Given that it plays host to the largest economy in Southeast Asia and has been one of the world's most rapidly emerging markets for the last few years, it doesn't take an expert to figure out why more and more western businesses are now investing in Indonesia. If you are planning to follow them, then it is worth preparing yourself. Though it is a very modern business environment, there are certain differences to keep in mind. Here are a few of the most essential ones.

• If you have done business in Asia before, you will recognise the unshakeable respect for hierarchy and structure common in Indonesian companies. It is uncommon to find a business here that will be willing to adapt to the recent trend in corporate Europe and America for breaking down the barriers between the bosses and the subordinates. So, if you want to get in contact with the CEO of an Indonesian business, it should be your CEO who makes the call or sends the email, not one of your middle managers.

• Again, like many other Asian business environments, trust is not easily won in Indonesia and, until it is, you will find yourself kept out of your contacts business inner circle. Once you show yourself to be a worthwhile ally (and this will always take time and perseverance), you will find many doors suddenly opened to you. Expect thick layers of bureaucracy when you first enter the Indonesian market.

• Though the first two points might sound terribly one-sided to some, this belief in hierarchy is not all about massaging the egos of those at the top. In fact, Indonesian bosses are expected to take their role as both leader of the company and father-figure to their subordinates very seriously. A boss who does not have a close, personable relationship with his or her charges is not seen as doing their job properly. Yet this relationship is always based on understanding of the pecking order.

• There are two types of business decisions made in Indonesia. The first comes from the boss and, once it is made, it is not up for discussion. Ever. The second is made between colleagues working at the same level and this is a process that many western business people may find frustrating. A group of peers hashing out a conclusion to even the most minor of issues can easily take much of the day, as nobody will be comfortable moving on until all sides have been given a microscopically fair hearing and a true compromise has been reached. This is simply the way things are done and it is crucial to the philosophies of respect that are so essential to Indonesian business culture.

• Meetings are always formal, serious occasions and should be treated as such by all sides. To begin, business cards should be exchanged. This should happen before the delegates get down to brass tacks. Your business card will only be respected if it contains as much information as possible on it. Throughout the meeting formal body language and formal terminology should be used, regardless of where the conversation turns. Despite this formality, do not expect the meeting to start on time or end on time. As with many other Asian business cultures, time is seen as a somewhat fluid concept in Indonesia.

One of the most powerful sectors of Singapore's economy is its property market. Investment in property on the island has been massive over the last decade, as more businesses arrive and grow and the population reaches forever skyward. Yet, recently, many experts have foreseen a dip in in the city's property market and though it is still a fertile industry, there have been recent signs of slowing down.

So what can somebody who has invested in or plans to invest in property in Singapore expect this year?

The figures

2014 was one of the first years in recent memory where demand for property in Singapore dropped. Not only that, it dropped by a pretty substantial figure. The total sales of 7,500 for the year were 50% less than 2013. Despite this pretty major drop in demand, prices have managed to stay high, to the surprise of many pundits, lowering by about 3% throughout the year.

These trends are likely to continue into the next year, with too much supply and too little demand for the market to continue prospering at its previously muscular pace. Should we all be worrying about a crash. No, say experts.

Why it's not all bad news

One of the reasons Singapore is such an attractive economy to invest in is, while they allow for huge freedom for businesses to operate in the state, the government are not afraid to step in to prevent key markets from suffering if it will be to the detriment of the entire economy.

2015 being an election year, the government will be keen to ensure that even if the property market does continue to decrease, it will ‘cool off' as oppose to ‘crash' thanks to processes put in place to stop prices firing off to wildly in either direction.

When you consider how key property is to the average Singaporean's wealth, it is easy to see why the authorities would take such decisive action. 47% of all assets on the island are related to real estate, and the modern Singaporean is extremely unlikely to vote for a party who is not prepared to fight for their money.

The trends

So, what direction will this all go in? Well, the trends are not hard to follow. Undoubtedly the oversupply of houses will continue for many years in Singapore. 50,300 residential houses are planned to be built in 2015, 71,500 are planned for 2016 and 37,200 are planned for 2017. However, the total growth in population is estimated at a mere 75,000 per year. Given that, in all likelihood, the vast majority of those people will not be willing or able to live alone, the maths does not look good for the market. If, for example, you were estimating that, on average, 3 people will be sharing a home that puts the incremental demand for homes at just 25,000 every year – far less than the amount being built.

