Economy and commerce

Xayaboury province will impose restrictions on banana farms following reports which suggested that farms in several provinces had used harmful chemicals which leaked into the soil and threatened local livelihoods. Governor of the northwestern province, Mr Phongsavanh Sitthavong, recently informed the media that Xayaboury would allow ...

China has announced that it will invest US$31.4 billion in the Mengla economic zone in Yunnan province of the country, which shares a border with Lunag Namtha and Phongsaly provinces in northern Laos. The investment will cover more than 240 projects in such fields as transportation, ...

The Tourism Council of Thailand projects foreign tourist arrivals will reach 30.3 million this year, growing 22% and surpassing the Tourism Authority of Thailand’s target of 28.8 million visitors. Tourism revenue from foreign tourists is expected to surge 21% to 1.42 trillion baht, slightly up from ...

Amid widespread anxiety over the impact of the Myanmar Central Bank’s decision to revoke thousands of US dollar accepter and holder licences, a senior official has promised authorities have no plans to return to old ways.  For many years – until 2011, when six commercial banks opened ...

Earlier this month, 12 countries in the Asia Pacific region signed the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) which ranks as the biggest trade agreement in history – signatory countries account for 40% of total global output. While the treaty still must be ratified by each and every party to it, ...

While Cambodian households saw their debt increase just 2 per cent last year, rural household borrowings to service existing loans nearly doubled, new government research shows. Both total and disposable incomes across the 3.3 million Cambodian households rose 16 per cent year-on-year in 2014, with total ...

The  development by the Thai government of a special economic zone at Mae Sot, which is intended to improve trade and communications between Thailand and Myanmar, could have devastating consequences for local inhabitants. Keep reading ...

Potential mortgage borrowers lined up for the government’s 10 billion baht in cheap loans at all branches of state-owned GH Bank on 19 October, the first day of the scheme. Keep reading ...

China is eyeing total investment of more than 200 billion yuan ($31.45 billion) in 240 projects in a pilot economic zone on the border with Laos, the government of the southwestern province of Yunnan said late on 19 October. Poor and remote, Laos has traditionally been ...

Savan Vegas Hotel and Entertainment Complex, a casino hotel in Laos, is being offered for sale via a competitive bid process, according to a press release dated 19 October. Keep reading ...