Central banks must guide Asean+3 through age of novel risks

IN JUST the last few months, novel risks have crystallised across Asean+3.

Grab merchants in Singapore began accepting stablecoin payments; Typhoon Bualoi flooded Philippine and Vietnamese ports and factories, paralysing entire provinces; and US tariff increases are forcing regional economies to recalibrate supply chains. 

These disruptions share a common thread: traditional economic frameworks cannot keep pace. Digital assets are reshaping monetary systems, social tensions are threatening political and economic stability, climate extremes are disrupting supply chains, and geopolitical shifts are upending trade patterns.