Economy and commerce
Investment
Myanmar’s disappointing new investment law
A new investment law has been rushed through Burma’s Parliament, with the Upper House giving its approval on October 6. According to the Myanmar Investment Commission, the law is expected to take effect soon. Earth Rights International and other civil society groups are concerned that the ...
Thai Lion Air's Ho Chi Minh City service gets green light
Thai Lion Air has received the green light from Vietnamese authorities to start a Bangkok-Ho Chi Minh City service that was earlier placed in doubt. Monday’s notification allows the Thai-registered low-cost carrier to maintain its planned flight timetable with the maiden service set to launch ...
ASEAN officials discuss way forward for greater connectivity
ASEAN dialogue partners and delegates gathered in Vientiane on October 18 to discuss ways to put the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity 2025 into action. In particular, they considered more effective coordination between sectors, among nations and within the region. Gathering at the 3/2016 ASEAN Connectivity Coordinating Committee ...
Attapeu airport potential examined during PM's visit
Attapeu International Airport may become more widely used in order to boost air transportation within Laos and the region. Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith visited Attapeu province on October 15-16 for a working visit to discuss the future of the airport with provincial authorities after it opened for ...
How to arrange VND230 trillion to build north-south highway
The Ministry of Transport has said that the north-south highway requires lower costs compared with other projects, but the Ministry of Finance says the required investment is high compared with the long-term public investment plan. MOT has submitted to the government a project on building a ...
Russia, Belarus prepare to establish auto joint ventures in Vietnam
A couple of Russian and Belarusian companies are preparing to set up auto joint ventures in Vietnam to benefit from two protocols between Vietnam and the two nations on production of vehicles here in the country. The two protocols were signed within the framework of the ...
Production slowing at Wa Tin mine
Output from a mysterious Myanma tin mine that has disrupted the global market in the metal is falling sharply and deposits could be depleted in “two to three years,” senior mine officials told Reuters. A surprise discovery of large quantities of tin has propelled the formerly ...
Meteorologist advises smaller alternatives to Myitsone megadam
The former director general of the meteorology and hydrology department has proposed an alternative solution to the problem of the stalled Myitsone hydropower dam. Instead of building one destructive and publically reviled mega dam, why not build four smaller hydropower projects instead, he suggested on ...
Is the Belt and Road Initiative globalizing China’s national security policy?
Chinese security policy experts use potential threats to BRI projects to highlight the necessity of a globalized security posture. The suicide bomb attack on the Chinese embassy in Kyrgyzstan in August 2016 highlighted China’s rising external vulnerability in a region at the heart of its signature ...
Royalties to include rentals under new Thailand-Singapore double tax rules
The New Double Tax Agreement between Thailand and Singapore becomes effective on January 1, 2017. If a Thai resident company has an outstanding rental payable to a Singaporean resident company, they should consider settling the debt before the end of 2016 in order to utilise ...