These are the top stories making the front pages of major newspapers from across Southeast Asia today.
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Covid-19 vaccination centre at Changi T4 can inoculate 4,000 a day
When Raffles Medical Group received the call to set up a vaccination centre at Changi Airport Terminal 4, it took just five days to get the whole operation up and running. Last week, more than 1,000 aviation workers were vaccinated there in a trial run of operations. Full-scale vaccination of air crew and front-line workers started on Monday (Jan 18), and the centre will inoculate 7,000 people this week. There is scope to ramp up capacity even further, said the centre's lead physician, Dr Tan Joo Peng. "It was a combined effort between ourselves and our Changi Airport Group counterparts to set this up in fairly record time," Dr Tan, 38, told reporters on Monday (Jan 18). "We have 27 vaccination stations, so based on a conservative planning norm of 12 patients per hour and 14 hours of operations per day, I am fairly confident we can do 4,000 vaccinations, if not more. "(We have) the ability to scale up further if the nation calls for it." The aim, Dr Tan said, is to keep the total time it takes for a person to get vaccinated to under an hour, including 30 minutes of observation time to ensure there are no adverse effects. A medical fridge, which can store more than 10,000 doses, was specially brought in as the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine has to be stored at minus 70 deg C. "(Proper) storage of the vaccine is critical. We don't want any wastage," said Dr Tan. Operations managers on the ground also look at the flow of people at the centre and prepare the appropriate number of jabs. It takes 30 minutes to prepare the vaccine as it has to be got up to room temperature. At any one time, there are 70 doctors, nurses and healthcare attendants at the centre to render treatment and attend to emergencies. Said Dr Tan: "We have EpiPens and adrenaline. All the resuscitation equipment is on hand." Fortunately, there have not been any adverse reactions to the vaccines so far, he said. Common complaints include aching near the injection site and minor headaches. – The Straits Times
Bank Negara to maintain OPR at 1.75pct: JP Morgan
Bank Negara Malaysia is likely to keep its Overnight Policy Rate (OPR) at 1.75 per cent on Wednesday, following the 125 basis points (bps) of cumulative cuts in 2020, said JP Morgan. The US investment bank said this was due to the latest stimulus package, short duration of the Movement Control Order (MCO) restrictions and limited policy rate transmission mechanism. "While risks of a cut have increased, there are several reasons for Bank Negara to remain on hold. "First, while the MCO could trim between 0.5-0.8 percentage points (pts) of 2021 gross domestic product (GDP) growth, it is still short dated in nature as of writing and businesses and consumers are now arguably more adapt at operating this new normal vs previous restrictions," JP Morgan said in a report today. The bank said the latest Perlindungan Ekonomi dan Rakyat Malaysia (Permai) assistance package and measures in the 2021 Budget were expected to support consumption. "Both of these measures support our narrative that the overall economic trend remains one of an uneven path to recovery." JP Morgan said the transmission mechanism from additional policy rate cuts, and therefore the purpose of such cuts, was likely to be limited given the variety of credit relief measures and moratoria currently in place. The government yesterday announced Permai stimulus package following the latest MCO and state of emergency implemented to counter the surge in Covid-19 cases. Permai, valued at RM15 billion (1.0 per cent of GDP) broadly improves on existing initiatives with the aims of combating the Covid-19 outbreak, safeguarding the welfare of people and supporting business continuity. New Covid-19 cases in Malaysia have averaged more than 2,000 a day in the last few weeks and hit a record 4,029 on Saturday. While the two-week MCO is restricting mobility indicators once again, authorities have warned that a flattening of the Covid-19 curve in Malaysia may only occur in May. On the vaccine front, JP Morgan said the government was expected to receive the first batch of Covid-19 vaccines by the end of February. "The authorities' current plan foresees the vaccines to be deployed in phases, with the first batch in early March, and targets 80 per cent of the population being vaccinated by first quarter of 2022," it added. – New Straits Times
AstraZeneca vaccine approval expected
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is expected to approve the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine this week for emergency use. Dr Opas Karnkawinpong, director-general of the Ministry of Public Health's Disease Control Department (DCD), said on Monday the FDA was examining documents submitted to it to prove the efficacy and safety of "a Covid-19 vaccine". Dr Surachoke Tangwiwat, deputy secretary-general of the FDA, later confirmed it was the vaccine produced by Oxford University and AstraZeneca, a British-Swedish multinational pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical company. He said the submitted documents contained details of both the quality and the production process of the vaccine and this would help shorten its registration process. Dr Opas confirmed that the ministry was likely to begin its Covid-19 inoculations using the AstraZeneca vaccine next month. The ministry routine is to follow up on people injected with Covid-19 vaccines for at least four weeks afterwards, during which time all possible allergic reactions or complications are strictly recorded and investigated, he said. Dr Opas was responding to concerns raised over a number of elderly people's deaths believed to be associated