Industries
EU warns NGO law could cost $700m
The European Parliament yesterday passed a resolution urging Cambodia’s government to scrap the proposed NGO law, saying the Kingdom could lose $600-700 million annually in development projects if the legislation is passed. It stated the Law on Associations and Non-Governmental Organisations could see the country lose ...
Working conditions in Cambodia's garment factories slightly improved: group
The International Labor Organization (ILO) has found a slight improvement in Cambodia’s garment factory working conditions, although issues of overtime and occupational safety and health continue, according to its latest report released on 8 July. The ILO’s Better Factories Cambodia (ILO-BFC) Program report said it ...
Vietnam axes $200mln plant project as Taiwanese giant dawdles
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Vietnamese authorities in the northern province of Vinh Phuc have recalled a license for a US$200-million factory invested by the world’s largest electronics manufacturer Foxconn. The Taiwanese company, which has partnered with many giants including Apple and BlackBerry, had failed to kick-start the project licensed in ...
Mekong's steady flow of tourism
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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 ...
Vietnam’s tourist industry marks 55th anniversary amid challenges
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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 ...
Putting productivity on the menu
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An ILO project that provides free lunch at garment factories is proving to be a hit with workers, but whether or not this 50-cent per worker “experiment” catches on will depend on factory owners and the brands they supply. Last July, eight garment factories in Phnom ...
The real importance of Japan’s new strategy for the Mekong
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On July 4, the leaders of Japan and the five countries in the Mekong subregion – Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam – convened for the Seventh Mekong-Japan Summit in Tokyo. True to form, much of the media focus was on the dollar amount that Japan ...
Vietnam anxiously wants to bring quick end to tourism crisis, but can it?
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Vietnam’s leadership have signed off on visa waivers for five more European countries — France, Italy, Germany, Spain, and the UK — and Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has continued to press ahead with further visa exemptions. In a directive dated July 2, Dung asked that ...
Tiger meat and bear paws on menu for Chinese tourists in Laos, says report
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A resort complex in northwest Laos targeting Chinese visitors has become a “lawless playground” for the trade in illegal wildlife ranging from tiger meat to bear paws, an advocacy group has said. Customers “can openly buy endangered species products” in the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone on ...