It is probably fair to say that prices will continue to go down, with some pundits citing as high as a 10% drop. The reason is simple: too many units will be left unsold and too many rooms will go unrented. However, certain parts of the market may thrive on shifts in demand. For example, large-scale luxury housing is almost certainly likely to take a hit, but smaller apartments will probably benefit.

In response to China's air defence identification zone in the East China Sea, US Secretary of State John Kerry has stated that US military operations would not be deterred. He added that there should be no moves by the People's Republic to replicate this zone any further south.

During a visit to Hanoi, the Vietnamese capital, Kerry insisted that China should not take unilateral actions similar to those that were undertaken on November 23rd, when the Asian superpower declared this defence zone. The main issue for the US is the fact that this zone also covers territory claimed by China's neighbours, Japan and South Korea.

There was a moment of friction when a US naval vessel confronted a Chinese military ship in the South China Sea: a region where China has already been embroiled in territorial disputes with Vietnam and the Philippines. After meeting Vietnam's foreign minister, Pham Binh Minh, Kerry reiterated the US foreign policy viewpoint that stability and peace in the South China Sea remained a top priority.

It went without saying that the international markets, which were often fragile at the best of times, would scarcely benefit from a prolonged period of stand-offs between various Pacific neighbours.

Kerry is obviously trading in delicate diplomatic waters. As China continues to assert itself in the international trade arena, it is doing so against the backdrop of its parallel involvement in territorial disputes. The air and seas off China's costs are coming under increasing attention from Beijing. For all this, it is China that has gone out of its way to try and defuse tensions arising in the South China Sea. Amongst other things, its diplomats have agreed to talks on a code of conduct for this area.

There is no doubt that for a moment things did get a bit heated in the South China Sea, with China complaining that an American patrol ship got very close to its Liaoning aircraft carrier. There was a lot of the customary sabre-rattling that usually accompanies these types of international incident. But for the most part the situation was resolved professionally and amicably.

Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi told Kerry he hoped their two nations could “deepen strategic trust and cooperation”, as well as “properly handle issues of sensitivity and difference”.

During the titanic grapple for pole position in the global smartphone market, Apple and Samsung have each been flooding shelves with their latest all-dancing gadgetry. So far it is the South Koreans, Samsung, who have enjoyed the lion's share of the lucrative trade. One reason for their topping the sales charts has been the fact they have signed deals in both China and Japan, Asia's largest economies, to provide the handsets for their number one mobile operators. Apple did not manage to achieve this slice of the market.

It was not for the want of trying by Apple. The sales teams in charge of promoting the successful iPhone just couldn't influence China Mobile, or their Japanese counterparts, NTT Docomo. Between them these carriers can boast over 821 million customers – a phenomenal pool of potential customers.

Things might be set to change. NTT Docomo began to offer the iPhone to their customer base last September. The Chief Executive Officer of the Californian-based corporation, Tim Cook, has been engaged in some pretty extensive 'shuttle diplomacy' between the US west coast and China. It looks as if his hard graft may be about to pay dividends. iPhones are not compatible with China Mobile's own 3G standard. However, they do work with the long term evolution technology the operator plans using for 4G. The latter is in the pipeline for an early 2014 roll-out.

Apple's final breakthroughs in the Japanese and Chinese mobile operator lines is far from coincidental. They have long-dominated the US and European domestic markets, and because of this neither China Mobile or NTT Docomo have felt obliged to make any concessions to the iPhone. But much smaller rivals, such as SoftBank and China Unicorn, have already signed deals with Apple, capitalizing on the ever-popular iPhone brand in order to attract customers from under Samsung's nose.

So how is the longer-term picture panning out? China Mobile can still boast an impressive 62% of China's cellphone market. But that marks a 10% points drop in the past five years. NTT Docomo have endured a similar decline in popularity. Although the latter was an early champion of mobile internet technology, they have been steadily losing customers to their scrappier rivals.

It is still too early to predict how the overall situation will look several months from now, but it is fair to say that in the far eastern marketplace, Apple are back up and fighting after spending a while on the canvas. Samsung, despite their earlier runaway success, now find themselves back-pedaling.