Malaysia, and to a lesser degree Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines, remain more exposed to exchange rate risk than other developing economies in East Asia and the Pacific as global financial conditions tighten, the World Bank said.Companies and banks in these countries have sizeable external debt, although foreign exchange reserves currently appear adequate, the Washington-based multilateral lender said in a report on Wednesday.

Indonesia’s central bank should avoid cutting interest rates further because borrowing costs are at an appropriate level even as loan growth remains subdued, according to the chief of the country’s biggest lender.The current benchmark rate of 4.25 percent is “quite optimal,” Bank Mandiri President Director Kartika Wirjoatmodjo said in an interview on September 28. “Overall liquidity is much better” and “is not an issue anymore,” he said.

“I consider myself lucky to be able to wear batik on several international events in Indonesia and overseas. It is a sense of pride,” Monika Nabillya, a 26-year-old accountant who resides in Indonesia, told The ASEAN Post.Batik is one of the most highly developed art forms of Indonesia’s rich cultural heritage. In 2009, UNESCO (The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) recognised Indonesian batik as a Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.

Go-Jek, Indonesia’s first billion-dollar startup, is looking to expand its ride-hailing services to three to four countries in Southeast Asia, escalating its rivalry with Grab and Uber Technologies.Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Nadiem Makarim didn’t specify the countries or services that Go-Jek will target, but said in an interview they will be places with a large population and where cash rules, hinting that Go-Jek’s digital payment service will be a key part of its push into new ma

"There is no straight path from your seat today to where you are going. Don't try to draw that line. You will not just get it wrong, you'll miss big opportunities. And I mean big-like the Internet," Sheryl Sandberg, the Chief Operating Officer of Facebook, said during the annual Class Day ceremonies at Harvard College in the US."Careers are not ladders, those days are long gone, but jungle gyms.

The TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership) may be dead in the water for the US (United States) after President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order in January rescinding his country’s commitments to the trade deal. However, the remaining 11 members are keen on pushing forward with the trade agreement even without the superpower in its fold.“None of the TPP members have declared the agreement to be dead and it is very likely that it will keep going.

“The return on investment is not attractive enough to go ahead with the plan. International canals like Panama and Suez have been effective because they are essential to trade, cutting off weeks and months of travel," Damrong Kraikruan, Ambassador of Thailand to Malaysia, said in a special media briefing held in Kuala Lumpur.“The most Kra Canal would save shippers is only a few days. Another factor to consider is would west-going ships use it or will they go down to Singapore?

The Malaysian Grand Prix is "200 percent" cancelled after this weekend's final race, the circuit's head told AFP, adding that the loss-making event had been hit hard by competition from neighbouring Singapore.The high-speed Sepang International Circuit, with its tough, tropical recipe of steamy heat and unpredictable rain will disappear from the Formula One calendar after 19 races dating back to 1999. And Asia's second-oldest race after Japan is not likely to return a

The Wall Street Journal, part of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp., is closing down print editions in Europe and Asia as a result of shrinking advertising.The final print edition in Europe will be Friday, with the Asian edition ending a week later, the newspaper reported Thursday in an article, citing company officials.

The workplace is not an unfamiliar territory to women in the Southeast Asian region. The Philippines ranks ninth in the world for gender equity where women are given the opportunity to participate in politics, to have multiple seats on company boards and so on. However, the lack of gender diversification in the workplace is still immensely visible in local and international companies alike throughout the region.