On 1 January 2022, the world's largest trade deal, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), came into force. RCEP is a trade agreement involving the 10- member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and their largest free trade agreement (FTA) partners, namely China, South Korea, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand.

This was supposed to be the Asian century, with the ascent of China being only one – albeit a major – part of the story.

This was supposed to be the Asian century, with the ascent of China being only one – albeit a major – part of the story.

On the first anniversary of the Muhyiddin Yassin administration, the stage is set for the next lap of Malaysia’s economic development which would include a continuing reliance on foreign direct investment (FDI). Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has said that Malaysia continues to attract foreign direct investment (FDI), including Fortune 500 companies.

The Philippine 1987 Constitution thus far has many provisions with strong restrictions on the flow of foreign capital in some areas of economic activities and these include: (a) the first provision concerning the prohibition to foreigners to own land; (b) the exclusion of foreigners from the exploitation of the country’s natural resources; and (c) the limitation placed on foreign capital in the public utility sector. Under the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines, these limitations a

There’s been much hype and agitation and, by extension, circulation of kopitiam (coffee shop) talk about reports of Malaysia falling behind its regional counterparts and peers in terms of foreign direction investment (FDI) which include losing out on key strategic investments so that the country now (yet again) is supposed to be down on that path towards becoming a failed state (which we’ve heard many times before). Such a grim outlook could be justified on the basis that according t

Although Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha announced Thailand’s commitment to the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) in 2017, outbound investment remains a largely unregulated sector.Thai firms are significant investors in ASEAN countries, and Thailand’s foreign direct investment (FDI) in the region stood at US$2.37 billion in 2017 – behind only Singapore (US$18.75 billion) and Malaysia (US$3.99 billion). Thai companies also have a vast reach.

Offering investment opportunities in everything from zippers to bullet trains, Vietnam has long been recognised as a hub for foreign direct investment (FDI) – and a recent report has just confirmed that.The United States (US) News and World Report last month ranked Vietnam eighth in a list of 29 best economies to invest in, and the next closest ASEAN countries on the list were Malaysia (13th), Singapore (14th) and Indonesia (18th).

While the Lao PDR government recently called for increased investment in agriculture to boost its export market, there are several issues that have to be tackled before foreign investors come knocking.Speaking to local media earlier this week, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, Dr Bounkhuang Khambounheuang, said Cuba and Indonesia expressed interest in importing 100,000 and one million tons of rice respectively, with Vietnam seeking to purchase 500,000 head of livestock.The country,

While Vietnam’s economy is expected to become bigger than Singapore’s in the next decade based on both countries’ current rate of growth, there are several challenges that lie ahead for ASEAN’s rising star.In a report published by Singapore-based DBS Bank on Tuesday, senior economist Irvin Seah predicted that Vietnam’s gross domestic product (GDP) will surpass that of Singapore’s by 2029 if Vietnam maintains its annual growth rate of about six to 6.5 percent and Singapore continues to grow at