Economy

Motorists wear face masks in Phnom Penh on Apr. 3: to protect themselves from inhaling dust and exhaust fumes, many Cambodians wear face masks.
Opinion

What lies behind Cambodia's surprise coronavirus success?

Government's strong hand and international aid have led to zero deaths from COVID-19

2 June 2020
A worker packs polio vaccine vials in Bio Farma's factory: the company is the largest vaccine manufacturer in Southeast Asia.
Opinion

Southeast Asia is on the coronavirus vaccine hunt

Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam have successful pharmaceutical sectors

1 June 2020
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, center, and Laotian Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith, right, pose at the East Asia Summit in Thailand in 2019. 
International relations

Japan's judicial diplomacy at crossroads as Laos enacts civil code

Legal assistance to Southeast Asia brings result, but budget constraints loom

31 May 2020
A poster warns about the coronavirus on a street in Hanoi. Vietnam has recorded just over 300 cases with no deaths.
Economy

Vietnam and Mekong peers pay economic price despite low virus tolls

Promising ASEAN quartet likely to fortify and diversify after pandemic cuts growth

21 May 2020
Construction on a high-speed railway between Jakarta and Bandung has ground to a halt due to coronavirus-related restrictions.
Belt and Road

Southeast Asia rail projects stall as China focuses on recovery

Belt and Road construction takes a back seat amid coronavirus rebuild

5 May 2020
A supermarket in Singapore in mid-March: The city-state's government has repeatedly assured consumers that food will not run out, but that does not mean supplies are immune to disruption.
Coronavirus

Fragile ASEAN food supply chains creak under strain of pandemic

Lockdowns and export curbs lead to scrawny chickens and shortage fears

24 April 2020
A medical staff takes samples at a drive-thru testing center in Daegu, South Korea, on Mar. 3; the U.S. can learn from its partners.
Opinion

US can outshine China at coronavirus medical diplomacy

Washington needs to boost existing anti-pandemic research networks in Asia

21 April 2020
Chinese medical team arrives at Phnom Penh International Airport on March 23. (Nikkei)
International relations

Cambodia awaits payday as Hun Sen cozies up to China

Money trickling into country remains far off as virus pounds other economies

17 April 2020
A clerk sorts yuan notes at a bank in Taiyuan, China on Feb. 24: Asia finds itself poorly prepared to confront a triple whammy of threats.
Opinion

World Bank's 'third shock' threatens to reverse Asia's economic progress

After trade war and COVID-19, continent-wide recession would put millions into poverty

6 April 2020
Pa Ven, a village chief in Kampong Speu, Cambodia, says his people can only pay back debts because their children work in factories. (Photo by Shaun Turton)
Finance

Coronavirus pandemic deepens Cambodia's microfinance 'crisis'

Country has more than 2.6 million borrowers with loans of more than $10 billion

2 April 2020
Empty check-in counters at Don Mueang International Airport in Thailand are evidence of the sharp decline in Southeast Asian tourism amid the new coronavirus pandemic.
Datawatch

Southeast Asia faces budget deficits if tourist numbers drop 50%

Coronavirus pandemic exposes fragility of tourism-dependent economies

18 March 2020
Cambodia's garment industry faces widespread shutdowns. 
Coronavirus

Cambodia's garment industry hangs by a thread

Factories face idling 160,000 workers as coronavirus cuts China textile supply

6 March 2020
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen delivers a speech to passengers after they disembarked from the MS Westerdam cruise ship at the port of Sihanoukville on Feb. 14. His government permitted the vessel to dock there after five other nations refused to do so due to coronavirus fears.
Economy

Cambodia announces tax cuts to counter virus and EU tariffs

Visitor numbers falling and apparel sector running out of stock

25 February 2020
Facebook's plan to create a virtual currency called Libra has prompted some emerging nations to consider developing their own.
Cryptocurrencies

Libra threat spurs small nations to create own digital currencies

Cambodia and Marshall Islands look to safeguard monetary sovereignty

16 February 2020
An Adidas logo is pictured inside a shoe. The German company sources 22% of its textiles from Cambodia.
Business trends

Fashion brands weigh Cambodia strategy after EU curbs trade

H&M, Adidas and others assess cost of suspended duty-free access

14 February 2020
Hun Sen is adamant that Cambodia is not going to bow to European demands. (Photo by Akira Kodaka)
Opinion

Punishing Cambodia is going to backfire on EU

Removing tariff-free access will drive Phnom Penh toward Beijing's orbit

14 February 2020
A nurse checks the temperature of a visitor as part of the coronavirus screening procedure at a hospital in Kuala Lumpur on Feb. 5.
Coronavirus

Coronavirus exposes Southeast Asia's public health shortfalls

Experts say health infrastructure remains 'systematically underfinanced'

13 February 2020
The Westerdam cruise ship anchored near Sihanoukville port in Preah Sihanouk province, Cambodia, on Feb. 13. It had been denied permission to dock at five ports before Cambodia agreed to accept it. 
Coronavirus

Westerdam finally arrives in Cambodia after 5 ports refused

Prime Minister Hun Sen says decision is "humanitarian"

13 February 2020
Women work on a  production line at a shoe factory in Kampong Speu, Cambodia.
Trade

Cambodia loses EU tariff privileges on $1bn worth of trade

Southeast Asian nation's top trading partner cites human rights violations

13 February 2020
Foreign students in Japan are allowed to work in unskilled-labor positions, such as convenience store work, for up to 28 hours per week. (Photo by Ken Kobayashi) 
Japan immigration

Japan intensifies crackdown on student visa overstayers

Number of countries subject to stricter checks to increase tenfold

11 February 2020
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen's human rights record has been criticized by the European Union, which is set to announce its decision Wednesday on removing trade privileges on some Cambodian exports. (Nikkei montage/Reuters)
Trade

EU to end privileges on some Cambodia exports: lawmaker

Decision due Wednesday could hurt nation's $9.5bn apparel sector

9 February 2020
Medical staff work in the isolated intensive care unit in a hospital in Wuhan, China on Feb. 6. 
Coronavirus: Free to read

Coronavirus: Week of Feb. 1 to Feb. 8 brings supply chain strain

US citizen dies in Wuhan as impact on business begins to crystallize

8 February 2020
Watermelons in front of Myanmar's border with China in Muse in 2018: For the immediate future, farmers will have to find other markets for their produce as borders with China remain closed.
Coronavirus

Coronavirus leaves tropical fruit rotting at China border crossings

Farmers in Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam hit hard as city lock-downs disrupt trade

6 February 2020
A view of a bridge that collapsed in Bali, Indonesia in 2016. The new insurance aims to offer protection for such Asian infrastructure. 
Economy

Asia's bridges and piers to be insured against disasters

Singapore, Japan and World Bank team to protect infrastructure

6 February 2020
A worker stands next to robotic arms in a factory in Zhangjiakou, China: robots often supplement and support humans rather than replace them.
Opinion

Asia's economies must learn to accommodate rise of robots

Technology can complement humans but it can also eliminate their jobs

5 February 2020