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Implications for Singapore Businesses as Land Border with Malaysia Reopens The reopening of the land border between Singapore and Malaysia is one of many signs that countries in ASEAN are transitioning to a new normal. Under the Vaccinated Travel Framework (VTF), the Johor-Singapore Causeway and the Taus Second Link bridge are open for vaccinated travelers […]

Singapore was the first country to ratify the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the free trade agreement that includes the 10 ASEAN members (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam) and Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand, and the Republic of Korea. After a decade of negotiations, the RCEP was signed in November […]

What are Singapore’s Green Towns? Singapore has implemented a variety of initiatives to drive sustainable development in the city-state. One such initiative, the Housing and Development Board (HDB) Green Towns Program, aims to ensure sustainable living is a key feature across Singapore’s public housing sector, by focusing on new technologies that help reduce energy consumption, […]

In March 2022, Thailand officially launched the Flexible Plus Program in a bid to attract high-net-worth foreign investors. The program is only open to Thailand Privilege Card members, and offers international investors the ability to convert their privilege entry visa into a non-immigrant (B) visa, which will then enable them to apply for a work […]

Malaysia’s border reopening will have immediate consequences for two major industries in the country, namely, tourism and palm oil production. Travel restrictions due to Covid-19 resulted in the severe decline of tourism businesses and loss of jobs while the Ukraine-Russia crisis and Indonesia’s ban on export of crude palm oil and cooking oil has led […]

While Indonesian exports will benefit from the reduction in tariffs between RCEP members, the country’s downstream industries are also well poised to receive greater investments. Supported by an abundance of natural resources, Indonesia is actively seeking to climb up the global value chain – transitioning from an exporter of raw commodities to a producer of […]

Ferdinand Marcos Jr is set to become President of the Philippines and Sara Duterte, the daughter of the current President, Rodrigo Duterte, is set to become Vice President. Foreign investors are expected to resort to a wait-and-see approach since the President-elect has not made his economic policies clear. The immediate challenges facing Marcos Jr include […]

An Introduction to Doing Business in Singapore 2022, the latest publication from Dezan Shira & Associates is out now and available for download through the Asia Briefing Publication Store. With its favorable taxation policies and strategic position within Southeast Asia, Singapore offers foreign investors competitive and unprecedented access to the Asian market. Businesses operating in Singapore enjoy […]