ASEAN and the world

Germany's Robert Koch-Institute (RKI) on March 1 decided to remove 60 countries and territories across the world, including Vietnam, from the list of the countries that are highly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Foreign ministers of the 10 ASEAN countries on February 27 issued a statement calling for dialogues among the parties concerned in the Ukraine crisis.

ASEAN Secretary-General Dato Lim Jock Hoi and UK Secretary of State for International Trade Anne-Marie Trevelyan have discussed overall economic ties between the two sides.

Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s official visit to Thailand from February 24-26 is expected to bring 'good news' on the reopening of Thai-Malaysian land borders.

(CPV) - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $150 million loan to support a facility aimed at accelerating Indonesia’s economic recovery from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and catalyzing public and private funds to support green and bankable infrastructure projects to help the country reach the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Cambodian Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Prak Shokhonn on February 17 said that he has planned to visit Myanmar in March as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)’s Special Envoy.

(CPV) - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a USD95 million loan to help the Cambodian government vaccinate Cambodians against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) from 2022 to 2023, including annual booster shots for those already vaccinated and primary doses for children under 5.

Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob touched upon matters concerning the East Sea during a meeting with Sultan of Brunei Hassanal Bolkiah on February 15.

Indonesian Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin has said that the country will urge the Group of 20 leading economies (G20) to establish a global body that can dispense emergency funds during a health crisis, functioning in a similar way to international financial institutions.

(CPV) - Trade among economies in Asia and the Pacific rose to the highest level in 3 decades, bolstering the region’s economic resilience amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic even as mobility restrictions and supply-chain disruptions hampered global trade, a report by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) shows in Philippines on February 9th 2022.

Laos enjoyed a trade surplus of 1 billion USD in 2021, according to the Lao Ministry of Industry and Trade.

Indonesia’s economy has rebounded from the recession as consumers and businesses resumed activities and a global economic recovery boosted exports, according to insiders.

The Lao government has cut the required quarantine period for new arrivals from 14 days to seven days for certain groups of visitors.

Thailand's Ministry of Tourism and Sports plans to continue travel bubble discussions with short-haul destinations following this week's resumption of the Test & Go scheme.

Malaysia has outpaced other emerging Southeast Asia peers as the most attractive country for foreign direct investment in the 2022 Milken Institute Global Opportunity Index released on January 27, said the Malaysian Ministry of International Trade and Industry on January 28.

The Republic of Korea (RoK) and a number of Southeast Asian nations agreed on January 26 to expand their joint research and development in green and digital technologies, as well as launch six projects this year.

(CPV) - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) launched a project in Philippines on January 26th 2022 to make cross-border securities transactions in Asia and the Pacific more efficient and secure through the use of blockchain technology.

The Lao Ministry of Health said the COVID-19 vaccination campaign in the country has achieved good results last year.

(CPV) - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved a USD10 million (around 22.68 million pa’anga) grant to the Government of Tonga to assist with early recovery and relief efforts and help restore life-sustaining services following the devastating tsunami that hit the country last weekend on January 21st 2022.

Thai Minister of Finance Arkhom Termpittayapaisith has forecast the country’s economy would grow 3.5-4.5 percent this year driven by fiscal policy, exports and investment, despite an outbreak of the Omicron coronavirus variant remaining a challenge.

A shortage of food supplies due to the impact of weather and rising gasoline prices has led to increasing inflation in this Southeast Asian country, according to Malaysia’s Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).

The Singaporean Ministry of Health on January 21 informed that the number of COVID-19 cases began to increase sharply in recent days, from an average of 800 cases last week to nearly 1,500 cases on January 20, with community infections accounting for the majority.

(CPV) - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed a USD60 million equity investment in Creador V L.P. (Creador V), a private equity fund managed by investment firm Creador, for investments in companies in South and Southeast Asia that will create new jobs, increase tax revenues, and improve access to health and financial services.

The ASEAN-Korea Centre, in coordination with the International Contractors Association of Korea (ICAK), will hold the 9th ASEAN Connectivity Forum on 18-19 January, aiming to further promote mutually beneficial economic partnership.

(CPV) - Across Asia, the COVID-19 pandemic devastated lives and livelihoods, taking away 147 million jobs and pushing 148 million Asians into poverty but while most Asians are worse off, the region’s billionaires grew their wealth by USD1.46 trillion, leading to a staggering rise in inequality, reveals a new Oxfam report at the middle of January 2022.

(CPV) - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed a USD39.5 million equity investment in Northstar Equity Partners V Limited (NEP V), a private equity fund managed by the Northstar Group. NEP V will provide growth capital to companies operating across the consumer, financial services, and digital economy sectors in Southeast Asia with a focus on Indonesia, contributing to overall job growth and eco

Cambodia on January 14 began administering the fourth dose of COVID-19 vaccine to priority groups in its capital city of Phnom Penh amid the spread of the Omicron variant within the community.

The Indonesian Government has lifted the entry ban on visitors with travel histories from 14 countries in the last two weeks to restore the country's economy.

(CPV) - Asian Development Bank (ADB) Vice-President Shixin Chen met with Sri Lanka President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on 10 January and commended the government’s rapid vaccination program and other efforts to speed the country’s socioeconomic recovery from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

Trade ministers of Singapore and Japan on January 12 pledged to maintain the high standards of market access and rules of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).