Economy and commerce
Banking and financial services
Bank of Thailand seeks better investment return
The Bank of Thailand is considering a plan to expand categories of asset class investment in order to manage its foreign reserves more effectively, says the Bank of Thailand governor. “If we can find an asset class that could yield greater management of foreign reserves, result in ...
Myanmar Central Bank will not return to old ways: senior official
Amid widespread anxiety over the impact of the Myanmar Central Bank’s decision to revoke thousands of US dollar accepter and holder licences, a senior official has promised authorities have no plans to return to old ways. For many years – until 2011, when six commercial banks opened ...
Burden of debt eats into incomes
While Cambodian households saw their debt increase just 2 per cent last year, rural household borrowings to service existing loans nearly doubled, new government research shows. Both total and disposable incomes across the 3.3 million Cambodian households rose 16 per cent year-on-year in 2014, with total ...
GH Bank's cheap loans a success
Potential mortgage borrowers lined up for the government’s 10 billion baht in cheap loans at all branches of state-owned GH Bank on 19 October, the first day of the scheme. Keep reading ...
Ready or not, ASEAN economic integration coming, warns banker
“The Philippines is an attractive market without a means to compete,” according to BDO Unibank Inc. president Nestor Tan, expressing worry that Philippine banks are not ready to compete with the bigger banks of neighboring countries with the establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community. Keep reading ...
Offshore funds flood Thai bond market
Offshore capital is rapidly flooding the Thai bond market, with half of the first nine months’ fund outflows from the market turning back during the first 12 days of October. The return had been buoyed by hopes of the US Federal Reserve rate hike delay. Keep reading ...
Thailand, ADB join hands for Mekong subregion development
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Thailand signed a memorandum of understanding on 15 October, aiming to support economic development programmes mainly in countries along the Greater Mekong Subregion. Keep reading ...
Cambodia to invest $62M in China’s Asia Bank
The Council of Ministers agreed on 9 October to invest about $62 million in the fledgling Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, which is expected to start operating by the end of the year. Keep reading ...
Myanmar Central Bank issues directive on customer due diligence
The Central Bank of Myanmar has issued a directive on customer due diligence related to anti-money laundering and the financing of terrorism. All banks and financial institutions licensed by the Central Bank must develop effective frameworks to manage these risks, said the note, issued on 5 ...
Cooperative Bank first to sign for ADB trade finance
Cooperative Bank has become the first local lender to sign with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) under its Trade Finance Program, introduced to Myanmar last month. The program will help increase Myanmar’s international trade – the ADB will provide up to US$12 million per year to ...
