Opinions

Promoting Innovation
04 April 2016
By Yasushi Ueki Fostering self-motivated people is fundamental in promoting innovation. Recently ASEAN member states (AMS) put more emphasis on engineering and science to promote …

Building the Infrastructure Industry in East Asia Emerging Economies
02 May 2016
By Fauziah Zen The short supply of infrastructure in majority of emerging economies wasan alarming issue recently due to its impeding effect on economic growthand …

Globalisation and Wage Inequality
04 July 2016
By Dionisius Narjoko Two important economic trends have emerged during the past few decades: rapid globalisation and increasing wage inequality. Developing countries, in particular, have …

Reducing Unnecessary Regulatory Burdens (RURB) in ASEAN's Priority Integration Sectors
31 August 2016
By Yuanita Suhud ASEAN is standing at a momentous juncture. With the emergence of mega trade deals such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the …

Simplifying Rules of Origin, Reducing Non-tariff Barriers
22 September 2016
By Lili Yan Ing and Olivier Cadot The economic growth of East Asia has outperformed the world's growth for the last two decades. The emerging …

Going Back to the Spirit of ASEAN Charter
23 September 2016
By Rebecca Fatima Sta Maria While the grouping's 'internal' summits are meant to be business-like, the summits with its dialogue partners have been a chance …

How to Unlock the Potentials of ASEAN to Advance the SDG 2030 Agenda?
31 October 2016
By Venkatachalam Anbumozhi Building on the success of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), in September 2016, world leaders signed up to the Sustainable Development Goals …

How ASEAN can Advance the SDG Agenda
31 October 2016
By Venkatachalam Anbumozhi, Senior Energy Economist Building on the success of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), in September 2016, world leaders signed up to the …

China's Trade Expansion: A Friend or a Foe for ASEAN Countries?
30 November 2016
By Rahmasari Istiandari The rapidly changing dynamics of global trade has prompted countries to continuously examine their roles in international trade, considering the fact that …

INSIGHT: Trump's Economic Policy and Impact on Indonesian Economy
13 December 2016
By Lili Yan Ing There are many questions about United States president-elect Donald Trump's economic policy and how it will affect the Indonesian economy. Although …

Accelerate the RCEP to Consolidate Asian Regional Integration
02 January 2017
By Lurong Chen There have been many statements in the media lately about the impact of the United States election on Asia, and specifically …

As the World Turns Away from Globalisation, How Should ASEAN Respond?
05 January 2017
By Lili Yan Ing After close to 70 years of trade liberalisation, a series of recent events (among others, Brexit in the U.K. and Donald …

The United States Non-stop Pivot to Asia
31 January 2017
By Lurong Chen The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is stranded, but the United States (US) 'pivot to Asia' is not. For the foreseeable future, the Asia-Pacific …

RCEP: More Relevant Now Than Ever
31 January 2017
By Tan Sri Dr Rebecca Fatima Sta Maria When President-elect Donald Trump called the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) a 'disaster' and vowed to pull out …

Protectionism Thrives in the West: Is the Pendulum of Globalisation Swinging to the East?
28 February 2017
By Rizqy Anandhika Globalisation is facing a major test of sustainability in the west with trade protectionism and populism mushrooming, but the trend is unlikely …

The US and ASEAN: Deal or No Deal?
31 March 2017
By Lili Yan Ing and Abigail Should the United States and ASEAN make a trade deal? First, let us discuss the economies. Over the past …

ASEAN Monetary Authorities Brace for Uncertain 2017
31 March 2017
By Jaysa Rafi Prana ASEAN members must remain vigilant to ensure a stable 2017 follows their solid 2016, and are cautiously observing the latest developments …

How Far Can the RCEP Ship Sail?
31 March 2017
By Maura Ada Décosterd Painted against the backdrop of a platinum-standard Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) appeared, at least for …

RCEP Facing a Critical Deadline
30 April 2017
By Tan Sri Dr Rebecca Fatima Sta Maria ASEAN is well on its way to becoming a global leader for regional integration and an important …

Electrifying Emerging ASEAN through Off-grid Distributed Renewable Energy Systems
30 April 2017
By Han Phoumin Some 134 million people in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region do not have access to electricity (IEA and ERIA, …