China
China is building a city bigger than Washington on 4 islands in Malaysia
Called Forest City, the $100 billion metropolis will be able to accommodate 700,000 people. That’s about 20,000 more than the current population of Washington, DC

On four man-made Malaysian islands, Chinese developer Country Garden is building a huge new city. In one of the ads, the company bills it as “a dream paradise for all mankind.”
Called Forest City, the $100 billion metropolis will be able to accommodate 700,000 people. That’s about 20,000 more than the current population of Washington, DC — and it will have a density greater than Manhattan.
A new video taken by a drone offers a look at Forest City’s construction, which began in early 2016:
As you can see, a few apartment buildings and park spaces have already sprouted up, and some other towers are in progress. When Forest City is complete by 2040, it will have office buildings, parks, a transit network, hotels, restaurants, shops, schools, and 250,000 housing units.
While the mega-development sounds promising, several experts worry it could becomea ghost city, failing to attract the residents it needs to become a thriving metropolis. Since the 1970s, Chinese developers have built some-500 ghost cities in China. Forest City is expected to be the largest overseas project by a Chinese developer.
In April, nearly 60 home buyers , 70% of which are Chinese, cancelled their leases in Forest City, reportedly due to China’s increasing efforts to curb money from leaving the country.
As Business Insider previously reported, the supply of Forest City housing is outpacing demand. In 2016, Country Garden sold just 15,000 of the 250,000 Forest City residential units, totaling about $2.6 billion in sales, according to Yu Runze, the company’s chief strategy officer.
There aren’t many people walking around in the above video, but then again, Forest City is largely still under construction.
China
RCEP and China: Reimagining the future of trade in Asia
The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) could eventually usher in an era of much deeper regional integration: for corporates doing business in the region, their future success may well hinge on how adeptly they manage to navigate the evolution of Asia’s trade landscape under the RCEP.

Last month, 15 countries in the Asia-Pacific region – including the 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as well as China, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and South Korea – signed the landmark Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) on the final day of the 37th ASEAN Summit.
(more…)China
Thailand ready to ink big Chinese-backed trade deal
The RCEP will cover all 10 Asean member states plus five partners: China, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and South Korea and will take effect from the middle of 2021 if at least six Asean members and three partners agree to its terms.

Thailand is set to sign the world’s biggest free trade agreement with Japan, China, South Korea and 12 other Asia-Pacific countries at the 37th Asean Summit this week.
(more…)Business
Great Wall Motor (China) takes over GM factory in Thailand
The Thai production hub will become operational in the first quarter of 2021 with automobile production capacity of 80,000 units per annum.

Chinese carmaker Great Wall Motor (GWM) hosted a ceremony on November 2nd to celebrate the latest milestone in taking full ownership of Rayong Manufacturing Facility in Thailand.
(more…)-
Economics1 week ago
Thailand Tops Bloomberg’s Emerging Markets List
-
Economics5 days ago
96% of Foreign Investors still confident in Thailand says BOI
-
Investment6 days ago
Thailand BOI new measures to boost post-Covid-19 investment
-
Companies6 days ago
Thai Firm to produce 200 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine