Economy

A containership off Singapore: Europe accounts for 9% of ASEAN exports, according to Maybank.
Ukraine war

ASEAN faces 'collateral damage' from Ukraine war's Europe impact

From Singapore to Thailand, spillover threatens COVID-hit economies anew

27 March 2022
Proton cars are displayed at a dealership in Kuala Lumpur in May 2019: protectionist policies raised the overall costs of car ownership.
Opinion

Malaysia should open its markets to lower the cost of living

Rampant protectionism and corruption are hurting consumers

16 March 2022
A Singapore Airlines plane at the Singapore Airshow in February: The city-state this week announced a package worth 500 million Singapore dollars to support its aviation sector.
Coronavirus

Singapore weighs air hub reopening as Malaysia charges ahead

City-state plows millions into restoring aviation but remains cautious about border

11 March 2022
Malaysian Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz told parliament the government has already started boosting subsidies, which were up tenfold on the year in January.
Economy

Malaysia oil subsidies could more than double in 2022: finance chief

Tengku Zafrul warns of $6.7bn bill if Ukraine war keeps crude above $100

10 March 2022
A 1Malaysia Development Berhad billboard in Kuala Lumpur, pictured in February 2016: it takes a warped, opaque and stuck-in-time political system to produce a scandal like 1MDB.
Opinion

1MDB trial shows the depths of Malaysia's economic woes

Martin Scorsese would bow in face of scandal playing out in New York

2 March 2022
Kuala Lumpur's central business district, pictured on Jan. 30: the shortfall of homegrown, dynamic Malay enterprises remains unfinished business.
Opinion

Ismail Sabri's Malay action plan is a big deal

Policy is not a game changer but it can make a difference

15 February 2022
Four decades after its "Look East Policy" deepened ties with Japan, Malaysia is increasingly seeking economic cooperation with China.
Asia Insight

Malaysia eyes China 40 years after it 'looked east' to Japan

Nation faces COVID, 1MDB and value chain hurdles on path to high-income status

15 February 2022
Kuala Lumpur in January: Malaysia's pandemic-hit economy has returned to growth.
Economy

Malaysia GDP up 3.1% for 2021 after return to growth in Q4

3.6% rise in last quarter caps roller-coaster year under COVID

11 February 2022
Malaysia Airlines planes parked at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in 2020: The country is getting ready to welcome back tourists.
Coronavirus

Malaysia poised to 'completely' reopen borders from March

Eyeing economy, task force advises quarantine-free entry for vaccinated tourists

8 February 2022
Najib Razak, pictured in August 2020: the former prime minister is cooking up a second act as leader with the help of his United Malays National Organization.
Opinion

Najib's return is the last thing Malaysia needs

Disgraced former prime minister is plotting an unlikely comeback

6 January 2022
A port terminal in Singapore. The city-state's exports jumped 24% on the year in November, the fastest rise in a decade.
Economy

Southeast Asia's soaring exports fuel hopes of recovery in 2022

Central banks seen shifting to rate hikes to protect home currencies

4 January 2022
The eruption of Mount Semeru in the east of Java island killed at least 51 and displaced over 9,000 after it began on Dec. 4.
Natural disasters

Disaster mitigation under scrutiny in ASEAN hot spots

Volcanoes, typhoons decimate lives as climate change increases threats

27 December 2021
A man and his child stand in flood water in Shah Alam, Selangor state after exceptionally heavy rains caused flash flooding over the weekend.
Natural disasters

Panasonic, Daihatsu halt Malaysian plants after flash floods

Production at Panasonic plant will cease for a week, Daihatsu uncertain

22 December 2021
Xi Jinping on screen at the Museum of the Communist Party of China in Beijing, pictured on Nov. 12: the future price China's 1.4 billion people will pay for Xi's myth-building campaign rose exponentially in 2021.
Opinion

Asia's 2021 bull market in emperor-has-no-clothes moments

Xi Jinping happier than most to see this year stagger to a close

22 December 2021
Volunteers rescue stranded flood victims in Shah Alam, in Malaysia's state of Selangor, on Dec. 19.
Natural disasters

As flood water rises, Malaysian leader faces storm of criticism

Ismail Sabri blasted for 'delayed' action after 3 die and 40,000 are displaced

20 December 2021
A file photo of a port in Bangkok. Thailand detected its first omicron case in December but it has not suspended its border reopening policy for tourists, prompting economists to revise upward the kingdom's economic growth forecast.
Economy

Philippines, Thailand poised for faster growth in 2022: survey

Economists upgrade ASEAN GDP forecast but lockdowns weigh on Malaysia

20 December 2021
A vendor preparing to open his stall ahead of a day of business at a wet market in downtown Kuala Lumpur. 
Economy

ADB slashes Malaysia and Vietnam annual growth forecasts

Bank trims emerging Asia's 2022 projections on omicron's emergence

14 December 2021
Southeast Asian central banks are forecasting subdued inflation. (Source photos by AP and Akira Kodaka)
Economy

Subdued inflation in ASEAN countries augurs central bank inaction

Indonesia and Thailand experience weak price rises amid slow recovery from COVID

9 December 2021
U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo meets Malaysian Trade Minister Azmin Ali on the final leg of her Asia tour on Nov. 18. (Photo courtesy of Malaysian Ministry of International Trade and Industry)
Biden's Asia policy

U.S. aims for 'flexible and inclusive' Indo-Pacific framework

Commerce chief Gina Raimondo in Asia to reset economic ties to counter China

18 November 2021
Langkawi ahead of its domestic tourism reopening in September: The island destination is now open to fully vaccinated international travelers.
Coronavirus

Malaysia's first foreign tourism bubble opens with limited buzz

Langkawi hoteliers report subdued demand as globetrotters await wider reopening

15 November 2021
Malaysia hopes to spur economic growth now that its severe coronavirus outbreak has eased.
Economy

Malaysia GDP slips back into contraction at -4.5% for Q3

COVID holds economy below forecasts but central bank sees rebound ahead

12 November 2021
Malaysian audiences can do their part by boycotting obnoxious films and challenging media content that normalizes rape culture.
Opinion

Malaysia's insidious 'rape culture' must be eradicated

Urgent action needed to end sexual abuse of women in Malay language media

11 November 2021
The coronavirus pandemic has added further fuel to Southeast Asia's rapidly growing digital economy. (Source photo by AP)
Business trends

ASEAN's digital economy projected to hit $1tn by 2030

Google-led report says retail and finance to fuel growth as internet use surges

10 November 2021
Malaysia Airlines and Singapore Airlines planes at Singapore's Changi Airport in 2019: The international route between the city-state and Kuala Lumpur was one of the world's busiest before the pandemic.
Coronavirus

Singapore, Malaysia to restart quarantine-free air travel link

Vaccinated passengers can fly between Kuala Lumpur and city-state from Nov. 29

8 November 2021
Workers collect rubber gloves at a Top Glove factory outside Kuala Lumpur. Multiple glove makers in Malaysia have been punished by the U.S. over labor issues.
Trade

Malaysia's Smart Glove hit with U.S. import ban over labor issues

Action follows similar orders against Top Glove and Supermax

6 November 2021