Hotel and airline operators have high hopes the upcoming Songkran celebration will revive sluggish tourism sentiment as the second wave of the pandemic wanes. Thirayuth Chirathivat, chief executive of Centara Hotels and Resorts, said forward booking for the Songkran week has been outstanding for the whole month, even though it pales in comparison to 2019 […]
Read MoreMANILA, Philippines — Singapore-based ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO) has slashed its 2021 economic growth outlook for the Philippines amid continued difficulty in containing COVID-19 cases. In its latest ASEAN+3 Regional Economic Outlook report, AMRO estimates that the Philippines’ gross domestic product (GDP) may grow by 6.9 percent this year, much lower than its previous […]
Read MoreKUALA LUMPUR: The Covid-19 pandemic has provided Malaysia with an opportunity to reset and build stronger fundamentals on multiple fronts, says Bank Negara. Governor Datuk Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus (pic) said it was timely for the country to embark on reforms that emphasised on innovation-led growth. “The ‘3Ds’ of reforms which are accelerating digitalisation, rethinking […]
Read MoreMany sugar mills have had to shut down because they cannot compete with imports. After ATIGA (ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement) took effect, the tariff on sugar imports to Vietnam was slashed from 85 percent to 5 percent. As a result, while domestic output was in excess, Vietnam still had a trade deficit of 884,285 […]
Read MoreSINGAPORE, April 1 — Singapore has eclipsed London to take top spot in a biennial study that ranks the top 50 smart city governments in the world. The Republic took the honours due to factors such as its technology infrastructure, digital initiatives and its “sterling” response to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, the authors of the […]
Read MoreBANGKOK: A perfect storm is engulfing Thailand’s baht and the one group of people who can save it are stuck in lockdown, thousands of kilometers from the arrival lounges of Bangkok, Phuket and Chiang Mai. A current-account deficit, resurgent US dollar and the seasonal repatriation of dividends by Japanese investors have all helped made the […]
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