Economy and commerce
Trade
Thai rice exports to stay strong, say shippers
Thailand’s rice situation is stable thanks to several pending purchase orders under government-to-government (G-to-G) contracts with the Philippines and China, president Charoen Laothammatas said on 11 November. He expects Thai paddy prices will remain steady at 8,000 to 8,500 baht a tonne next year. Keep reading ...
Mynamar trade steady year-on-year despite flooding: ministry
Myanmar’s trade volumes for the first half of this fiscal year match last year’s figures despite devastating flooding in July and August and a six-week embargo on rice exports. Myanmar’s bilateral trade was worth US$16.204 billion over the first six months of fiscal year 2016, placing ...
Lao Ministry imposes ban on log exports
Laos’ Ministry of Industry and Commerce has imposed an export ban on logs and unprocessed sawn wood following the prohibition instruction given by the government. The move aims to add value to wood resources by processing them domestically before they are exported. Recently, the ministry issued an order ...
50% increase in Myanmar-Thai border trade
Yangon – Myanmar-Thai border trade value from April to October increased by 50 per cent to US$601.73 million, according to Thailand’s Commerce Ministry. Keep reading ...
Japanese malls in Southeast Asia eye middle-class consumers
Japanese distributors have been opening shopping malls and department stores one after another to attract the increasing population of middle-income earners in Thailand, Malaysia and other major Southeast Asian countries. Other foreign and local companies are also opening commercial facilities in those countries, although their economies ...
Post-election, kyat resumes its weakening trend
The kyat weakened against the US dollar this week as the greenback strengthened in international markets and business resumed in Myanmar following the 8 November election. Fears the election could spur currency volatility have not materialised, indicating a certain level of confidence in political developments and ...
Rubber market to be built in Mawlamyine, Myanmar
Myanmar’s first central rubber market will be built at Mawlamyine in Mon State as authorities seek to help the industry amid low prices and sluggish sales. Mon State is the country’s top rubber producer and the commodity is considered a “promising export” in Myanmar’s National Export ...
Luxury timber goes to Vietnam en masse
While crowds gathered in Phnom Penh to watch Cambodia’s Independence Day parade, a different sort of procession drew the attention of villagers in Ratanakkiri province on 9 November, with hundreds of motorbikes flooding across border checkpoints loaded with luxury timber. The spectacle, which on a smaller ...
Warning for Thailand's ailing enterprises
The State Enterprises Policy Commission or superboard yesterday gave a mandate for seven loss-ridden state enterprises including embattled Thai Airways International (THAI) to launch rehabilitation plans next month. The superboard, which met on 9 November and was chaired by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, will hold executives, management teams and ...
Vietnam growth surge masks weak local firms in 2-speed economy
Vietnam’s export-driven economy is set to grow at its fastest pace in eight years in 2015 and it’s foreign firms in the country that are riding the wave, leaving local companies lagging far behind. Foreign-owned businesses shipped 70 percent of Vietnam’s total exports so far this ...
