Malaysia
Malaysians named this after the jagged edges of Spanish silver dollars that once circulated here.
What is the ringgit?
Born as a 1964 tourism board logo, its statue now spouts water into Marina Bay.
What is the Merlion?
This chain's Chickenjoy beats McDonald's at home; it began in 1975 as a Quezon City ice-cream parlour.
What is Jollibee?
Vietnam's currency shares its name with the Vietnamese word for copper or bronze.
What is the dong?
Like India's currency, its name comes from Sanskrit 'rupya', wrought silver.
What is the rupiah?
Translate the capital's name and you get this description of where the Klang and Gombak rivers meet.
What is 'muddy confluence' (Kuala Lumpur)?
Singaporeans can buy a flat with this savings account but can't withdraw most of it until 55.
What is CPF (Central Provident Fund)?
Makati and Cebu earn billions handling foreign firms' customer calls and back-office work in this industry.
What is BPO (business process outsourcing)?
This SeaTown portco serves ~18m diners yearly across ~400 restaurants, hotpot to cafeteria.
What is Golden Gate Restaurant Group?
Launched Feb 2025 to hold state stakes like Bank Mandiri and Telkom, this fund is often likened to Temasek.
What is Danantara?
In 2004, Malaysia's stock exchange dropped 'KLSE' and took this name.
What is Bursa (Malaysia)?
Jewel Changi's 40-metre centrepiece is the world's tallest one of these indoors.
What is a waterfall (the Rain Vortex)?
Founded 1834, the Philippines' oldest conglomerate counts BPI among its holdings.
What is Ayala Corporation?
Vietnam's 1986 Party Congress swapped rationing for markets; the reform's Vietnamese name.
What is Doi Moi?
Started in 2010 as a 20-driver motorbike call centre, it merged with Tokopedia in 2021.
What is Gojek?
Petronas Twin Towers lost the 'world's tallest building' title in 2004 to this numbered skyscraper.
What is Taipei 101?
Singapore fund managers benchmark against this 30-stock index, relaunched in 2008 with FTSE.
What is the STI (Straits Times Index)?
The Philippines' nurses, seafarers and domestic helpers abroad, whose remittances prop up the peso, go by this acronym.
What are OFWs (Overseas Filipino Workers)?
Vietnam's biggest conglomerate traces back to its founder selling instant noodles in Ukraine.
What is Vingroup?
In 1619 the VOC renamed Jayakarta after the Roman-era tribe the Dutch claimed as ancestors.
What is Batavia?
Malaysia's 1965 expulsion of one state created a neighbour with its own dollar. Name that neighbour.
What is Singapore?
Before founding modern Singapore in 1819, Raffles was lieutenant-governor of this Indonesian island.
What is Java?
Sulu sultan heirs won, then lost, a ~US$15bn arbitration award against Malaysia over this state.
What is Sabah?
Vietnam's biggest rice customer is this archipelago, the world's top rice importer in 2024.
What is the Philippines?
Indonesians said Malaysia's anthem 'Negaraku' copied this popular song's melody.
What is 'Terang Bulan'?