Investment policy and regulation
Foreign investors
Mekong agriculture lacks FDI
Bad weather, fluctuating prices and high risk in agricultural cultivation has made foreign investors hesitate in pouring capital into the sector. According to the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry – Can Tho branch, for the first six months of this year, the Mekong Delta attracted ...
Thailand's central declares $89.6 mln tax on Big C Vietnam deal: report
Thai retail giant Central Group has declared around US$89.6 million in tax on its acquisition of Vietnam’s biggest foreign-owned supermarket chain Big C, local media reported. Big C Vietnam, which declared the tax on behalf of its new owner, has paid $17.03 million of the amount, ...
Foreign direct investment collapses

Foreign direct investment in Thailand in the first half of the year fell by more than 90% in value to the lowest mark in over a decade at US$347 million, reports the Bank of Thailand. The report said FDI declined from $4.2 billion in the same ...
Laos - China’s gateway to Southeast Asia
Situated in Laos’ Luang Namtha province, Boten is China’s gateway to Southeast Asia and will be a critical link in both the North-South and East-West economic corridors. In terms of the North-South corridor, it is the transit point for the Kunming-Bangkok Expressway, which passes across ...
What lessons can Southeast Asia learn from ‘Brexit’?

Keith Richburg is the director of the Journalism and Media Studies Centre at the University of Hong Kong. He spent more than two decades as a foreign correspondent for the Washington Post covering Africa, Europe, China and Southeast Asia, making his first visit to Cambodia ...
Sanctions help Asian banks gain foothold in Myanmar

AT the CB Bank branch in the Thilawa Special Economic Zone near Yangon, there’s a dedicated “Japan desk”, where an employee of the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ sits to handle any Japanese corporate business that comes their way. The Japanese bank’s presence at Thilawa is no ...
China and Laos say their rail project is on track
China and Laos are both committed to a high-speed rail project linking the Chinese southwestern city of Kunming with the Lao capital of Vientiane, officials from both countries said, and the project will go ahead despite delays. The line should eventually stretch through Thailand and Malaysia ...
India, Cambodia step closer to bilateral treaty to protect investments
India’s cabinet approved a new bilateral investment treaty with Cambodia on 28 July that is designed to provide mutual protections for investors of each company, the Indian government said in a press release. The treaty, which has yet to be ratified by Cambodian authorities, is expected ...
Taiwanese firms rush Vietnamese footwear sector

Taiwanese firms are increasing capital investment in the Vietnamese footwear sector to benefit from Vietnam’s new free trade agreements, including the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the EU-Vietnam FTA, and the Vietnam-Korea FTA. On July 25, Taiwanese-owned Chinli My Phuoc One Member Co., Ltd. held the ground-breaking ceremony of ...
SEZs lure 39 projects worth B7bn

Investment is starting to flow into the government’s planned special economic zones with 39 projects worth 7.2 billion baht applying for promotional privileges from the Board of Investment. The Special Economic Zone Policy Committee, chaired by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, on 27 July acknowledged the investment ...