Nick Freeman

• ISEAS - Yusof Ishak Institute

Access to finance (A2F) for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) is critical for their survival and development, yet such access remains constrained for many MSMEs worldwide. In this article, the authors identify some of the key issues on the supply side of MSME finance globally, such as the lack of a credit registry/over-reliance on c...

As numerous Pacific island countries and territories (PICTs) achieved independence, scholars and development agencies advocated pursuing many development models. Those development models span a relatively diverse range of elements intended to generate the desired improvement in national incomes and help the countries attain the next level of socioe...

The COVID-19 pandemic served as a major and unexpected stress test for all countries' economic systems, including their micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and their banking and finance sectors. In addition to the immediate impact of the economic strains posed by the pandemic-related lockdowns and other measures enacted to address th...

This paper provides a conceptual overview of what a post-pandemic ecosystem for MSME financing might be, and how policymakers might apply it. Current COVID-19 emergency measures are not sustainable, and fintech and other technologies offer improvements for access to MSME finance worldwide. We offer a macro-perspective of how MSME financing might ba...

This paper provides the results of a global survey of investment practices and perceptions by major portfolio investors currently active in the five Southeast Asian equity markets (Bangkok, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Manila and Singapore). In addition to providing the survey results, the paper also proffers some initial interpretation and analysis. The...

This article assesses, on a province-by-province basis, whether state-owned enterprises (SOEs) are constraining the development of private firms in Vietnam. The analysis suggests the greater the density of SOEs present in a province, the more they enjoy favouritism, the lower is the proportion of bank loans that go to private companies, and the lon...

The Asia and Pacific region has achieved unprecedented growth and development in recent decades. Asia is increasingly playing the role of a global growth pole, and fast emerging as a manufacturing and information technology hub of the world economy, yet more than 600 million people in the region still live in absolute poverty. China and India are r...

This research explores the question of how – in the absence of institutions that legitimate markets, contracts, and private property, and the lack of business data – banks make loan decisions to the private sector. We conducted in-depth interviews with 23 bankers of state-owned and private banks in Vietnam. Our results suggests that in the absence...

Nick J. Freeman is Associate Senior Fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. 1. For a cogent and insightful review of the Lao economy and reform efforts in the first ten months of 2003, see "Lao PDR Economic Monitor", issued by the World Bank's Vientiane office in October 2003 <http://lnweb18.worldbank.org/eap/eap.nsf/Attachments/Lao+PDR...

Vietnam has been successful in attracting substantial foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows. The foreign-invested sector is an important engine of economic growth for Vietnam. The first part of the article profiles Vietnam’s experience in attracting FDI since the late 1980s, and identifies the factors that lay behind a subsequent contraction in F...

Enterprise reform undertaken by Laos during the past fifteen years of economic transition has largely entailed a relatively successful privatization programme for the country’s state-owned enterprises (SOEs). However, problems remain with the larger ‘strategic’ SOEs that continue to operate, and the state-run commercial banks that continue to fund...

After opening its economy to foreign investment in the late 1980s, Vietnam experienced an upward surge in foreign capital inflows during the first half of the 1990s, followed by a marked contraction in the latter half of the 1990s. This ebb and flow of foreign capital can be attributed to a number of factors, one of which was the rise and fall of f...

Foreign direct investment (FDI) has played an important role in the development of Laos since the country embarked on an economic transition and business liberalisation programme in the late 1980s. However, in recent years Laos has witnessed a marked contraction in its cumulative FDI inflows. This article provides a profile of FDI activity in Laos...

This paper examines the impact of globalization on two transitional economies in Asia. Both countries have undergone a radical economic reform process over the past decade, assisted by increases in external trade flows, foreign investment activity, and external assistance. However, the pace of economic reform has decelerated since the perceived per...

With the exception of a relatively brief rally during late 1998 and early 1999, Southeast Asia's five main equity markets have not performed well since the onset of the financial crisis in mid-1997. This paper identifies some of the reasons attributable for this relatively poor performance, and discusses one proposed solution - creating a region-wi...

Following the promulgation of a relatively progressive foreign investment law in late 1987-aimed at attracting western capital, technology, know-how and gaining access to global (and convertible currency) markets–Vietnam has gained a significant degree of interest amongst foreign companies. This paper profiles Vietnam's host country business enviro...

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is widely accepted as the business sector's contribution to inclusive and sustainable development. Thus, government can harness the CSR agenda in pursuit of this goal. There are several reasons why governments should seek to promote CSR: greater social and environmental sustainability, market competitiveness, e...