with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in Norway. Should anyone die after being injected with a Covid-19 vaccine, the death will be investigated promptly to determine if it is related to the vaccine, said Dr Opas, and only if it is clearly proved to not be associated with the vaccine will its continued use be allowed. If it remains unclear whether such a death is connected with the vaccine, the use of that particular vaccine will be suspended, he insisted. Deaths among elderly Norwegians with serious underlying health conditions following the administration of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine have sparked global concerns over its safety. A senator and medical doctor, Jet Siratharanont, on Monday raised a question in parliament over the safety of the government's plan to administer the first 200,000 doses of a Covid-19 vaccine next month. Deputy Public Health Minister Sathit Pitutecha insisted that only vaccines proven to be safe would be administered to Thai people ... and they would be China's Sinovac vaccine or the Oxford-AstraZeneca one, not Pfizer's. The first vaccines will be given to at-risk groups in the five provinces designated as maximum and strict Covid-19 control zones. Priority will also be given to people aged 60 or older and those with chronic diseases certified by medical professionals to be particularly prone to contracting the virus that causes Covid-19, he said. The injection of a further 800,000 dozes would follow in March in provinces other than these first five provinces before inoculation of the general population will be allowed to begin in June and July, said Mr Sathit. – Bangkok Post
Deutsche Bank sees foreign investor resurgence in Indonesia’s bond market
Deutsche Bank Indonesia projects that investors will be lured back to the country's domestic capital market, given the stronger rupiah and supportive interest rates. The local arm of the German investment bank has forecast that the rupiah will strengthen during the first half of the year, in line with potential economic improvements due partly to the nationwide vaccination program. It also expects Bank Indonesia (BI) to maintain the benchmark interest rate at around 3.75 percent this year after making five rate cuts in 2020 to buoy the economy amid the COVID-19 health emergency. As a result, strategists at Deutsche Bank Indonesia “believe that Indonesia offers one of the better volatility-adjusted carry propositions in emerging markets”, it said in a statement on Jan. 13 “Indonesia remains one of the most attractive destinations for emerging markets investors allocating capital to Asia,” Deutsche Bank chief country officer Siantoro Goeyardi said in the statement. The government has been aggressively issuing bonds to finance its Rp 695.2 trillion (US$49.4 billion) COVID-19 stimulus and to plug the soaring deficit amid the epidemic’s impact on tax revenue. As of December, the government had raised Rp 958.6 trillion in debt financing through bonds and loans, marking a 143.8 percent increase from the same period in 2019. Meanwhile, data on Dec. 21, 2020 showed that foreign investors held Rp 997.41 trillion in rupiah-denominated bonds, 6 percent less than the full-year figure of Rp 1.06 quadrillion in 2019. Foreign investors around the world dumped risky assets early last year, including in Indonesia, as coronavirus fears caused market volatility and made safe haven assets more lucrative. Meanwhile, country’s foreign currency bonds were “the most traded emerging markets debt assets globally, and valuations are forecast to benefit this year as investor capital returns to the region in search of yield”, Deutsche Bank said. The government raised $3 billion and 1 billion euros in sovereign bonds issued through four tranches in January 2020. Earlier this month, the Finance Ministry named Deutsche Bank Indonesia the best primary dealer for rupiah-denominated government bonds for the second consecutive year. Deutsche Bank is the only foreign bank to be awarded the recognition for its market-making expertise in bond trading. “Winning this title for the second year running cements Deutsche Bank’s position as the leading foreign bank for market-making local currency government bonds. It underscores the strength of our Indonesia platform which is a critical part of our global emerging markets franchise,” Siantoro said in the statement. “It is testimony to the key role we continue to play in supporting the liquidity and depth of the local currency government bond market,” said the bank’s Indonesia local markets head, Francis Soetopo. – The Jakarta Post
Lorenzana defends decision to terminate UP accord: ‘Times have changed’
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana on Tuesday defended his agency’s move to unilaterally terminate a long-time agreement with the University of the Philippines as it has become “a safe haven for the enemies of the state.” The 1989 agreement requiring state forces to notify officials prior operating on UP campuses was a “gesture of courtesy” given to the university and is now “obsolete,” Lorenzana said in a statement. “The agreement has become obsolete. The times and circumstances have changed since the agreement was signed in 1989, three years after the martial law ended,” he went on. The defense secretary said that UP “has become the breeding ground of intransigent individuals and groups whose extremist beliefs have inveigled students to join their ranks to fight against the government.” “The country’s premier state university has become a safe haven for enemies of the state,” he said. The DND’s move to terminate the deal was publicized on Monday night, after UP published a copy of Lorenzana’s letter to UP President Danilo Concepcion on some of its social media accounts. This means state forces may now enter UP campuses freely. Lorenzana said that the armed forces do not intend to put up military or police outposts inside UP campuses “nor suppress activist groups, academic freedom and freedom of expression.” Lorenzana urged the UP community to “work together to protect our students from extremism and destructive armed struggle.” The DND, he said, will “not tolerate those who will violate the laws of the land in the guise of lawful public dissent, free assembly and free speech.” – INQUIRER.net
