Shippers are painting a gloomy picture of the country’s exports, predicting outbound shipments to contract by as much as 5% this year. Ghanyapad Tantipipatpong, chairwoman of the Thai National Shippers’ Council (TNSC), said the strong baht remains a key risk weighing on export prospects this year, along with drought and the latest US-Iran tensions. “We […]
Read MoreKUALA LUMPUR: The negative sentiment among Malaysian businesses is possibly bottoming out, according to the latest RAM Business Confidence Index (RAM BCI). The rating agency said on Wednesday the Corporate Index finally bucked the downtrend of the last few quarters to rise 3.2 points to 56.4 while the SME Index rose for the second consecutive […]
Read MoreIndonesia’s 2019 state budget deficit totaled 2.2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), wider than the government’s target of 1.8 percent due a revenue shortfall of around Rp 207.9 trillion (US$15 billion). The government collected Rp 1.96 quadrillion in state revenue last year, below its target of Rp 2.16 quadrillion, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati […]
Read MoreDespite a surprise uptick in December inflation in the Philippines, ANZ and Barclays analysts both maintain that the central bank still has room to ease its monetary policy in Q1 2020. Barclays said the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) can cut rates only once in 2020, most likely on Feb 6, due to the risks […]
Read MoreOil prices have spiked by more than 6 percent since the US killed top Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani in a drone strike ordered by President Donald Trump on January 3. Prices in Asia climbed to almost US$65 a barrel for the first time in four months on Monday amid fears that the US airstrike […]
Read MoreSINGAPORE has lost its top spot in an index which ranks passport power and global mobility. The Republic now sits in second place, offering its passport holders visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 190 destinations, according to the latest Henley Passport Index released on Tuesday night. Japan remains the world’s most powerful passport for the third […]
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Thailand
