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ASEAN Economy & Enterprise Digital Transformation Projects amidst COVID-19
At the end of 2019, there was growing optimism from many economists that 2020 would be a better year for the economy, a year of "stabilisation", after the trade war between President Donald Trump and Emperor Xi Jinping seemed to mellow down (thanks to Trump's 'Art of the Deal' or Xi's Go strategy?). Here we are in 2020, the reality could not be harsher - Q1 has yet to end and we have witnessed a number of major events that spark turmoil:
As if these are not bad enough, a number of countries in ASEAN such as Indonesia and Malaysia are also grappling with their problems locally. Jakarta has been facing numerous huge floods, the worst for more than a decade, that halted the economy and claimed more than 60 lives. The number of dengue cases in Indonesia has also risen steadily since January, killing 104 and infecting 17,000 people nationwide as of mid-March. The situation in Malaysia does not pale in comparison. Malaysia is facing a political crisis at the moment after Dr. Mahathir, the world's oldest Prime Minister, was ousted by his ally and political opponents. Pundits expect this political mess to exacerbate the economic malaise further in Malaysia.
To curb the COVID-19 outbreak, countries in ASEAN have implemented measures such as shutting down their borders, public places and enacting social distancing and quarantine procedures. Although measures have been put in place, COVID-19 will definitely leave an economic impact on the ASEAN economies, though many are still unsure how bad it will be. The financial markets in the region have slumped with a sharp drop by around 30% on average to date. Trading has been halted multiple times on the IDX and SET while the Phillippines has suspended the stock market for 2 days this week. The ASEAN currencies are also depreciating against USD with Indonesian Rupiah performing the worst, ~20% depreciation against USD and both Thai Baht and Malaysian Ringgit depreciated by ~10%. Many believe that the worst is yet to come. Take China as an example. A recent report published by South China Morning Post that compiled data for economic indicators in January and February showed that the economic impact is far more than analysts expected:
A mix of both monetary and fiscal policies, as well as coordination amongst the regional governments, is crucial to dampen the economic impact. Singapore was the first one to introduce a stimulus, $4 billion Stabilisation and Support Package in February and a second stimulus package of up to $14-16 billion is expected to be rolled out as well. Following Singapore, Indonesia unveiled an emergency fiscal stimulus plan worth more than $3 billion last week - Finance Minister Sri Mulyani has also promised that more measures are on the way.
Enterprise Digital Transformation in ASEAN
This situation has started to cause a paradigm shift in our daily lives, from how we conduct business to how we interact with family and friends. Many enterprises have turned to digital tools to assist with these changes and realised how digital transformation could assist them greatly even during downturns. Imagine if you have complete visibility on your company including workforce, assets, finance, and operations just from an integrated dashboard - this will empower you to make better and measured decisions especially for crafting a business continuity plan in this time of crisis and uncertainty.
While physical travel has been restricted, we continue to actively engage our local stakeholders in ASEAN and here are some of the updates on their digital transformation initiatives:
Indonesia
Thailand
Vietnam
Malaysia
Philippines
Navigating New Business Environment
It is apparent that initiatives by local enterprises in ASEAN, though slowing down, have not been completely halted. Our team here in Asia IoT Business Platform is relooking how we can still assist our partners and here are some ways we can help you with your business development in this new environment:
Bespoke New Business Development Activities
Digital Marketing
Drop me a note at felix@industry-platform.com if you are interested in the latest ASEAN enterprise digitalisation updates or if you are interested to collaborate with us for your new business development activities.
By Asia IoT Business Platform | March 20th, 2020
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