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.

Myanmar State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi announced that the government will develop a new special economic zone in Mon State to create jobs and encourage foreign investment. Myanmar is hoping to draw more foreign direct investment and Japan has been one of its main investors. According to the Myanmar government, Japanese investment in Myanmar between 2011 and now has exceeded $1.7 billion.

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

Some lawmakers who have grown disgruntled with Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy are adding to Myanmar's political landscape in a way that could give the dominant party something to think about ahead of elections scheduled to take place on Nov. 8.

On 1 July 2020, the European Union and six of its member governments announced a moratorium on debt repayments due from Myanmar. The agreement allows Myanmar to ‘focus efforts on economic recovery from COVID-19’ and is worth almost US$100 million — 20 per cent of Myanmar’s current debt payments schedule.