Economy & Trade

Mar. 27 – China and Brazil have signed an agreement on a swap line allowing them to trade approximately US$30 billion of goods per annum in their own currencies. This move will cut their current bilateral usage of the United States (U.S.) dollar as a trading currency in half. The agreement, which is expected to […]

China’s continuing evolution can perhaps best be explained in a re-calibration of the popular opinion at the turn of the century that the 2000s will belong to China, much like the 1800s were dominated by the British Empire and the 1900s saw America’s rise to prominence. No, the 21st Century will more aptly be headlined as “Asia’s Century,” and although China will very much be a part of that, other countries in the region will be too.

Mar. 25 – The BRICS nations of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa are expected to establish a development bank to pool funds to capitalize an infrastructure-focused lender at their communal meeting in Durban tomorrow. It is argued that the established players in this field – the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and the […]

Mar. 21 – Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi declared Egypt’s desire to join the BRICS bloc, making it E-BRICS, during his visit to Delhi this week. Morsi made his intentions known to the Indian Commerce Minister Anand Sharma after revealing that Egyptian-Indian bilateral trade is expected to double in the next three years. He also noted […]

Mar. 20 – Signs assuring customers that fruit, vegetables and other consumable products are not imported from China are beginning to pop up in wet markets across Asia, especially in Vietnam, due to an ensuing problem with heavily contaminated fruit originating from China. Several regional newspapers throughout Hanoi, Manila and Jakarta have carried stories of […]

A survey by Knight Frank, the Wealth Report 2013, has clearly demonstrated that the bulk of Asia’s high net-worth individuals (HNWI) are concentrated in China and India, and that the fastest growing rates for the accumulation of wealth will also be in these two countries.

By Nathanael Susanto, Business Manager, Singapore, Dezan Shira & Associates Mar. 13 – The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) framework is fundamentally designed to be identical to the free trade agreement model, and is also known as a “high standard” agreement aiming at emerging trade issues in the 21st Century. The 16th round of the TPP negotiations […]

Mar. 13 – As Internet use in Asia continues to develop thanks to Asia’s seemingly infinitely growing Internet penetration rates and a consistently growing number of web users, methods to go online have evolved from the usual desktop experience into something much more, literally, mobile. Because of Asia’s broadband infrastructure, accessing the Internet has proven […]

By Eunice Ku and Nathanael Susanto, Dezan Shira & Associates Mar. 12 – As a financial and services hub, Singapore is the de facto financial capital of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). For companies interested in doing business with ASEAN, the place to start is Singapore. Companies in Singapore enjoy a low corporate […]

By Sondre Solstad Mar. 8 – Over 600 delegates from 11 countries are currently meeting in Singapore with an aim to continue progress on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement. “This is the 16th round of negotiations, and a very important one,” stated Malaysia’s Minister of International Trade and Industry, Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed. The TPP […]