News
Myanmar awards fourth telecoms license as mobile market heats up
Myanmar on January 12 awarded its fourth – and final – telecoms license to a joint venture between Vietnam’s telecom company Viettel and two local firms, heating up competition in a rapidly growing market by adding a second majority-Myanmar operator. Military-run Viettel will have a ...
Vietnam fears protectionism will affect farm produce exports
Vietnam in 2016 saw a high farm produce trade surplus of $7.6 billion, but big difficulties are still ahead, including returning protectionism with Brexit and US President-elect Donald Trump. Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong said at a press conference on January ...
Farewell to Vo Quy, Vietnam's hero of the environment
Vietnam’s Professor Vo Quy has passed away in Hanoi at age 87. The well-known and well-loved zoologist had a storied career that spanned decades and, even in his 80s, he was still working and busy, as passionate as ever. I met Professor Vo Quy in Hanoi ...
Draft consumer law completed
The Ministry of Commerce has finished the draft consumer protection law and will soon submit it to the Council of Ministers, according to a senior government official. Mao Thora, the ministry’s secretary of state, said yesterday that all chapters of the draft had been completed ...
On the front lines of malaria elimination
Rural health centres throughout the country are leading the fight against the scourge of drug-resistant malaria. Can international organizations, local health officials and the government unite before the parasite spreads? Amid the sugar cane plantations and rice paddies of Kampong Speu, the Oral district health ...
Council gives green light to proposed Vientiane highway
The Vientiane People’s Council has approved a proposal for the construction of a 14-km highway submitted by city authorities in a bid to ease traffic congestion. The six-lane highway will be built parallel to Kaysone Phomvihane Road. The planned road will be 70 metres wide ...
Firmer prospects as rubber rebounds
Cambodia’s beleaguered rubber industry looks set for a turnaround as international rubber prices continue their strong rebound. Local traders and industry officials said on January 12 they were optimistic that rubber prices, which doubled during the course of 2016, would continue to rise as the ...
Cassava woes still persist
Local cassava producers still do not fully understand the process of obtaining a sanitary and phytosanitary certification, a necessity for those exporting their produce to Thailand. Department of Agriculture deputy director-general Hean Vanhan said that there were no barriers for local cassava vendors to export to ...
Wildlife group extends support for National Protected Area
The Wildlife Conservation Society-Laos Programme will continue to work closely with the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry to conserve the Nam Et-Phou Louey National Protected Area ecosystem. An agreement on the Nam Et-Phou Louey National Protected Area Management and Tiger Conservation Project Phase 5 was ...
Laos, Singapore to further enhance cooperation
Laos and Singapore will further enhance their relations and continue cooperation in the development of various fields. This was the main theme of a meeting on January 12 between President Bounnhang Vorachit and the President of the Republic of Singapore, Dr Tony Tan Keng Yam, when ...
