Other Briefings
British Firms Encouraged to Expand into the Philippines
British firms are being encouraged to set up shop in the Philippines in order to take advantage of this up and coming Southeast Asian country. Last week, in a recent sign of the growing business relations between the two countries, British Ambassador to the Philippines, Asif Ahmad, hosted the Great British Festival in Manila.
March 2015 ASEAN Regional Meetings
March will see a number of important ASEAN regional meetings; these include the ASEAN-OECD Conference and Meetings on Good Regulatory Practice held in Kuala Lumpur and the ASEAN-EU Science, Technology and Innovation Days held in Paris.
Services Now Over 25 Percent of Singapore’s Exports
Singapore’s Ministry of Trade and Industry announces that services now make up a quarter of the country’s exports, reflecting a structural shift in exports in which services are growing faster than goods.
Philippine Economic Growth Looks Strong in 2015
The Philippines has become one of the fastest growing economies in Asia, with an annual GDP growth rate of 6.1 percent in 2014 – the second highest in the Asia-Pacific region after China. This healthy growth is due to strong economic fundamentals and a faster than expected GDP growth of 6.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2014.
Business Optimism in Singapore Drops Again – Time to Worry?
Local businesses in Singapore started 2015 with a pessimistic outlook, continuing a downward trend for the third quarter in a row. According to the newest Business Expectations Survey (BES) – conducted by the Singapore Commercial Credit Bureau (SCCB) – the current Business Optimism Index (BOI) score of +1.11 percent, is the lowest since the first quarter of 2013. In the fourth quarter of 2014, the BOI stood at +10.79 percent. The SCCB has pointed to global economic uncertainty, rising cost pressures and manpower issues, as well as lower demand in the export-oriented sector, as possible drivers behind the lowered optimism.
Singapore-Vietnam in 2015: Trade and Investment Partners
As investment and trading partners, Singapore and Vietnam have proven to be an unstoppable combination – with 2014 bilateral trade up 20.3 percent year on year. Vietnam’s strategic location, low-cost labor, burgeoning consumer class, and incentives to foreign investors have made Vietnam an attractive destination for Singaporean foreign direct investment (FDI). While Singapore, with the highest GDP per capita in ASEAN, remains a prime market for Vietnamese exporters.
January 2015 ASEAN Regional Meetings
There are a number of important ASEAN regional meetings taking place in January, these include the ASEAN Tourism Forum held in Myanmar and the 117th ASEAN Federation of Accountants (AFA) Council Meeting, which will be held in Kuala Lumpur.
Indonesia Looks to Foreign Investment to Boost Economy
Indonesia is set to introduce a one stop service for providing ministry licenses, speed up the completion of government tenders by March each year, establish a land bank to fast track infrastructure projects and release a five-year $450 billion infrastructure investment plan.
ASEAN Exchanges: Myanmar Integrates Further
Myanmar’s Deputy Finance Minister, Maung Thein, has announced that the over-the-counter Myanmar Securities Exchange Centre (MSEC) will be replaced with the Yangon Stock Exchange in October 2015. So far, ten companies are expected to meet the criteria for initial listing on the exchange.
Gulf Cooperation Council and Singapore Complete FTA
On January 1, 2015, the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Singapore entered into force. The FTA covers trade in goods and services, customs procedures, e-commerce, economic cooperation, government procurement, rules of origin and other matters.
