Resources

ASEAN has released its latest double issue, ASEAN Tourism: A Destination for Every Dream, marking a defining moment in the region’s socio-cultural and tourism landscape as Malaysia concludes its ASEAN Chairmanship in 2025. The publication highlights ASEAN’s mission to build a sustainable, inclusive, and culturally rich tourism ecosystem, one that reflects the region’s diversity, strengthens economic recovery, and supports long-term integration under ASEAN 2045: Our Shared Fut

In ASEAN’s fast-growing and diverse markets, contracts are more than legal formalities, they are the foundation of trust between businesses and consumers. Yet, when agreements include unfair terms, such as hidden clauses, overly punitive penalties, automatic renewals, or one-sided termination rights, they can quietly erode consumer confidence, damage reputations, and undermine the broader business ecosystem. These unfair terms are often buried in long, jargon-filled contracts

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the discipline of creating intelligent machines capable of analytical reasoning, enabling organisations to operate effectively and with foresight. AI has transformed business operations into more efficient, competitive, and productive ones. For example, GrabMaps uses AI to cleanse and process the street view aggregated from data from merchants, drivers, and delivery partners to create a digital map to help drivers reach their destination quickl

The tourism sector is a significant contributor to the ASEAN Economy. Before the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The travel and tourism industry generated approximately 12,1% of ASEAN’s combined GDP and provided jobs to 42 million ASEAN people. Nonetheless, international tourist arrivals plummeted by more than 80%, and tourism revenue dropped by 75% during the pandemic. After the World Health Organization (WHO) announced the end of the pandemic in May 2023, the number of internati

Climate action is urgent since the ASEAN region is acutely vulnerable to the various impacts of climate change. Its long coastlines, heavily populated low-lying areas, and high dependence on agriculture expose it to the threat of rising sea levels, severe floods, and prolonged dry seasons. Germanwatch’s Global Climate Risk Index noted that five of the world’s 20 most at-risk countries are from ASEAN. Climate action is also crucial to maintaining ASEAN’s economic growth. Clima

The private sector is one of the key stakeholders of the ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA). DEFA is the first regionwide agreement that aims to create a more predictable, inclusive, and competitive digital economy in the region. The study on ASEAN DEFA, commissioned by the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) Pillar, identified nine core elements to be included in the agreement. These include: (1) Digital Trade, (2) Cross- border E-Commerce, (3) Payment and E-Invoici

ASEAN waters wield a colossal amount of natural resources and provide livelihood for an estimated of 625 million people in ASEAN. With more than 66 percent of Southeast Asia’s total area covered by ocean and sea, the region is the centre of marine biodiversity globally and home to 15 percent of the world’s fisheries. Additionally, ASEAN waters are estimated to generate between USD 3 and 6 trillion and about 260 million jobs per year. ASEAN is also home to 33 percent of seagra

The recently launched e-Conomy SEA 2023 by Google, Temasek, and Bain & Company highlighted the opportunities of ASEAN’s digital economy. It reported that the digital economy in six ASEAN Member States (AMS), namely Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam, is set to deliver USD 100 billion in revenue with growth of 27% CAGR since 2021 and Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) is expected to grow by 11% to USD 218 Billion in 2023. To further strengthen digita

ASEAN continues to be a competitive economic region with a conducive business environment offering enormous opportunities for growth and development. After having experienced growth rate of 5.7% in 2022, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) estimates that the ASEAN economy will grow by 4.6% in 2023 and 4.8% in 2024. The latest ADB Asian Development Outlook released in September 2023 highlights robust domestic demand and consistent recovery in the services sector, especially touri

The ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) 2025 Blueprint envisions to create a deeply integrated and highly cohesive ASEAN economy, among others, to facilitate the seamless movement of goods within ASEAN in order to enhance ASEAN’s trade and production network. To further boost this effort, ASEAN is upgrading the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA) to include provisions to facilitate trade including the elimination and prevention of the use of non-tariff barriers, address impleme

A Food Contact Material is defined as any substance or material that comes into contact with food as part of packaging, holding, or processing, but is not intended to be added directly to, become component, or have a technical effect in or on the food. Food contact materials are one of priority issues discussed by the Prepared Foodstuffs Product Working Group (PFPWG) established by ASEAN Consultative Committee on Standards and Quality (ACCSQ) to enhance food safety across the

The role and contribution of MSMEs are crucial to support ASEAN’s transition to a more sustainable economy. MSMEs are the backbone of the ASEAN Economy, making up 85% of employment and contributing 44.5% to GDP in the region. MSMEs can support ASEAN Member States (AMS) in their sustainability efforts by reducing carbon emissions of their business activities and developing new products or services that contribute to climate mitigation and adaptation. At the same time, involvin

The ASEAN region has undergone significant economic and social transformation over the past few decades, with a growing middle class, improved infrastructure, and increased connectivity. ASEAN has become a region with conducive environment for business and investment, with a range of sectors including manufacturing, services, tourism, and agriculture offering exciting opportunities for growth and development. In 2021 and 2022, ASEAN experienced growth rates of 3.4% and 5.7%,

Green Taxonomy is an economic activity classification that supports environmental protection and management efforts, as well as mitigation and adaptation to climate change. Green Taxonomy plays an important role in driving investments to accelerate the transition towards the green economy. Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Viet Nam have started the journey in developing their national taxonomy to enable a just transition towards sustainable econom

ASEAN remains to be a compelling destination for digital start-ups and investors.

ASEAN is consistently striving to achieve its “Global ASEAN” objective by continuing to proactively embark on initiatives that would deepen and broaden its economic community building. This effort is being realised, among others, through pursuing stronger trade linkages with ASEAN external partners, such as by upgrading free trade agreements to remain relevant and exploring new trade agreements. One such example is the ASEAN – Hong Kong, China (HKC) Free Trade Agreement (AHKF

Agriculture is one of the key industries in ASEAN, with 8 out of 10 ASEAN Member States (AMS) dependent on the agricultural industry. ASEAN is a major producer and exporter of palm oil, crude rubber, rice, sugar, seafood, and fruits. In 2021, the region produced 150,43 million tons of rice, 42,08 million tons of maise, 14,29 million tons of sugar, and 0,74 million tons of soybean. However, the agriculture sector has been perceived as one of the drivers of land degradation and

ASEAN is continuously gearing toward further economic development while remaining committed to the Paris Agreement. All ASEAN Member States (AMS) have a strong commitment to reduce carbon and GHG emissions and accelerate the energy transition by setting more aggressive targets. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) estimated that USD 200 billions of green investment is needed in ASEAN per year until 2030 to finance green initiatives in the region. However, investments rem

Cross-border retail payment is a payment involving payors and payees located in different jurisdictions which could have specialised processes and different currencies. A seamless cross-border digital payments connectivity can lower cost of services, boost financial inclusion, and encourage the use of local currencies in the settlement of cross-border transaction; hence, it is becoming increasingly relevant in ASEAN to facilitate trade and to unlock the potential of crossbord

The rapid economic development in ASEAN has contributed to high energy consumption and waste generation. The 7th ASEAN Energy Outlook recorded that ASEAN's total final energy consumption (TFEC) had grown by 1,6 times in 2019 from 2005 levels. Meanwhile, United Nations Environment Programme reported that the waste volume in ASEAN countries reached about 150 million tonnes in 2016 and is estimated to be more than double this number by 2030. Along with the pressing planetary cri