No suits, four-day weeks: Asia's energy crunch

Summary

Podcast Summary: Business Daily – "No suits, four-day weeks: Asia's energy crunch"

Host: Will Bain, BBC World Service
Air Date: March 26, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode of Business Daily explores the cascading effects of the global energy crisis on Asian economies in the wake of ongoing geopolitical tensions, particularly the US and Israel’s ongoing war in Iran. It provides an in-depth look at why Asian nations are especially exposed, the immediate consequences for businesses and workers, and both short-term and long-term measures being implemented—ranging from government subsidies and rationing, to changes in office attire and work schedules.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Immediate Impacts and Unusual Responses

Timestamps: 01:18–03:46

• The global energy crisis, triggered by the conflict in Iran, is dramatically increasing oil and gas prices, particularly across Asia.
• Asian countries are highly dependent on oil and gas imports that pass through the Strait of Hormuz—a major energy chokepoint.
• Unusual conservation measures are being taken, such as relaxing workplace dress codes to save on air-conditioning energy.
• Fuel rationing and even four-day work weeks are now being implemented in some countries.

Memorable Moment:

• Newsreaders in Thailand are forgoing suits on air to reduce energy consumption, setting a public example:

  “We started the program and took off our suits and sending a signal to the public that this could help.” — [03:35]

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2. Vulnerability in Asia’s Energy Supply

Timestamps: 03:46–05:16

• “Most of Asia's economy are still relying a lot about oil and gas…84% of oil that pass through the Strait of Hormuz goes to Asia…So with the closed trail of Strait of Palmos, suddenly Asian countries find themselves out of these sources…”
  — Doris Lu, Malaysian economist [03:46]
• Countries have varying reserves:
  • Thailand: ~2 months of reserve buffer
  • Indonesia and Vietnam: <20 days of reserves
• Scrambling for alternatives is complicated by global shortages.

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3. The Worker and Business Perspective: Everyday Strain

Timestamps: 05:16–10:15

• Rising petrol and consumer goods prices are directly affecting both workers (e.g., tuk tuk drivers) and consumers at large.
• Owners of petrol stations report dire shortages and operational challenges, causing them to ration fuel and limit sales.
• Lengthy fuel queues and panic buying have become commonplace in Thailand and Myanmar.
  • “Even if you start queuing as early as 3am, you don't get fuel until around 9am…some people even start lining at the front around midnight.”
    — Interviewee from Yangon, Myanmar [07:42]
• Retailers and restaurant owners (Vietnam) are facing higher costs, leading to price hikes for products like clothing and the national dish, pho.
  • “The cost of material delivery increased and forced us to increase the selling prices to customers.”
    — Kin V., Clothing shop owner, Ho Chi Minh City [08:52]
  • “Not only beef, but prices for every ingredient for pho noodle…have increased since the petrol price surged.” [09:10]
• Worry and uncertainty are widespread among both businesses and consumers.

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4. Supply Chain and Global Economic Ramifications

Timestamps: 11:55–14:54

• Asia, as a global manufacturing hub, means these energy shocks have worldwide implications.
• Manufacturers like Bangladesh’s Denim Expert Ltd., who supply global brands, foresee near-universal price increases if the crisis persists.
  • “It is a total supply chain disaster, right? Basically the price will increase for everyone around the world and every product of the world, more or less. I believe so.”
    — Moaddine Rubel [12:29]
  • Stress and uncertainty are high, as firms struggle to absorb rising costs and face competition from other countries.

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5. Government Interventions: Subsidies and Future Challenges

Timestamps: 14:54–18:30

• Many Asian governments are currently shielding their populations from the worst effects through heavy subsidies.
  • “Indonesia is a major importer…both the fuel as well as the cooking gas are heavily state subsidized, which means that we will potentially reach a breaking point where the government no longer able to withstand the subsidies.”
    — Putra Adanguna, Energy Shift Institute, Jakarta [15:41]
• Indonesia is spending ~$30 million extra per day to keep prices stable at $100/barrel oil, a pace that is not sustainable for long.
• As subsidies become too costly, governments face difficult choices:
  • Cutting national budgets elsewhere
  • Reducing the workweek to save energy (e.g., four-day workweek could reduce oil demand by 5–7%)
  • Politically sensitive decision making about which industries to support.

