ASEAN News

SINGAPORE – According to Singapore’s health ministry, the Singaporean passenger who tested positive for Covid-19 aboard a cruise ship has subsequently tested negative for the disease. The passenger, an 83-year-old man, was onboard the Quantum of the Seas of the Royal Caribbean, which set sail for a round trip to the city-state on Dec. 7 with no port of call …

The 13th ASEAN Forum on Migrant Labor (AFML) was held on November 10-12. In response to COVID-19, this theme was chosen to bring together governments, labor organizations, and civil society to address the unjust burden of COVID-19 on migrant workers. The virtual forum, hosted by Vietnam, the 2020 ASEAN Chair, was organized around the theme ‘Supporting Migrant Workers for a …

Singapore – According to the latest ASEAN 3 Macroeconomic Research Office survey, the amount of money sent home by migrant workers in the ASEAN bloc dropped in the second quarter of the year in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, in a troubling sign for household incomes and local economies (AMRO).In the second quarter of 2020, earnings transfers to Cambodia, …

According to a new report by Cisco and Jungle Projects, the rapid digitalization of the Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) critical industries such as education, health care and the supply chain in the midst of the global pandemic has opened new possibilities for digital disruptors. The Emerging Disruptors from the Global Pandemic study looks at the transformation of critical …

Hitachi Vantara, a subsidiary of Hitachi Ltd. in the field of digital infrastructure and solutions, has announced the appointment of Chua Kee Hwee as managing director of Thailand and Varghese Mathew as head of Partners & Alliances, ASEAN.Most recently, Chua oversaw Hitachi Vantara’s emerging markets and was responsible for overseeing the activities of the Philippines, Vietnam and Sri Lanka. He …

Closer cooperation between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China, supported, among other things, by the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement, would contribute to the post-COVID-19 global economic recovery, a Malaysian expert said. “Cooperation and interaction between China and ASEAN is now even more important as the world is seeking …

SINGAPORE: Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin of Malaysia spoke on the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High-Speed Rail (HSR) project, with a view to the second and final extension of the construction suspension deadline of 31 December 2020. Media Release – Discussions on the resumption of the Kuala Lumpur – Singapore High Speed Rail project (KL-SG HSR)https://t.co/c5v2KJXUnz pic.twitter.com/l3MozmojhL— …

In Vietnam, Facebook and YouTube are complicit in “censorship and repression on an industrial scale” a hypothesis advanced in a recent Amnesty International study that confirms and fleshes out previous studies on Vietnam’s increasingly assertive attempts to extend its control over key social media networks. The 78-page study published on 1 December shows that the number of instances in which …

KUALA LUMPUR, November 30 – With the new ASEAN Customs Transit System, ASEAN Member States are speeding up their economic integration by mitigating intra-Asian trade challenges and accelerating the seamless trade of goods by road (ACTS). To streamline cross-border customs procedures, the ACTS was established with the goal of accelerating land transit movements and reducing the time and cost of …

Governments worldwide have adequately prioritized strong frontline pandemic response systems during the Covid-19 crisis, ensuring timely access to assistance for those who contract the virus.Governments are struggling to create packages of economic stimulus-wage incentives, tax exemptions, and even money transfers. This, combined with a decline in economic growth, would lead to a large rise in debt, generating a new set …