Commute from airport to central Phnom Penh could be 33% quicker

Southeast Asia’s ride-hailing company Grab has partnered with the National University of Singapore to establish a new $6m laboratory that has the potential to cut urban travel times in the region by up to a third
By Robin Spiess • Jul 25, 2018

Fintech

How blockchain technology could revolutionise microfinance in Cambodia

A new Cambodia-based startup thinks it might have found a way to change how microfinance lenders operate and cut down lending fees by more than half – by jumping on the blockchain bandwagon
By Robin Spiess • Jul 25, 2018

Whatever happened to

The Philippines’ reproductive health law?

Despite President Duterte’s signing of an executive order on reproductive health law in 2017, a new wealth of challenges has presented itself to officials and the six million Filipina women whose reproductive needs are still unmet
By Cristyn Lloyd • Jul 24, 2018

New York to London in 3 hours

The return of the supersonic jet

Fifteen years after the end of the Concorde, a new supersonic jet is under construction. Can a startup avoid the flaws of its predecessor to make the plan the preferred conveyance of the Southeast Asian jet set
By Marco Evers • Jul 23, 2018

IT education

Closing the gap between Cambodian tech talent and demand

As Cambodia aspires to compete regionally in ICT development, experts in the field have seen vast improvements in recent years – as well as opportunities to continue closing the gap between skill and market demand
By Janelle Retka • Jul 20, 2018

Creative entrepreneur

Indonesia's multi-talented pastry chef

Jazz music grad Talita Setyadi had no qualms swapping her double bass for a rolling pin, seeing baking as just another form of creative expression. With an entrepreneurial eye that this year helped bag her a coveted spot on the Forbes 30 under 30 Asia list, this graduate of Paris’ prestigious Le Cordon Bleu discusses the philosophy behind her bakery and the delicate art of the pastry
By Chia Chi Hsu • Jul 20, 2018

Lim Guan Eng

Malaysia’s new finance minister has big job ahead

Malaysia’s new finance minister, Lim Guan Eng, has stated he doesn’t care about being “unpopular” – but can Mahathir Mohamad’s new government fix the $250 billion deficit without abandoning campaign promises?
By Paul Millar • Jul 19, 2018

Bangkok

Losing its soul

Thailand’s military government wants to turn the chaotic metropolis of Bangkok into a kind of Singapore: tidy, sterile and easily controllable – and thus, a symbol of its power
By Katrin Kuntz • Jul 19, 2018