Southeast Asia’s unicorns are now supposedly worth US$57 billion after the recent addition of four new companies to the exclusive club, but how realistic that figure is remains to be seen.Singapore’s Bigo Tech (streaming and social media), Trax (image-recognition), ONE Championship (media and sports) and Zilingo (e-commerce) all passed the US$1 billion valuation mark between September 2018 and September 2019, making for a total of 14 unicorns in the region according to a report released last

Several ASEAN countries are facing the problem of an aging society. This is the reality for countries like Singapore, Brunei, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. The worry is that as citizens age, and pregnancy rates drop in these countries, it will become harder and harder for them to remain competitive.In the face of this concerning reality, ASEAN has been looking at how it can fully utilise the potential of its aging citizens.

Chinese technology giant Alibaba on Friday confirmed plans to list in Hong Kong in what it called a US$13 billion vote of confidence in the turbulent city's markets and a step forward in its plans to go global.The enormous IPO, which Hong Kong had lobbied for, will come as a boost for authorities wrestling with pro-democracy protests that have tarnished the financial hub's image for order and security and hammered its stock market.Alibaba will offer 500 million shares at a maximum o

Sustainable investing is going mainstream in ASEAN with more than half of the private equity deals in the region now backing business models that contribute to environmental and social progress.Sustainable investing – also known as responsible investing or impact investing – is catching on globally as companies increasingly realise that they do not have to sacrifice long-term competitive financial returns if they want to generate positive societal impact by incorporating environmental, social

The annual 11.11 Singles’ Day Sale has become an event for both shoppers and e-commerce merchants across Southeast Asia, recording online sales that exceed all expectations. Singles’ Day came to be after students at the Nanjing University in China, started celebrating their singledom, in what was known as anti-Valentine’s Day back in the 1990s. Singles’ Day was then adopted by e-commerce giant, Alibaba, in 2009.

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.

In sharing their opinions regarding what their government should prioritise in the 2020 fiscal budget, 65.9 percent of Thais polled by the Super Poll Research Centre placed healthcare as their top concern.

India said Monday it would not join a sprawling Asian trade pact, dealing a blow to the China-backed deal at the end of a Bangkok summit held against a backdrop of global growth fears.The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) was meant to account for 30 percent of global GDP and loop in half of the world’s people.But India dug in over concerns about market access, fearing its domestic industries would be hit hard if the country was flooded by cheap Made-in-China goods.“We have co

Technological advancements and artificial intelligence (AI) are revolutionising manufacturing for industries around the world.

Earlier this week, The ASEAN Post published an article regarding the 2020 Budget in Thailand. In that article, a study by the Super Poll Research Centre was cited in which 1,069 people from a wide range of occupations nationwide were interviewed between 15 and 19 October.