The Thai Finance Ministry is proposing a stimulus package of about THB 20 billion (USD 635 million) to aid its slumping economic growth. According to the Finance Minister launching the stimulus measures are paramount as GDP growth is predicted to be hovering just...
On April 1, 2019, the Indonesian President launched three special economic zones (SEZs) in East Kalimantan, North Sulawesi and North Maluku. Investors in the SEZs will benefit from easier land and employment rules and import duty exemptions for materials involved in...
The Malaysian government is seeking partnership with other countries to drive growth of the Halal economy. The Halal Industry Development Corporation (HDC) recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with South Korea to learn about their latest technology and...
The Philippines government is taking a significant step to make local startups more competitive in the region. Senate Bill 1532 or the Innovative Startup Act is awaiting President Rodrigo Duterte’s signature. The Innovative Startup Act aims to provide a set of...
On 1 April 2019, the European Commission recognized a number of Singapore trading venues authorized by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) as eligible for compliance with the EU trading obligation for derivatives. This decision will allow EU counterparties,...
The second Thailand-Myanmar Friendship Bridge linking Thailand’s Mae Sot district and Myanmar’s border city of Myawaddy on the Thai-Myanmar border has been officially opened to facilitate cross-border transport of goods and people. Thai authorities expect the bridge...
Vietnam’s Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) is accelerating cutting business prerequisites in term of quality. In the first quarter of 2019 the Ministry proposed the removal of pre-requisites for 22 business lines and amending the requirements for 4...
The Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) is targeting total approved investments worth MYR 200 billion (USD 49.2 billion) for 2019 with a continued focus on high technology areas. During 2018, approved investments in the Manufacturing, services and...
Trade and economic relationship between the Philippines and Japan remains strong, as the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Philippines and the Board of Investments (BOI) recently secured investment pledges of USD 1.24 billion from Japanese firms during its...
Singapore is seeking to develop an interoperability framework, called “TradeTrust”, for the exchange of digital trade documentation, in order to enable a more seamless and efficient flow of goods between digitally inter-connected trading partners. TradeTrust consists...
The Thailand Board of Investment (BOI) has approved investment incentives for five projects with a total investment of value of over USD 1.3 billion. The projects include: 1. A W (Thailand) Co., Ltd., was granted investment promotion incentives for its automatic...
The Vietnam government is planning to develop Quang Ninh Province’s Van Don economic zone (EZ) into a dynamic economic hub with a focus on tourism, as well as the production of high-quality products and services. An international trade center for the region will...
