Asia Economy

ASEAN is preparing to become a common market at the end of 2015, in a move that will create opportunities for investors in a region that has some of the world’s fastest-growing economies and a rapidly expanding middle class. “ASEAN and South-east Asia are among the few bright spots in the world economy,” Teoh Kok Lin, the founder of Singular Asset...

Today the idea of the “developed West and developing rest” is all but irrelevant. The world has changed and so must the UK if we are to prevent our role and influence in international affairs from declining. Key to this will be making the most of opportunities presented by a new international paradigm in which economic power and influence is moving east and south. We are...

To hit its target of becoming a high-income nation by 2020, Malaysia will need to reduce subsidy programmes, which are set to increase in cost by 27% in 2012, beyond forecast levels. However, the country has one of the highest income disparities in South-east Asia, and subsidies are critical in assisting vulnerable groups.

When the UK’s Duke and Duchess of Cambridge touched down in Kuala Lumpur in September 2012, the warm greeting they received from Malaysia’s public and politicians spoke volumes of the continuing strength of ties between the two nations. The royal couple’s visit also marked the high point of a year of British official visits to Malaysia, begun...

After dropping 83% between 2007 and 2009, foreign direct investment (FDI) into Malaysia staged an impressive comeback. By 2010 the 2007 mark was broken. The next year, FDI was up another 12.2%. What transpired has no single explanation. In part, the remarkable rebound was just a recognition that the pullback was an overreaction – to a great extent...