The slide in emerging markets is spooking Thailand’s US$26 billion Government Pension Fund.The fund will continue to avoid investing in developing-nation equities and bonds because of the risk of increased outflows due to global trade tensions and weakening currencies, according to its Secretary General Vitai Ratanakorn.The return on investment has been “disappointing” this year, compared with a 6.4 percent gain in 2017, as the value of domestic and foreign equities has slumped, Vitai said.

Riding the euphoria of the #MalaysiaBaru movement, it is easy to lose sight of the undercurrents driving Malaysia’s youth which led to the National Front’s (Barisan Nasional) now-historic defeat after more than 60 years of political hegemony.However, amid the wave of optimism and energy gripping the nation following its 14th general election (GE14), it is crucial that the leaders of the new Alliance of Hope (Pakatan Harapan) administration, including its Cabinet and the Council of Eminent Per

Cambodia has emerged as one of Southeast Asia’s most promising young markets in recent years, with its construction and garments industries in particular attracting the lion’s share of foreign direct investment (FDI) to the nation, which amounted to US$1.92 billion in 2016.Part of the appeal to regional and Chinese investors, who have wasted no time in relocating manufacturing bases to or launching new ones in the Southeast Asian kingdom, is Cambodia’s young population, more than half whom ar

Air travel across Southeast Asia is expected to rise at an estimated compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.8 percent from 2016 to 2036. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) puts the projected number of passengers travelling in 2036 at 7.8 billion people.

The United States (US) dollar’s best quarterly run of Donald Trump’s presidency is no doubt causing discomfort in Asia. But while the greenback is getting expensive, it’s not yet scarce. To gauge the risk of a shortage, you have to read the political tea leaves from Kuala Lumpur to New Delhi and Beijing.Suppose you’re an Indian bank. A customer wants US$100 for three months.

China’s authorities, who’ve allowed the steepest yuan decline since the 2015 devaluation, are likely to step in and defend the currency should it fall further to a key level.Most of the 18 traders and analysts surveyed by Bloomberg say policy makers will act to slow the currency’s slide once it gets close to 6.7 per United States (US) dollar in China’s onshore market. That’s about one percent below current levels.

Indonesia’s central bank is set to raise its benchmark interest rate for a third time since May in a bid to halt a deepening currency rout.Southeast Asia’s biggest economy is struggling to fire and inflation remains subdued, but Bank Indonesia’s (BI) focus is squarely on the rupiah. Indonesia has been among the hardest hit in Asia in a global emerging-market sell-off triggered by higher United States (US) interest rates and a stronger dollar.

The slump in China’s yuan is stoking fear that policy makers are less willing to temper the currency’s decline as the economy slows and a trade battle with the United States (US) worsens.That’s a sharp turnaround from just a few weeks ago, when the yuan was in effect serving as an anchor for emerging economies facing rising global interest rates and a strengthening US dollar.

Xi Jinping vowed to match Donald Trump blow for blow in any trade war. Now as one gets closer, some in Beijing are starting to openly wonder whether China is ready for the fight - an unusually direct challenge to the leadership of the world’s second-largest economy.In recent weeks, prominent academics have begun to question if China’s slowing, trade-dependent economy can withstand a sustained attack from Trump, which has already started to weigh on stock prices.

A selloff in China’s currency deepened after the central bank moved to free up capital for banks and as investors braced for the next round in an escalating trade dispute with the United States (US). Stocks fluctuated, while government bonds were little changed.The yuan slid as much as 0.4 percent to 6.5223 per US dollar, its weakest since 10 January, while the offshore exchange rate dropped for an eighth day.