The U.S. government has announced that its new economic grouping for the Indo-Pacific will begin with 13 inaugural members, accounting for about 40% of the world's gross domestic product. US President Joe Biden on Monday announced the launch of a new Asia-Pacific trading network during a visit to Japan. The framework, which includes an initial 13 countries, including India and Japan, has been touted as a counterweight to China's aggressive expansion in the region. "The United

By John W Miller, Chief Economic Analyst, Trade Data Monitor; The global economy avoided a meltdown 2020-2022 due to the Covid-19 pandemic because governments around the world, led by the U.S., printed trillions of dollars for their own citizens, oiling consumer demand and goosing merchandise trade around the world. That steroid is now wearing off, as consumers have spent most of the money they were given, and because their spending fueled inflation, making it harder to buy a

A new study by the APEC Policy Support Unit revealed that foreign direct investment provides an important pathway to global value chain participation, showing that participation develops as investments accumulate. “When member economies hold a central position in the foreign direct investment network, they have the tendency to also be hubs in the global value chain trade network,” said Dr Akhmad Bayhaqi, a senior analyst with the APEC Policy Support Unit. “And when economies

Annually KW Group: Asia FDI, Trade, Economic Development & Market Access support over 100+ businesses & government entities with inbound and outbound Asia-Pacific foreign direct investment (FDI), trade, economic development, market access, research, policy & intelligence projects on a full-time & project basis. Established in 2010 we have extensive start-up / scale-up experience & networks with regional investors, governments, multipliers, and businesses. ​ By 2030 65% of the

- US-Asean summit in Washington to highlight rift on trade deals - Indo-Pacific framework seen lacking on details, ambition Southeast Asian nations are increasingly disappointed with the US over a lack of progress on trade issues, undermining President Joe Biden’s efforts to strengthen ties with the region’s leaders at a summit this week in Washington. The administration has repeatedly highlighted the importance of US leadership in Asia and building relationships to counter C

MAJOR South-east Asian economies are set to pull more foreign direct investment (FDI) in the near term, as investors grow wary about China’s locked-down market. Still, China’s status as the regional giant is likely to stay unchallenged, especially in the longer run. “FDI flows into Asean have proven extraordinarily resilient over the last couple of years,” Frederic Neumann, co-head of global research for Asia at HSBC, told The Business Times. “Asean has been a growing magnet

Global GDP has grown massively over the last 50 years, but not all countries experienced this economic growth equally. In 1970, the world’s nominal GDP was just $3.4 trillion. Fast forward a few decades and it had reached $85.3 trillion by 2020. And thanks to shifting dynamics, such as industrialization and the rise and fall of political regimes, the world’s largest economies driving this global growth have changed over time. This slideshow using graphics from Ruben Berge Mat

The burgeoning economy of Vietnam is maturing its way into a new phase. The Asian nation of 97.3 million has taken its place among the linchpins of high-tech supply chains, taking in raw materials and churning out mobile phones, tablets, and other computer gear for over a billion middle-class consumers all over the world. In addition, Vietnam is becoming a key part of the alliance of Asian trading powers setting up a counterpoint to the economic poles of the U.S. and European

ASEAN, a regional block of 10 very diverse countries, was created to support economic growth, good governance, and human rights in Southeast Asia. After decades of rapid growth, these 10 countries now face changing global dynamics, internal divisions, and economic uncertainty. This week, the Altamar team of Peter Schechter and Muni Jensen is joined by Niharika Mandhana, the Southeast Asia bureau chief for The Wall Street Journal. She leads a team of correspondents covering po

Wait times for at Shanghai marine terminals has increased nearly 75% since the lockdowns began. Delays at the Shanghai terminal have sent ships to neighboring ports in Ningbo and Yangshan, but those ports are beginning to get congested as well. China has mandated a strict “zero COVID” policy since the onset of the global pandemic, which has led to tight lockdowns across the country whenever cases have started to spike. Recently, lockdown restrictions have been enacted in majo

Consumption in Asia is set to increase as the continent hosts the majority of the world’s megacities—cities housing more than 10 million people. However, the biggest jump in the next decades will happen in Africa. The continent is expected to double in population by 2050, with material consumption jumping from 2 billion tonnes to 17.7 billion tonnes per year. Cities only cover 2% of the world’s land surface, but activities within their boundaries consume over 75% of the plane

Opportunities still exist in Asia, away from the uncertainty of China - Financial Times From the moment Russia’s tanks rolled across the Ukrainian border, the investment world changed. This is a war between two countries that mainly export commodities. Russia is the world’s largest oil exporter — at the turn of the year it was producing 11.3mn barrels a day, according to the International Energy Agency. It was also the world’s biggest exporter of wheat. Ukraine is another maj

Annually KW Group support over 100+ businesses & government entities with inbound and outbound APAC FDI, trade, market access & tradetech projects on a full-time & project basis. "By 2030 65% of the world's middle-class consumers will be found in Asia. It is forecast that ASEAN will become the world’s fourth-largest economy with a USD 4 trillion consumer market." Established 2010 we work with regulators, donors, governments & businesses to support Asia trade & investment, FDI

The new and impactful Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership will create new trade opportunities among Asian countries and accelerate the region’s economic recovery. The world’s largest free trade agreement (FTA), the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), went into effect January 1; and, as far as being a transformative agreement, the RCEP is a very big deal. The RCEP will create new trade opportunities among Asian countries and accelerate the region’s econ

Standard Chartered Bank says Malaysia has been named as the top expansion market for Middle East companies focusing on Asean The bank said the latest survey for its “Borderless Business: Middle East-Asean Corridor” found that Middle East companies were positive about business growth in the region, with a significant 78% viewing Malaysia as the top location. Key growth sectors for Malaysia in the report’s growth watch list that were attractive to Middle East companies were ref

Investment Monitor explores the leading locations, sectors and investors when it comes to attracting FDI in financial services. Financial services is a key sector within the foreign direct investment (FDI) industry, particularly when it comes to greenfield projects. Indeed, GlobalData’s FDI Projects Database tracked 1801 greenfield financial services projects, announced or opened, throughout 2019 and 2020. The vast majority of the projects were new (86.3%), followed by expans

The Golden Triangle SEZ in Laos is mired in scandal and criminality, but the silence from SEZ authorities on the matter is deafening. In February 2022, authorities raided the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Laos, freeing dozens of Chinese women from forced prostitution. For years, the Golden Triangle SEZ has been home to numerous illegal industries including human trafficking, wildlife smuggling and drugs production. Despite this, the zone has announced signifi

Region sells itself short as a ‘taker, rather than giver’ but should instead take confidence in being the world’s fifth largest – and growing – economy, expert says Conference also hears how the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership has created a ‘common market’ that chimes with Beijing’s dual circulation theory The 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) bloc, with over 650 million people and set to become the fourth largest global economy by 2030, sho

Asia now accounts for nearly 60% of the world’s online retail sales. Asian-Pacific e-commerce is expected to nearly double by 2025, reaching $2 trillion, according to Euromonitor International. From online retail to ride-sharing services to exporting online labour, this digital boom is reshaping almost every aspect of business and social life in this region. We are already seeing how digitalization is reshaping Asia. The digital transformation of South and Southeast Asia is o

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia approved a record 306.5 billion ringgit ($73.33 billion) in investments last year, an 83% jump from 2020 led by the manufacturing sector, the nation's investment promotion agency said on Tuesday. The manufacturing sector secured 195.1 billion ringgit worth of projects in 2021, 114% more than in the previous year, with the bulk of investment going to the electrical and electronics industry, the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA)