VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times/ANN) – The Ministry of Planning and Investment in cooperation with development partners is making progress in disaster risk management under a regional project.Objectives of the Southeast Asia Disaster Risk Management Project (SADRMP) for Laos include reducing the impact of flooding in Meuang ...

The Bank of Thailand has been studying a warehousing concept that allows commercial banks to sell commercial loans parked in funds of asset management companies at prices acceptable to both the creditor and borrower.Given the difficulties amid the Covid-19 crisis, some businesses have had to ...

Lower Mekong River water levels have increased by 20-30 percent compared to the same period of previous years as China releases dam water.According to the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological forecasting, the Mekong Delta region, where the Mekong River reaches the sea, has received a volume ...

The construction of a dam in Laos is endangering the ecosystem of the Mekong river, one of the world’s largest rivers running a length of 5,000 km (3,107 miles) and a source of life and livelihood for millions living along its banks. The dam threatens the ...

Major Cineplex Group is expanding its footprint in Laos, aiming to have 30 movie screens there within three years. Entering the country of 7 million people through its partner Platinum Cineplex, Thailand’s largest movie-theatre operator formed a 60:40 joint venture to open its first five movie ...

The state-run Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) is planning to talk with power authorities in Cambodia and Myanmar to trade electricity from Thailand at a combined capacity of 500 megawatts. Patana Sangsriroujana, deputy governor for policy and planning, said Egat has been ordered by Energy ...

The Global Investigative Journalism Conference (GIJC) is the premier international gathering of investigative and data journalists, held once every two years. This year, the 11th conference will be held in Hamburg, Germany, from September 26 to 29, and is being co-hosted by the Global Investigative Journalism Network, ...

The Ho Chi Minh City Blood Transfusion Hematology Hospital has begun a training course in hematopoietic stem cell transplant for Cambodia’s Calmette Hospital. Dr Sok Sothea of Calmette said a team of three doctors, two nurses and a technician would attend the five-month course that has ...

Lack of legal assistance from foreign countries means the fight against wildlife crime is still very tough. This is according to Nguyễn Duy Giảng, head of the Department for Prosecution and Supervision over Criminal Cases, under the Supreme People’s Procuracy of Việt Nam at press conference ...

Debt restructuring periods offered to borrowers affected by the pandemic could be extended to more than 10 years, says Thai Bankers’ Association (TBA) chairman Payong Srivanich.The Bank of Thailand, in collaboration with the TBA, recently implemented additional debt assistance measures to provide sustainable aid to ...

An ambitious target has been set to increase the rice production in 2019 and to ensure food security that was undermined by this year’s severe floods, a minister said this week. The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry is targeting 100,000 hectares of dry season rice next ...

The rising Mekong River has resulted in flooding in Mukdaharn province and brought flood warnings to all riverside communities. A rise of 10 centimeters in the Mekong River in Mukdaharn province has allowed it to 0verflow its 12.5 meter high banks for a second time this ...

Vietnam’s economic growth has continued to firm up in 2015 with gross domestic product forecast to expand 6.3 per cent in the first half of this year, according to the World Bank’s latest Taking Stock report. The bank’s semi-annual review of Vietnam’s economic performance said the ...

After the decision by the government to continue allowing the use of three chemicals in the farming sector for another two years, namely Paraquat, Glyphosate, and Chlorpyrifos, the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives will be holding training of targeted farmers ensuring safe usage of these ...

The shortage of PM2.5 monitoring stations blamed for lack of pollution alerts. The authorities have failed to provide accurate and up-to-date air pollution warnings to the people in the midst of the intensifying Northern smog problem, Chiang Mai citizens have complained. The administrator of the ...

Arbitrators need to step in and deal with disputes in public-private-partnership (PPP) projects so economic development will not be disrupted, experts have warned.Professor Pham Duy Nghia at Fullbright Vietnam University said attracting private investment was good for infrastructure development. According to Nghia, in order to ...

Ten localities in Vietnam are taking actions to fight plastic pollution under Plastic Smart Cities (PSC), an initiative put forward by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).PSC, which aims to connect cities and tourist destinations in joint efforts to combat plastic pollution, has attracted ...

Malaysia has been urged to emulate Thailand in the management of human trafficking cases by allowing collaboration between enforcement agencies and civic groups.Patchareeboon Sakulpitakphon, who works with the Asian chapter of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), told FMT the partnership would ensure ...

Thai Health Report 2020 showed that Thailand’s healthcare system was ranked among top countries in Asia and the World and the country was in the world’s top 13 rankings of the countries, responding well to a pandemic.The report was produced by the Institute for Population ...

The e-payment law, a tool for the Revenue Department to tax the income of non-salaried earners, particularly online vendors, will go into force from Jan 1, 2020. It takes time to link systems between the Revenue Department and financial institutions, so the money transfer reporting ...