Florence Chong's blog

THE intrigues of Presidential politics in Jakarta are in full swing as high-profile contenders compete for media and voter attention. Most intriguing of all is a suggestion that SBY’s wife could emerge from the shadows . . .

PENSION funds and sovereign reserves are being targetted to help meet Asia’s infrastructure needs as glo-bal liquidity continues to tighten in the wake of the 2008 economic meltdown . . .

CENTRAL BANKERS are preparing to welcome the RMB as an emerging major global reserve currency – alongside the US dollar and the Euro. Fluctuations in the Yuan are already influencing central bank policies in Asia . . . 

DISENCHANTMENT with ASEAN could see Indonesia adopt a more vocal stance on the global stage . . . 

WITH rising purchasing power,  Chinese consumers are looking outside China for safer food - and distorting markets in the process. Milk formula for infants is just one example . . .

IF Arctic ice continues to melt, allowing global shippers to build an alternative shipping route across the top of the world, Singapore – which already faces the potential threat of a new deep-sea port in Burma – may find its historical role as a world maritime entrepot dwindling . . .

CAN a Brazilian ‘honest broker’ break the gridlock to bring new relevance to the World Trade Organisation? The global trade umpire seems currently adrift in a sea of regional and bilateral trade agreements . . .

AS the developed nations print money to crank up their economies, the growing economies of Southeast Asia are bearing the brunt of the fallout — in the form of appreciating currencies and tension between governments and their central banks. With the baht at a 16-year high, Thailand is a case in point . . .

DESPITE their best intentions, leaders of the 10 Southeast Asian countries making up ASEAN seem unlikely to be able to bring about that much-anticipated single trading market by 2015. Realpolitik – a mix of domestic pressures and immense diversity of economic development within the region – seems likely to win the day . . .

WHETHER the incumbent, Najib Razak, or his key Opposition number, Anwar Ibrahim, wins the crucial Malaysian general election on May 5, Malaysia could well see a fundamental change to its economic policy – an end to existing Bumiputra laws . . .