As Amazon.com pushes into Southeast Asia with a new venture into Singapore, the online retailer is facing some tough hurdles. Shopping in air-conditioned malls is practically a national sport, and e-commerce rivals moved in long ago.Delivery delays also marred Amazon’s debut in July, when on-the-ground operations began with Prime Now two-hour deliveries.

Almost four million new jobs, rising wages and eight interest-rate cuts in Indonesia should have been enough to spur consumers into action in the world’s fourth most populous nation.Instead, an increasing number of people are keeping a tight grip on their purse strings and putting their money in the bank, leaving policy makers and economists perplexed.

Vertex Ventures, the venture capital arm of Temasek Holdings, has completed its biggest fundraising for Southeast Asian and Indian technology deals.The Singapore-based firm closed its third Southeast Asian fund at 210 million dollars, a record in the region that exceeded its target of 150 million dollars. The money will be used for early stage investments, aiming to repeat its success with Grab.

Big-name investors including Expedia and Alibaba are pumping billions of dollars into Indonesian tech start-ups in a bid to capitalise on the country’s burgeoning digital economy and potential as Southeast Asia’s largest online market.Indonesia has seen a surge of cash into its technology sector over the past two years, helping support dozens of homegrown start-ups ranging from ride hailing apps to e-commerce firms.And with a population of more than 250 million, a swelling middle class and gr

Flag carrier Philippine Airlines said Friday it will pay the government six billion pesos (117 million dollars) after President Rodrigo Duterte threatened to cut off its access to Manila airport over alleged unpaid landing and other fees.Duterte had given the airline a Friday deadline to pay arrears."The (Department of Transportation) has accepted the offer of PAL to pay in full the six billion-peso claims of the (Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines/Manila International Airport A

Education policies are a vital function in transforming the education landscape and configuring the learning outcomes of any nation. A prominent feature of a successful educational transformation is that it’s guided by a clear goal or vision. This would ideally be implemented through coherent planning, micro-management and a constant monitoring process.

Naturally blessed with a rich and diverse cultural heritage, Southeast Asia attracts a huge amount of tourists to the region every year. Its cultural heritage is manifested through a wealth of ancient monuments, heritage sites, colourful festivals and exotic cuisines which have become major tourist attractions for travellers who are seeking for a unique cultural experience.

Southeast Asia is a highly sought-after holiday destination for tourists and travellers from all across the world. The region, which is home to more than 630 million people, is geographically situated in the heart of Asia. Due to its tropical climate, the region is typically warm and humid all year round with plentiful rainfall. Southeast Asian countries are also known for its unique and diverse cultures as well as natural wonders like sandy beaches, mountains and wildlife.

Since the early 2000s, the Philippines added more than a million jobs as foreign companies outsourced customer support and sales tasks to the Southeast Asian nation.Now a looming wave of automation is threatening employment at call centres and forcing the industry to retrain workers to meet the demand for higher skilled jobs in areas such as healthcare, banking, finance and insurance.“The biggest challenge is people,” Jojo Uligan, president of the Contact Center Association of the Philippines

Singapore and Thailand are in discussions about connecting their national digital payment systems to forge an unprecedented regional alliance, as officials step up efforts to curb the use of cash.The link would bring together Southeast Asia’s first national digital-payment platforms, Singapore’s PayNow and Thailand’s PromptPay, said Naphongthawat Phothikit, director of payment systems policy at the Bank of Thailand.“The Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Bank of Thailand are exploring th