ASEAN and the world

France, Germany and the UK on August 29th released a joint statement expressing their concern about the situation in the South China Sea (known as East Sea in Vietnam) which they said could lead to insecurity and instability in the region.

The Asian Economic Forum 2019 opened in Singapore on August 29th with the participation of more than 150 experts, scholars and representatives from 10 ASEAN member countries and other nations.

Japanese retail giant Aeon Co. is teaming up with major Singaporean e-commerce site Shopee in Malaysia, due to fierce competition triggered by market liberalisation drives.

(CPV) - Capital market regulators from members of the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) Program met for the first time in Islamabad on August 29th 2019 to discuss ways to improve capital markets by enhancing access to finance, supporting private sector development, spurring economic activities, and strengthening regional cooperation and integration.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has considered the settlement of disputes in the East Sea as an important task to ensure stability and security in the region, said ASEAN Deputy Secretary-General Aladdin D. Rillo.

(CPV) - Atoll nations are on the front line of climate change and require immediate action to combat the impact of land loss, beach erosion, loss of fisheries, and water shortages—a situation that threatens their development and stability, delegates heard at a conference that opened on August 27th 2019.

(CPV) - ADB President Mr. Takehiko Nakao met with Maldives President Mr. Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, Speaker of the Parliament Mr. Mohamed Nasheed, Finance Minister and ADB Governor Mr. Ibrahim Ameer, and other senior officials on August 26th 2019 during a 2-day visit in which he committed to strong ADB assistance to the country.

Secretary General of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Lim Jock Hoi lauded efforts by the Vietnamese Government and businesses in developing cooperation between the ASEAN member countries, while addressing a seminar in Hanoi on August 26th.

The forest fire task force of Indonesia’s Riau province has deployed four helicopters to douse the forest fires raging across the southern part of the province on Sumatra Island.

The Thai Government has ordered the Board of Investment (BoI) to devise a relocation package for foreign investors wishing to shift from China to Thailand as a result of the US-China trade dispute.

(CPV) - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has endorsed a new Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) for Georgia.

The Thai government’s waste-management policy has reduced the use of 1.5 billion plastic bags since August 17th last year, the country’s Pollution Control Department (PCD) reported.

(CPV) - ADB has approved a USD199.46 million loan to support the development of an innovative intelligent transport system to reduce pollution, cut traffic congestion, and improve transport safety in Gui’an, a fast-growing new city of Guizhou Province. The project will be a pilot for other cities demonstrating integrated smart transport development.

The economic cabinet of Thailand remains optimistic that the country’s economic growth will exceed 3 percent this year despite the sluggish global outlook.

(CPV) - ADB has approved a USD160 million loan to modernize the operations and improve the efficiency of Sri Lanka Railways, the country’s railway operator, by upgrading its infrastructure and technical capacity. This is ADB’s first loan in Sri Lanka’s railway sector.

Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health on August 16th pledged to improve the quality of street food to boost tourism and economic growth.

Malaysia’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew 4.9 percent year-on-year in the second quarter of 2019, compared to the 4.5 percent growth recorded in the first quarter of this year.

The Government of Thailand on August 16th launched additional rain-making operations in the northern, northeastern and central regions to tackle serious droughts.

Investment in Singapore’s financial technology companies in the first half of 2019 has quadrupled from a year ago to USD453 million, according to a recent report of consulting company Accenture.

Malaysian Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Mohamaddin Ketapi said on August 15th that the country served 78.2 million domestic tourists last year, up nearly 11 percent year-on-year.

Four major banks of Thailand have decided to cut their minimum retail rate (MRR) by 0.25 percentage point to help lower financial costs of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), increase their competitiveness and support the Thai economy.

Indonesian authorities have banned residents and trekkers from doing activities within 3km from the summit of Mount Merapi, as the volcano located between Central Java and Yogyakarta provinces spewed hot lava on August 14th.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives of Thailand, Chuan Leekpai, has addressed envoys from the ASEAN Parliament, assuring them that security measures are in place for the 40th ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA), which will take place later this month.

The European Union on Saturday condemned the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) for the latest in a series of missile launches, saying the tests undermined international efforts to achieve peace on the peninsula, reported AFP.

Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) between Thailand and 17 partner countries have helped international trade value in the first half of this year to reach USD140 billion, with ASEAN remaining the top trading partner.

The Committee of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Canberra held a ceremony in the Australian capital city on August 13th to celebrate the bloc’s 52nd founding anniversary (August 8th).

The Republic of Korea (RoK) and the Philippines began the third round of negotiations on a bilateral free trade agreement in Busan city on August 12th.

China's economy is slowing in the context of increasing trade conflicts with the US, and if Washington continues to ramp up tariffs, the growth rate of the world's second largest economy will be cut more sharply.

Rice export prices in Thailand rose sharply this week on worries that the country’s worst drought in about a decade could reduce supply.

The death toll from a landslide caused by monsoon rains struck Ye Pyar Kone village, Mon state of Myanmar, on August 9th rose to 22.