On Tuesday, 18 February 2020, the Singapore government unveiled Budget 2020. The S$106 billion Budget included widely anticipated measures to bolster Singapore's economy against the fallout of the COVID-19 outbreak and address long term structural shifts. Yet, the Budget also included surprises, particularly the Electric Vehicle...
The onset of COVID-19 took the region by surprise, and countries have scrambled to formulate policies such as travel restrictions to combat the outbreak. Yet, regional economies are already feeling the strain. Tourism numbers have dropped significantly, and growth forecasts with them. The extent of...
COVID-19 Outbreak Governments Calibrating Stimulus Packages to Boost Economies (12 Feb – Ongoing) Singapore Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat outlined measures to address the economic impact of COVID-19 in the 2020 Budget. Singapore is expected to be significantly affected by the outbreak,...
Since late January, ASEAN governments have been moving to address the spread of COVID-19. Travel restrictions against Chinese citizens or people who have recently visited China have been implemented by more than half of ASEAN’s members, regardless of whether they have confirmed cases of the...
Resources Sustainability Mobile App simplifies peatland restoration monitoring efforts in Indonesia An inexpensive, community-based monitoring system is enhancing land management strategies in the Indonesian province of Riau as the government rolls out techniques aimed at strengthening the ability of local people to reduce their vulnerability to fire....
Resources Sustainability U.S. biofuels not to blame for Indonesia and Malaysia deforestation (24 Jan) Since 1990, the United States has ramped up its production of biofuels—to about 16 billion gallons of ethanol and 1.6 billion gallons of biodiesel in 2017. At the same time, production of palm...
Resource Sustainability Palm oil processors top plantations in destroying proboscis monkey habitat (8 Jan) The oil palm processing industry has overtaken palm plantations as the biggest cause of the loss of habitat for the endangered proboscis monkey in Indonesia’s Balikpapan Bay. A new study pinpoints the shift...
Resource Sustainability Indonesia fires emitted double the carbon of Amazon fires (25 Nov) Fires from land and forest fires across Indonesia this year have pumped at least 708 million tons of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere — almost double the emissions from the fires that swept through...
The Novel Coronavirus Outbreak More Governments Restrict Travellers from China As the Novel Coronavirus outbreak develops, more governments are instituting temporary travel restrictions to and from mainland China. Australia and Italy joined the United States in denying entry to non-citizens who had travelled to China. Within ASEAN...
Media Release FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Singapore, Monday, 3 January 2020 – The Singapore Institute of International Affairs (SIIA), Singapore’s oldest think tank, was ranked the top think tank in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Asia across several categories in the 2019 Global Go To...