ASEAN economies are still growing, but cracks are forming. Inflation is rising, stagflation is possible, and intra-regional trade has barely budged in 30 years. What happens if the Middle East conflict drags on? And what will it finally take to boost intra-ASEAN trade?

We discuss:


Growth Outlook: Why AMRO is sticking to 4% growth even as energy prices climb and supply chains fray — and what could blow that off course


The Stagflation Threat: What it would actually take for the region to tip into its worst growth-inflation combo since the Covid pandemic


A Poly-Risk Crisis: The three biggest risks facing the ASEAN region now. 


The Integration Gap: Why intra-ASEAN trade has been stuck at 22% for decades, and what would it take to develop trade and investment among ASEAN economies. 

ASEAN economies are still growing, but cracks are forming. Inflation is rising, stagflation is possible, and intra-regional trade has barely budged in 30 years. What happens if the Middle East conflict drags on? And what will it finally take to boost intra-ASEAN trade?We discuss:<ul><li>Growth Outlook: Why AMRO is sticking to 4% growth even as energy prices climb and supply chains fray — and what could blow that off course</li><li>The Stagflation Threat: What it would actually take for the region to tip into its worst growth-inflation combo since the Covid pandemic</li><li>A Poly-Risk Crisis: The three biggest risks facing the ASEAN region now.&nbsp;</li><li>The Integration Gap: Why intra-ASEAN trade has been stuck at 22% for decades, and what would it take to develop trade and investment among ASEAN economies.&nbsp;</li></ul>

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Helping you navigate the ever-changing universe of business, from headlines to the bottom line

Enterprise Explores

What the Middle East Conflict Could Do to ASEAN's Growth

While many workers across the Asia-Pacific are using generative AI tools weekly, a massive execution gap remains. Stepping in to push AI literacy is AVPN. Through its $35 million USD AI Opportunity Fund: Asia-Pacific, it's supporting initiatives to help workers and small businesses learn "how to AI."

Young Park, Director of the AI Opportunity Fund Project at AVPN, joins BFM’s Enterprise Explores to review the on-ground data since the fund’s 2024 launch. We look beyond surface-level tool familiarity to explore the regional infrastructure shifts and localised training frameworks driving workforce equity toward 2030.

Tune in to find out more about:


Scaling the Fund: An overview of how a recent $10 million USD contribution from Google.org expanded the total pool to $35 million USD to scale AI literacy across 20 distinct markets.


Overcoming Distrust: Why mature workers aged 40 to 60 are 1.6 times more likely to distrust AI architectures, and how localised, multilingual content bridges the execution gap.


Malaysian Deployment Tracks: A breakdown of the free, dual-track framework active locally through the ASEAN Foundation’s AIM ASEAN initiative and community boot camps run by partners like Pepper Labs.

While many workers across the Asia-Pacific are using generative AI tools weekly, a massive execution gap remains. Stepping in to push AI literacy is AVPN. Through its $35 million USD AI Opportunity Fund: Asia-Pacific, it's supporting initiatives to help workers and small businesses learn "how to AI."Young Park, Director of the AI Opportunity Fund Project at AVPN, joins BFM’s Enterprise Explores to review the on-ground data since the fund’s 2024 launch. We look beyond surface-level tool familiarity to explore the regional infrastructure shifts and localised training frameworks driving workforce equity toward 2030.Tune in to find out more about:<ul><li>Scaling the Fund: An overview of how a recent $10 million USD contribution from <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://Google.org">Google.org</a> expanded the total pool to $35 million USD to scale AI literacy across 20 distinct markets.</li><li>Overcoming Distrust: Why mature workers aged 40 to 60 are 1.6 times more likely to distrust AI architectures, and how localised, multilingual content bridges the execution gap.</li><li>Malaysian Deployment Tracks: A breakdown of the free, dual-track framework active locally through the ASEAN Foundation’s AIM ASEAN initiative and community boot camps run by partners like Pepper Labs.</li></ul>

AVPN’s $35M AI Fund: Moving Workers & MSMEs Past Basic Prompts

Malaysia has spent 50 years assembling and testing chips designed elsewhere. SkyeChip, a homegrown listed semiconductor IP design company, could be a sign that Malaysia is finally moving up the semiconductor value chain.  Analyst Chloe Mak breaks down the innovation behind SkyeChip's business model, its growth factors, and the tailwinds behind Malaysia's semiconductor ambitions.

Malaysia has spent 50 years assembling and testing chips designed elsewhere. SkyeChip, a homegrown listed semiconductor IP design company, could be a sign that Malaysia is finally moving up the semiconductor value chain.&nbsp; Analyst Chloe Mak breaks down the innovation behind SkyeChip's business model, its growth factors, and the tailwinds behind Malaysia's semiconductor ambitions.

Can Malaysia Design AI Chips? SkyeChip Has an Answer

There is a huge gap between a dual-income corporate couple scraping by in the Klang Valley and ultra-high-net-worth households, yet policymakers stubbornly lump them together.

This structural blind spot came to a head when surging fuel subsidies heavily burdened government coffers, and the political solution seemed simple: strip subsidies from the T20.

Dr. Melati Nungsari of the Asia School of Business and Timothy Tiah of Colony join Enterprise Explores to discuss why treating the T20 like a group of "1 percenters" is a mistake for the economy.

We unpack the unique vulnerabilities of high-salary wage earners living paycheck-to-paycheck in the Klang Valley, why grouping the top 1% with the 19th-percentile creates massive policy distortions, the government trust deficit, and why the ultimate economic holy grail must be worker productivity, not subsidy dependence.

There is a huge gap between a dual-income corporate couple scraping by in the Klang Valley and ultra-high-net-worth households, yet policymakers stubbornly lump them together.This structural blind spot came to a head when surging fuel subsidies heavily burdened government coffers, and the political solution seemed simple: strip subsidies from the T20.Dr. Melati Nungsari of the Asia School of Business and Timothy Tiah of Colony join Enterprise Explores to discuss why treating the T20 like a group of "1 percenters" is a mistake for the economy.We unpack the unique vulnerabilities of high-salary wage earners living paycheck-to-paycheck in the Klang Valley, why grouping the top 1% with the 19th-percentile creates massive policy distortions, the government trust deficit, and why the ultimate economic holy grail must be worker productivity, not subsidy dependence.

What the Middle East Conflict Could Do to ASEAN's Growth

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