SINGAPORE: Central bankers across Asia-Pacific must consider whether they can afford to wait until their next scheduled policy meetings or respond sooner to mounting global risks from the Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak and oil-price plunge. The Federal Reserve set the pace with an emergency 50 basis-point interest rate cut last week. None of Asia’s central banks […]
Read MoreThe government has announced plans to transform the country into the electric vehicle and motorcycle hub of Asean within five years via state measures to boost demand, though some critics continue to doubt Thailand’s ability to create a full-fledged EV ecosystem. The government has drawn up a roadmap to promote EVs through state agencies and […]
Read MoreDespite a 250 per cent increase in healthcare expenditure across the Asean region, outcome measures such as life expectancy and Universal Health Coverage (UHC) index scores remain lower across the region than those of many developed nations. In fact, countries can achieve the same level of life expectancy at 30 per cent of current healthcare expenditures […]
Read MoreMANILA, Philippines — The ASEAN manufacturing sector has so far survived the disruption caused by the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), returning to expansionary territory in February after eight months of deterioration, according to the new IHS Markit ASEAN Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI). The headline PMI for ASEAN manufacturing rose to 50.2 in […]
Read MoreThe EU has expressed interest in pursuing a number of free trade agreements (FTAs) in the region, not only with Thailand but eventually with Asean as a whole, says EU-Asean Business Council Chairman Donald Kanak. While Thailand and the EU have engaged in exploratory talks about a potential FTA, there has been no announcement about […]
Read MoreFacebook yesterday said it removed three unconnected networks of accounts, pages and groups for engaging in foreign or government interference. It said they were examples of “coordinated inauthentic behaviour on behalf of a government or foreign actor – on Facebook and Instagram”. The first operation originated in Russia and primarily targeted Ukraine and its neighbouring […]
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