Economy and commerce
China factory index hits 6-year low
A key indicator of China’s manufacturing activity slumped to a 77-month low in August, an independent survey showed on 21 August, fuelling concerns of further deceleration in the world’s second-largest economy. The preliminary reading of Caixin’s Purchasing Manager’s Index (PMI) came in at 47.1 this month, ...
Vietnam, Dagestan reach oil and gas exploitation agreement
Vietnam is willing to pour up to 300 million USD into an oil and gas exploitation project in the Caspian Sea of the Republic of Dagestan within the Russian Federation, said Dagestan’s Government Office on 18 August. Keep reading ...
Major Cineplex targets 30 cinemas in Laos within three years
Major Cineplex Group is expanding its footprint in Laos, aiming to have 30 movie screens there within three years. Entering the country of 7 million people through its partner Platinum Cineplex, Thailand’s largest movie-theatre operator formed a 60:40 joint venture to open its first five movie ...
Street food blues in the Kingdom’s capital
While street food vending is among Phnom Penh’s most visible cottage industries, proprietors are left in the legal dust as authorities demand unexplained “fines”. Dy Poch, the operator of a mobile grilled meat stall in front of the White Building tenements on Sothearos Boulevard, would rather ...
Costco sued over claims Thai shrimp harvested with slave labour
Costco Wholesale Corp was sued for selling farmed shrimp from Thailand, where slave labour and human trafficking in the fishing industry are widespread, and allegedly misleading US consumers about it. A California woman, Monica Sud, filed what may be the first such lawsuit against the retailer ...
Advertising signs in Laos still not conforming
Shops and restaurants in Laos are still not following the law because much, if not all, of their signs and banners are written in a foreign language. All signboards are legally required to feature the Lao language predominantly, on top and in the most prominent position, ...
Vietnam's steel output reaches highest in a decade
Building steel output in July reached 613,000 tonnes, posting 51.5 per cent increase over the same period last year and marking the record high in the past 10 years, said the Vietnam Steel Association. Keep reading ...
HCM City speeds up work on special economic zone
The HCM City administration has instructed relevant agencies to finalise plans for the establishment of a special economic zone encompassing districts 7, Binh Chanh, Nha Be, and Can Gio. Keep reading ...
Remittances to Ho Chi Minh City hit $2.42 bil in Jan-July
Overseas remittances to Ho Chi Minh City rose 12 percent year-on-year in the first seven months thanks partly to an increased interest in the property market from overseas Vietnamese, local media reported. Keep reading ...
AIIB awaits Thai approval
Thailand’s investment of 48.68 billion baht in the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) will seek approval soon from the National Legislative Assembly. Keep reading ...
