Asia Economy

A summit of the ASEAN group of countries in April, hosted in Malaysia, brought the bloc one step closer to realising plans to launch the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) by the start of 2016.

Investor appetite towards Mongolia could be improving amid hopes Ulaanbaatar may be in the process of settling a long-running dispute with mining giant Rio Tinto over the development of phase two of the Oyu Tolgoi mine, allaying concerns over the government's ability to repay or roll over existing debt.

A new budget signalled major funding boosts in Myanmar for the power and education sectors, both of which have been identified as structural weaknesses in the economy. 

An interim budget unveiled by Sri Lanka’s new government aims to bring down debt levels while maintaining growth, with newly elected President Maithripala Sirisena pledging in his inaugural speech in January to defeat corruption as well as lead a social transformation of the island nation. 

Investments in Sarawak's resource-based and service industries kept the Borneo island state ahead in 2014, with economic growth set to continue in 2015. However, new initiatives will be needed to diversify the economy and add more value across the oil and gas product chains.

A slowing of domestic and overseas demand, combined with uncertainty over Thailand’s political direction, cooled the economy in 2014, with most forecasts for this year indicating growth will remain subdued.