News
Poipet checkpoint to be upgraded, enlarged
The government has decided to build a new immigration office at the Poipet International Border Checkpoint at a cost of more than $2 million. General Sok Phal, the director general of the Interior Ministry’s immigration department, told reporters on Sunday after an annual meeting with ...
A more direct path for mango exports
Sweet and juicy mangoes grown in Cambodia have been finding their way into top Asian markets for years, but until now only through Thai and Vietnamese brokers, and often repackaged or processed into juices and jams to disguise their Khmer origin. Local producers’ lack of ...
Out-of-action irrigation may cut crop yields
Thousands of hectares of farmland are expected to be affected by a lack of irrigation this dry season as provinces are suffering funding shortages for the repair of irrigation systems. This year there are as many as 453 irrigation systems that require repair with the ...
Ministry reviews progress in health sector
Ministry of Health officials and personnel from around the country met on January 16 in Vientiane to review the Health Sector Governance and Nutrition Programme for 2015-2016 and discuss plans for the year ahead. Participants reported the progress of their health activities and shared future ...
Vietnam's declining birthrate spells end of two-child policy
Move may make little difference as rising expenses hinder bigger families. The Vietnamese government is reversing its decadeslong policy in a bid to counter the country’s aging population. Earlier this month the country’s health ministry began showing a negative view toward its de facto two-child ...
Indonesia among Asia's top destinations attracting investors: ECN survey
Indonesia is among Asia’s most attractive investment destinations, thanks to a robust private demand combined with expectation of improvements in its business climate, a survey from The Economist Corporate Network showed. Published on January 17, the survey — titled “Navigating Asia’s Risks and Rewards: Asia ...
U.S. ambassadors in Asia make final plea for dead Trans-Pacific trade pact
When hope of enacting the ambitious Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact ended in November, Max Baucus, the United States ambassador to China, was among the officials who had to grapple with disappointment. The partnership, called the TPP, was a hallmark of the Obama administration. It would ...
Southeast Asia cybersecurity risks have global effect
Cybersecurity vulnerabilities of connected devices in Southeast Asia pose risks to companies far beyond the region, analysts told Bloomberg BNA. The massive October 2016 distributed denial-of-service attack on U.S. websites including those of Netflix Inc. and Twitter Inc., demonstrated that U.S. consumers and businesses aren’t ...
Indonesian government challenges another green group over freedom of information request
The Indonesian government is going to the Supreme Court over an NGO’s freedom of information request for detailed maps of land on which oil palm companies have been licensed to operate in Kalimantan, the country’s portion of Borneo island. Civil society groups have tried for ...
Garment firms focus on social responsibility
Unions are welcome, and could help garment factories improve their corporate social responsibility functions, a leading manufacturer has said. U Aung Myo Hein, central executive committee member of Myanmar Garment Manufacturers’ Association, told The Myanmar Times that many factories in Myanmar had missed out on ...