ASEAN Economist is an independent news source that aims to bring quality coverage of the business and economic aspects of the ASEAN member states. Our mission is to become a valuable and reliable source of information on ASEAN’s economic development both for the domestic and international community. We focus on providing news features, opinion, blogs and interactive videos on a wide range of economic issues on a regional and country specific level. ASEAN Economist is a participative site and we welcome outside contributions from writers with a particular expertise in the various economic facets of the region.
OUR TEAM
William Baldwin – Editor in Chief
William has worked for East Asian newspapers, websites and magazines for more than a decade. He currently edits an independent Myanmar newspaper, while also providing his expertise on the ASEAN region in the form of news and features for ASEAN Economist. He is happiest showing his two young children interesting corners of the tropics and his favourite sizeable ASEAN cities are Yangon and Georgetown.
Ai Ballesteros – Staff writer
Ai Ballesteros studied Journalism at a state university in the Philippines, currently working as a writer. For years, she has been writing about metropolis, politics, and business issues. Apart from writing, Ai also loves to travel.
Zi Liang Wee – Staff Writer
Hailing from the island of Penang, Zi Liang studied political economy at the University of Pennsylvania, graduating with a BA in 2014. He went on to earn the Master of Economic Management from Universiti Sains Malaysia. As a proud disciple of Daisaku Ikeda, Zi Liang firmly believes in the critical role of ASEAN and other multilateral organizations in advancing world peace and prosperity.
Sharon Ong – Staff Writer
Born and raised trilingual in Malaysia, Sharon picked up her fourth language – Spanish – from spending her summers gallivanting around Mexico and South America. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and currently works at a hypergrowth startup in KL.
Martin Joseph Raymundo – Contributor
Martin is an experienced journalist and writer in the fields of politics, philosophy and social economy. As a graduate of Cum Laude at the University of the Philippines, he was able to work as a research analyst at the Philippine Institute for Development Studies – the top government think-tank in the Philippines. He is now focusing on his career as an online writer for various media entities.
Joanna Marie Canlas – Community Manager
Joanna is a 28-year-old Filipino that has years of experience in the business processing outsourcing industry and also has her own small businesses locally. She’s very passionate about helping build a community of freelancers and develop the freelancing scene in the ASEAN region. She also blogs in her spare time and was formerly a content creator for several international blogs.