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6. Uncertainty and Potential for Prolonged Crisis

Timestamps: 18:30–19:51

• The duration of the crisis is a major determination of economic resilience in each country.
• Oil exporters (like Malaysia) are more insulated, while net importers (Vietnam, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Cambodia) are highly vulnerable.
• Cambodia, for instance, is already struggling as Thailand halts oil exports across its border, and alternatives are limited.
  • “Cambodia is looking, looking for Singapore and Malaysia as an alternative source. But Singapore and Malaysia also needs to reserve some for themselves. So it is going to be a very tricky situation.”
    — Doris Lu [19:31]

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Notable Quotes

• “It is a total supply chain disaster. Right. Basically the price will increase for everyone around the world and every product of the world, more or less. I believe so.” — Moaddine Rubel [12:29]
• “At $100 oil per barrel price, the government is spending an extra $30 million a day to subsidize the fuel. Which means that it's not an easy task to government to handle it for long.” — Putra Adanguna [01:51; 16:18]
• “We started the program and took off our suits and sending a signal to the public that this could help.” — Thai Newsreader [03:35]
• “My family business has been hugely impacted from the increase in petrol prices. The cost of material delivery increased and forced us to increase the selling prices to customers.” — Kin V., Vietnam [08:52]
• “So whether short term, medium term or long term, I think they are going to face energy prices in a very immediate terms.” — Doris Lu [19:31]

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Key Timestamps for Important Segments

• 01:18–02:17: Framing the energy crisis and its effect across Asia.
• 03:46–05:16: Economist Doris Lu explains vulnerability of Asian energy supply.
• 05:16–10:15: Worker/business testimonials from Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam.
• 11:55–14:54: Global supply chain impact, remarks from Bangladesh’s garment sector.
• 14:54–18:30: Indonesia’s subsidy policy, risks of fiscal unsustainability.
• 18:30–19:51: Outlook for various Asian countries and their resilience.

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Conclusion

The Asian energy crisis triggered by war in Iran is not just about headline fuel prices—it’s affecting everything from office dress codes to livelihoods of the most vulnerable, reshaping economies at every level. Asia’s heavy dependence on imported oil and gas, especially via the Strait of Hormuz, leaves countries highly exposed to disruptions. Temporary government measures and creative workplace adaptations are only stopgaps in a crisis that remains unpredictable in duration and depth. The true economic fallout will depend on the persistence of the conflict and each government's fiscal resilience.

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For those interested in understanding global economic risks and the direct societal impacts of energy disruptions, this episode provides expert commentary and vivid real-life testimony from across Asia.

Transcript

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[Will Bain]

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[Will Bain]

Hello and welcome to Business Daily on the BBC World Service. I'm Will Bain. Today the global energy crisis is already wreaking havoc on economies across Asia with potential implications for prices right around the world.

[Moaddine Rubel]

It is a total supply chain disaster, right? Basically the price will increase for everyone around the world.

[Will Bain]

And with the US and Israel's war in Iran showing little signs of stopping, it's raising a question how long can measures put in place to protect consumers and businesses actually hold?

[Putra Adanguna]

Right now, at $100 oil per barrel price, the government is spending an extra $30 million a day to subsidize the fuel. Which means that it's not an easy task to government to handle it for long.

[Will Bain]

So today on Business Daily, we're asking just why are Asia's economies so exposed to the global energy crisis and what can they do about it if gas prices continue to rise and may stop

[Tran Vo]

driving a tuk tuk and work in construction instead? That would be better since I'm not making any income.

[Will Bain]

The war in Iran may only be weeks old, but it's already shifting the economic reality for workers right across Asia, whether they be driving a tuk tuk in Cambodia or reading the news in Thailand.

[Various Interviewees]

When reading the news, we always have to wear suits and ties. So I discussed within a team that we could set an example and cooperate with the government. So we started the program and took off our suits and sending a signal to the public that this could help.

