Investment policy and regulation
Foreign investors
Vietnam: $705.8m outbound investment; funding opportunity from France
Foreign direct investment into Vietnam reached $14.3 billion in 2016. Meanwhile, Vietnamese startups are attracting investment and partnership from French investors. Vietnam’s outbound investments hit $705.8m Vietnamese companies pumped $705.8 million in 106 projects in foreign markets during the first eight months of this year, according ...
Cabinet approves Gold Line monorail
THE Bt3.8-billion Gold Line monorail project for western Bangkok along the Chao Phraya River was given the green light by the Cabinet on September 6, with the line expected to be in service in 2018. The elevated monorail line is 2.7 kilometres long, stretching from ...
Cambodian traders test derivatives market
Sitting in a cafe on Phnom Penh’s Sothearos Boulevard in August, a group of young Cambodians gazed at their computer screens, watching the movement of currency around the globe. During their regular weekday trading session in the foreign exchange market, dubbed forex or FX, they anticipate ...
Credit growth starts to cool off
New data released by Cambodia’s independent credit reporting agency indicate a significant slowdown in the rate of lending during the second quarter of the year, a sign that banking industry experts claim is due to a tightening of lending criteria and less seasonal demand from ...
So long to the Asian sweatshop
For 30 years, the word “sweatshop” has conjured up a very specific image: low-wage Asian workers making branded clothes in crowded, unsafe factories for consumers overseas. The power of that image has launched human rights campaigns, altered how major companies source their products and informed ...
ASEAN to become world's No. 4 economy by 2030: Laos PM
A new economic order will emerge by 2030, with Southeast Asia taking on a central role, Laotian Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith told business leaders in his nation’s capital on September 5. “Studies have shown that the ASEAN economy is expected to grow at 7% per annum, ...
Protest threat if dam plan goes to cabinet
A leader of the Seub Nakhasathien Foundation conservation group has vowed to launch a protest if a proposal to approve the Mae Wong dam in Nakhon Sawan goes before cabinet. Sasin Chalermlarp’s comment came as Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Chatchai Sarikulya is reportedly seeking to use ...
Hydropower commission probes Myitsone contract
The commission to scrutinise hydropower projects along the Ayeyarwady River has met with the Ministry of Electric Power and Energy to learn more about the contractual agreement with a Chinese state-owned firm underpinning the suspended Myitsone hydropower project in Kachin State. The commission held its second ...
Survey: EU businesses planning to expand in ASEAN
Majority of European businesses are planning to expand their investment and operations in ASEAN, including the Philippines, as the region grows in global importance and increasing profits, but they also said that trade barriers in the region hamper their ability to reach maximum economic potential, ...
Indian mining firm prepares to dig deep in Ratanakkiri
The Ministry of Mines and Energy is set to issue the country’s first commercial underground mining license to Indian company Mesco Gold in two weeks, despite opposition by residents of two villages concerned about compensation and environmental damage. The company plans to break ground on its ...
