News
Can Southeast Asia weather a trade war?
In the face of growing economic protectionism, undergirded by a trade tiff between the United States (US) and China, Southeast Asian economies are bracing for the impact from a possible economic fallout. Over the past few months, US President Donald Trump has not minced his ...
LGBT Tourism and Inclusion in Southeast Asia: A Divided Future?
Some countries in Southeast Asia do better than others in welcoming LGBT tourists. Southeast Asia has enjoyed an exponential surge of foreign tourists in the past decade. According to the World Travel and Tourism Council, the total contribution of tourism to the economy of southeast Asia ...
An Environmental Report Card for Southeast Asia
As school semesters come to a close across Southeast Asia, and teachers begin calculating final scores, another type of assessment is called for: an environmental report card for the region. While evaluating every environmental issue that has arisen in every country is unfeasible, it is ...
Southeast Asia taps AI and satellites to tackle traffic jams
Emerging economies in Asia are turning to the “internet of things,” artificial intelligence and satellites to alleviate their cities’ traffic jams. Keep reading ...
Southeast Asia Could Have A $200B Internet Economy With Improved Skills & Leadership
The Southeast Asian startup scene is strong and getting stronger. Across the region, companies are emerging in fintech, edtech, insurtech, blockchain and many other areas. In 2017, Southeast Asian startups received $7.86 billion in investor funding, which is triple the investments seen the year before, ...
Southeast Asia's Road Building Spree Splinters Ecosystems
Southeast Asia is a global biodiversity hotspot, and Indonesia and Malaysia are no exception, harboring some of the highest levels of species diversity in the world. Yet those two countries also supply more than 80 percent of the world’s palm oil, and it’s widely acknowledged ...
Why Southeast Asia’s children are facing an obesity epidemic
Malnutrition is leaving Southeast Asia’s children predisposed to obesity and fatal diseases later in life. With the rise of processed foods and less active lifestyles, these health impacts are only going to get worse unless children become the focal point of change. []At the same time, ...
What the US-China Struggle for Regional Dominance Means for Southeast Asia
How are Southeast Asian countries responding to growing tensions between the two powers? []Other Southeast Asian state — like Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and perhaps nominal U.S. ally Thailand — appear to be moving toward China, preferring China’s economic incentives over the benefits of U.S. military “protection.” Keep reading ...
Mark J. Valencia
Solar Surge Threatens Hydro Future on Mekong
Thousands of megawatts of wind and solar energy contracts in the Mekong region of Southeast Asia have been signed, seriously challenging the financial viability of major hydropower projects on the river, an energy expert told a water conference last week. Keep reading ...
David Boyle
Southeast Asia needs better labor migration policies
Improving worker mobility benefits migrants and raises growth. One of the many signs of growing economic integration in Southeast Asia is a surge in labor migration. Keep reading ...
Shetty and Testaverde