News

Starting in 2026, hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) in Vietnam will be subject to an excise tax rate equivalent to 70% of that applied to conventional gasoline and diesel cars.

Thailand targets 100% plastic reuse by 2027. Both government and industry are preparing petrochemical producers for the European Union's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), which may soon extend to plastics.

A series of typhoons and tropical cyclones in November swept across the Philippines and Indonesia, reaching as far as Vietnam, Thailand, and even Sri Lanka, leaving more than a thousand people dead and displaced millions.

Singapore’s state investment fund–backed conglomerate Sembcorp Industries announced on Dec. 11 that it will acquire Alinta Energy, an Australian power producer owned by Hong Kong’s Chow Tai Fook Enterprises, for AUD 5.6 billion (roughly USD 3.7 billion).

The regional multi-sport event SEA Games, which began in Thailand more than six decades ago, returns this year to its birthplace with a new mandate to couple athletic excellence with climate-conscious hosting.

Government members from Germany and Italy have announced that their countries will forge closer ties in a bid to loosen EU climate policy regulations, including the phase-out of internal combustion engine cars.

New reactor designs promise safer, smaller systems, but questions remain as Taiwan weighs its next steps.

Vietnam’s plan to revive nuclear power has hit turbulence after Japan withdrew from the Ninh Thuan 2 project, citing an overly compressed construction schedule. The exit raises fresh concerns over Vietnam’s already strained power supply outlook.

Vingroup has quietly expanded into power sales and transmission through its renewable energy arm, VinEnergo. 

Southeast Asia is highly exposed to floods, but weak funding and governance slow adaptation — and the shock will travel through global supply chains.