Economy and commerce
Lao Government, stakeholders raise awareness of corporate social responsibility
Government officials and stakeholders met in Vientiane on 9 November to discuss and promote understanding of corporate social responsibility (CSR), especially in the land and natural resources sector. The meeting was organised by the Investment Promotion Department under the Ministry of Planning and Investment in collaboration with ...
Luxury timber goes to Vietnam en masse
While crowds gathered in Phnom Penh to watch Cambodia’s Independence Day parade, a different sort of procession drew the attention of villagers in Ratanakkiri province on 9 November, with hundreds of motorbikes flooding across border checkpoints loaded with luxury timber. The spectacle, which on a smaller ...
Warning for Thailand's ailing enterprises
The State Enterprises Policy Commission or superboard yesterday gave a mandate for seven loss-ridden state enterprises including embattled Thai Airways International (THAI) to launch rehabilitation plans next month. The superboard, which met on 9 November and was chaired by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, will hold executives, management teams and ...
Vietnam hopes to attract more Chinese tourists, with deeper pockets
Vietnam has launched its biggest ever promotional campaign in China, its largest visitor market, in an attempt to reverse a downward trend in the tourism industry. The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) last month started a series of events that gathered many travel agencies across ...
Local banks draw foreign interest
Vietnamese commercial banks expect to attract foreign investment in their newly-established financial companies thanks to the profitable domestic consumer financial market, according to Dau tu (Investment) newspaper. Despite concerns by shareholders, banks have still tried mergers and acquisitions (M&As) with ailing financial companies, whose non-performing loans ...
Foreigners targeted in 'model trafficking'
Thailand’s Department of Employment is vowing to take legal action against foreigners who work illegally as models in the country. The action comes following a complaint by the Thai Modelling Industry and Agencies Association, saying a number of foreign models, both men and women, disguise themselves as tourists ...
Vietnam growth surge masks weak local firms in 2-speed economy
Vietnam’s export-driven economy is set to grow at its fastest pace in eight years in 2015 and it’s foreign firms in the country that are riding the wave, leaving local companies lagging far behind. Foreign-owned businesses shipped 70 percent of Vietnam’s total exports so far this ...
New Zealand PM to discuss trade, security in Southeast Asian meetings
Trade and security links will be high on the agenda when New Zealand Prime Minister John Key undertakes a three-nation tour of Southeast Asia next week. Key said Monday he would lead a trade delegation to Vietnam from 14 to 17 November and meet with Prime ...
Ho Chi Minh City businesses cry foul as tax refunds take unconscionably long
Deputy Minister of Finance Do Hoang Anh Tuan has instructed tax offices in Ho Chi Minh City to review businesses’ applications for tax refunds and resolve possible problems that have been delaying payments. He issued the order at a meeting on 5 November after many businesses complained ...
Over 30,000 tourists visit Laos' Xekong province
Over 30,000 tourists visited Xekong Province in the 2014-2015 period. This number has been rising gradually year on year, according to the Deputy Director of the Xekong Information, Culture and Tourism Department, Mr Souban Detsomphong. Keep reading ...
