Economy and commerce

The Covid-19 pandemic could see Vietnam’s growth slow down to 4.8 percent this year, but it will remain among Asia’s fastest growing economies. The 4.8 percent GDP growth forecast, compared to over 7 percent in the last two years, is estimated on the basis of a ...

Rackety trucks rush across China’s border with its backwater neighbor, stirring up clouds of dust and drowning the tweets of tropical birds. Chinese projects to construct roads in one of Asia’s poorest countries date back to 1962 when Laos was subject to a proxy war between the global Cold ...

On February 12, the European Union Commission pulled the plug on Cambodia’s Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP), citing “serious and systematic violations of human-rights principles,” partially withdrawing the country’s preferential access to the EU. The decision resulted in uncertainty for Myanmar’s industries, especially the garment and shoemaking ...

After allowing the MS Westerdam and its 2,000 passengers and crew to dock at its port on February, Sihanoukville, a quiet and small port city in Cambodia has commanded the global spotlight.  Aside from offering a safe departure for those on board, Sihanoukville is in the ...

THE IMPACT on Myanmar of the coronavirus outbreak that began in neighbouring China late last year has hit border trade and tourism hard, and there were reports last week that the garment sector was also being affected by supply-chain disruptions. As of February 17, Myanmar was monitoring ...

Cambodia and China say they are now planning to sign a free-trade deal some time later this year. The move came after the duo wrapped up their first-round negotiations, which were held last month in Beijing, China. The Ministry of Economy and Finance late last week ...

Myanmar Investment Commission (MIC) recently approved 12 investment enterprises from home and abroad, said a release from the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration (DICA) on Saturday (Feb 15). The enterprises, which will create over 6,600 job opportunities for Myanmar citizens, were permitted at the commission’s ...

Vietnam took over the rotational chair of Asean, or the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, in January 2020, so it’ worth noting that Hanoi’s second foremost foreign policy priority after the South China Sea is reportedly the Mekong River region. While the South China Sea, ...

The National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) has announced it is preparing to launch a central bank digital currency (CBDC). NBC’s director-general, Chea Serey, said the central bank was developing “the national payment gateway for Cambodia.” It would serve as a blockchain-based, peer-to-peer platform with its own specially designed cryptocurrency. According ...

The former chief of Pak Chim, a tiny village on a tributary of the Mekong River, remembers clearly the moment he knew his hamlet would be no more. It was a decade ago. A few hundred residents of Pak Chim and nearby villages along the snaking ...