This week saw several key developments across ASEAN. Foreign ministers met in Manila from 21 to 24 July 2026, with the Myanmar crisis, Thai-Cambodian border tensions, and South China Sea disputes topping the agenda. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi both attended, reflecting the rivalry for influence between the two superpowers. Meanwhile, the Monetary Authority of Singapore is discussing tax cuts for fund management businesses to stem capital outflows to Hong Kong, after Hong Kong exempted carried interest from income tax. Singapore's current tax rate under its investment promotion scheme stands at 10%. Moody's warned that Indonesia's fiscal risks and economic policy uncertainty are rising, making its equities, bonds, and rupiah the weakest in the region. The next six to twelve months will be crucial for monitoring policy direction. ASEAN issued a statement expressing grave concern over the US-Iran conflict, urging all parties to exercise restraint and warning of potential impacts on trade, energy and food security, and regional supply chains. China lodged a formal protest with the Philippines over a clash near Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea, accusing a Philippine vessel of ramming first, while the Philippines maintains the opposite. Cross-border trade on the Lancang-Mekong shipping route grew 85.8% in the first half of 2026, reaching 2.876 billion yuan, driven by a surge in Thai fruit shipments through Guanlei Port. Bank Indonesia held its policy rate at 5.75% and shifted to using incentives to attract foreign capital instead of hiking rates to support the rupiah. Indonesia's stock market rebounded sharply, with the JCI index surging 20% from its early June low and potentially entering a bull market. Securities regulators from Malaysia and Hong Kong signed a memorandum of understanding to facilitate dual IPOs, allowing companies to use a single set of documents to reduce procedures and costs. The Bank of Thailand and the Monetary Authority of Singapore signed a memorandum of understanding to enhance cooperation on cybersecurity and cross-border digital financial fraud prevention. FPT, Vietnam's major tech firm, is pushing into Thailand's AI market by expanding collaboration with CP Foods on smart farming, partnering with Amata on smart manufacturing and smart cities, and working with SCG to develop AI for factory efficiency. Vietnam faces pressure after the US imposed a 12.5% import tariff, higher than the 10% levied on competitors, and excluded it from the Textile Mechanism, risking its edge as the largest apparel exporter to the US. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet reaffirmed a crackdown on call centre gangs and transnational online crime, having already shut over 670 illegal scam centres. Vietnam proposed a draft decree banning users under 16 from posting or commenting on social media. And HSBC reached a deal to sell its life and health insurance business in Singapore to Allianz for 2.1 billion US dollars, expecting a pre-tax gain of around 1.8 billion dollars.
Allianz SE VNA O.N.
HSBC Holdings PLC
FPT Corporation
FPT Corporation
