We often hear that "cash is king". While it is undeniable that cash has been the preferred mode of payment in the past, the 21st century has introduced an array of cashless payment methods – also known as e-payment – to consumers all over the world. All across the globe, people are divided into those who prefer the more conventional mode of payment as others take a more progressive approach by supporting cashless transactions.

In recent years, online shopping has been gaining traction in the Southeast Asian region as consumers become more tech-savvy. The growing smartphone and internet penetration rate in the region has driven the rise of digital shoppers. Virtual stores are becoming more popular particularly amongst youngsters who prefer to shop online due to its affordability, variety and convenience.

Moody’s Investors Service forecast that Philippine economic growth will exceed 6 percent until next year, and said the conflict in the south and a deadly drug war pose a rising risk but is unlikely to derail the economy.Gross domestic product will expand 6.5 percent this year and 6.8 percent in 2018, the rating company said in a statement on Friday.

Violence in Myanmar that’s pushed nearly 400,000 Muslim refugees into neighbouring Bangladesh is threatening to deepen sectarian tensions across the region.The exodus of Rohingya from Rakhine state has sparked concerns that politicians in countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Bangladesh and India could seek to capitalise on public anger over the treatment of a group that’s considered stateless in Buddhist-majority Myanmar.

Halimah Yacob, 63, will become Singapore’s first female president when she is sworn in Thursday as the city’s eighth head of state. She was named president-elect as the only eligible candidate this week, after two others were disqualified in an election reserved for minority ethnic Malay candidates.The process sparked criticism on social media that Singaporeans were deprived of the opportunity to choose their president and that it diminished Halimah’s achievement.

Southeast Asia is labelled as a popular smuggling hub for illegal trading; whether it is human trafficking, drug abuse or illegal animal trade. These practices are driven by poor monitoring and law enforcements within the region. While money is the usual modus operandi for other criminal activities, illegal wildlife trade is often backed by customary beliefs and demands from TCM (traditional Chinese medicine).

The ASEAN (Association of Southeast Nations) market – which combines Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia, Lao, Vietnam, the Philippines, Singapore and Brunei – is one of the world’s fastest growing markets that is going through rapid urbanisation over recent years.

When it comes to ride-hailing applications in Southeast Asia, Uber and Grab are just as well-known as SVoD (Subscription Video on Demand) service providers like Netflix and iflix. Apart from being at the top of their industry within the region, both sets of rivals share another thing in common, where one is a homegrown business while the other came from the US. There are many challenges faced by Uber in sustaining its application in Southeast Asia.

As a serious issue that is gripping the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asia Nations) region, climate change has unwittingly been overlooked by the association.

Earlier this week, the world was bombarded with unfavourable news about bitcoin. Chinese media outlet, Caixin, posted an article that said China is planning to shut local bitcoin exchanges. If the report is true, this would be the PBoC's (People’s Bank of China) second move against cryptocurrency in less than a week. The bank declared ICOs (Initial Coin Offerings) illegal on September 4, 2017, which caused bitcoin prices to fall seven percent on September 8, 2017.