Thailand faces a sharper power-cost risk as LNG prices threaten electricity tariffs

Join the launch of the ASEAN+3 Financial Stability Report 2026 on October 5. It assesses financial resilience, explores risks, and discusses policy priorities amid geopolitical uncertainties and AI investment optimism. Upcoming Launch of the ASEAN+3 Financial Stability Report 2026 On Monday, October 5, at 10:30 am Singapore time, the ASEAN+3 Financial Stability Report (AFSR) 2026 […]

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Thursday said that he is hoping to scale up the manufacturing and production processes for small businesses.

Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister emphasized maritime boundary delimitation as key in UNCLOS proceedings with Cambodia, while addressing land border tensions and confirming readiness for upcoming meetings in The Hague. Key Points Deputy Prime Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow emphasized Thailand’s commitment to maritime boundary delimitation in conciliation proceedings with Cambodia under UNCLOS, following the first Commission meeting […]

Before the unexpected intervention in Japan’s foreign exchange market by the US Treasury Department on July 31 – the first time both countries joined forces to support the yen via outright purchases since 1998 – the probability of the Bank of Japan raising interest rates at its policy meeting on September 17-18 was less than 30 per cent. Fast forward to today, and the chances of an increase have shot up to almost 100 per cent. In fact, expectations have shifted so dramatically that bond markets...

Hong Kong is broadening its equity markets, deepening its offshore yuan business and expanding further into gold trading under its first five-year plan for economic and social development, as the city seeks to defend its standing as Asia’s top financial centre and close the gap with London. Unveiled on Wednesday by Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu alongside his 2026 policy address, the blueprint outlines a package of financial plans to “consolidate and enhance Hong Kong’s status as an...

The Philippines is seeking to host the planned ASEAN Center of Excellence for Creative Industries (ACE-CI), with the country targeting its launch by 2028.

Huawei Technologies said on Thursday that it would launch its next-generation artificial intelligence chip in the first quarter of 2027, moving the target launch forward by nine months as the firm aggressively expands its ecosystem amid China’s self-sufficiency push. David Wang Tao, rotating and acting chairman for Huawei, said on Thursday that the Ascend 960DT chip, an AI chip designed for model training, “with performance doubling”, would be “ready in the first quarter of 2027”, three quarters...

Hong Kong’s Exchange Fund, the war chest used to defend the local currency, is considering increasing its exposure to gold and other precious metals as part of the government’s push to develop the city into a gold trading hub. Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) chief executive Eddie Yue Wai-man said on Thursday that the Exchange Fund would continue to invest mainly in US dollar assets to support the Hong Kong dollar’s peg with the US currency. Yue said the Exchange Fund could increase its...

Ahead of its planned rollout, the Philippines’ P60-billion incentive scheme for electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers is facing pushback from a leading industry group, which questioned why the program is focused on four-wheeled vehicles and excluded motorcycles and tricycles. Electric Vehicle Association of the Philippines (Evap) president Willy Tee Ten said he was puzzled as to

Hong Kong aims to adjust listing rules to grab a share of initial public offerings by mainland China’s space companies, in line with Beijing’s priorities and heightened activity in the sector following the blockbuster June listing by Elon Musk’s SpaceX. That could lead to more head-to-head competition between the Hong Kong stock exchange and the Shanghai Stock Exchange, which is now drawing a majority of applications, including commercial space launch providers and reusable rocket makers CAS...

The artificial intelligence (AI) boom has not yet caused a decline in the Philippines’ service-export revenues or employment, ING Bank N.V. said, arguing that AI is so far changing what gets outsourced rather than reducing demand for outsourced work. In a report, Deepali Bhargava, head of Asia-Pacific research at ING, said there was evidence that

MANILA, Philippines — Government budget releases remained slightly behind last year’s pace by end-August, putting greater pressure on agencies to accelerate spending in the remaining months of 2026. Latest data from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) showed that allotment releases had reached 94.1 percent, or P6.391 trillion of the P6.793-trillion budget in the