ASEAN economies should look to CEE to escape middle-income trap - ex-finance minister

4 min read Bambang Brodjonegoro, ADBI, ASEAN, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, CEE, FDI, EU, Poland, Czechia, Hungary, China, Japan, South Korea, World Bank, Prabowo Subianto, Nikkei Asia, Nickel, middle-income trap, steel

Bambang Brodjonegoro, dean of the ADB’s Tokyo-based think tank, said Southeast Asia’s largest middle-income economies are at risk of long-term stagnation as demographic advantages fade and productivity growth stalls.

New nickel corridor connects Indonesia with France, CEE

3 min read ASEAN, Corporate, Economy, Energy, ESG, Politics, CATL, CEE, Critical Raw Materials Act, Danone, Eramet, EVE, France, Halmahera Island, Indonesia, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, Nickel, PT Antam, Renault, Szijjarto, TotalEnergies

As Indonesia asserts control over its vast nickel reserves, a new supply route is forming between Southeast Asia (SEA) and Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). France and Hungary are emerging as key European partners in the electric vehicle (EV) supply chain, linking mineral extraction in Indonesia to battery production in

Macron inks defence, aviation deals on SEA tour

2 min read ASEAN, Aviation, Corporate, Defence, Economy, Energy, EU, Politics, Singapore, Dassault, Indo-Pacific Strategy, Indonesia, Lawrence Wong, Macron, Rafale, Thales, To Lam, VietJet, Vietnam

French President Emmanuel Macron called France “a power that respects its partners” during his 25-29 May tour of Vietnam, Indonesia and Singapore, when he promoted his country as a strategic partner for Southeast Asia (SEA) amid growing US-China rivalry. The trip focused on trade, defence and clean energy cooperation, as

Singapore world's third least corrupt country - Transparency International

4 min read Economy, Singapore, Thailand, Tourism, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Transparency International, Vietnam

A new report from Transparency International (TI) sees mixed results for Southeast Asia (SEA) with Singapore maintaining its position as the region’s least corrupt nation, while Malaysia and Thailand grapple with governance challenges. “Asia Pacific is home to a third of the world’s population, has the second largest