Economy and commerce

Thailand’s government plans to allocate an additional $5.3 billion this fiscal year to investment projects in provincial areas, in what appears to be a major effort to appeal to the rural population and kickstart economic growth after several years of stagnation. High household debt, dropping ...

Bestlin Group, the firm contracted to procure 489 natural gas for vehicle air-conditioned buses to the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority, on December 8 proposed a deal with the Finance Ministry amid​ fears it might be ineligible for a 40% import duty exemption for the buses. The firm ...

SET-listed PTT Plc, the national oil and gas conglomerate, is branching out into property management, according to a key company official. The move is part of a plan to diversify into other sectors at a time when global oil prices remain weak, said Auttapol Rerkpiboon, ...

Minebea, the largest Japanese company in Cambodia, officially opened a third manufacturing plant in the Phnom Penh Special Economic Zone on December 8 to coincide with the fifth anniversary of its presence in the country. Yoshihisa Kainuma, president and CEO of Mineba (Cambodia), told reporters at ...

The government decided on December 8 to offer a three-year, multiple-entry visa for Japanese nationals to facilitate and attract more investment and tourists. The decision was made by Prime Minister Hun Sen during the 5th year anniversary of Minibea, a Japanese motor assembly plant at Phnom ...

Exports to Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam continue to rise due to strong demand in the neighbouring countries, where the economies continue to grow, according to the Office of Industrial Economics. Ittichai Yotsi, director of the OIE’s Bureau of Industrial Economics Research, said exports to ...

Unfavourable weather has delayed Thailand’s sugar crushing season, threatening a reduction in sugar output for the 2016/17 crop. The drop will prevent Thailand, the world’s second largest sugar exporter, from capitalising on rising global sugar prices at a time it is being challenged by Brazil ...

In a serious blow to thousands of would-be home-owners, the construction of affordable homes in Yangon’s Ayeyarwon and Yadanar housing projects has been suspended because the money has run out, government officials say. Urban and Housing Development department director general U Min Htein told The Myanmar ...

A leading Chinese manufacturer of power transmission and distribution equipment recently visited Cambodia to explore opportunities in the Kingdom’s rapidly growing energy sector, including a proposal for a factory to produce equipment for the electricity sector. The Ministry of Mines and Energy met representatives of ...

The Customs Department has impounded 100 natural gas vehicle air-conditioned buses which were supposed to hit Bangkok streets late this month amid doubts over whether the import order is legitimate or was falsely declared to avoid more than 100 million baht in tax. The first ...