Economy

Makeshift barriers protect patrons from COVID-19 at a restaurant in Bangkok on May 3. (Photo by Akira Kodaka)
Economy

Thailand eases lockdown but noodle lovers divided by partitions

New safety guidelines discourage eateries from seating customers

4 May 2020
Chinese buyers visited Thai durian farmers in March, when the fruit was still raw, to ensure a supply despite the coronavirus pandemic. (Photo by Akira Kodaka)
Agriculture

China's taste for Thai durians undiminished by coronavirus

Cultivation of the 'king of fruits' soars to satisfy world's largest importer

3 May 2020
Thailand to begin the first of four phases of reopening businesses on Sunday. (Photo by Akira Kodaka)
Coronavirus

Thailand reopens restaurants and golf courses from May 3

Bangkok to ease coronavirus restrictions in four phases but extends alcohol sales ban

30 April 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
Closed shops in Singapore's Chinatown: The economic impact of coronavirus countermeasures is starting to show up in unemployment data.
Economy

Singapore and Japan jobless rates show coronavirus pain setting in

Over 7% of Asia-Pacific working hours to be wiped out in second quarter

29 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
The coronavirus has brought Bangkok's world-famous nightlife to a pause.  (Photo by Akira Kodaka) 
Economy

Pandemic dims lights on Thailand's $5bn nightlife sector

Government plans aid for bars and restaurants, but recovery prospects uncertain

24 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 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
A man enters a hospital where a special ward has been set up for COVID-19 patients in Mumbai.
18 April 2020
Asian economies could fare better than Europe and the US in 2020 amid the spread of coronavirus. Shopkeepers in Chinese city Wuhan, where the virus originated from reopens on Monday, March 30, 2020.
Interview

Asia's reliance on trade, tourism weighs on COVID-19 recovery: IMF

Region lauded for swift responses but governments urged to restructure priorities

16 April 2020
The coronavirus pandemic has sent demand for face masks soaring in Thailand.
Health Care

Thailand cuts taxes to lure investment in masks and pharma

Incentives to meet virus-driven shortages also further Bangkok's long-term aims

14 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 Honda Civic at Bangkok auto show in 2019. Sales have plummeted in the country since the coronavirus outbreak.
Automobiles

Southeast Asia's auto plants limp along at 30% of capacity

Toyota halts all production in Thailand, prepared to do so in Indonesia

9 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 vendor wearing a protective face mask sells food during the coronavirus outbreak in Bangkok, Thailand, April 5, 2020. 
Economy

Thai cabinet approves $58bn stimulus to weather coronavirus

Third wave includes extension of cash giveaway program to six months

7 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
Firefighters spray disinfectant to prevent the spread of coronavirus disease in Jakarta.
4 April 2020
Tourist and school buses are seen at a parking lot near Kwai Chung Container Terminal in Hong Kong, April 1: The novel coronavirus outbreak has devastated the territory's tourism industry.
Economy

Pandemic to cut Asian growth to 2.2%, worst since 1998 crisis: ADB

Thailand, Hong Kong and seven other economies to shrink, China to slow sharply

3 April 2020
Thailand's Government Saving Bank did not offer new bank account opening services at branches on Monday and Tuesday. (Photo by Akira Kodaka)
Coronavirus

Thai cash handout program creates risky crowds amid coronavirus

Government's clumsy communication exposes public to greater chance of contagion

1 April 2020
Food delivery drivers in Bangkok keep safe distance: As borders close, economies in Asia that have thrived on openness and connectivity are having to undo decades of integration. (Photo by Akira Kodaka)
The Big Story

How the coronavirus is reshaping Asia's borders, business and trade

As countries turn inward, pandemic threatens the foundations of globalization

1 April 2020
A parched field in the southern Vietnamese province of Tien Giang.
31 March 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