Economy: News & Insights

Economy

Indonesia's GDP grew 5.31% in 2022, hitting 9-year high

Economic growth back to pre-COVID level but global slowdown weighs on 2023 outlook

6 February 2023

The Erawan Shrine in Bangkok is on the itineraries of many Chinese visitors to Thailand. (Photo by Yohei Muramatsu)

Travel & Leisure

Thailand, Indonesia battle for Chinese group tours post-COVID

Southeast Asia airlines, hotels have edge on Japan, U.S. as travel resumes

5 February 2023

Chinese tourists flocked to Asian destinations like Bali, Indonesia, during the Lunar New Year holiday.

Markets

Hopes for China's economic reopening buoy Asian currencies

Positive signs draw money back to emerging markets, but uncertainty remains

4 February 2023

Workers sit on a cart at a wholesale market in the old quarters of Delhi on Dec. 7.

Economy

India and ASEAN growth to slow in 2023 as interest rates rise: IMF

China expected to rebound after historically sluggish 2022, but COVID risks still loom

31 January 2023

Sule Pagoda in Yangon on Jan. 30: Two years after the military takeover, Myanmar can still see no way out of the darkness.

Asia Insight

Myanmar economy hobbled by military rule despite garment boom

Reliance on fewer foreign partners limits economic recovery prospects

31 January 2023

Vietnam promised under the CPTPP trade deal that the Communist Party would surrender its monopoly on labor unions, which would mark a rare relaxation of controls. (Photo by Lien Hoang)

Economy

U.S. pushes Vietnam on union rights, Xinjiang forced labor

Envoy acknowledges issues in America, too, where employers are said to resist unions

30 January 2023

People shop at a market in Yangon on Jan. 24. Myanmar's economy is expected to grow this year, but not enough to recover to levels before February 2021 when the military took power.

Myanmar Crisis

Myanmar economy to grow 3%, but far less than 2020: World Bank

Inflation, supply shortages show military's failure to regain business confidence

30 January 2023

An unexploded cluster bomb dropped by the U.S. military half a century ago is unearthed in Kasi, northern Laos.

Economy

Laos struggles with unexploded bombs 50 years after Paris Accords

Hidden dangers from another era hinder economic development

28 January 2023

French Trade Minister Olivier Becht says Japanese companies will benefit economically by investing in France. (Photo courtesy of French Foreign Ministry)

Interview

France looks to ASEAN for non-China supply chain: trade minister

Diversification of production necessary to reduce dependence on China, says Becht

27 January 2023

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s government says the privatization of state-run casinos could provide capital for a planned sovereign wealth fund. (Nikkei montage/Reuters)

Economy

Philippines weighs casino, power plant sale to seed wealth fund

Marcos' finance chief: 'a lot of government assets' can be privatized

27 January 2023

Economy

Vietnam president's ouster may hamper business, analysts say

Communist Party's corruption purge could clean up economy -- or stem innovation

27 January 2023

Economy

Philippines' GDP growth accelerated to 7.6% in 2022

But expansion for final quarter of year slowed to 7.2%

26 January 2023

A man harvests opium in Myanmar's Kayah state in November 2016.

Myanmar Crisis

Myanmar opium production nearly doubles to 9-year high: U.N.

Economic and security challenges push farmers to grow illicit crop as prices soar

26 January 2023

The Bank of Thailand has set an inflation target of 1% to 3%. (Source photos by Ken Kobayashi)

Economy

Bank of Thailand raises key policy rate to 3 year-high of 1.5%

Central bank focused on inflation as regional peers make different moves

25 January 2023

Inflation

Marcos calls Philippine food inflation an 'emergency situation'

President signals need for more imports to stem price rises

24 January 2023

From left: Anies Baswedan, Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto and Central Java Gov. Ganjar Pranowo: Baswedan criticized plans to move the capital but the other two are likely to push for it if one becomes the next president. (Source photos by Reuters and Getty Images)

Politics

Indonesia's capital relocation set to shape 2024 presidential poll

Former Jakarta governor calls out 'minimal public engagement' on Nusantara

24 January 2023

Vietnamese tourists dressed in traditional Thai costumes take a selfie at Wat Arun temple ahead of the Lunar New Year in Bangkok on Jan. 18.

Markets

Thai baht, equities gain on tourism boost during Lunar New Year

Financial trade tax and election create mixed economic outlook

23 January 2023

The new Krung Thep Aphiwat Central Terminal resembles an airport terminal from the outside. (Photo by Yohei Muramatsu)

Transportation

Bangkok's new train terminal offers hope for end to traffic woes

Japan-backed project highlights new possibilities for infrastructure tie-ups

21 January 2023

Bank Indonesia, the country's central bank raised its benchmark interest rate for the sixth month in a row on Jan. 19 as it tries to put a lid on rising prices.

Economy

Bank Indonesia lifts benchmark rate to over 3-year high of 5.75%

As Malaysia holds fast, Jakarta's central bank moves to quell inflation

19 January 2023

Travelers at Singapore's Changi Airport on June 17, 2022.

Travel & Leisure

Singapore projects visitors to double in 2023 as China reopens

City-state expects 12-14m arrivals, forecasts recovery to pre-COVID level by 2024

17 January 2023

The resumption of a large-scale, face-to-face congregation, where thousands convene from over 130 countries and regions, in its traditional January slot signals a return to normalcy, after the world was hit by the COVID pandemic.

Davos 2023

Davos returns to normal form for 1st time since COVID

South Korean and Philippine leaders to attend, China to send Liu He

16 January 2023

Singapore believes its new talent visa will attract corporate investment, since companies "always look for the best people," the managing director of its Economic Development Board said.

Economy

Singapore's new elite visa will help lure investment, official says

City-state is competing with places such as Hong Kong, Thailand for foreign talent

16 January 2023

China is set to announce on Tuesday GDP growth rates for the last quarter and the 2022 full year, along with other key economic data. In December it scrapped its zero-COVID strategy, which had weighed on growth.

Your Week in Asia

Davos 2023, China GDP, Chinese Lunar New Year starts

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

15 January 2023

A high-speed train pulls into Boten Station in Laos. The Laos–China High-Speed Railway marked the first anniversary of its opening on Dec. 3, 2022. (Photo by Ken Kobayashi)

Belt and Road

Ambition, concern drive Lao-China high-speed rail project

December marks one year since Vientiane's bet on China's Belt and Road

14 January 2023

Thai baht notes at a bank in Bangkok. The Bank of Thailand will hold the Monetary Policy Committee this week.

Economy

China returns as Thailand's top investor through electronics, EVs

Thai investment authority approves $118m BYD battery plant

14 January 2023