[Will Bain]

Yes, the sky high cost of energy sparked by the war is having unusual consequences with even office attire seemingly being sacrificed. That news reader on Thailand's main public broadcaster was responding to recommendations from the government there to Thai citizens to try and save energy. That included not turning the air conditioning down below 26 or 27 degrees Celsius. And as a result, well, they didn't want sticky workers in their suits and hoped the newsreaders could set a trend for a more casual look. For now at least, it's just one of the ways. Many countries right across Asia have been responding to the energy crisis. And not all of them have been maybe quite as light hearted as that one. Many countries have implemented fuel rationing and four day working weeks. And earlier this week President Marcos of the Philippines declared a national emergency because of the energy crisis. So why are Asia's economies so exposed? Doris Lu is an economist based in Malaysia.

[Doris Lu]

First we have to look at where does the Asia energy mix coming from? And most of Asia's economy are still relying a lot about oil and gas, in particular for Asia's oil that pass through the Hormuz. 84% of oil that pass through the Strait of Hormuz goes to Asia. 83% of LNG that pass through hormones goes to Asia. So in the sense Asia is very energy dependent and particularly they get a lot of their sources from the Strait of Palmos. So with the closed trail of Strait of Palmos, suddenly Asian countries find themselves out of these sources and then what do they do? They have to look at whether they have enough reserve, they have to look at alternative sources. We see that different Asian countries have different level of reserve. Thailand has two months of reserve buffer. While it's able to temporarily help in a sense with shortages, two months is also not a lot of time. But more direly, places like Indonesia, like Vietnam, they have less than 20 days of reserve left. So if the war is prolonged beyond three to four weeks, they are running out of supplies. So these countries are scrambling to find alternative sources of oil and of lng. At the same time, because of the global shortages, looking for alternative sources is going to be very tricky.

[Will Bain]

So if that's how governments are responding, what about workers and workplaces? Our reporter Tran Vo, based in the BBC's bureau in the Thai capital Bangkok, has been taking a look.

[Tran Vo]

The people surrounding me, including myself, we are stressed by the current situation because due to the uncertainties, we don't know what will wait for us for the months to come. And in the meantime, the petrol prices, consumer goods prices have gone up.

[Will Bain]

Well, let's turn to that issue of petrol then, because the BBC's Thai service has been speaking to a petrol station owner in Chanthaburi province and they were upfront about the difficulties they were facing.

[Various Interviewees]

We're actually getting much less supply at the station. We have to send our own fuel trucks to pick it up. But when we get there, we receive much less fuel because like the driver's wages, fuel for the truck, those are still the same, Right? But the amount of fuel we get is lower. So we might only be able to sell say 8,000 liters. And if we limit each customer to around 1,000 baht per fuel, that means we can only sell about 200 cars. After that, our staff are basically just sitting around with nothing to do. That's all we can sell. The station end up losing money is basically eating into our profits. We have to wait and see every single time. Like for example, the orders we place list today for delivery tomorrow. We still waiting anxiously at 9 or 10pm to find out if we'll even get there.

[Will Bain]

How common is that, Tran? Across the country and in Bangkok are people struggling to get fuel for their cars.

[Tran Vo]

We have seen the lengthening queues at gas stations. Meanwhile, Thai government reassured the public that the existing oil reserve can last like 100 days and they said that supplies remain sufficient in the meantime. Around Bangkok and other provinces we can see the scenes of panic. Pine, petrol and diesel. And then in the petrol station they put up the hour fuel sites. This has been the viral videos online on how people struggle for hours to fight gasoline, petrol, the long lines of the vehicles, like sometimes the cubicle stress, like sometimes some kilometers in provinces in Thailand.

[Will Bain]

Yeah, yeah. And not just in Thailand. Is it those queues? You and the team have also been speaking via our Burmese service to some of those drivers in Myanmar as well. This was one of those queuing up to try and buy fuel in Yangon.

[Putra Adanguna]

It is really difficult for me to put it simply for you. Even if you start chewing as early as 3am, you don't get fewer until around 9am so the stations also only open at about 6am and there are just too many cars found more than before. Some people even start lining at the front around midnight.

[Will Bain]

Is that sort of direct fuel then fuel for people's cars? And what about out and about for sort of everyday Businesses, Tran, because I know that you've been speaking to some businesses in in Vietnam, for example, about how the fuel cost is is impacting even kind of retailers.

[Tran Vo]

For example, prices of the consumer goods or the food in the restaurant is, will increase immediately. And I can see that the most vulnerable groups, and now the middle income are the low income in Vietnam. And based on the interview I've got with the restaurant owner, Afar, a famous national dish in Vietnam, and also with the clothing owner, and they all share the concern.

