Southeast Asia
Manufacturing, trade, and digital economies are shifting here faster than almost anywhere else on the planet. Ten nations, one supply chain revolution, and a tourism boom rewriting where the world travels next.
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May- 2026 -22 MayCapital
Indonesia’s rupiah hits record low of 17,600, challenging central bank credibility
Bank Indonesia raised its benchmark 7-day reverse repo rate to 5.25% on May 21, 2026, as the rupiah hit a record low of IDR 17,600 per US dollar. The rate…
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22 MayCapital
Thailand launches $5.39 billion relief package for 43 million citizens as inflation bites
Thailand's Cabinet approved a THB 176 billion (USD 5.39 billion) relief package, 'Thai Help Thai Plus,' for 43 million people to counter rising living costs. With April 2026 inflation at…
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22 MayCapital
Oil shock fractures Southeast Asia, hitting Philippines and Thailand hardest
A Middle East-driven oil price surge, with Brent crude between USD 88 and USD 94 per barrel since late April 2026, is fracturing Southeast Asia. Commodity exporters like Indonesia and…
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22 MayCapital
Iran War Drives Asia Currencies to Extreme Bear Scenarios, Forcing Rate Hikes
The Iran war, now in its fourth month, has pushed crude oil prices up 40%, driving extreme bear scenarios for the currencies and bonds of India, Indonesia, and the Philippines.…
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21 MaySociety
Vietnam’s youth unemployment hits 9% peak, exposing structural skills gap
Vietnam's youth unemployment rate climbed to 9.03% in Q3 2025 — the highest recorded since data collection began in 2014 — while overall unemployment across the working-age population held at…
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21 MayEarth
Bali’s main landfill at capacity, forcing new plastic bans and threatening tourism
Bali generates an estimated 3,436 tonnes of waste per day — around 1.2 million tonnes annually — and approximately 40% of that waste is still burned or dumped illegally, according…
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21 MayScience
New giant sauropod Nagatitan challenges assumptions about mega-herbivore evolution in Asia
A new giant sauropod species, Nagatitan chaiyaphumensis, has been formally described in Scientific Reports on May 14, 2026, based on fossils first unearthed in 2016 near a public pond in…
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21 MayCapital
Thailand becomes key Russian gateway to Southeast Asia, raising sanctions circumvention risk
Russian businesses are systematically repositioning Thailand as a logistics and financial gateway into Southeast Asian markets, with Russia–ASEAN bilateral trade rising from C$19.8 billion in 2020 to C$25.4 billion in…
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21 MayUncategorized
Singapore overtakes Indonesia as Southeast Asia’s largest stock market amid capital flight
Singapore has overtaken Indonesia to become Southeast Asia's largest stock market, with Bloomberg data as of May 20, 2026 placing Singapore's total market capitalisation at USD 645 billion against Indonesia's…
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20 MayEarth
Middle East war drives aluminium prices up 19%, threatens Southeast Asia clean energy goals
The Iran war, starting Feb 28, 2026, has cut 1.6 million tonnes of aluminium production, pushing LME prices up 19% to US$3,597 per tonne. This threatens clean energy projects in…
