Category: Op-Ed
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Thailand simmering – What’s cooking in the Land of Smiles?
Thailand is a popular destination, known for its delicious food, rich culture and beautiful nature. But its socio-political situation and foreign policy position are not well understood. Beneath the surface, tensions are simmering in the Land of Smiles. In November & December last year, our team had the opportunity to work from Bangkok. While in…
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2025: A Year in Review
2025 is coming to an end, and what a year it has been! The inauguration of Trump as the president of the United States for the second time in January has led to a series of drastic policies threatening to upend world affairs as we know it. In April, Trump announced sweeping tariffs that had…
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Data Centers in Southeast Asia: Go green, or go home
If data is the new oil, then data centers are the new oil rigs. Driven by the AI boom, the demand for data centers has surged exponentially. The trend is set to be on a clear upward trajectory – an April 2025 McKinsey report stated that the data centers industry will require US$7 trillion of…
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Malaysia’s AI Schrödinger’s Cat is out of the box
Three weeks ago, Malaysia’s Deputy Minister for Communications launched the country’s own sovereign, full-stack Artificial Intelligence ecosystem. The initiative, named “Strategic AI Infrastructure”, is powered by Huawei’s Ascend chips. Malaysia’s bold initiative is slated to be the first in the region and first-of-its-kind outside of China. Shockingly, the announcement was retracted a day later, followed…
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South China Sea – Geopolitical circus serves no ones’ interest
The South China Sea has once again caught headlines, with China and Philippines’ recent planting of national flags on a small and seemingly insignificant spit of land. Sandy Cay is a tiny sandbank in the disputed Spratly islands being claimed by both countries. Under UNCLOS, it is defined as a “rock” located in an expansive…
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No Ass-Kissing, Please – US Tariffs in Asia
Asian countries respond to US tariffs with pragmatism, but also resolve. As expected, Asia is bearing the brunt of the sweeping US reciprocal tariffs. The Asian markets experienced a substantial net outflow of foreign investments for three consecutive weeks, amounting to USD$3.84 billion for the week ended April 18, 2025. Unsurprisingly, some countries in the…
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Brace for impact – What should Southeast Asia businesses do to future-proof itself against U.S. tariffs?
The U.S. so-called “Liberation Day” tariff announcement has sent shockwaves to the world. Southeast Asian (SEA) countries have not escaped the fate – among hardest hit was Vietnam, slapped with a 46% tariff. Thailand and Malaysia were imposed with 36% and 24% tariffs respectively. Even though President Trump subsequently announced a 90 day pause for…
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