Long referred to as the "Sick Man of Asia" for its less than impressive economic performance and often volatile politics, the Philippines has shown record GDP growth in excess of 6% over the last 6-8 years. Under President Rodrigo Duterte, the country has launched an ambitious "Build, Build, Build" infrastructure program and a strategic pivot to China. But how much has really changed?

Bangladesh has come a long way in the past decade, achieving record growth that has averaged between 6-8% in the past five years. This has made Bangladesh something of a darling amongst foreign investors comfortable with frontier markets. However, the competence of its unique government, which is effectively styled after one sole leader, Sheikh Hasina, is being tested by the COVID-19 crisis.

Though China’s cyber laws may be the most well-known, governments across the Asia Pacific – such as those in India, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam – are implementing new and evolving legislation and requirements on cyber security.

Asia was the first region to experience the Covid-19 virus, but the economic effects have varied widely across the region. Northeast Asia, Korea and Taiwan have emerged stronger than others, while structurally open economies like Singapore, Hong Kong and Thailand are facing historic downturns.

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi this month announced a financial assistance package totalling INR 20 trillion (USD 265bn) to help mitigate the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. Most of the measures are aimed at increasing credit availability to small and medium-sized companies, many of which are now suffering acute financial distress as a result of over two months of one of the world’s harshest pandemic lockdowns.