Solar power capacity to be cut due to oversupply
Nguyễn Đức Ninh, director of the National Power Regulation Centre, has said Việt Nam will cut its renewable electricity capacity due to oversupply. Ninh told local media at a recent conference of Vietnam Electricity (EVN) that Việt Nam will cut 1.3 billion KWh of renewable energy in 2021. According to EVN's statistics, national electricity output generated from solar power in 2020 was 10.6 billion kWh, including 1.15 billion kWh from rooftop solar power, accounting for about 4.3 per cent of the total output from the national electricity system. Ninh said in 2020, the regulating agency must reduce 365 million kWh of unexploited solar power due to overloads of local networks, mainly in central provinces like Ninh Thuận and Bình Thuận. By the second half of November 2020, due to the excess power from the growth of solar farms and solar rooftop power, the electricity industry had to make a total reduction of 35 million kWh. In 2017, the Government issued the first feed-in tariff (FIT) mechanism with the purchase price of solar power for all types of 9.35 cents per kWh, until June 30, 2019, leading to many solar power projects being licensed rapidly. In June 2020, the Government moved to a FIT 2 tariff of 7.09 cents per kWh for solar power on the ground, 7.69 cents for floating solar power, and 8.38 cents per KWh 7.69 cents for rooftop power. On December 31, 2020, the decision expired and investors must await a new tariff. Phạm Quế Phong, chairman of Inter Solar Joint Stock Company, said: “If the upcoming FIT 3 price is issued to prioritise dispersed solar rooftop and has a price difference between regions according to the rate of radiation, it will promote lots of rooftop solar projects and limit solar farm projects." "The loose management has led to the fact that the majority of solar rooftop projects are actually now solar farms," he said. Phong said the country was estimated to have more than 100,000 rooftop solar power projects with a total output of nearly 10,000 MWp but only 20 per cent of them were rooftop solar power constructions and installed on the roofs of offices, restaurants and hotels. He said the rest were solar farm projects disguised as rooftop solar power to enjoy the price of 8.38 cents per kWh instead of 7.09 cents per kWh for solar farms. Phong predicted the buying price of rooftop solar power would decrease this year following the trend in the world, adding: “The reduction will not be much.” "Households, businesses and administrative agencies with solar roof power should not worry as though the price of electricity is cheaper, the initial investment cost is also cheaper," he said. – Viet Nam News
Vaccine quest widens: Prime Minister seeks Indian-developed doses
A few days after announcing that Cambodia will accept one million doses of COVID-19 vaccines from China, Prime Minister Hun Sen has asked the Indian government to donate its vaccines to Cambodia after India has just achieved initial success in a massive drive to vaccinate its large population. The request was made by the premier during his meeting with Dr Devyani Uttam Khobragade, Indian Ambassador to Cambodia, at the Peace Palace yesterday morning. “Through the ambassador, Samdech Techo Hun Sen requested the Indian Government to provide COVID-19 vaccines to Cambodia,” Eang Sophalleth, the Prime Minister’s personal assistant, said after the meeting. “In reply, HE Ms Ambassador pledged to submit the request made by Samdech Techo Prime Minister to the head of the Indian government and will get back to him as soon as possible with a positive news.” Sophalleth added that Cambodia is looking at the Indian-made vaccines which can be stored at a temperature of 18 degrees Celsius, meaning that they could be stored in normal fridges and thus suitable for Cambodia. “We did not ask for a specific amount of doses as this is a humanitarian request,” he said. “But, we are seeking the vaccine which has been approved and authorised for manufacturing by the Indian government.” The Indian authorities so far have given emergency-use approval for two vaccines – “Covishield”, AstraZeneca’s vaccine made by India’s Serum Institute, and the Indian-made “Covaxin”, which has yet to complete its Phase 3 trials. However, it is unknown which one that the government wants to inoculate the people in the Kingdom, Sophalleth said. The request to India marks another significant move taken by Mr Hun Sen in the fight against the deadly coronavirus, which as of yesterday has infected 436 people in the Kingdom, after announcing on Friday that the government will accept the donation of one million doses of COVID-19 vaccines from China to vaccinate 500,000 Cambodians. While doing so means the Premier has reversed his previous commitment to only obtain vaccines approved by the World Health Organization (WHO), Mr Hun Sen further announced on Sunday that he will be the first person to be vaccinated when the Sinopharm vaccines from China are delivered to the Kingdom, a move to infuse confidence and trust in Cambodians that the vaccines are safe. “I must be in the front line, which has been my normal habit for decades,” he said in a Facebook post. Meanwhile, Kin Phea, director-general of the International Relations Institute at the Royal Academy of Cambodia, said yesterday that given the ongoing situation, it is unlikely that India will be able to contribute to the vaccination efforts of other countries soon. – Khmer Times