A recent analysis by discount code portal CupoNation Indonesia found that Indonesia ranks low in Southeast Asian countries in terms of fibre optic internet connection speeds, which heavily depends on a country’s infrastructure, geography, and many other factors. Being able to only provide a mere 200 megabytes per second (Mbps) to its internet users, Indonesia is placed fifth place out of six countries, only managing to outperform Cambodia.The sad fact is that this comes as no surprise.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution is a train that you either get on or you’ll find yourself being left far, far behind. ASEAN is aware of this. We’ve seen countries like Indonesia and Thailand take lessons from Germany’s model of a 4.0 economy. We’ve also seen countries like Malaysia invest large sums of money on the expansion of information technology (IT) infrastructure to provide an enabling environment for the growth of the digital economy.

The ASEAN Post recently published an article about the fact that while a large portion of people – including children - in Southeast Asia are starving, tonnes of food is wasted every day. The image is a terribly depressing one and shows the peculiarities of the world that we live in today. Still, it would not be fair to suggest that countries are not aware of this ironic state of events and aren’t doing their part to at least attempt to solve the problem.

In October last year, Brunei hosted the Brunei Islamic Capital Market (BICAM) Conference 2018, at the Rizqun International Hotel where more than a dozen international experts in Islamic finance met, deliberated and raised awareness on growing Islamic capital markets.

Malaysia and Indonesia have long been rivals – battling over territorial supremacy, diplomatic issues and even cultural appropriation.From alleged theft of traditions to the superiority of their national football teams, bragging rights between these two ASEAN countries have been as hot an issue as the fiery sambal (chili sauce or paste) they are both so proud of.This year’s Mastercard-CrescentRating Global Muslim Travel Index (GMTI) 2019 released last week provides citizens of both countries

ASEAN has to do more to attract private investment for key sustainable infrastructure programmes as the region makes the transition to a low carbon economy. HSBC presented a report to ASEAN Finance Ministers in Bangkok earlier this month ahead of their annual ministerial summit which outlined three recommendations in response to the region being disproportionately affected by climate change and the growing need for private investment to help bridge infrastructure funding gaps.The rep

It was a one-two punch that’s turned the Malaysian ringgit into Asia’s worst performer this month.FTSE Russell said Monday it may drop Malaysian debt from the FTSE World Government Bond Index because of concern about market liquidity, roiling the nation’s currency and bonds on Tuesday.

In line with its Thailand 4.0 goals, the Land of Smiles has been on an active lookout for foreign investors willing to finance projects under this initiative. South Korea recently expressed keen interest in doing so during the 60th anniversary of South Korea-Thailand diplomatic relations late last year.Thailand and South Korea have plans to hold a joint trade committee meeting in the first half of this year to connect investors and to spur trade.

Last October, Alibaba Group co-founder Jack Ma revealed that he was in discussion with the Indonesian government regarding the possibility of opening an institute to train tech entrepreneurs in the country. This, he said, would help Indonesia meet the skill demands of Industry 4.0, also known as the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR).

Indonesian ride-hailing service Go-Jek’s value has been estimated at US$10 billion by a United States (US) market intelligence company, putting it in the ranks of start-ups called decacorns.New York-based CB Insights has listed Go-Jek among 19 decacorns around the world, along with the likes of Uber Technologies Inc.