News in Brief

China Sends Clear-cut Signalsto Bolster Economic Growth

The State Council meeting held on March 16 urged concrete actions to bolster the economy in the first quarter， notingthat monetary policy should take the initiative to cope withthe situation， and new loans should maintain an appropriategrowth.

In terms of fostering the real economy， the centralbank stressed supporting micro， small- and medium-sizedenterprises. To allay market worries in Chinese shares listedoverseas， the China Securities Regulatory Commission saidthe country will promptly promote the implementation of new regulations on the supervision of overseas listing of enterprisesand support all kinds of qualified enterprises to list overseas.

Given that the economy faces rising pressure from imported inflation caused by price hikes in global commodities， a newwave of COVID infections in China， and growing externaluncertainties from regional conflicts， analysts say the policystatement came at the right time to lift market expectations.

“The meeting sent a signal that the central governmentattaches great importance to steady and healthy economicdevelopment， indicating that steady growth remains thecurrent policy priority，”said Zhou Maohua， an analyst with the China Everbright Bank.

China-funded Road ConncctingCambodlia's Capital to Coastal Province Inaugurated

Cambodia inaugurated the China-funded expanded National Road No. 3 which links the capital Phnom Penh and the southwestern coastal province of Kampot on March 2.The 134.8-km expanded road starting from Chom Chao roundabout in Phnom Penhswestern suburb runs through Kandal， Kampong Speu and Takeo provinces.Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia WangWentian both addressed the inauguration ceremony.

The road was built by the China Road and Bridge Corporation （CRBC） at a cost ofabout US$215 million， and the project， which began in October 2018， was funded by the Chinese government.

Asia-Pacific Lags Behind in Reaching Sustainable Development Goals

Progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals （SDGs） in the Asia-Pacific region is far behind schedule owing to the challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic， natural disasters and human-made crises， said a UN report released on March 17.

According to the report， the region is expected to achieve the SDGs by 2065， 35 years behind its original plan.

In Southeast Asia， a certain degree of advancement has been made towards eradication of poverty （Goal 1）， industry， innovation and infrastructure （Goal 9）， and life on land （Goal 15）. However， it is regressing on five goals， including climate action （Goal 13） and responsibleconsumption and production （Goal 12）， both adversely impacted by increased greenhouse gas emissions.ED569D58-792C-4B54-92E8-DB92F0BA4B66

Philippines Approves Emcrgency Use of Sinovac COVID-19 Vaccine for Children

The Philippines Food and Drug Administration （FDA） has granted the emergency useauthorization for Chinas Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine for children， Health Secretary Francisco Duque said on March 14.

Duque said the government would soon administer the Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine， or the inactivated CoronaVac vaccine， to children aged six and above.

CoronaVac is the second COVID-19 vaccine allowed to be administered to children in thePhilippines. The FDA earlier granted emergency use of Pfizer vaccine for children.The Sinovac vaccine is also the first vaccine delivered in Manila as China donated the first batch on February 28 last year， allowing the country to kick off its vaccination drive the very next day.

Thailand Unveils Schedule forAPEC2o22 Mectings

Thailand， the host of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation （APEC） 2022， announced onMarch 3 that the annual APEC Economic LeadersMeeting will be held on November 18-19 in Bangkok. The theme for APEC 2022 is“Open， Connect， Balance.”

“We must embrace inclusiveness and sustainability in our growth strategy， balancing between health， economy and the environment，”said Thani Thongphakdi， permanent secretary forforeign affairs of Thailand and APEC 2022 Senior OfficialsMeeting （SOM） chair.The announcement was made after the conclusion of the first APEC SOM in February， whereparticipants from member economies reiterated their commitment to reinvigorating regionaleconomic integration， reconnecting the region and reassuring sustainability for future growth.

“Over the past three decades， China and ASEAN have embraced the trend of the times， enjoyedgeographic proximity and shared cultural affinity， found a broad path of good-neighborliness and win-win cooperation， and established a model of most vibrant and promising regional cooperation. The China-ASEAN relations have no limits and are sure to grow even closer.”

—Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on March 7 when he met the press on the sidelines of the fifth session of the 13^thNational Peoples Congress

“My greatest fear is that the conflict continues – then we will have a situation of significant levels of foodprice rises， in poor countries that were already in an extremely weak financial situation owing to COVID-19.”

—The chief economist of the Food and Agriculture Organization （FAO）， Maximo Torero， warned of the possible heavy toll of theUkraine conflict on world food security on March 16ED569D58-792C-4B54-92E8-DB92F0BA4B66

“We still live in a male-dominated world with a male-dominated culture and male-dominated powerstructures…. All of the challenges facing our world today—from an unequal recovery from COVID-19， to climate change， to intergenerational inequality， poverty and violence， to the tragic lack of peace in our world—are largely the result of a deeply rooted patriarchy.”

—UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in his opening remarks to the Group of Friends on Gender Parity on March 15

22%

Chinas economic hubShanghai saw its foreign tradeexpand 22 percent to a totalof 674.5 billion yuan （US$106billion） in the first two monthsof 2022， according to datafrom customs authorities. TheEuropean Union， ASEAN andthe United States were amongthe largest trading partnersof Shanghai from January toFebruary. Notably， the cityregistered surging exports ofautomobiles and mobile phones in the first two months of thisyear， increasing by 242 percent and 289 percent year-on-year，respectively.

120，000

In 2021， roads with a total length of over 120，000 km opened to traffic insouthwest Chinas Tibet Autonomous Region， local authorities said onMarch 17. In Tibet， five townshipsand 67 administrative villages gainedaccess to hard roads in 2021. Thismade hard roads reach to 94.55percent of the regions total townships and 77.94 percent of the totaladministrative villages by the end ofthe year. Tibet completed investment worth 20.1 billion yuan （US$3.2 billion）in fixed assets for road transport. The regional transport department aimsto complete investment in transportworth over 21.6 billion yuan （US$3.4billion） in 2022.

5.5%

In the government workreport delivered at the opening of the fifth session of the 13thNational Peoples Congress onMarch 5， Chinese Premier LiKeqiang said China will focuson stabilizing its economicfundamentals this year， settingits GDP growth target at around 5.5 percent. China will strive tocreate at least 11 million jobs inthe urban areas and maintainsurveyed urban unemployment rate at below 5.5 percent. Thegovernment has set the deficit- to-GDP ratio for 2022 at around2.8 percent in a move to boost fiscal sustainability.

VNA March 17， 2022

Vietnam Assumes Chair of ASEAN Education Channel

The Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training took over the chairmanship of ASEAN Education for 2022 –2023 from the Philippines at a ceremony on March 16.In his speech， Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Kim Son noted that the health crisis has negativelyaffected the education sector but ASEAN member states have strived to overcome unprecedented“shocks”tominimize negative impacts of the pandemic.ED569D58-792C-4B54-92E8-DB92F0BA4B66

He called on ASEAN member nations to join hands inresuming education activities and better the ASEANeducation systems resilience in the new context. This isa transition period that requires learners， schools， andparents to be ready to adapt to any form of learning，including both face-to-face and virtual learning， Sonstressed， adding that an urgent priority now is to develop a more resilient education system that can withstand and recover from future crises.

The Scoop March 2， 2022

Brunei to Ramp up Hydrocarbon

Output after New Oil Discovery

Brunei plans to ramp up production in the upstream and downstream oil and gas sectors after discovering 42million barrels of oil equivalent at an undisclosed location last year.

Energy Minister YB Dato Hj Mat Suny Hj Md Hussein saidthat drilling will begin on several exploration wells thisyear. Speaking at the Legislative Council on March 2， hesaid the government is targeting an output of 300，000barrels of oil equivalent per day in the upstream sector.The energy ministry tabled a US$240.8 million budget for the 2022/23 fiscal year， a 20 percent increase from theprevious year.

He added that the government will prioritize thedevelopment of downstream projects in the near future， aiming to position Brunei as a leading downstream hubfor markets in Asia-Pacific.

BangkokPost March 12， 2022

Thailand Tops 5G Smartphone Market

Thailand recorded the largest 5G-enabled smartphoneshipments in ASEAN last year， buoyed by broader availabilityof 5G handsets， pent-up demand and Covid-19 governmentsubsidies， says IT market research company IDC.“5G-enabled smartphones contributed more than one-third of the total market in Thailand in the last quarter and full year of

2021 thanks to Apples iPhones and affordable Android phones such as the Samsung Galaxy A52s， Vivo Y76 and Redmi Note10，”saidTeeritPaowan， client devices market analyst at IDCThailand.

According to IDC， Thailands handset shipments reached 20.9 million units in 2021， up 20.9 percent from a year earlier， thebiggest growth among ASEAN countries.

In the fourth quarter last year， Samsung remained in the topposition for Thailand in terms of shipments， followed by Xiaomi， which climbed two spots， supported by the expansion of itsoffline channel.

TheStar March 16， 2022

Most SMEs Want to Expand Overseas

A majority of Malaysian small and medium enterprises（SMEs） are seeking opportunities in international tradewithin South-East Asia and East Asian markets， according to a joint survey by FedEx Express and the SME Association.More than half （58 percent） of the respondents indicatedthat they are looking at expanding their business presence，while the remaining respondents （42 percent） remainedcautious. SME Association president said Malaysian SMEsare shifting their focus to markets within the Asia-Pacificregion， with intra-Asia trade burgeoning because of risingeCommerce transactions.

Conducted at the end of 2021， the survey， titled Levelling Up the Logistics Strategy for SMEs in Malaysia， saw participation from 383 local SMEs， with the majority recording up toRM10 million in turnover in 2021. Over 70 percent of thecompanies registered an average of 200 shipments permonth last year through eCommerce activities.ED569D58-792C-4B54-92E8-DB92F0BA4B66