Economy

Wat Po temple in Bangkok: Thailand is weighing a new entry tax for foreigners once tourism picks back up.
Economy

Southeast Asia leans on new taxes to plug coronavirus shortfalls

Digital services and tourists targeted to help fund pandemic relief

30 May 2020
Workers wait for a ride as some businesses reopen despite limited public transportation on May 18 in Quezon, a city in Metro Manila.
Coronavirus

Philippines to ease lockdown as hunger and unemployment surge

More businesses and mass transportation set for gradual restart in June

29 May 2020
Repatriated overseas Filipino workers arrive at an airport after weeks of quarantine in Pasay City on May 26: they send home more than $35 billion annually.
Opinion

Coronavirus shock exposes Asian governments' addiction to remittances

Money which overseas workers send home has prevented needed reforms

28 May 2020
A Philippine lawmaker proposes imposing taxes on streaming services like Netflix to raise revenue in the fight against coronavirus. 
Economy

Philippines eyes tax on Netflix to boost revenue amid pandemic

Manila also targets online giants Google, Facebook, Grab, Spotify and Lazada

22 May 2020
Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon river into Italy on his return from Gaul, precipitating the Roman Civil War. Central banks in Southeast Asia are also seen to be crossing the metaphorical point of no return. (Nikkei Montage/Source photo by Getty Images) 
Economy

Indonesia and Philippine central banks cross the Rubicon

Monetary authorities break taboo by buying bonds from primary market

20 May 2020
Japan on Thursday will examine whether to ease coronavirus restrictions in Tokyo. The city has a significantly lower death toll than similarly sized global cities. (Photo by Kai Fujii)
Coronavirus

Japan reassesses Tokyo and Osaka emergency restrictions Thursday

New cases in capital slow, but unease over low testing remains

20 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
The headquarters of ABS-CBN, pictured on May 5: what lies at the heart of the attack on the channel is personal vendetta and petty politics.
Opinion

Duterte government's shutdown of ABS-CBN threatens Philippine freedom

News network closure comes as president consolidates pandemic powers

18 May 2020
With exports and domestic consumption crashing, China, the world's second largest economy, could be on course for losses of up to $1.6 trillion this year, according to the ADB. 
Economy

ADB warns coronavirus threatens to chop 10% off global output

Bank says fiscal and monetary responses needed immediately to soften fallout

15 May 2020
A floating system of solar power panels in Da Mi, Vietnam: The Southeast Asian country is hitting its solar targets six years ahead of schedule.
Opinion

COVID-19 will not slow Southeast Asia's shift from coal to renewables

Japan, China and South Korea must support move to cleaner energy

11 May 2020
Shanghai Disneyland will reopen this week since it closed on January 25 amid China's coronavirus lockdown. 
Your Week in Asia

Shanghai Disney, Sony results and Bitcoin 'halving'

Your weekly lineup of Asia's biggest business and political news

10 May 2020
The Philippine economy has fallen into its first contraction since the fourth quarter of 1998, which came a year after the Asian financial crisis and during an El Nino drought.
Economy

Coronavirus snaps Philippines' 21-year growth streak

First quarter GDP shrinks 0.2% as technical recession looms

7 May 2020
A soldier guards an empty street following the lockdown in Manila on Apr. 24: policymakers need to cushion the current impact, even if it entails costs later on.
Opinion

Stimulus-driven inflation is the least of Asia's problems

Cost of inaction is much higher than putting too much money into system

3 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
Duterte's economy entered the battle against the COVID-19 storm on a weak footing.
Opinion

Duterte cannot build his way out of Philippines' economic troubles

Infrastructure will help fight coronavirus slump, but he needs structural reforms too

27 April 2020
A man enters a hospital where a special ward has been set up for COVID-19 patients in Mumbai.
18 April 2020
A rickety barricade blocks a Manila street in an attempt to try and prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Economy

Duterte's cash aid for poor Filipinos draws middle class pushback

Manila bracing for worst economic hit since 1998 as 1.2 million lose jobs

17 April 2020
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas made a surprise interest rate cut on April 16 in an attempt to ward off a looming recession.
Economy

Philippines cuts key rate in off-cycle move as recession looms

Manila's finance department expects economy to be flat or shrink 0.8%

16 April 2020
A restaurant closed due to the coronavirus outbreak is seen next to the Chao Phraya river with a view of Wat Arun temple, one of the city's top tourist spots, in Bangkok, Thailand March 27.
Economy

Asian Development Bank triples coronavirus war chest to $20bn

Governments get the most, but companies can access $2bn in financial aid

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
A food stand in Bangkok: Street vendors, rickshaw drivers and construction employees are among Southeast Asia's informal workers who lack job security.
Coronavirus

Southeast Asia gives cash to low-wage workers as jobs evaporate

Governments worry about unrest among vast, vulnerable workforce

9 April 2020
A closed shopping mall in Metro Manila, pictured on Mar. 17: quarantine measures on Luzon are affecting jobs and businesses.
Opinion

The Philippines is fighting the COVID-19 crisis head on

Central bank governor says arsenal of relief measures will see country through

8 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
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