Singapore has long been a preeminent destination for setting up a regional headquarters to pursue business opportunities across ASEAN and Asia.

A few days ago, ride-hailing firm Grab unveiled an ambitious plan to invest US$500 million in Việt Nam over the next five years, just a month after it announced an investment of $2 billion into Indonesia.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh has highlighted the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as a strong and cohesive community in an article written on the occasion of the bloc’s 52nd founding anniversary (August 8).

There have been improvements in the Southeast Asian region as a real estate destination, but Vietnam has emerged among these markets as a prime luxury destination. According to Bloomberg, Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh District 1 has emerged as a grand real estate destination, thanks to the innovative thinking of real estate developer Novaland Group.

In January I joined Federica Mogherini, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, in Brussels as she co-chaired the 22nd EU-ASEAN Ministerial Meeting. It was an impressive occasion, and the best attended such gathering anyone could remember, with almost all the 10 ASEAN and 28 EU member states represented by their foreign ministers. Brussels was preparing for its first big snowfall of the winter, but the reception we gave our ASEAN partners was a truly warm one.

Trade tensions between the U.S. and China are adding rocket fuel to the liftoff of Southeast Asia's economies. American tariffs on Chinese-made goods have sped the shift of contract manufacturing to ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries, such as Vietnam and Thailand. The increase in foreign direct investment into the 10-nation regional trading bloc has been underway for a number of years, however, the trade war continues to drive even more capital into the region. Nikkei just published an article this month titled: “Southeast Asia bucks trend of sinking global foreign investment”.

Thailand has begun the final stages of a review on imposing anti-dumping duties on steel products imported from Vietnam, China, and Taiwan (China).

Thailand-Cambodia committee reaches border security, economic deal

Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung highlighted the crucial role of energy cooperation with Laos during a reception in Hanoi on February 18 for Lao Minister of Energy and Mines Khammany Inthirath.

Member countries of ASEAN need to give priority to promoting ASEAN Economic Community 2025 (AEC 2025) and concluding Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) negotiations to deal with economic headwinds in 2019, according to a recent article on the website https://www.eurasiareview.com.