According to the Indian census of 2011, only 46.9% of the 246.6 million households in India had their own toilet facilities, while 3.2% had access to public toilets. In this context, the remaining 49.8% households had no option but to defecate in the open.
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A single industry can push frontier markets into the mainstream. For Myanmar this was pegged to be the garments industry. With wages rising in China, manufacturers and investors have been searching for the new factory of the world. Are the fundamentals in Myanmar strong enough to weather the coronavirus pandemic and to rise above its ASEAN neighbours? Sector overview Garment exports rose from $349m in 2010 to over $4.6bn in 2018. With over 530 factories across the country, and a factory compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18%, this exceptional…
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The coronavirus started in China before spreading to other countries. Southeast Asia’s travel and tourism sector felt the impact of the virus right away due to the decline in arrivals from China. The subsequent spread of the virus resulted in lockdowns and other social restriction policies which made the damage to the sector even worse. With tourism and travel activities coming to an almost complete halt, ASEAN governments are now slowly looking for a way out. Powerhouse Tourism and travel are undeniably important to the Southeast Asian region. The sector…
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E-doctor apps (also known as telemedicine) have benefited from structural problems in Indonesia’s healthcare sector and the country’s booming digital economy over the last decade. The coronavirus crisis turns out to be a further boost for the sector, possibly fueling the creation of a unique digitally native medical system. Start-up Culture Many telemedicine start-ups have emerged in Indonesia over the last years. Alodokter, Halodoc and GrabHealth are the most prominent and offer easily accessible digital consultations. Indonesians can even have medicines prescribed and delivered. It is not weird that telemedicine services…
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The International Air Transport Association estimated late March that aviation passenger demand in Asia-Pacific will be reduced by 37% in 2020
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Singapore has build an extensive digital infrastructure as part of its smart nation initiative. It now uses that experience and knowledge to quickly develop tech solutions able to combat the spread of COVID-19.
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Investments flowing out of China’s $1.1. trillion USD ‘Belt and Road Initiative’ (BRI) have reached emerging markets all over the world. Especially Southeast Asia has become an important destination for BRI-related investments. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has delayed many BRI projects while showing serious shortfalls. The severe crisis, however, is not likely to undermine the infrastructure scheme nor China’s ambitions in Southeast Asia. Chinese materials and workers The COVID-19 crisis is having a deep economic impact, not the least on China’s BRI-partners. China has so far signed partnerships with 137…
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WASHINGTON DC– Homegrown Ride-Hailing APPS, intelligent traffic systems, advanced construction techniques, automated energy-consumption management all propel the innovation wave washing over the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Indonesia’s vibrant digital ecosystem, for example, boasts more than 1,700 start-ups—among the world’s largest clusters of new firms. GO-JEK, to name one, evolved from a ride-hailing app to a platform for mobile payments and other digital services. In Singapore, Sea, the most valuable start-up in the region—worth several billion dollars—began as an online gaming company and branched out into mobile money and…
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The global market of consumer packaged goods is US$ 1.2 trillion and global brands are facing strong competition from local brands in emerging markets. And what’s the global companies’ strategy to remain in relevant in emerging markets? They act fast to acquire these established and already much profitable local brands. In India, for example, the government policy from the invasion of foreign brands made local brand Thumbs Up cola the country’s market leader. In the early 90’s, when the Indian government opened the market to multinationals, Coca-Cola was more than quick…
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After the economic slow-down, inflation and recession – and perhaps, some most pessimistic might say, the eminent down-fall of BRICS, all eyes turn to Africa as the new best thing regarding investments. Brazil and China have already been investing heavily in Africa, but how and where these two countries are investing in the African continent are strikingly different. China has been investing in infrastructural development such as, building highways in Tanzania, financing electricity projects in Sub-Saharan Africa and constructing whole towns in Angola. Most recently, Ethiopia made the headlines as the first African Sub-Saharan…
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