Economy and commerce
Trade
Cheapest Thai fragrant rice for six years
The global price of Hom Mali fragrant rice has dropped to the lowest in six years as growers sell their grain direct to millers-cum-exporters instead of joining a state-run bank’s scheme to increase rice prices. Keep reading ...
Vietnam coffee industry in trouble as prices plunge
Despite efforts to reduce costs and increase yields, Vietnam’s coffee exports have faced a difficult year, delegates heard at a seminar in Ho Chi Minh City on 2 December. “The international coffee market has seen unexpected trends and seriously impacted Vietnamese exports,” Deputy Minister of Agriculture ...
Companies begin to feel the heat as import costs climb
Myanmar’s plummeting currency has prompted a vicious circle of rising prices in the import-dependent economy, in which even export-driven companies face rising costs, say businesspeople. New laws and regulations are urgently needed to control the kyat, they said, which has fallen by more than 25 percent ...
Thailand 'to reap rewards' from IMF's yuan move
Thailand’s trade and investment will benefit in the long run from inclusion of the yuan in the special drawing rights currency basket of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), says a senior central bank official. Greater use of the Chinese currency would help to slim down foreign ...
Thai Government urged to also help big companies go abroad
The Thai Government should change its mindset about offering help only to small and medium-size firms expanding overseas and extend it to larger companies, said Thiraphong Chansiri, president and chief executive of Thai Union Group. Thiraphong added that a new challenge for companies branching out internationally was ...
Paving the way for new SMEs
The Cambodian government is reviewing a draft sub-decree that would see the creation of a one-stop shop to handle small- and medium-enterprise (SME) registration aimed at encouraging more of them to join the formal sector and improving the quality of state support, an official said ...
TPP, AEC seek increased growth in farming exports
Exports of Vietnamese agricultural, forestry and fishery products would be aided by the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement and the enactment of the ASEAN Economic Community. According to experts speaking at a seminar on the impact of free trade agreements on Vietnam’s agricultural sector, the TPP ...
Vietnam blocks exports by foreign gold miner over huge back taxes
Two major foreign-invested gold mining companies in the central province of Quang Nam will not be allowed to resume exports until they pay VND387 billion (US$16.93 million) in back taxes, a government spokesman confirmed at a press conference on 27 November. Nguyen Van Nen was responding ...
Laos pins economic hopes on extra electricity
As Southeast Asia’s energy demands grow, Laos is banking on increased electricity exports to shore up its economy. The tiny country, which has a population of just under 7 million, has been opening a string of large-scale hydropower stations that will boost its total generation ...
How Thailand's anti-dumping law works
An anti-dumping measure is a trade regulation many countries use to prevent local industries from being hurt by cheap imported goods that are “dumped” on the market. Thailand is a member of the World Trade Organization, which has adopted international free trade regulations including an anti-dumping mechanism. ...
