Malaysia’s central bank, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) has proposed to issue up to five licenses to establish digital banks in either conventional or Islamic banking business in December 2019. BNM has published the Exposure Draft on Licensing Framework for Digital Banks...
The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) seeks to recover from a decline as the agency is targeting to expand its registered investments from 5 to 10% during 2020. The agency recorded a drop in investment approvals for two years in a row to only PPH 117.5 billion...
An upgraded Agreement between New Zealand and Singapore on a Closer Economic Partnership (ANZSCEP) entered into force on 1 January 2020. The ANZSCEP, which entered into force on 1 January 2001, is Singapore’s first and New Zealand’s second bilateral Free Trade...
The Bank of Thailand (BOT) released the December 2019 issue of the Monetary Policy Report in January 2020. According to the report, the Thai economy is projected to expand at 2.5% and 2.8% in 2019 and 2020 respectively. The value of merchandise exports in 2019 is...
The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Taxation plans to implement an integrated e-tax system from 10 February 10 to improve tax service quality for taxpayers making tax declarations and payments and receiving refunds by making the processes faster and more convenient....
Vietnam’s exports in 2019 rose 8.4% to USD 264.189 billion, while imports rose 6.8% to USD 253.071 billion. Vietnam recorded a trade surplus of USD 11.12 billion last year, widening from a surplus of USD 6.8 billion in 2018, with smartphones, garments and...
According to the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM), Foreign direct investment (FDI) in Indonesia grew by 18% y-o-y in the third quarter of 2019, indicating that market confidence has returned after peaceful legislative and presidential elections, which saw the ...
The Malaysian government will be focusing on the gig economy sector as one of the new sources of economic growth in the Twelfth Malaysia Plan (RMP12), which will outline the country’s economic development plan for the next five years between 2021 and 2025. The RMP12...
The Philippines has achieved its highest recorded improvement since 2010 in the latest World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business (EODB) Report, as the country’s ranking jumped 29 notches to 95th from 124th place last year with an overall score of 62.8. Among the EODB...
On 8 November 2019, the Council of the European Union (EU), comprising ministerial-representatives of the EU’s 28 member states, has adopted the decision to conclude the EU-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (EUSFTA). This is the final stage in the EU’s internal approval...
The European Union has recently announced its intentions to resume negotiations with Thailand on a free trade agreement (FTA), after earlier talks were put on hold following a 2014 military coup in the South East Asian country. The statement comes after general...
According to the World Bank, around USD 25 billion worth of investments in Infrastructure is needed annually so that it can cope up with Vietnam’s burgeoning economy. In response to this, Vietnam’s Ministry of Planning and Investment is proposing an...
