– Environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria are growing in significance globally – ASEAN member states are increasingly oriented to ESG standards across the board – Green infrastructure, social impact and transparency are among the keyfocus areas – Coordinated efforts to boost ESG could spearhead the bloc’s Covid-19 recovery Environmental, social and governance (ESG)…
Recent years have seen the issue of climate change and its ecological and economic effects move more clearly into the spotlight. It is now widely accepted that the planet cannot sustain current high-carbon industrial and consumer behaviours. With better and more reliable scientific knowledge on the subject available, economic models used to forecast the financial impacts of a steadily destabilising…
– Thailand and Malaysia led the region in terms of government stimulus – Key digital solutions were developed in food delivery, education, health care and finance – Despite falling globally, M&A increased in Asia throughout the year – Emerging markets in ASEAN stand to benefit from the supply chain shift away from China Closely linked both geographically and economically to China,…
The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) was finally signed on Sunday November 15, on the sidelines of the annual summit of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN). As well as marking a significant regional milestone, it is hoped that this deal will help its 15signatories recover from the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic. As OBG outlined in July, the…
Although lacking the capital buffers and advanced medical infrastructure of the more developed economies in Asia, Myanmar has so successfully limited the spread of Covid-19 through integrated fiscal, monetary, social and health policy efforts.This latest report focuses on the response of policymakers and business leaders in helping to mitigate the challenges of the pandemic, and looks at the long…
At the start of 2020, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) – potentially the world’s largest free trade deal – seemed on track to be signed by the end of the year. However, the coronavirus pandemic has slowed that process, raising some questions about when the agreement will be formalised. In what would constitute a significant win for multilateralism, the RCEP would bring…
On encouraging UK businesses to explore opportunities within ASEAN What are the implications of Covid-19 for ASEAN and the work of the UKABC? NEVILLE-ROLFE: In the short term the impact on the UK and ASEAN will be damaging, but this is a worldwide challenge. Most South-east Asian countries have large populations, stretched health services and economies that are dependent on trade and the movement…
As the total number of global cases of Covid-19 exceeded784,000 with over 37,000 deaths on March 30, Myanmar reported 14 cumulative cases and no fatalities. Compared to its neighbours, the fast-growing South-east Asian statehad felt relativelyinsulated from the most severeeffects of the pandemic for much of the first quarter, with few restrictions on daily life or the movement…
Oxford Business Group (OBG) began its CEO Survey in 2016 with the aim of giving our clients a handle on sentiment in the various markets we cover. Sentiment is of course intangible, but it is an all-important factor in the decisions business people and investors make when they weigh up their risk appetite. In turn, sentiment informs the level of confidence with which they view a market. It is also…