Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Luo Zhaohui called on the ASEAN countries to jointly work with China to send out signals of unity, cooperation and development in the coming foreign ministers' meetings on East Asia cooperation.

In a move that promises to rile China, Germany has officially joined the “Indo-Pacific” geopolitical club as outlined in a new 40-page policy guideline. The document makes Germany the second European nation, along with France, to adopt a formal strategy for the region.

Southeast Asia’s rapid growth has led to a rise in income which has enabled its citizens to enjoy leisure travel in the form of long-haul destinations and micro-trips. The region’s budget travel market, including low-cost flights, is also expected to grow exponentially. The rise of low-cost airlines and the growing affluent middle class in the region has changed the landscape of the tourism industry immensely.

A handful of companies from the technology and consumer durables sectors are aiming to launch IPOs in Southeast Asia later this year, pointing to an upturn after pandemic-hit markets and weak economic growth slashed fundraising.

Shrinking foreign direct investment poses “a fundamental threat” to the ASEAN economy, especially as India is on the rise as a rival to the South-east Asian bloc. This dire scenario was put forward by HSBC analysts, who noted that the previous trend of investment diversion from China to ASEAN has slowed in 2020 amid global uncertainties.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo recently stated that the United States considers Chinese maritime claims in the South China Sea illegal. This is a fundamentally new stance. While scholars and pundits are trying to make sense of what the statement means for the dispute, more interesting is how ASEAN will respond as it is inevitably caught in the eye of the South China Sea storm.

Based on a survey of more than 68,000 youths aged 16-35 years old from six countries in ASEAN, a report of the World Economic Forum analyses the impact of social distancing on ASEAN youth, uncovering how they have coped with the challenges during the pandemic and exploring the support they need as the region works towards an inclusive and sustainable recovery.

SooHai Lim is bullish on e-commerce in Southeast Asia, so much so that he sees the region coming up with its own version of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. The coronavirus pandemic has accelerated penetration rates of e-commerce in Southeast Asia and the region has become one of the key growth areas for such a business, according to the head of Asia ex-China equities at Barings

Southeast Asia has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic as much of the rest of the world. In response, countries across the ASEAN bloc have issued various stimulus packages containing incentives and new regulations to mitigate the economic impact of the pandemic. ASEAN Briefing magazine introduces the different incentives and measures issued by ASEAN’s largest economies from March to June 2020 to mitigate the economic impact of the virus

According to international analysts, the impact of the pandemic on global trade and foreign investment will be hard, and ASEAN countries will also see a decline in economic indicators and disruption of supply chains. The ASEAN Post analyses in depth the measures taken by South East Asian countries to support their economies, recalling the importance of regional cooperation and integration.

Japan’s government will start subsidizing some companies to invest in factories in Japan and South-East Asia as part of efforts to reduce reliance on manufacturing in China. According to the Japanese government's latest announcements, many companies ready to relocate to Thailand, Myanmar and Vietnam will receive subsidies.