Economic Spotlight

Thailand continues to invest in building data centres as it seeks to become Southeast Asia’s main digital hub.

The last few years have shown the decline of German proficiency based on standardised student tests. If the country can address this problem within its education system, it may unlock massive economic growth over time.

With Brazil in the middle of a polarising political scenario, investors face a challenging environment in the markets that currently favour more defensive strategies.

They say that "a bird in hand is worth two in the bush", but Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi appears to believe the opposite: free the bird from its cage and trust that people will reward the gesture – and they did.  

The launch of Indonesia’s new sovereign wealth fund, Danantara, has sparked debate as it draws funding from state-owned enterprises. Subianto’s government is painting it as a high-risk, high-reward fund to attract global investors and drive domestic growth.

Germany’s manufacturing sector is in a decline, but this might not be the country’s biggest problem.

Recent changes to Malaysia’s Sales and Service Tax framework has affected the domestic property and construction sectors, resulting in some pessimism. Still, the government remains optimistic that both markets will thrive.

Thai businesses have been lagging behind in innovation compared to its ASEAN peers. In particular, small enterprises have been struggling financially to the point of some closing shop.

The UK’s fiscal deficit shows no sign of narrowing as government expenses continue to outpace tax revenues.

Solely focusing on climate change adaptation obscures the view about green tech’s ability to push the German economy forward.