Economy and commerce

Cambodia has moved to formalise its ill-regulated derivatives sector by launching a key regulation earlier this month. On July 2, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Cambodia (SECC) approved the prakas on the “Licensing and Supervision of Derivative Trading”. The prakas regulates the sector by allowing individuals ...

Vietnam has topped a performance index for greenfield foreign direct investment, leading all other emerging markets by a wide margin. The southeast Asian country ranked number one in a study by fDi Intelligence, an FT data division, which looked at inbound greenfield investment since 2003 relative ...

Kasikornthai Bank in Laos has extended loans and offered financial management services to Aeon Leasing Service (Lao) to support its retail and motorcycle-financing business there. Both parties are also ready to jointly develop payment channels and other innovative services in a bid to assist Thai investors ...

China’s economic slowdown may widen Vietnam’s trade deficit as the Southeast Asian nation counts on its largest trading partner to buy commodities, according to a government official.   “It would hurt our exports to China, especially with agricultural products,” Nguyen Duc Kien, deputy head of the National ...

Dutch giant Heineken opened its US$60 million brewery on 12 July, with its locally developed Regal Seven lager beer set to hit store shelves shortly. The brewer will also face the unusual situation of competing against one of its own beers. It owns Tiger beer, but ...

Life insurance premiums in Vietnam are on track for yet another record year, but industry observers say the gains are coming from a very low base and that foreign insurers have yet to truly crack the market despite dominating the sector.   Premiums from life insurance plans ...

The Burmese kyat has recently fallen. Down around 13 percent this year, and 26 percent since the instigation of the “managed float” arrangements in 2012, the decline in the kyat has also brought with it a return of many of the economically repressive impulses of ...

Pongpet Mekloy argues that Thailand and Laos need to work closer together in order to capitalise on their joint attractions that line the mighty river. Research by Si Sa Ket Rajabhat University is highlighted, which investigated the potential for tourism along the international river, focusing on the ...

Listed Chinese companies have rushed to halt trading in their shares today as the rout on the Shanghai and Shenzen exchanges continues. The South China Morning Post reports that 51 per cent of mainland Chinese stocks, representing some US$2.2 trillion in market capitalisation, have asked for voluntary ...

Vietnam is celebrating the 55th anniversary of its tourist industry amid a mountain of challenges, highlighted by falling international tourist numbers. Fifty-five years after the tourist industry was founded in 1960, the industry has obtained many achievements, but “new challenges and difficulties have also arisen,” Vietnam ...