News

Lao government officials have expressed concern about the interest rate on a U.S. $500 million loan from China to build a multibillion-dollar, high-speed railway through the Southeast Asian nation, and have asked political leaders to negotiate a lower rate, a high-ranking Lao official said. Keep reading ...

Talks in Chiang Mai among leaders of 18 armed factions saw 10 groups, including the powerful Kachin Independence Army, declaring they would not sign the agreement because of the government’s refusal to extend the accord to include three allied factions fighting in the Kokang border ...

The Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) Banking Group has become the last of nine foreign banks to receive a branch licence to operate in Myanmar. The Central Bank of Myanmar’s licencing committee announced it had awarded a licence to ANZ on 29 September, just days ahead ...

Vietnam’s economy grew 6.8% in the third quarter, up from 6.1% and 6.5% in the first and second quarters, respectively, the government said on 29 September. Keep reading ...

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung attended the opening ceremony of the southern Dong Nai province’s party congress on 29 September. The PM praised the province’s accomplishments over the last five years and urged Dong Nai to become a leading force in the country’s modernisation and socio-economic ...

Fruit and vegetable exports are expected to reach US$2 billion this year as more and more countries have opened their door to Vietnamese fruits and vegetables. Earnings from fruit and vegetable exports have increased strongly in recent years, from $460 million in 2010 to $1.47 billion ...

About 50 migrant workers who were part of a group that was abandoned at the Thai border by a recruitment agency last week gathered outside the Phnom Penh Municipal Court on 29 September to ask for the return of their passports and the fees they paid ...

Short-sightedness, weak adherence to the law and poor working conditions in Cambodia’s garment sector are creating a fertile field for strikes to prevail over negotiations, a recent study released by the Arbitration Council Foundation, an independent labour mediator, has found. According to the study, incidents of ...

Following weeks of quarrelling, Cambodia’s garment unions on 29 September agreed to demand a monthly industry minimum wage of $168 – only to find themselves miles apart from employers who are refusing to consider an increase beyond the rate of inflation. Leading up to ongoing tripartite minimum-wage ...

The Thai Shopping Centres Association said it will invest 100 billion baht to turn Thailand into a regional shopping destination. Keep reading ...