Markets, business, and economic intelligence for Southeast Asia
SOUTHEAST ASIA EDITIONGrowth, inflation, and the data shaping Southeast Asia's economies.
Singapore's advance estimate for third-quarter GDP shows 5.4% year-on-year growth, with manufacturing and exports lifted by sustained AI-related demand, as the central bank holds its policy stance steady and looks for inflation to ease only from the middle of 2027.
Tim ·
Washington and Europe want a stronger yuan to help rebalance trade with a currency some estimates peg as undervalued by as much as 30 percent. China keeps moving at its own pace instead, wary that a sharp appreciation would hit already thin factory margins and deepen unemployment in an economy still stuck fighting deflation.
Tim ·
A new Moody's Ratings analysis argues that Asia's path to lower carbon energy is being reshaped by security concerns as much as climate goals, with countries leaning back on coal and nuclear even as they keep investing in clean power. Rahul Ghosh, the firm's global head of sustainable finance and emerging markets, frames it as a pragmatic transition rather than a retreat.
Tim ·
Hanoi wants to turn Bac Ninh, the province where Samsung builds much of its phone empire, and Quang Ninh, home of Ha Long Bay, into centrally governed cities. It is a bureaucratic reshuffle with a clear commercial goal, keeping foreign investment and growth pouring into two of the country's most productive corners.
Tim ·
In his state of the nation address, President Prabowo Subianto reached for 6 percent growth in 2027, pledged a smaller budget deficit, and set a revenue target of 3,426 trillion rupiah. The three goals pull against each other, and how Jakarta reconciles them will shape the economy every South East Money reader operates in.
Tim ·
Japan's parliament has approved a plan to build a backup seat of government outside Tokyo, with Osaka the clear front-runner. The move is part disaster insurance and part economic rebalancing, and it carries lessons for every Asian economy that has let a single mega city swallow its growth.
Tim ·
