Economy and commerce
Trade
New Zealand PM to discuss trade, security in Southeast Asian meetings
Trade and security links will be high on the agenda when New Zealand Prime Minister John Key undertakes a three-nation tour of Southeast Asia next week. Key said Monday he would lead a trade delegation to Vietnam from 14 to 17 November and meet with Prime ...
Thai consumer confidence Index hits 10-month high
The University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce has revealed a 10-month high in the country’s consumer confidence, as a result of the government’s economic stimulus measures. Director of the UTCC Center for Economic and Business Forecasting Thanawat Polwichai said the consumer confidence index for October ...
While China growth slows, cash-hungry firms steer Asia IPOs into fast lane
As the world absorbs life with a slowing Chinese economy, business is brisk for one group – Asia’s bankers, handling a burst of stock listings by mainland firms that need funds now and are resigned to their shares being worth less than before. Though initial public ...
Booming trade benefits China, Vietnam
When Xiang Jiancheng started doing business in Dongxing two decades ago, trade in the China-Vietnam border city was still lukewarm. These days, however, more than 10,000 Chinese and Vietnamese walk across the border bridge every day to do business in bustling markets on both sides. Cross-border business ...
No Thai-Myanmar border closed as rumored
Myanmar says it did not close its borders along Thailand’s Tak province as rumored. Tak authorities have confirmed that trade on the Thai-Myanmar border remains open as usual, after the 4th Infantry Regiment investigated the claims. Keep reading ...
Charoen eyes $4bn buy of Vietnam's biggest company
Shares in Vinamilk, Vietnam’s largest listed company, hit an all-time high on Tuesday after local media said a drinks-maker controlled by Thailand’s second-richest man plans to buy out the state’s 45% stake. Keep reading ...
‘We’re not independent enough’ – ASEAN rights body
It’s now six years old, but few know what the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) does. It has been called toothless, though its creation was seen as a step forward given the principle of non-interference in the 10-member Association of South-east Asian Nations ...
Rice market gains momentum
The rice market is expected to continue gaining ground in export, as the Philippines plans to import a million tonnes in early 2016. The announcement comes on the back of winning previous bids to sell 450,000 tonnes of rice to the Philippines and a million ...
Cambodia pins economic hopes on AEC
Cambodians are expecting a ‘seamless transition’ when the ASEAN Economic Community is launched in two months and hopefully heralds a second investment wave, capable of transforming this country’s pool of unskilled labor into a manufacturing hub. The first investment wave followed Cambodia’s ascension to the World ...
From bombs to bracelets, this jewelry line is clearing land mines
“After the war, we live afraid of unexploded bombs, and we’re very careful when we go and do anything,” says Somechit Phouangsavat, an artisan from Ban Naphia, also known as War Spoon Village, in Laos. The 32-year-old works alongside 30 other artisans at Article 22, a company ...
