Daily Briefing: “Open and free” air travel in Asia still unlikely; IPO market in Southeast Asia “still hot”

And Singapore sees slowest population growth in 2010-2020

From CNBC

An “open and free” air travel in Asia is still unlikely, Singapore’s Finance Minister Lawrence Wong said, as COVID-19 cases persist in the region.

Wong said air travel will not be returning to its pre-pandemic level “any time soon” due to the continuing waves of outbreak as well as the relatively slow vaccination rate.

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From CNBC

The IPO Market in Southeast Asia is “still hot,” according to Ken Fong of Dealogic, with Thailand taking the lead amongst its peers.

Thailand has so far registered 14 listings this year, raising funds that already exceeded the annual full year average of $2.8b. Listings in Malaysia and Singapore, meanwhile, have been “rather quiet.”

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From CNA

The total population group in Singapore increased 1.1% per year between 2010 and 2020, the slowest since its independence.

This also slowed down compared to the 2.5% per year recorded in 2000 and 2010, according to the Department of Statistics (DOS) in its initial statistical release.

Read more here.