Beyond the adverse impact on economic growth, the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is also expected to hit trade and investment hard. Having been weighed down by the China-US trade tension and the slowing economic growth in the previous year, the World Trade Organization (WTO) projected global trade to plummet between 13% and 32% across [...]
ASEAN, led by Singapore, has an upcoming initiative to support ASEAN Member States to prepare for the future of work in a “new COVID-normal” by leveraging a skilled workforce, embracing technology, and providing safe and decent work for all, supported by harmonious industrial relations. Download the publication here. Related: "The ASEAN" Magazine - Issue 1
As the COVID-19 global pandemic continued to spread, countries around the world are bracing for a deep downturn, as lockdowns and quarantines have resulted to job losses and business closures. Governments, including ASEAN Member States, have taken swift action and applied monetary, fiscal, and sector-specific measures to cushion the widespread impact of the pandemic. To [...]
I have always been a bit of a polyglot. Ethnically, my mother is half-Malay and almost half-Pakistani—with a smattering of Chinese from her great-grandmother (who was adopted and raised by their Pakistani family). My father is part-Tamil and part Portuguese Eurasian, similar to the community in Malacca, Malaysia. My brothers are both married to ethnic [...]
Since the World Health Organization (WHO) finally declared the COVID-19 outbreak as a global pandemic on 11 March 2020, lives have been upended and economic activities disrupted around the world. As of 9 April 2020, the COVID-19 outbreak, which originated in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, has reached 203 countries, affecting 1,476,819 persons, with 87,816 deaths [...]
The ASEAN member states have a long-standing goal to establish multilateral power trading in the region. To date, regional power trading has largely been limited to a series of uncoordinated bilateral cross-border trade and three member states participating in an initial arrangement to implement power trade. Multilateral power trading can bring multiple benefits, including reduced [...]
