Tag: economy
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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 Shockingly, the announcement was retracted a day later, followed…
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Where Startup Energy Meets Strategic Ambition: A snapshot of India’s future
*** In this installment, our Executive Director Ivy Kwek shares her insights on India’s exploding start-up community following her recent attendance at a startup meeting in Chennai. *** Last month, I attended the Global Startup Club event in Chennai, India. The workshop gathered 30 participants from the startup community, including entrepreneurs, business consultants, legal experts,…
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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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Consider This: Malaysia-China — Are We Xi-ing Eye to Eye?
Our Executive Director, Ivy Kwek, spoke to Astro Awani about the geopolitical and economic significance of China’s President Xi’s visit to Southeast Asia and Malaysia. In the aftermath of the US tariff announcement, the Malaysia-China relationship will be tested. At the same time, the current US policy might push Malaysia to seek even closer economic…
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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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