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Sarawak is one of the three regions comprising East Malaysia, with neighbouring state Sabah to its north-east and the federal territory of Labuan situated off the north coast of Borneo. The state remains unique both within Malaysia and within the global context due to its mix of rugged mountains and thick jungle alongside numerous cosmopolitan cities and centres of commerce. With the inception of the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy, a growth area running across much of central Sarawak, the state was able to successfully harness its naturally abundant source of energy in hydropower and spur investment in heavy industry. The plentiful availability of the power needed to feed such heavy industry has helped to shape Sarawak into an investment destination in its own right, as the state increasingly attracts foreign investment from the world over.

This chapter contains interviews with Adenan Satem, Chief Minister of Sarawak; and Mohamad Morshidi bin Abdul Ghani, Sarawak State Secretary.

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This chapter examines the key elements of the Philippine tax regime, featuring an interview with Marivic C Espano, Chairperson and CEO, Punonbayan & Araullo.

This chapter examines important legal and regulatory developments in the Philippines, with particular focus on the liberalised entry of foreign banks, Islamic banking and finance, merger control and data privacy. It also features an interview with Rafael A Morales, Managing Partner, SyCip Salazar, Hernandez & Gatmaitan.

The Philippines boasts some of the world’s vastest precious metals reserves, valued at around $840bn at 2010 prices. In 2013 the Philippines was tied with Indonesia as the largest nickel producer in the world, producing some 440,000 tonnes each. The country’s vast and largely untapped mining potential will continue to draw strong interest from foreign and domestic actors despite decreasing investment in the short term. Although overall output and revenue are being sustained by existing operations, new investment continues to lag, as mining companies wait out the finalisation of new mining regulations. The question is when the regulatory framework will catch up with demand. This chapter contains an interview with Geraldo H Brimo, President and CEO, Nickel Asia Corporation.

As of 2016 the Philippines will extend mandatory basic education to 12 years, up from the 10-year mandate that has been in effect since 1987. The increased role of the private sector in providing educational services is crucial to the realisation of this task, with growing opportunities on the horizon and the authorities taking slow but steady steps to define them. Challenges of access and quality remain, and the government continues to address them through a host of pragmatic initiatives. With the dialogue between the private sector and educational institutions increasing and accompanied by reforms aimed squarely at better preparing students for employment, the sector continues to move in the right direction. This chapter contains an interview with Armin Luistro, Secretary, Department of Education.

The Philippine experiment of combining public health care spending with private sector delivery continues to evolve. As health care remains central to the public interest, there is a heavy onus on improving access and efficiency in accordance with the goal of providing universal health care coverage for all Filipinos by 2016. The year 2015 is expected to focus on consolidation, as inefficiencies in PhilHealth and shortcomings in the investment environment are addressed with an influx of funding. The battle to improve the quality of care in rural areas remains pressing and efforts to keep qualified health care staff close to home should start having an effect on the sector overall. This chapter contains an interview with Alexander A Padilla, President and CEO, Philippine Health Insurance Corporation.