[Will Bain]

Okay, well, let's hear from a couple of those businesses that Tran spoke to then. First of all, this is Kin V. She owns a clothing shop in Ho Chi Minh City.

[Various Interviewees]

My family business has been hugely impacted from the increase in petrol prices. The cost of material delivery increased and forced us to increase the selling prices to customers.

[Will Bain]

And as Tran said, the national dish of Vietnam, pho, under pressure as well.

[Various Interviewees]

Not only beef, but prices for every ingredient for pho noodle, like vegetable, lemon, etc. Have increased since the petrol price surged. In my restaurant, it costs just 30,000 Vietnamese dong per bowl of pho. But I'm planning to increase the price to 35,000 Vietnamese dong per bowl in the coming day.

[Will Bain]

So I guess, Tran, the important thing to get across today is, yes, at a very high level, the big economics, there's an impact, but actually people are seeing the impact of this energy shock because of the war in their everyday lives already right across the region.

[Tran Vo]

So in Thailand, the price of many consumer products like meat, cooking oils and plastic food containers are soaring. And the business sentiment in Thailand is quite the same in Vietnam because the business owner, they are really reluctant to increase the price because they want to retain the customers.

[Will Bain]

Are customers losing patience?

[Tran Vo]

The sentiments of the consumers now they are really worried about the current situation.

[Will Bain]

The BBC's Tran Vaux in Bangkok. There you're listening to Business Daily on the BBC World Service.

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[Will Bain]

I'm Will Bain and today we're looking at how Asian economies are responding to an energy crisis. Well, Asia is often referred to as the workshop of the world with many of the world's biggest exporting nations calling the. As a result, any shock in terms of input costs there could have far reaching ramifications right around the world. Moaddine Rubel is the owner and regional managing director at Denim Expert Ltd. A garment manufacturer in Chittagong, Bangladesh. A company that supplies many of the world's biggest shopping brands, including the likes of Europe's H and M. It is

[Moaddine Rubel]

a total supply chain disaster. Right. Basically the price will increase for everyone around the world and every product of the world, more or less. I believe so.

[Will Bain]

And how quickly will that happen?

[Moaddine Rubel]

Listen, as I said that still they did not increase the price and if the situation goes the same and they need to continue buying from higher prices by spot from other places, obviously they will have to implement the price increment, you know, and I believe that is for not only Bangladesh, that will be for everyone. So actually it's hypothetical. You cannot really come confirm now the time that we can increase, we will increase the price tomorrow.

[Will Bain]

Is it stressing you though, having to think about it?

[Moaddine Rubel]

Of course, of course, of course it is. It is a very uncertain and stressing situation. No, I mean as I said again and again, let's forget about Bangladesh. Actually the whole world is facing problems, but I mean no matter what, the system will increase the price automatically now for everyone, you know, because there is A shortage of energy no matter what. So at the end of the day price will affect for sure.

[Will Bain]

And with those prices, I mean, I hear what you're saying about everybody being impacted. Does that protect the sector in Bangladesh then from outside competition? Or do you fear that, you know, if your prices go up, perhaps somewhere that's got more cost controls? As you say, the Bangladesh government, its own finance, is not in the strongest position in Asia perhaps to, to support business. If there are other parts of Asia that are like China for example, do you fear that that shifts the competition in terms of that supply chain and where those big companies might turn?

[Moaddine Rubel]

If the fuel price and energy prices in Bangladesh locally increase, obviously that will increase the manufacturing cost as well for sure. But now it depends on, I mean, how far the manufacturers can absorb when they will not be able to manage anyhow, then definitely the selling price will increase at the same time, I'm sure as the prices will be increasing for other countries as well. So the buyer will actually see in which countries actually their buying price is less. But I think that will be more or less more for everyone actually in that case. So now again I'm saying it depends actually to see how far this crisis goes on.

[Will Bain]

So far, Bangladesh, like many other neighboring economies, has shielded consumers and businesses from the full force of those energy price rises by using subsidies and other mechanisms control the price. Indonesia, another significant Gulf energy importer, is trying to do the same. Putra Adanguna is the managing director at the think tank the Energy Shift Institute, based on the edge of the capital Jakarta.

