Indonesia and the Republic of Korea on April 6 agreed to hold a signing ceremony of their bilateral free trade deal in the near future to quickly implement it in a way that helps minimise the economic fallout from the new coronavirus pandemic.
The Jakarta Manpower, Transmigration and Energy Agency said on April 6 that a total of 162,416 workers in Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, have been laid off and forced to take unpaid leave due to COVID-19 pandemic.
The Malaysian government on April 6 unveiled an additional stimulus package worth 10 billion ringgit (2.3 billion USD) to support small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) affected by the COVID-19 outbreak.
Singapore on April 6 announced a new stimulus package worth 5.1 billion SGD (3.55 billion USD) including wage support, waiver of levies and one-off payments to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
Malaysia on April 5 confirmed 179 new patients of the acute respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19), bringing the total number in the country to 3,662.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has predicted that the Thai economy will shrink by 4.8 percent this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, heading for its deepest contraction since the Asian financial crisis in 1998.
Millions of labourers in Southeast Asia could lose their jobs as economies grind to a halt due to impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a report by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).
Thailand is now able to produce new COVID-19 test kits itself with RT-PCR, a standard laboratory technique recognised by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Since the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic earlier this year, many pharmacies in Cambodia have run out of medical equipment and supplies, local newspaper reported.
Indonesia on April 4 confirmed 106 new patients of the acute respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19), bringing the total number in the Southeast Asian country to 2,092.
Ten ambassadors of ASEAN members states to Australia on April 1 sent a letter expressing wish that Australia would offer appropriate physical and material support to international students, amid the complicated developments of COVID-19 pandemic.
Singapore’s Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) declined 3.3 points to 45.4 in March, the lowest level since 2009, said the Singapore Institute of Purchasing and Materials Management (SIPMM).
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