Tom Clouse

The country's first election since a military coup in 2014 will probably not lead to stability in the near future.

Defaults in China's corporate sector have spiked.

US-China trade war isn't the only dimension of conflict between the two nations.

Falling population fuels rising wages.

Tensions in the South China Sea result in new agreement.

External regulation and internal economics curb Beijing's appetite for investing around the globe.

After posting its lowest growth rate in 13 years in 2012, Vietnam’s economy is showing signs of revival. Industrial production expanded by 5.3% in the first eight months of this year, with exports and imports up by 14.7% and 14.9% ...

MILESTONES   By Thomas Clouse   Cambodia’s prime minster Hun Sen and his Cambodian Peoples’ Party will remain in power, following a closely contested and controversial election on July 28. According to preliminary results, the CPP won 68 of 123 ...

WAGE GAP CLOSES AS GOVERNMENT EMBARKS ON SOCIAL REFORMS   By Thomas Clouse China announced plans last month to reduce its wealth distribution gap through a series of measures—such as raising minimum wages, loosening lending and deposit rates and increasing ...

MILESTONES: BRUNEI   By Thomas Clouse   The small country of Brunei Darussalam must navigate challenging terrain in the coming months after taking over the chairmanship of Asean at the beginning of the year.   Brunei, whose approximately 400,000 citizens enjoy one ...

NEWSMAKERS: SOUTH KOREA   By Thomas Clouse   South Korea will swear in 60-year-old Park Geun-hye as the country’s first female prime minister this month, after she narrowly defeated her more liberal competitor, Moon Jae-in, in the general election in December.   ...

HOPES RISE THAT CHINA IS REGAINING MOMENTUM   By Thomas Clouse   China grew at its slowest rate in 13 years in 2012, but an acceleration in the fourth quarter has raised hopes that the economy is regaining momentum.   Photo ...

SEC PROBE CASTS SHADOW ON CHINESE FIRMS’ US LISTINGS   By Thomas Clouse   The US Securities and Exchange Commission filed charges against the Chinese branches of five international accounting firms in December for failing to provide information related to ...

MILESTONES: LAOS   By Thomas Clouse   The Lao People’s Democratic Republic will take the final step in its 15-year campaign to join the World Trade Organization (WTO) this month when the country’s legislature ratifies its membership agreement.   Laotian trade ...

CHINA MOVES FORWARD ON FOREIGN POLICY CHALLENGES WITH EU, US   By Thomas Clouse   Chinese president Hu Jintao opened the country’s 18th Communist Party Congress in November with pledges to crack down on corruption within the organization. At the meeting, ...

THE ASIAN CENTURY   By Thomas Clouse   Chandran Nair is the founder of independent think tank Global Institute for Tomorrow and co-founder and chairman of social investment firm Avantage Ventures.   Global Finance: What key trends defined the past 25 ...

TRADE SURPLUS GROWS SHARPLY   By Thomas Clouse   China’s trade surplus jumped to $11.4 billion in April, after the country posted its first quarterly deficit in seven years in the first three months of the year.   China moves ...

NEWSMAKERS: SINGAPORE   By Thomas Clouse   Singapore’s founding father Lee Kuan Yew resigned his cabinet post on May 14 after his party, the People’s Action Party (PAP), garnered just over 60% of the popular vote, its weakest showing since ...

MILESTONES : THAILAND   By Thomas Clouse   The people of Thailand will soon go to the polls following a royal decree last month dissolving the lower house of parliament and calling for elections on July 3.   Thai PM ...

Beijing Tightens Trade Ties With Brazil   By Thomas Clouse   China and Brazil have agreed to strengthen cooperation in trade and development.   Chinese imports rise China and Brazil agreed to strengthen cooperation in trade and development in April ...

MILESTONES: VIETNAM   By Thomas Clouse   Vietnam’s policymakers are struggling to rein in inflation after the consumer price index (CPI) rose by a two-year high of 13.9% year-on-year in March.   Spending roars ahead The country performed well throughout ...

CHINA BECOMES THE WORLD’S LEADING MANUFACTURER   By Thomas Clouse   Ending the more-than-100-year reign of the United States as the world’s top producer, China became the world’s largest manufacturer by output in 2010.   Jiabao talks down growth US-based ...

ASIA ACTS AMID ADVERSITY   By Thomas Clouse   The turmoil in the Middle East and North Africa and the devastating consequences of the early March earthquake in Japan are dragging heavily on Asia’s export-led, resource-intensive economic recovery.   When ...

NEWSMAKERS: BANGLADESH   By Thomas Clouse   After a glittering career, Muhammad Yunus, the man whom many credit with founding the modern microcredit industry, is facing a concerted campaign to oust him as head of Bangladesh's Grameen Bank.   Pushed ...

ROUNDUP   By Thomas Clouse   Power hungry: China’s energy use climbs China overtook the United States to become the world’s largest energy consumer, according to figures released in July by the International Energy Agency. China used energy equivalent to ...

VIETNAM   By Thomas Clouse   Clinton: Comments on marine conflicts upset China Vietnam and the United States participated in joint military exercises last month for the first time since the war between the two countries ended 35 years ago. The ...

NEWSMAKERS: JAPAN   By Thomas Clouse   Naoto Kan: Redefining government's strategy Japan elected its fifth prime minister in four years in June, with the lower house of parliament selecting finance minister Naoto Kan to take over leadership of the ...

ROUNDUP   By Thomas Clouse   China is making its currency exchange rate more flexible, the central bank announced on June 19, loosening the Chinese renminbi’s 23-month-long peg to the US dollar. The announcement came after China’s trade surplus rose ...

NEWSMAKERS: PHILIPPINES   Philippines Chooses Corruption Fighter For President   By Thomas Clouse   Aquino: Promises to investigate previous election results Benigno Aquino III will become the next president of the Philippines, after his pledges to fight corruption and reduce ...

Roundup   By Thomas Clouse   Expo frenzy: Shanghai expects 70 million visitors China's consumer prices rose by the greatest margin in 18 months in April, while property prices increased by the fastest rate since the country began publishing the ...

Malaysia   By Thomas Clouse   Najib Abdul Razak aims to boost Malaysia’s growth Malaysian prime minister Najib Abdul Razak has unveiled a new economic blueprint as part of his long-term strategy to transform Malaysia from a middle-income to a ...

Roundup   By Thomas Clouse   Capital idea: Investors can now buy futures China's economy grew by 11.9% in the first quarter of the year, its fastest rate in three years, as retail sales jumped 17.9% and fixed asset investment ...

THE NEXT GREAT LEAP FORWARD   Ample liquidity and a bold government stimulus package have catapulted China past stumbling rival economies.   By Thomas Clouse   China is showing few symptoms of an economic crisis. While many of the world’s ...