Economy and commerce

More than a year into a government-backed campaign to clamp down on unlicensed lenders, nearly 130 small lenders operating under the radar have come into the fold, officials said on September 8. The Ministry of Economy and Finance and the National Bank of Cambodia launched a ...

Former Minister of Planning and Investment, Professor Nguyen Mai, speaks to the Tuoi tre newspaper, suggesting that HSG should focus on the manufacture of high grade alloy rather than steel. Recently, the Hoa Sen Joint Stock Group made public a super project for steel production in ...

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 8 proposed a joint task force on connectivity to work on extension of India-Myanmar-Thailand trilateral highway to Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, while also proposing to enhance the ASEAN-India Fund with an additional grant of US $ 50 million.  Speaking at ...

Most European companies will increase trade and investment in an integrated Association of Southeast Asian Nations over the next five years, according to a survey, although many also expressed frustration at existing trade barriers. The 2016 EU-ASEAN Business Sentiment Survey showed that 85% of European respondents ...

Thailand has dropped its seat quota on commercial flights to Cambodia after its government approved the removal of the restrictions in accordance with an aviation agreement between the two countries signed in May. The approval comes months after Cambodia did the same, liberalising air travel ...

Vietnam pledges continued efforts to foster the Mekong-Japan cooperation for the sustainable development, peace, stability and prosperity in the region, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has affirmed. The Vietnamese Government leader made the statement in Vientiane, Laos on September 7 while attending the 8th Mekong-Japan Summit ...

SET-listed microfinance company Group Lease plans to collaborate further with Commercial Credit & Finance, a Sri Lankan financial group, to strengthen its microfinance businesses in Indonesia and Cambodia after GL acquired a microfinance company in Myanmar from a Commercial Credit shareholder. GL on September 7 signed a ...

Vietnam moved rocket launchers into disputed territory in the South China Sea, reports recently suggested, meaning it could potentially attack land that China has controversially reclaimed. This all comes at a time of heightened tension over territorial wrangling in the region. A Pentagon report released in ...

Laos and Japan have agreed on a joint development direction for Laos with the two countries joining forces to remove the landlocked nation from Least Developed Country status. The agreement came at a high-level bilateral meeting held in Vientiane on September 6 led by the heads of ...

Thai-listed firm Group Lease has brought a majority stake in BG Microfinance Myanmar, with plans to invest almost US$7 million into the business and ramp up the number of branches. Korean credit card firm Shinhan Card, meanwhile, is preparing to start its own microfinance services ...