Asean Morning News

Compiled by Stella-maris Ewudolu    @stmarisewudolu

 

Japan’s New ASEAN Defense Initiative in the Spotlight with First Disaster Relief Engagement
Tokyo rolls out yet another activity as part of its increased regional defense engagement with Southeast Asia.
— The Diplomat (paywall)

Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand agree on changes to Asean Collective Investment Schemes framework
Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand authorities have agreed to commit to a revised version of the Asean Collective Investment Schemes (CIS) framework that will provide retail investors wider access to fund managers across the three countries.
— Business Insider/ Reuters

Naza Corp and Group PSA establish Asean shared-manufacturing hub
Malaysia’s Naza Corp Holdings and France’s Group PSA have inked a deal to jointly produce Group PSA-branded cars in Malaysia and Asean.
— The Star Online 

Australia eager to deepen Asean relationship
No longer on America’s leash, Australia has stepped in as a potential player that could go far in facilitating and strengthening relations between the 10 Asean nations.
— Bangkok Post 

Assam CM, Air Asia CEO discuss Guwahati-ASEAN flights
Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has discussed the modalities of starting direct flights between Guwahati with ASEAN countries with Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Air Asia, Amar Abrol.
— The Economic Times 

Korea to play bigger role in ASEAN integration
South Korea will step up efforts to play a key role in the process of integrating the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), said Kim Young-chae, South Korea’s new ambassador to ASEAN.
— Korea Times 

Strength in numbers, the ASEAN ‘middle powers’ muscling up to the US and China
When the Prime Minister returns from his current US visit, on top of dealing with ructions in the Coalition, he’ll shortly host the first-ever meeting to be held in Australia of the ten leaders of the ASEAN nations.
— ABC 

What can proptech offer to Southeast Asia’s property sector?
According to Anthony Couse, Asia Pacific CEO of real estate and investment management firm, Jones Lane LaSalle (JLL), proptech refers to the utilisation of technology to create or renovate services offered in real estate to buy, sell, rent, develop, market, and manage property in a more efficient and effective way.
— The Asean Post

More Chinese agriculture firms to venture into ASEAN
The increasingly close cooperation between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will see more Chinese agricultural enterprises make their foray into the region moving forward, said Tan Yew Sing, President of the Malaysia-China Chamber of Commerce.
— Fresh Plaza

Re-visiting ASEAN principles amid Indo-Pacific tension
Just before his recent visit to Jakarta, United States Secretary of Defense James Mattis revealed the first US National Defense Strategy (NDS) in 10 years at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies.
— The Jakarta Post

Cambodia Morning News

Compiled by Sreypov Men    @MenSreypov

 

Will world stay silent as Cambodia returns to one-party rule on Sunday?
Cambodia’s constitution says that, of our 61 senators, two are to be nominated by the king, two to be chosen by the National Assembly and the remaining 57 must be selected by a college of commune councillors voted in by the public at local elections.
— The Nation

Government sticks to plan on power price cuts ahead of election
Officials appeared to walk back a promise to issue larger-than-average electricity price reductions ahead of July’s elections, instead following a previously announced plan to make small reductions in costs.
— The Phnom Penh Post

Cambodian aviation: seven airlines and more to come in 2018; start-ups and fleet proliferating
Cambodia’s aviation sector is growing rapidly, leading to a rapid expansion of the Cambodian fleet.
— Centre For Aviation

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Indonesia Morning News

Compiled by Stella-maris Ewudolu    @stmarisewudolu

 

Chinese Aid Building Indonesia, But at What Cost?
When Australia reduced its foreign aid to Indonesia by 40 per cent in 2015, Indonesia’s Foreign Ministry responded that ‘Indonesia… is no longer a country that needs aid for development’.
— AEC News Today

Indonesia’s Go-Jek raises $1.5 billion as ride-hailing market heats up: sources
Indonesia’s Go-Jek has raised a higher than targeted $1.5 billion in a fundraising round from a dozen investors including BlackRock and Google, sources said, as the ride-hailing firm builds its war chest to fight deep-pocketed rivals.
— Reuters

Jakarta Ranked As 12th Worst Congested City In The World
According to the Inrix 2017 Traffic Scorecard, Jakarta is 12th worst congested city in the world. This is 10 spots higher than last year’s position as 22nd, indicating that the city’s congestion has dramatically worsened in the past year.
— Indonesia Expat

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Lao PDR Morning News

Compiled by Leakhena Khat    @leakhenakhat

 

Agreement Reached On Compensation of Railway Project Affected Families
Laos-China Railway Project and relevant authorities have reached agreement on the compensation of families affected by the multibillion-dollar project and asked the families to open account with Banque Pour Le Commerce Exterieur Lao to receive the compensations.
— Lao News Agency 

Govt suffers losses from double-funded projects
Vientiane authorities uncovered nine duplicate-funded development projects in 2017, resulting in the government losing 4.9 billion kip, according to the capital’s recently published annual report.
— Vientiane Times 

Economists highlight opportunities, shortcomings of SEZs
Economists have noted that the establishment of special economic zones (SEZ) by the government has offered both opportunities and challenges for the country’s economic development.
— Vientiane Times 

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Malaysia Morning News

Compiled by Sreypov Men    @MenSreypov

 

