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Thailand: VAT return scheme for poor shaping up

The planned repayment of value-added tax (VAT) to government welfare smartcard holders is expected to take shape by the end of this year, a move meant to improve their purchasing power.  The Finance Ministry is preparing to install a system to pay back consumption tax to the recipients of the government’s welfare scheme, said Finance Minister […]

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Indonesia: Bankers see Go-Jek as new competitor: Survey

Most Indonesian bankers see Go-Jek as an “emerging competitor” to conventional banks in the payment sector, according to a survey conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Indonesia. The survey seeks to gather diverse views from senior banking executives on digital banking in Indonesia.  “A majority of Indonesian bankers, around 72 percent, consider Go-Jek to be one of […]

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Singapore retail sales up 0.1% in May

RETAIL sales in Singapore edged up marginally in May, with growth constrained partly by lower motor vehicle sales, according to Thursday’s Department of Statistics release. May’s retail takings were up 0.1 per cent from the same month a year ago, with a total estimated sales value of S$3.8 billion, of which online retail sales contributed 4.3 […]

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CBRE: Bangkok land prices rocket

Land prices in central Bangkok have increased by 1,000% since 1988 when property consultant CBRE established an office in Bangkok.  Land prices rose dramatically during the Asian Tiger boom years from 1988-1996 before the market came to a grinding halt in the 1997 financial crisis. Price growth resumed in the early 2000s and there has been […]

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Philippines: FDI inflows rise 24% in 4 months

MANILA, Philippines — Foreign direct investments (FDI) continued to flow into the country, growing 24 percent in the first four months of the year amid favorable investor sentiment on the back of sound macroeconomic fundamentals and growth prospects. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said FDI inflows amounted to $3.2 billion from January to April […]

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