Brunei's seemingly vulnerable economic position is seen by China as an opportunity. The Asian superpower looks to engage with Brunei and this rejuvenated relationship could be beneficial to both parties in the long-term. How swift Brunei reacts and takes its chances could result in the petroleum rich nation successfully diversifying its economy for a brighter future.

Singapore’s economy expanded by 3.5% in 2017, according to estimates released by the Ministry of Trade and Industry earlier this month. Yet the percentage of its labour force aged over 60 years also rose from 6.1% in 2007 to 14.1% in 2017, according to a recent report by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM).The labour force participation rate (LFPR) in 2017 meanwhile dropped to 67.7% from 68% in 2016 according to MOM data.

The Philippines is likely to be able to fund its Build, Build, Build infrastructure project (2016-2020) under its 10-point Socio-Economic Agenda, but it may face setbacks in terms of labour to make it happen. GDP growth for the Philippines' was recorded at 6.7% last year, according to Moody's Analytics and larger spending on infrastructure, will help it to sustain long term growth.

The global economy has continued to strengthen in 2018 and this trend is expected to continue into 2019 as well. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said that some 120 economies, which accounts for three quarters of the world’s GDP, “…has seen a pickup in growth in year-on-year terms in 2017”. Countries like Germany, Japan, Korea and the United States also saw higher growth in the third quarter of 2017 as opposed to the projection made in October 2016.

After a great year for the Vietnamese economy, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc is determined to take the economy to greater heights. Speaking at the Vietnam Economic Forum held by the Communist Party’s Commission for Economic Affairs last week, Phuc declared, “We must try to transform Vietnam from a beautiful girl into a new economic tiger in Asia.”Despite a slow start to 2017, Vietnam came out as one of the best performing economies in Southeast Asia.

Spotlight on energyThis week, The ASEAN Post highlighted some challenges that ASEAN is facing in terms of deploying renewable energy and electrification throughout the region. As the region’s energy demands grows, countries such as Myanmar are moving forward in order to quench the thirst for electricity.

Cambodia and China recently marked 60 years of ties of joint cooperation with a visit by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang to Phnom Penh. Both countries signed a series of 19 bilateral agreements providing for Chinese investments into Cambodia’s infrastructure, healthcare and agriculture sectors, among others. The two countries go back a long way, beginning when Cambodia chose to acknowledge China’s legitimacy over Taiwan’s when the latter claimed independent statehood.

The Southeast Asian region will continue to surprise analysts and pundits on the upside, as 2018 continues to unfold.“The stars are aligned for the ASEAN region,” Manu Bhaskaran, Chief Executive Officer for Centennial Asia Advisors told an audience of 700 journalists, diplomats, academics and industry leaders during the 2018 Regional Outlook Forum in Singapore.

If the resilience of emerging markets to rising interest rates is all about the growth outlook, then data from China this week will be key.The country, the world’s biggest emerging market, releases gross domestic product statistics on Thursday.Less than a week after Angola abandoned its dollar peg, another African nation – Morocco –is due to make good on a promise it made several years ago to relax its currency regime.And policy makers in South Korea, South Africa, Turkey and Indonesia are du

For the last decade or so, China’s economy has been on something of a roller coaster ride. As 2018 begins, is the country approaching a new ascent, a steep drop, or something in between?Prior to the global economic crisis a decade ago, the Chinese economy was growing at a breakneck pace. But when the crisis hit, the growth rate fell relatively sharply.