Economy and commerce
World Bank funds environmental protection projects

The Environment Protection Fund and the World Bank recently provided funding for the second phase of four environmental and social protection sub-projects in Laos at a cost of more than US$4 million. The first sub-project named Capacity Building for Pollution Control, Waste and Hazardous Chemicals Management ...
Poor quality rice mills limit exports to China
Only the IDP Rice Mill in Savannakhet province is able to produce rice of sufficient quality to meet the standard required by Chinese buyers. There are many rice mills around the country but they are inefficient and the finished product is of low quality. Based on ...
Việt Nam, South Korea want to boost cooperation

Việt Nam and South Korea began the 15th session of the Joint Economic Committee on September 22, with talks focusing on ways to boost cooperation and address pending issues. Deputy minister of Planning and Investment Nguyễn Thế Phương said the two countries had made significant achievements ...
Promises unmet as Thailand tries to reform shrimp industry

Facing international pressure for failing to stop human trafficking in its seafood sector, Thailand promised almost a year ago to compensate victims of slavery and industry leaders vowed to bring all shrimp processing in-house. That hasn’t always happened. Instead, some formerly enslaved shrimp peelers have been ...
Malaysia to buy power from Laos via Thai power grid

Laos, Thailand and Malaysia concluded a deal on September 21 which will see Malaysia buy 100 MW of electricity from Laos via Thailand’s power grid. Top energy officials of the three countries signed the Memorandum of Understanding on the sidelines of the 34th ASEAN Ministers on Energy ...
Coastal airport project gets nod

The Chinese developer behind a massive $3.8 billion tourism project being built in Koh Kong province has confirmed that it is ready to begin construction on a new international airport to serve the coastal resort and company’s related developments, though declined to reveal the investment ...
Investment from Vietnam hits a dry patch: CDC

Vietnamese investors shied away from the Cambodian market during the first half of the year as the Council for the Development of Cambodia failed to register a single qualified investment project from Vietnam during that period for the first time in its 22-year history, a ...
Việt Nam, UK to boost coffee trade

Vietnamese and British coffee enterprises are keen on doing more business together, Việt Nam Coffee and Cocoa Association (VICOFA) Chairman Lương Văn Tự said yesterday.Keep reading ...
Cash influx a band-aid for failing rice sector

As the government scrambles to buoy a rice sector suffering from crashing paddy prices and fierce international competition, Prime Minister Hun Sen on September 22 lauded the government officials and “generous businesspeople” who heeded calls for emergency funds. Falling from about $250 per ton in mid-August to ...
Look to ASEAN for promising renewable energy markets

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations or ASEAN is a political and economic organization of ten Southeast Asian countries. Formed in 1967 by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, membership has since expanded to include Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam. Covering more than ...