Winit Ritshima and Steven McArthur followed very different career paths. Mr Winit, a Bangkok entrepreneur, started in business making auto parts for locally assembled Mercedes Benz cars. Dr McArthur, based in Sydney, Australia, is the long-time scientific director of Genea, one of the world’s leading ...

The death toll from severe flooding across Myanmar has topped 100, state media have reported, with nearly 1 million people affected as fears intensify for the country’s crucial rice bowl region.  Floods from a heavy monsoon season have cut through South and Southeast Asia in recent ...

The European Union (EU) has donated K2.3 billion (US$1.68 million) to help tens of thousands of victims of tropical cyclone ‘Mora’ in the northern part of Rakhine State, the union said in a statement. The cyclone damaged nearly 50,000 structures in Myanmar, including more than 21,000 ...

Thailand and Burma have agreed to renew negotiations over disputed border demarcations, which had stalled under Burma’s previous government. The agreement was reached during State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi’s recent visit to Thailand, according to Burma’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Observers say that Thailand wants to ...

The committee overseeing foreigners’ investment under the foreign Business Act permitted 22 foreigners to invest in Thailand in June, according to the Department of Business Development’s director-general, Vuttikrai Leewiraphan.Most of them are from Japan, Singapore and China with total foreign direct investment (FDI) of Bt1.587 ...

The Investor Confidence Index (ICI) for stocks in the next three months rose by 1.6% from the previous month and remains in the bullish zone as investors expect the Covid-19 vaccination programme to ease the pandemic situation.The upcoming nationwide vaccination drive is the main factor ...

The collapse of a dam at the Xe Pian Xe Namnoy hydropower project in Laos was tragic. Immediate assessments say that 39 people died, many suffered injuries and thousands were left homeless, with their means of income lost for the foreseeable future. Beyond these numbers, ...

Discriminatory practices are holding Burmese migrant women back. “The Burma government doesn’t care that people come to Thailand for work. Sometimes I feel like I want to go home but it’s not any better in Burma. It’s difficult in Thailand, but in Burma there is ...

The Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Embassy in Thailand is pleased to announce the call for applications for the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) Academic Fellowships for Spring 2020!The YSEALI Academic Fellowships are intensive short-term academic Institutes whose purpose is to provide groups ...

Vietnam’s Agriculture Minister Cao Duc Phat said yesterday that localities nationwide need to step up efforts to ensure sustainable aquaculture, especially of key products like shrimp and tra fish. Addressing a conference held in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta province of Bac Lieu to review two ...

We are now turning our attention to weather news. This year ‘s hot season has reportedly arrived much sooner than in many previous years. Many provinces have been declared drought disaster zones. The public sector has been preparing for the lack of water.Keep watching ...

Some engineers are always thinking about how to extract more food production from plants, but for American chemical engineer Michael Strano, plants are something more than just a source of food – they are the starting point of technology. Calling himself a nanotechnologist, the professor ...

USAID Linkages for Small and Medium Enterprises (LinkSME) aims to strengthen the supplier-buyer relationships between Vietnamese SMEs and multinationals located in Vietnam to help local firms participate in global value chains. With a total value of US$22.1 million, the project will be implemented from September ...

Thailand’s Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) is slated to be an arterial node for trade, investment, and regional transportation, besides also serving as a strategic gateway to the Southeast Asian region. Stretching a total area of 13,000 square kilometres – encompassing the eastern provinces of Rayong, ...

The government is warning that water reserves for the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) are only sufficient until June unless the state finds additional sources to avoid a shortage.There are only 35 million cubic metres of water left to feed the industrial sector in Rayong, Chon ...

VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times/ANN) – The Lao and Vietnamese business associations are set to cooperate with each other to promote stable and sustainable growth of the Lao economy as part of their shared goal to achieve prosperity.The Young Entrepreneurs Association of Laos (YEAL) and the Vietnam ...

The Prime Minister has urged related agencies to ensure the enforcement of stringent disease control measures against COVID-19 for travelers and transport carriers, as inter-provincial travels to and from areas most critically hit with COVID-19.Keep watching ...

The government will provide grants and tax exemptions to private companies in a bid to promote research and development (R&D), especially for projects that serve the public interest.The Office of National Higher Education Science Research and Innovation Policy Council (NXPO) unveiled the government’s plan to ...

The Energy Ministry has warned that businesses in Thailand’s automotive industry must adapt quickly to the growing trend for electric vehicles (EVs).Prasert Sinsukpraser, who heads the ministry’s Department of Alternative Energy Development and Efficiency, said the Thai EV industry would grow rapidly between 2020 and ...

The government is giving the green light to local tour operators to tap foreign medical and wellness tourists from next month while the “travel bubbles” tourism scheme is tipped to start in September, a senior spokesman said yesterday.Dr Taweesilp Visanuyothin, spokesman of the Centre for ...