[Putra Adanguna]

So I think since the hormones crisis begin, a lot of the impact has actually been shielded so far by the government in terms of fuel price hike because the government has openly acknowledged that it will maintain a fuel price until the holiday season is ending, which is ending right now as we speak. Which means that we're probably going to see some impact even more within the next two to three weeks.

[Will Bain]

And where in particular are you looking at that could be under pressure?

[Putra Adanguna]

Indonesia is a major importer of its oil demand. It imports about a million barrel a day of its oil and then it's a big importer of the lpg. So on both sides there will be quite a significant impact because both the fuel as well as the cooking gas are heavily state subsidized, which means that we will potentially reach a breaking point where the government no longer able to withstand the subsidies. So to give a bit of an idea, right now, hundred dollar oil per barrel price, the government is spending an extra $30 million a day to subsidize the fuel, which means that it's not an easy task to government to handle it for long.

[Will Bain]

Right, so just spell that out. Basically. This is we're talking about consumers here are being protected because the government have got these subsidies in, but that is becoming increasingly expensive for the government to do so.

[Putra Adanguna]

The Indonesian government right now already budgeted somewhere around 13 to 14 billion dollars of subsidies on its fuel. If the oil price increased from 70 to $100 where we are today, the government will need to spend an extra $30 million a day on top of that amount. It can probably last for a few weeks. But then, you know, once the effect piled up, it will probably going to have to reach a breaking point where something has got to give.

[Will Bain]

Because probably important, isn't it, to give us a sense of the Indonesian government's finances then and its ability. And you're saying weeks is that it's got an ability to do this. What happens if this goes on for months as some people are suggesting, perhaps even the rest of this year?

[Putra Adanguna]

So it is unclear. What the government has publicly stated is that it's trying to maintain a deficit level of less than 3% of GDP, which means that some other program within the government budget will need to give away as well. So it's not clear just yet what exactly the government will be doing. One of the things that it's trying to do right now is trying to limit the work week cutting from five to four days. You can probably shave about 5, 7% of oil demand by doing that. But what other steps beyond that remains an open question.

[Will Bain]

And what about for industry as well? I was looking at a chart this morning. Putra. 15% of all the gas that Indonesian industry uses is imported via this route via the Strait of Hormuz. Are there certain sectors there that could need support?

[Putra Adanguna]

Indonesia's domestic gas is actually artificially controlled as well in terms of price. So the impact is actually twofold. The first impact is the global market. The second impact is also another state subsidy. So the government also does have a state subsidies for some of the industries. So I think the impact will be felt across many heavier industries, you know, the kind of like of ceramic industries, you know, and those that are related to steel processing and so forth. But I think everybody would definitely claim that their industry is going to be the worst. And I think that's going to be a political calculation for the government to figure out which ones will they pick and choose in terms of giving more support.

[Will Bain]

So is that question of how long the War continues. Now, the key one left hanging over how long Asia's economies can continue to cope. Economist Doris Lu Again, how long government

[Doris Lu]

can is depends on one oil reserve and how much fiscal buffer do they have. So just give an example. Malaysia. Malaysia is an oil exporting country and in fact for Malaysia it's quite well resilient against a crisis. Countries like Vietnam, Indonesia, they have a very narrow fiscal reserve. So if the crisis were to be prolonged, we will see Indonesia's fiscal budget greatly impacted. How long they can keep the subs is also very questionable. I think Bangladesh is going to be the most impacted because of the high dependency on imported wine gas. In fact, their manufacturing sector is already closing down. So whether short term, medium term or long term, I think they are going to face energy prices in a very immediate terms. Countries like, let's say Cambodia for instance, they don't really have any alternative sources right now because they import most of their oil also from Thailand, which is stopping the exporting of oil from their borders. So Cambodia is looking, looking for Singapore and Malaysia as an alternative source. But Singapore and Malaysia also needs to reserve some for themselves. So it is going to be a very tricky situation.

[Will Bain]

Economist Doris Lu bringing us just about to the end of this edition of Business Daily. The producers were Rebecca Smiley and Josh Martin and remember to never miss an episode. Subscribe to our podcast. Just search for BBC Business Daily and you can also get in touch with us via email. It's business [e-mail].

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