In addition to triggering serious public health issues, the current COVID-19 pandemic has also devastated the economies of numerous countries, including Indonesia, leading to tight limits on public travel and activities. Because of the pandemic, the Indonesian economy shrank 5.32 percent in the second quarter and 3.49 percent in the third quarter of 2020. The Task Force for COVID-19 Handling …

Due to political ineptitude and the inability to handle the Covid-19 crisis under the Perikatan Nasional (PN) administration, is Malaysia in danger of going down the same road and being seen as the new ‘sick man’ of Asia in the 2020s? At the beginning of 2021, the PN government’s failure to handle the third wave of Covid-19 cases culminated in …

Surprisingly, Indonesian lenders are buying up Sea Ltd and Gojek, hoping they will make progress in one of the largest unbanked markets in the world. As financial technology companies set their sights on the nation’s more than 175 million Internet users, many of whom rely on online banking services, the buying spree is set to continue. This year, Sea acquired …

SINGAPORE — On Friday, Finance Minister Zafrul Aziz said that the ongoing lockdown of Malaysia to contain Covid-19 would hit the economy much less than the previous one when more economic activity was limited. The new round of steps cost Malaysia a lost economic production or GDP of an estimated 700 million ringgit ($172.7 million) a day, the minister said. …

The Covid-19 task force of Thailand agreed to loosen restrictions across the country to allow companies and schools to restart operations in most regions as the largest coronavirus wave to reach the nation eased. A panel meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, welcomed a proposal to reduce the number of provinces designated as high-risk areas to five from 28 …

Surprisingly, The sharia economy which is the impetus of Indonesia’s economic recovery could become the “new wave” of the Indonesian economy and reinforce the economic resilience of the region. He cited an estimation by the Boston Consultancy Group of 64.5 million middle-class Muslims in Indonesia in 2020. This poses an immense advantage for Sharia finance, as halal goods and sharia-compliant …

In order to sustain its competitiveness, Singapore aims to expand its manufacturing sector by 50 percent over the next 10 years, with the pandemic highlighting its importance to the economy of the trade-reliant city-state. But the target is unrealistic because it will become more difficult to rely on foreign labor to complement the local workforce, Minister of Trade and Industry …

It has been a hot topic for the nation to deal with “cha-cha” and by this time, ten business groups oppose making changes to the Constitution and advise the government to concentrate instead on the continuing healthy economic recovery. The business groups such as Philippines Financial Executives Institute, Filipina CEO Circle, Philippines Investment House Association, Judicial Reform Initiative, Makati Business …

KUALA LUMPUR: Traders in Kuala Lumpur and beyond who expected a busy season leading up to the Chinese New Year are now preparing for possible losses, after the government has again imposed a Movement Control Order (MCO) in almost all states to resolve an increasing number of COVID-19 cases. When reporters visited Petaling Lane, the Chinatown of Kuala Lumpur, last …

Looking forward to what the year will bring, The Indonesian government is currently exploring electricity exports to Singapore. This is what the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Arifin Tasrif shared as there may be possible over-capacity of power supply in the region. Tasrif highlighted that Indonesia has excess power supply, especially in the midst of the pandemic that has …