Category: Editor’s Note

The Indonesian government has been showing a strong commitment to accelerating private sector participation in infrastructure development and investment. The government’s National Medium-Term Development Plan 2015-2019 estimated...

COVID-19 will have a far-reaching impact on the economy and infrastructure creation, especially at the time of already prevailing macroeconomic headwinds. COVID-19 has completely disrupted supply chains, trade investment and...

While infrastructure has been an important priority area for the Southeast Asian economies, the pandemic outbreak will certainly blur this focus. Prioritising health and employment will be the key goal for most emerging...

Rapid urbanisation and industrialisation coupled with climate change have increased the pressure on water resources across the globe. Southeast Asian economies such as Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines and Indonesia are already...

Covid-19 containment measures have been hard on  Southeast Asian transport infrastructure and utilities. Many piled on leverage in expectation of strong secular growth. Now, firms are grappling with the double hit of stringent...

Uncertainty over trade policy and increasing protectionist measures in infrastructure development contributed to a decline in private sector infrastructure investment in 2019. Even though monetary policies have become more...

The spread of Covid-19, declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization in March 2020, brought with it an unprecedented disruption in economic activities worldwide, as countries resorted to lockdowns, implying...

COVID-19 will have a far-reaching impact on the economy and infrastructure creation, especially at the time of already prevailing macroeconomic headwinds. COVID-19 has completely disrupted supply chains, trade investment and...

It has been well accepted by Southeast Asian countries that infrastructure development is crucial to cater to the burgeoning population and rapid urbanisation. Funding continues to be sub-optimal and lags behind the demand for...

The merger and acquisition (M&A) market is an ever-evolving one. The Southeast Asian region continues to remain a hotbed for investments by corporates and investors. M&As, despite pacing down in 2018 due to global...

In the last five years, there has been a large disparity between the growth rates of infrastructure spending in the six largest economies of ASEAN, which has ranged from 4 per cent to 13 per cent. Currently, there exists a large...

Economic growth rates in Southeast Asia have remained robust with a few outliers. Bolstered by strong public investment spending, investment growth emerged as the leading driver of economic growth during 2018. The recovery in...

Investment in green infrastructure is the need of the hour for the emerging Southeast Asian economies. The infrastructure sectors in Southeast Asia hold immense opportunity to leapfrog over the low performing, resource...

After years of neglect, Indonesia is significantly improving its infrastructure to spur economic growth and attract foreign investment. The country’s competitiveness increased by two places to 45th in 2018 (out of 140 countries)...

Infrastructure spending in Southeast Asia is expected to grow in the range of 7-8 per cent for the next five to six years. The ADB estimated that ASEAN will require $2.8 trillion in infrastructure investments from 2016 to 2030....

One of the greatest challenges faced by Southeast Asia (SEA) is to provide effective, efficient, sustainable and economically viable infrastructure. Around the globe, technology has had a huge role to play in making...

The Southeast Asian countries are gradually tasting the flavor of public-private partnerships (PPP) in the infrastructure domain. The landscape of private participation has evolved over the years. While Singapore and the...

As ASEAN chair, Singapore faces a stern test to maintain focus on two critical themes of resilience and innovation. The country has proposed the development of an ASEAN Smart Cities Network that envisages the creation of a...

Infrastructure development has always been a high priority area for the Philippines. The archipelago has formulated a long-term vision to strategise the flow of public and private investments. Our focus story, “Ambitious Plans”,...

Energy consumption in the region has almost doubled in the last two decades. That said, the deployment of renewables attains a crucial role. The Southeast Asian countries are making serious attempts to evolve renewable energy...