Europe is accelerating efforts to expand its global trade network amid evolving geopolitical and economic challenges, including shifting U.S. tariff policies and China’s industrial overcapacity. As German auto exports to China slow, the EU is taking bold steps to diversify its markets and strengthen multilateral trade cooperation.

Indonesia’s export boom following China’s WTO accession significantly improved labor market outcomes, particularly in regions with strong manufacturing activity. The study finds that between 2000 and 2014, districts more exposed to manufacturing export expansion experienced higher formal employment growth and greater income gains among lower- and middle-income groups, while commodity-driven exports yielded limited benefits.

Thailand is at a pivotal stage in its decarbonization journey, moving steadily toward its goals of carbon neutrality by 2050 and net-zero emissions by 2065. Businesses have made meaningful progress by adopting sustainable energy solutions such as solar power, energy-efficient systems, and waste reduction initiatives, laying a solid foundation for broader transformation.

Thailand and Singapore enjoy one of Southeast Asia’s most stable and forward-looking partnerships, rooted in the absence of historical grievances and strengthened by decades of cooperation.

Indonesia’s Batam, Bintan and Karimun (BBK) islands present a strategic yet underutilized gateway for boosting Australian investment into Southeast Asia’s largest economy. While Australia’s outbound investment into Indonesia remains low despite recent growth, leveraging Singapore’s infrastructure, connectivity, and business familiarity offers a promising path forward.

Indonesia’s political economy has shifted from the promises of neoliberal globalisation toward a deeply entrenched oligarchic order, where dynastic politics and elite networks dominate governance and resource allocation.

Anutin Charnvirakul, newly endorsed as Thailand’s prime minister, faces an unusually fragile mandate shaped by a Memorandum of Agreement with the People’s Party (PP), which conditions his leadership on five key pledges: dissolving the House within four months, initiating constitutional reform via referendum and an elected drafting assembly, accelerating charter amendments, refraining from forming a majority government, and accepting PP’s role as the opposition.

Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa steps into the role of Indonesia’s new finance minister at a challenging time, tasked with navigating a 2026 budget already constrained by President Prabowo Subianto’s flagship programs while needing to boost tax revenues by 13.5% without rate hikes and cut the fiscal deficit to 2.48% of GDP.

The February 2025 Provincial Administrative Organisation (PAO) elections in Thailand’s Lower North underscored the enduring influence of powerful political families known as Baan Yai, who continue to dominate local politics through entrenched patronage networks and personal credibility.