Economy

A couple wear protective masks in a shopping area in downtown Kuala Lumpur in late May, as the Malaysian economy began to emerge from the coronavirus lockdown.
Coronavirus

Malaysia details $8.2bn plan for post-pandemic economic reboot

Muhyiddin's latest package aimed at boosting employment and foreign investment

5 June 2020
Singapore's pharmaceutical exports surged 170%. (Photo by Kosaku Mimura)
Economy

Southeast Asia exports buoyed by medicine and food during pandemic

Singapore and Thailand see increased trade despite global slowdown

5 June 2020
Slow lane: Auto sales in Kuala Lumpur and other parts of Malaysia remain sluggish even after coronavirus-related restrictions have been lifted.
Automobiles

Malaysia auto sales drop 99% on coronavirus lockdown

Car buyers slow to return after country sold just 141 vehicles last month

28 May 2020
Japan's state of emergency to combat the coronavirus, initially scheduled to be lifted on May 31, will be maintained in metropolitan Tokyo for now. (Photo by Masayuki Terazawa)
Coronavirus

Japan weighs lifting Tokyo's coronavirus emergency May 25

Restrictions scrapped in Osaka, Kyoto and Hyogo prefectures as outbreak eases

21 May 2020
Muhyiddin Yassin gestures after his cabinet announcement on Mar. 9: during the jockeying, the opportunity costs add up.
Opinion

Malaysia must stop political squabbling and boost economic stimulus

Muhyiddin Yassin is wasting valuable time because he does not want to be ousted

21 May 2020
Credit rating agencies have their eyes trained on the fiscal health of economies in developing Asia.
Asia Insight

Asia faces financial health check after going big on stimulus

Countries must spend wisely or leave future generations under piles of debt

19 May 2020
People shop for groceries at a Malaysian market after the government eased its coronavirus lockdown on May 4. Some restricitons remain in place until June 9.
Economy

Malaysia's GDP growth slumps to 0.7% as relaxed lockdown drags on

Coronavirus and oil price plunge raise specter of recession in 2020

13 May 2020
The streets of Kuala Lumpur on May 4, when Malaysia allowed a majority of businesses to reopen.
Coronavirus

Malaysia extends limits on travel until June 9

Businesses reopen, but interstate movement still restricted amid new infections

11 May 2020
Filipinos, seen here at a remittance counter in Makati City in Manila, are expected to suffer the most from a fall in remittances from overseas as the coronavirus pandemic leads to job losses and pay cuts. 
Economy

Philippines and Indonesia face risk of record remittance fall

Inflows from US and Middle East may plunge, hitting vital source of income

1 May 2020
Grab cofounders, Anthony Tan (right) and Tan Hooi Ling, have grown their company into social infrastructure in Southeast Asia.    
Nikkei Asia Prizes

Grab: From business-school project to game-changer in Southeast Asia

Ride-hailing app brings financial security to drivers and new technology to region

30 April 2020
Buddhist monks at Bangkok's Wat Matchantikaram Temple wear face masks to shield themselves from the coronavirus. (Photo by Akira Kodaka)
Coronavirus

Thailand and Malaysia keep guard up after Vietnam lifts lockdown

Bangkok weighs careful easing but extends emergency and curfew for now

28 April 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 man enters a hospital where a special ward has been set up for COVID-19 patients in Mumbai.
18 April 2020
Micron says it wants to support its employees, its suppliers and local economies amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Technology

Exclusive: Micron to give 25,000 workers cash in pandemic-hit economies

Employees in Japan to receive one-time payment of $700

16 April 2020
The public service announcements asked women not to wear house clothes but to dress up while working from home.
Opinion

Malaysia's lockdown pays little attention to women's needs

Jokes about men shopping hide serious harm from worsening gender imbalance

14 April 2020
Gravediggers wear protective suits in preparing a plot in Manaus, Brazil.
Coronavirus: Free to read

Coronavirus: Week of Apr. 5 to Apr. 11, Global death toll reaches 100,000

Kyoto asks to be put under emergency decree; Vietnam preps $2.66bn safety net

11 April 2020
Tien Sa port in Da Nang, Vietnam. Economists who took part in a JCER survey were dour about how the pandemic will influence supply chains and global trade.
Economy

Coronavirus darkens Asia’s economic outlooks: JCER survey

Negative growth forecast for Singapore and Thailand as unemployment escalates

6 April 2020
Non-essential businesses in an already quiet Singapore will be forced to shut down for four weeks, starting Tuesday.
Coronavirus

Singapore tops up coronavirus relief before 4 weeks of restraint

Malaysia adds support for small business to shore up employment

6 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
Firefighters spray disinfectant to prevent the spread of coronavirus disease in Jakarta.
4 April 2020
Firefighters spray disinfectant on a street in Kuala Lumpur on March 31.
Economy

Malaysia should brace for negative growth in 2020, central bank says

COVID-19 and low commodity prices will hit GDP hard before turnaround

3 April 2020
A man is tested for the coronavirus outside a hospital in Bangkok on Thursday. (Photo by Akira Kodaka)
Coronavirus

From light touch to total lockdown: How Asia is fighting coronavirus

Countries begin to toughen their approach as infections continue to rise

28 March 2020
Congress gave final approval to the largest economic package in U.S. history. 
Coronavirus: Free to read

Coronavirus: Week of Mar. 22 to Mar. 28, US House passes a $2.2tn stimulus

Hong Kong bans gatherings of over 4 people; Trump tweets he is working with Xi

28 March 2020
A worker sprays disinfectant at a closed Kuala Lumpur market. With a prolonged coronavirus lockdown choking the economy, the Malaysian government has introduced two rounds of stimulus.
Coronavirus

Malaysia adds $53bn of coronavirus stimulus as fiscal pressure mounts

Indonesia also in tight spot while Singapore and others have wiggle room

27 March 2020
Indonesian ride-hailing startup Go-Jek has created millions of informal jobs that are vulnerable to the coronavirus pandemic. (Photo by Ken Kobayashi)
Society

Indonesian informal workers lose work in coronavirus outbreak

Income support needed for many on the lower rungs of the economy

21 March 2020