Economic policy and administration

The Thai government plans to buy rubber from farmers at a purchase price not exceeding 45 baht per kg. The projected price is about 15 baht lower than the set price demanded by  groups of rubber farmers who are calling for 60 baht per kg, roughly ...

Vietnam’s participation in the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) will create 14.5 per cent more jobs by 2025, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) found in a survey. Deputy Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Doan Mau Diep said at a workshop on 13 January in Hanoi that ...

India’s trade relation with Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam (CLMV) countries has immense potential, and “connectivity” and “economic integration” with regional value chains were crucial in this regard, Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on 12 January. Keep reading ...

Vietnam’s domestic small and medium sized enterprises need close co-operation from public offices in getting information about regulations of free trade agreements for getting more benefits from the agreements. This was suggested by experts at an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) public-private dialogue. Keep reading ...

Thailand’s Board of Investment said on 12 January it approved applications worth about 800 billion baht last year, missing its target of 1.4 trillion baht, but up from 724.7 billion baht in 2014. The investment agency did not meet its target in 2015 as some applications were submitted ...

Vietnam is seen by many foreign businesses as being a very attractive place to invest in and do business for many reasons, Francois Guibert, Chairman of the EU-ASEAN Business Council says.   “Vietnam has a lot more to offer investors than just low-cost labor,” Guibert told Thanh Nien ...

The Thai government is focused on stimulating the domestic economy and promoting community-based enterprises in the first half of the year as the global economic recovery appears set to remain sluggish. Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak said on 5 January at a cabinet meeting that in light ...

Cambodia’s Ministry of Commerce announced last week a $400 million proposal by three Chinese firms to build state-run rice warehousing facilities to increase the Kingdom’s storage capacity. Lacking such capacity has been a longstanding issue that sector experts say has in part hampered ambitions of reaching the ...

With the arrival of the new year, Southeast Asia has finally embarked on an important new journey that has been years in preparation. The hope is that the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) will bring a new era of growth, though many say there won’t be conspicuous changes ...

The State Bank of Vietnam reduced the dong’s reference rate for the first time since August, after saying over the weekend that it is moving to a more market-based methodology in setting a daily reference rate versus the dollar.   It lowered the fixing by 0.03 percent ...