Thailand
Princess Bajrakitiyabha of Thailand dies aged 47
Her death deprives Thailand’s royal family of one of its most accomplished and prominent members, and a figure who many believed could have played an important role in the kingdom’s unresolved succession.
The Singapore to Malaysia migration reshaping Southeast Asia
An industrial migration is quietly shifting the economic landscape of Southeast Asia, particularly that surrounding Singapore and Malaysia.
Asia’s EV race speeds up as China’s champions challenge Tesla
As of mid-2026, China remains the centre of gravity in the EV world.
Malaysia enforces under-16 social media ban
Moving to curb digital harms, the federal government, on June 1, officially began enforcing a blanket prohibition barring children under the age of 16 from creating or operating independent social media accounts.
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Gulf War III squeezes tourism-dependent economies across Southeast Asia
War-driven fuel costs and ceasefire uncertainty are squeezing tourism across Southeast Asia, with Thailand's Middle Eastern arrivals down 57% and airlines raising surcharges sharply.
Asia’s coal comeback complicates energy transition across region
Taiwan has struggled to secure LNG supplies through May and finalised contracts covering roughly half of June demand, but additional procurement costs are expected to reach into the billions of US dollars to complete.
The baby bust: how a global demographic crisis crept up on everyone
Just a decade ago, the dominant demographic narrative was of "dying Russia" — a population hollowed out by the chaos that followed the Soviet collapse, shrinking through a combination of low birth rates, high mortality and mass emigration.
Fuel prices cast a dark shadow over Asia travel season
There will be no real winners in traditional tourism this summer – only airlines, tourist destinations and central banks left counting the cost.
Malaysia shifts from Singapore overflow hub to regional AI data centre powerhouse
The Malaysian data centre landscape is in the middle of a transformation, in which the country tries to evolve from a secondary destination for Singapore’s overflow demand into a regional leader in high-value Artificial Intelligence infrastructure.
ASEAN’s power gamble will shape the region’s economic future
Electricity demand across the wider ASEAN region is rising rapidly. Manufacturing expansion, electric vehicle adoption and the construction of energy-intensive data centres are driving consumption higher and higher every day.
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Iraq drops out of Thai rice market due to Hormuz blockage
Thailand has not shipped any rice to Iraq in three months as the Middle East war halts deliveries to its largest market, with Bangkok losing more than 200,000 tonnes of regional exports and shipping costs up 20%
Asian trade jitters spark fresh Malacca Strait monetisation push
The collapse of maritime stability in the Middle East has cast a long, overdue shadow over the busiest maritime chokepoint in Asia: the Strait of Malacca.
Why global population collapse will keep the wars coming
Demographers warned for decades that ageing, declining states grow more dangerous, not less. The wars now spreading from Eastern Europe to the Gulf to East Asia look increasingly like the opening engagements of a long contest over who outlasts whom.
Asia-Pacific defence spending hits post-2009 high as China-Taiwan tensions drive regional build-up
Military expenditure the Asia-Pacific region increased sharply in the last year, reaching a total of $681bn - an increase of 8.1% year on year and the largest annual expansion in military spending since 2009
Asia food inflation risks rise on fertiliser shock
Fitch Ratings has warned that emerging markets in Asia could face rising cost pressures across agribusiness sectors and food supply chains if a prolonged US-Iran conflict continues to disrupt fertiliser supplies further into the planting season.
Trump’s Iran gambit leaves APAC region ‘Quad’ dead in the water
The European Union has already, for all intents and purposes broken away from the US. It is only a matter of time before the Quad either ceases to function or decides to go its own way, without the US.
China quietly tightens its regional grip across Southeast Asia
Beijing and Hanoi are stepping up co-operation centred on internal security, in the process offering a preview of how China may deepen ties across south-east Asia despite longstanding differences with several countries in the region.
Thailand holds steady oil buffer as Middle East tensions continue to unsettle markets
According to the Thai Energy Ministry’s latest assessment, diesel production in the country continues to exceed domestic demand with daily output reaching 83.37mn litres, compared with a nationwide demand of 68.69mn litres.
ADB projects slower growth in all of Asia
According to an outlook forecast report by the Asian Development Bank, the broad Asia region including its many developing high growth economies are facing what can be best described as the most complex set of headwinds in years.
Southeast Asia’s energy squeeze
The war in Iran has delivered a systemic shock to global energy markets, but few regions have felt the strain as acutely, or quite as quickly, as Southeast Asia.