Closed schools. Work-from-home demands. Price caps.<\/p>\n
Asia\u2019s governments are scrambling to manage a fuel shortage caused by high oil prices and a closed Strait of Hormuz. Asia is particularly dependent on oil exports from the Middle East; Japan and South Korea respectively source 90% and 70% of their oil from the region.<\/p>\n
The energy crunch is forcing governments to adopt more extreme measures to save fuel.<\/p>\n
On March 10, Thailand ordered civil servants to take the stairs<\/a> rather than the elevator, and to work-from-home for the duration of the crisis. It increased the air-conditioning temperature to 27 degrees Celsius, and will tell government employees to wear short-sleeved shirts over suits. (Thailand has about 95 days of energy reserves left, according to Reuters<\/a>).<\/p>\n Vietnam also called on businesses to let people work-from-home<\/a> to \u201creduce the need for travel and transportation.\u201d The Philippines is pushing for a four-day work week<\/a>, and has ordered officials to limit travel \u201cto essential functions only.\u201d<\/p>\n South Asia is getting hit hard too. Bangladesh brought forward the Eid-al-fitr holiday, allowing universities to close early<\/a> in a bid to save fuel. Pakistan also instituted a four-day week<\/a> for government offices and closed schools. India suspended shipments of liquefied petroleum gas to commercial operators to prioritize supplies for households, leading to worries from hotels and restaurants<\/a> that they may be forced to close without fuel supplies.<\/p>\n Asian countries are also intervening more directly into fuel markets.<\/p>\n South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Monday said the country would introduce a price cap on petroleum products, and warned that the current crisis presented a \u201csignificant burden on the country\u2019s economy.\u201d Around 1.7 million barrels of Korea-bound oil has been held back per day due to the ongoing conflict, presidential policy advisor Kim Yong-beom noted<\/a> during a March 9 press briefing.<\/p>\n Ryosei Akazawa, Japan\u2019s industry minister, didn\u2019t rule out dipping into Japan\u2019s national oil reserves<\/a> on Wednesday, adding the country \u201cwill take all possible measures to ensure stable supplies of energy\u201d. <\/p>\n On Monday, Indonesia\u2019s finance minister<\/a> said the Southeast Asian country would set aside 381.3 trillion rupiah ($22.6 billion) for energy subsidies and pay state energy firms like Pertamina<\/a> to keep fuel and electricity prices affordable for its residents.\u00a0<\/p>\n