Malaysia economy to remain healthy at 5.5pc in 2018
Malaysian economy is expected to expand favourably this year driven by domestic activities driven by improving business and consumer sentiments and exports from semiconductors and resource-based activities.
— New Straits Times

Hong Leong Bank lowers FY18 loan growth target
Hong Leong Bank Bhd, which posted a 24% jump in its net profit for the second quarter ended Dec 31, 2017 (Q218), has revised its FY18 loan growth target to 3%-4% from 5%-6% after its loan growth for the first six months of FY18 (1H18) came in below its expectation, at 1.8%.
— The Sun Daily

Petronas Dagangan posts record-breaking FY17 earnings of RM1.59b
Petronas Dagangan posted record breaking earning of RM1.59bil in the financial year ended Dec 31, 2017 compared with RM944.61mil a year ago, underpinned by improved margins and gain from disposal of its subsidiaries.
— The Star Online

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Myanmar Morning News

Compiled by Leakhena Khat    @leakhenakhat

 

UN and Myanmar on a collision course
As Myanmar descends again into pariah status, its loudest critic is perhaps the one that matters most: the United Nations.
— Asia Times

Amid Rohingya Crisis, Largely Business as Usual in Myanmar
Reports of massacres and the displacement of close to 700,000 Rohingya have chilled relations between Myanmar and its Western partners but the crisis has not reversed the country’s long-term economic outlook.
— VOA News 

Correction: Myanmar-Border Fence story
In a story Feb. 24 about Myanmar’s parliament approving a budget for a fence along the border crossed by fleeing Rohingya Muslims, The Associated Press attributed information to the wrong lawmaker. It should be attributed to Aung Thaike instead of Myo Zaw Aung.
— The Washington Post 

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Philippines Morning News

Compiled by Stella-maris Ewudolu    @stmarisewudolu

 

Uber for doctors, medicine takes off as tech moves healthcare
Filipinos can now call a doctor and have medicine delivered with just a few taps on their mobile device, as tech startups meet demand to move health services in the country.
— ABS-CBN

Duterte says PH to get 5,000 firearms from a ‘friendly country’
President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday revealed that the Philippines will receive 5,000 firearms “in the next few days” from “a friendly country.”
— Inquirer.Net

Terrorists regrouping for another Marawi-type strike: Australian authorities
Australian authorities said separately that the IS-linked terrorists responsible for the siege of Marawi City last year may be regrouping to strike again elsewhere, according to The Manila Times Online report on Monday (Feb 26).
— Thai PBS

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Singapore Morning News

Compiled by Leakhena Khat   @leakhenakhat

 

Budget spurs Singapore firms to up-skill for new economy
Singapore’s hard-fought economic transformation is dependent on the ability of its enterprises and people to learn, unlearn and relearn new capabilities and skillsets.
— Asia Times 

Singapore’s manufacturing output rises 17.9% in January
Singapore’s manufacturing sector got off to a good start in 2018, with output rising 17.9 per cent in January compared to the same month a year ago, according to figures released by the Economic Development Board (EDB) on Monday (Feb 26).
— Channel NewsAsia 

Balanced growth in Singapore as economy gathers pace
SINGAPORE ended the year positively with 14,115 new businesses formed in Q4 2017, according to data presented in Hawksford Singapore’s latest research report, Singapore New Business Trends Report Q4 2017.
— Digital News Asia 

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Thailand Morning News

Compiled by John Le Fevre    @photo_journ

 

Thai February inflation to remain tepid, January factory output to pick up: Reuters poll
Thailand’s headline inflation is expected to have remained sluggish in February and still below the central bank’s target, though January factory output may have expanded at a slightly faster pace, a Reuters poll showed.
— Reuters

EEC committee approves high speed rail links to major airports
Thailand’s Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) Development Policy Committee has approved high speed rail links to three airports.
— NNT

Year End Stimulus Leaves Thai Banks With $1.6bn Debt
Thailand finished 2017 with GDP growth of about 3.9 per cent, marginally outshining Singapore where GDP last year grew at 3.6 per cent, the lowest in Asean. However, the economic stimulus measures which saw the Thai economy grow at its fastest rate since 2012 and push it over the earlier estimate of 3.3 per cent GDP growth, has left banks with an unwanted US$1.622 billion new year present.
— AEC News Today

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Vietnam Morning News

Compiled by Sreypov Men    @MenSreypov

 

Auto imports plummet over Government’s Decree 116
Automobile imports in Viet Nam plummeted in the first month of 2018, also the time before Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday.
— VietNamNet Bridge

Viet Nam fruit exports skyrocket
Exports of vegetables and fruits in January this year soared 63.3 per cent year-on-year in turnover to reach US$383.7 million, statistics from the General Department of Customs showed.
— Bizhub

VinaCapital invests $32.5m to acquire stake in poultry firm Ba Huan
VinaCapital’s flagship fund Vietnam Opportunity Fund (VOF) has invested $32.5 million to acquire a significant minority stake in Ba Huan JSC, the country’s leading eggs and poultry meat producer.
— DealStreetAsia

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Asean Morning News is the most comprehensive selection of reports on what you need to know from around the Asean Economic Community (AEC) published. All articles are hand curated by the team at AEC News Today. It is published M-F by AEC News Today: Governance, not government; policies not politics.