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Asean Insights Content

Attracting Global Talents: Bringing Digital Nomads and the Highly Skilled into ASEAN
Publication
18 December 2023

Attracting Global Talents: Bringing Digital Nomads and the Highly Skilled into ASEAN

This brief explores approaches taken by ASEAN countries to attract and retain global talent and digital nomads.
Blue SEA Finance Hub
Publication
4 December 2023

Blue SEA Finance Hub

This flyer explains how ADB's Blue SEA Finance Hub aims to build a $300-million pipeline of bankable projects by 2024 to help ASEAN improve the sustainability of the region’s oceans ecosystems.
Alternative Accommodations in Southeast Asia
Publication
23 November 2023

Alternative Accommodations in Southeast Asia

This brief examines the state of alternative accommodations in Southeast Asia and presents policy recommendations to strengthen their regulation and management.
The Lao PDR-Thailand-Malaysia-Singapore Power Integration Project imports up to 100 megawatts (MW) of renewable hydropower from Lao PDR to Singapore via Thailand and Malaysia using existing interconnections. Photo credit: ADB.
News
7 November 2023

Energy Ministers Push for Expansion of ASEAN Power Grid and Trans-ASEAN Gas Pipeline

The planned Brunei Darussalam–Indonesia–Malaysia–Philippines Power Integration may be the next multilateral power trading project.
Podcast
26 October 2023

Experts Talk Solutions: Sean Kidney

Sean Kidney, CEO and cofounder of Climate Bonds Initiative, talks about how Southeast Asian countries can mobilize private funds to meet net-zero goals.
ASEAN has set an aspirational target of achieving 23% renewable energy in its total primary energy supply by 2025, up from 14.2% in 2020. Photo credit: ADB.
Article
10 October 2023

Addressing Financial and Investment Barriers to Accelerating ASEAN’s Clean Energy Transition

To achieve 23% renewable energy in its total primary energy supply by 2025, the region needs to deploy and test innovative financing and investment schemes to aid the shift.
ASEAN is witnessing a significant surge in the adoption of digital payments, such as mobile wallets, virtual credit cards, and wire transfers. Photo credit: iStock/Kanawa_Studio.
Article
5 October 2023

Unlocking ASEAN’s Digital Economy Entails Embracing Trustworthy and Inclusive Payments Systems

This entails bridging the digital divide, improving the digital skills and literacy of citizens, and safeguarding payments systems from cybersecurity risks.
Renewable Energy Manufacturing: Opportunities for Southeast Asia
Publication
19 September 2023

Renewable Energy Manufacturing: Opportunities for Southeast Asia

This report explains how Southeast Asia can increase the manufacture of solar photovoltaic cells, batteries, and electric two-wheelers.
Businesses operating with sustainability at their core have immense potential to tackle poverty and drive sustainable development. Photo credit: iStock/Perawit Boonchu.
Article
13 September 2023

From Poverty to Prosperity: The Power of Green Entrepreneurship in ASEAN

Green enterprises help fight poverty by creating jobs and adopting sustainable practices.
Sustainable agriculture is a way of producing clean, healthy, and nutritious food, while preserving the environment, providing an equitable distribution of economic wealth, and ensuring the health and safety of not just the food produced but also the health and safety of farming communities. Photo credit: ADB.
Article
6 September 2023

To Make Agriculture Sustainable, ASEAN Wants Farming to Be Environment- and People-Friendly

This entails shifting to greener farming practices, adopting the circular economy model, and protecting the well-being of farming communities.
Rethinking Infrastructure Financing for Southeast Asia in the Post-Pandemic Era
Publication
30 June 2023

Rethinking Infrastructure Financing for Southeast Asia in the Post-Pandemic Era

This report analyzes how the pandemic has impacted investment in infrastructure in Southeast Asia and assesses how infrastructure development can help drive economic recovery and support sustainable growth.
Southeast Asia's current capacity for solar PVs accounts for 9%–10% of global cell and module production, with bulk of the supply coming from Malaysia, Thailand, and Viet Nam. Photo credit: ADB.
News
22 June 2023

Southeast Asia Urged to Seize $200 Billion in Opportunities in Solar PVs, Electric Two-Wheelers, and Batteries

To unlock these opportunities, however, the region needs joint action from multiple stakeholders to provide regulations, standards, manufacturing sector reforms, and other initiatives.
Adopting smart tourism is in line with ASEAN's commitment to boost digital skills among tourism destination managers and use digital technologies to foster more competitive, inclusive, and sustainable tourism. Photo credit: ADB.
News
14 June 2023

Embracing the Future of Tourism with Digital Technologies

Tourism officials from Southeast Asia learn about smart tourism technologies in the Republic of Korea.
Understanding the ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement: A Means to Support ASEAN Integration
Publication
16 May 2023

Understanding the ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement: A Means to Support ASEAN Integration

This policy brief examines the importance of further integrating ASEAN's digital economy and provides policy recommendations on the provisions that should be included in the DEFA.
Narrowing the infrastructure financing gap will be critical for economies to meet their economic and social goals.
News
3 May 2023

Innovative Financing Key to Private Sector Participation in ASEAN+3 Infrastructure Development—ADB Report

ASEAN economies need to invest $2.8 trillion in infrastructure through 2030 to sustain economic growth, reduce poverty, and respond to climate change.