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Thailand touted as medical marijuana tourist destination

Thailand’s ailing economy, particularly its tourism and agriculture sectors, is poised to get a boost from new rules that ease the private cultivation and sale of medical marijuana. The Cabinet amended the Narcotics Act on Aug 4, pending Parliament’s approval, to allow private medical operators — a category including some traditional medicine practitioners and farmers — […]

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Indonesia: BI takes sharia economy festival online as pandemic accelerates digitalization

Bank Indonesia (BI) launched on Friday the seventh Indonesia Sharia Economic Festival (ISEF) by taking the festival fully online, the first of its kind in the country. ISEF, which was started in 2014, is an international event that brings together key stakeholders in the sharia economy, including business players, governments, associations and pesantren (Islamic boarding schools). This […]

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Shoppers passing by a temperature scanner at the entrance of Pavilion KL during the Recovery Movement Control Order. AZMAN GHANI / The Star
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The Week Ahead – GDP Malaysia and Singapore

GDP in the spotlight MALAYSIA’S gross domestic product (GDP) report for the second quarter will shed some light on the damage the Covid-19 pandemic has inflicted on the country’s economy. Bank Negara is expected to announce the second quarter GDP on Friday. ING senior Asia economist Prakash Sakpal forecasts an 8.3% year-on-year contraction – the […]

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Philippines: Peso seen to weaken to 50: $1

MANILA, Philippines — Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) expects the peso to weaken back to 50 to $1 level on the back of declining foreign exchange inflows amid the displacement of more overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) due to the global coronavirus pandemic. BPI lead economist Jun Neri said the local currency is likely to […]

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