Insights

General Politics

Russia-Ukraine: the impact on Asia with Bilahari Kausikan

General Politics

Benjamin Wegg-Prosser
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The Russian invasion of Ukraine has provoked one of the strongest non-military reactions from the West seen in decades. What explains Asian reactions to the invasions, and how are their economies coping with the fallout on global supply chains and energy markets? And what lessons will China take from this in regard to its rivalry with the West?

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Southeast Asia’s emerging super apps: key regulatory trends to watch

General Policy

Brigitta Kinadi
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Indonesia’s two most valuable homegrown tech companies announced on May 17th that they are merging, marking an important turning point in the growth of Southeast Asia’s digital economy. Ride-hailing decacorn Gojek and e-commerce leader Tokopedia will be combining their businesses into a new entity called GoTo. At an expected valuation of at least $18 bn, GoTo will be the…

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The Singapore model: how can regulators balance investor protection and support for innovation?

Financial Services

Andrew Yeo
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Singapore’s standing as a global financial hub got a boost over the last year as more foreign capital flowed into the country, even as the pandemic and political turmoil diminished investors’ confidence in other regional economies. While investors have come to trust the Singapore model for the robustness of its legal frameworks, recent news that homegrown unicorn Grab is…

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General Politics

Southeast Asia in 2021: three political themes to watch

General Politics

Brigitta Kinadi
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In politics, this year is superficially set to be relatively uneventful for Southeast Asia, since there are no major national elections formally scheduled. However, domestic political uncertainties in key markets present a challenge for both political stability and social cohesion and could, as is the case in Malaysia, result in early elections. On the international stage…

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Southeast Asia in 2021: crucial challenges for the region’s vaccination rollouts

General Policy

Brigitta Kinadi
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As with much of the rest of the world, countries in Southeast Asia are scrambling to roll out covid-19 vaccines. While the region has weathered the pandemic better than others and has managed to keep fatalities relatively low, the economic impact of the covid-19 outbreak has been severe. It has been the largest growth shock for Southeast Asia since the Asian Financial…

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Rolling out the covid-19 vaccine in emerging markets

General Policy

Thomas Gratowski
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Global Macro Practice Lead Thomas Gratowski, and Senior Associates Isabelle Trick and Brigitta Kinadi examine how Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa are approaching covid-19 vaccines and look at how well different emerging markets are positioned to achieve vaccine targets. They also explore how countries have handled the transmission of cases and and when we might be able to…

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Southeast Asia in 2021: three economic themes to watch

General Policy

Jens Presthus
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There is no country in Southeast Asia that has escaped the impact of covid-19 unscathed, although the intensity of the pandemic’s disruption and individual countries’ abilities to adapt have varied significantly. Early government intervention to restrict international travel and the implementation of strict lockdown measures meant that in terms of covid-19 cases,…

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Indonesia’s omnibus bill: controversies and key implications

General Policy

Brigitta Kinadi
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Senior Associate Brigitta Kinadi is joined by Kevin O’Rourke, Indonesia political risk analyst and writer of the Reformasi weekly newsletter. They discuss the major changes and repercussions of the recently passed omnibus bill in Indonesia that primarily aims to create jobs and boost investment in the country.

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Covid-19's impact on the tourism industry

General Policy

Andrew Yeo
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An in-conversation from a recent digital event with Ho Kwon Ping, Executive Chairman, Banyan Tree Holdings, and Andrew Yeo, Senior Associate, Global Counsel on the future of the global tourism industry, with a focus on Asian markets.

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Asia policymaker perspectives: Green mobility and infrastructure in Southeast Asia

Sustainability

Andrew Yeo
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In a new series of interviews, members of Global Counsel's Asia team will interview thought-leaders in policy and business from across the region, focusing on key themes for Global Counsel including geopolitics, trade and technological developments and the impact on business and politics.

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Asia policymaker perspectives: covid-19 and a Singaporean response

General Policy

Andrew Yeo
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In a new series of interviews, members of Global Counsel's Asia team will interview thought-leaders in policy and business from across the region, focusing on key themes for Global Counsel including geopolitics, trade and technological developments and the impact on business and politics.

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General Politics

Asia policymaker perspectives: Multipolarity and great power competition in Southeast Asia

General Politics

Andrew Yeo
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In a new series of interviews, members of Global Counsel's Asia team will interview thought-leaders in policy and business from across the region, focusing on key themes for Global Counsel including geopolitics, trade and technological developments and the impact on business and politics.

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ASEAN and the rise of China’s southwest

Trade & Manufacturing

Jens Presthus
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Beijing announced this summer it would establish new free-trade zones in the country’s southwest. This represents a significant development in China’s strategy to boost growth and expand its influence in Southeast Asia through its Belt and Road Initiative. China’s eastern provinces have until now been at the core of Beijing’s “opening up” strategy. But now, amid the…

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General Politics

Indonesia elections: three observations on Jokowi's victory

General Politics

Brigitta Kinadi
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Although official results of the Indonesian presidential and parliamentary elections have not been released, quick count results suggest that incumbent president, Joko Widodo (Jokowi), has secured a second term. The latest projections show that Jokowi won with around 56% of the votes, while his opponent, Prabowo Subianto, received 44%. As Indonesia awaits official results…

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General Politics

Identity politics and the Jakarta Governor election

General Politics

Anjuli Gidwani
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The race for the governorship of Jakarta is almost over. According to unofficial results from private pollsters this week, incumbent governor Basuki ‘Ahok’ Tjahaja Purnama and Gerindra Party-backed Anies Baswedan will be facing off in a runoff election on 19th April. The leadership of the capital is arguably the biggest job under the President and a platform for national…

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General Politics

Will Britain lose Dyson to Singapore?

General Politics

Ying Staton
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Last week Dyson announced the opening of a new £330 million R&D centre in Singapore. The focus of the centre, home to Dyson’s new Global Technology Centre of Excellence, is on commercialising Dyson’s technology for global markets, including, for example, for use in smart homes. Dyson has grand ambitions to expand beyond household devices into technologies that will…

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Indonesia opens a new front in the GAFA wars

General Policy

Ying Staton
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ASEAN policymakers have always watched their European counterparts closely – both for good and bad examples. The European Commission’s landmark decision last month instructing Ireland to claw back €13 billion of unpaid corporate tax from Apple is no exception.

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Dealing with political risk: What FTSE-100 companies say

Financial Services

Gregor Irwin
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Political risk takes many forms and is not easily defined, but it is high and rising by just about any standard. Governments are under pressure or have been forced out of office in countries as far apart as Venezuela, Brazil, Turkey, South Africa, Malaysia and Thailand. Armed conflicts have becomes entrenched in the Ukraine, Syria and the Sahel. Geopolitical tensions are…

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