday island have been forced to slash prices with rooms left vacant and beaches sparse as tourist chiefs struggle with a plunge in Chinese visitors caused by the US trade war and a stronger baht.Located on the Andaman Sea and known for its beaches and nightlife, sun-drenched Phuket was the most visited destination in the country last year after Bangkok and a good gauge of the state of its crucial travel industry.Tourism accounts for 18 percent of Thai

Paralysed by seething protesters and intransigent bosses in Beijing, Hong Kong's government lacks the power and experience to end the unprecedented political crisis in the city, analysts say.The semi-autonomous international hub has been riven by increasingly violent protests for more than four months, with demonstrators demanding greater democracy and police accountability as violence spirals on all sides.Yet so far, all the major steps taken by Beijing-backed city leader Carrie Lam hav