News
Organising Vietnamese - Japanese second high-level dialogue on agriculture
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in coordination with Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries held the second high-level dialogue on agricultural development cooperation in Hanoi on 12 August. At the dialogue, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat called on the ...
USDP newspaper suspended amid political shake-up
Amid a flurry of speculation and rumor about Myanmar’s ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) after two of its top leaders were unceremoniously ousted on 12 August, the party’s private media house has been indefinitely shut down. Keep reading ...
On an island in the delta, flood-affected locals speak of daily struggles
On Ye Lar Island in the Irrawaddy delta, people shelter in their flood-damaged homes, hoping for the waters that surround them to recede so they can begin to rebuild their lives. Many have lost farmland and almost every one of the 500 homes on the island ...
Myanmar President Thein Sein ousts ruling party chairman ahead of elections
Myanmar President Thein Sein has moved to consolidate his power in the country’s ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) by forcing out his chief rival Shwe Mann as party chairman, months ahead of a November general election. Shwe Mann was removed from his position as ...
Over 95kg of alleged elephant tusks smuggled from Africa to Vietnam
Customs officers at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi on 12 August seized 49 purported elephant tusk parts and one alleged rhino horn that were shipped from Africa. The suspicious tusks weigh 95.54kg while the horn weighs 4.76kg, customs officers said. Keep reading ...
Customs red tape costs Vietnamese traders $10 billion a year: expert
Vietnam can help traders save US$10 billion every year by simplifying its customs procedures, which are now very time-consuming and complicated, an expert from a think tank has said. Nguyen Dinh Cung, head of the Central Institute for Economic Management, told an online conference on Tuesday that customs ...
Laos gets plugged in
Laos is not exactly a heavy hitter in Southeast Asian energy production. Each year, the country produces approximately 8.2 billion kWh of electricity, less than one-tenth the generation capacity enjoyed by Vietnam and other neighbors. But this country of 6.77 million is nonetheless taking on strategic importance as ...
World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) issue warning on Mekong’s biodiversity
Scientists say the Southeast Asia’s rapid development is driving deforestation in the vital Mekong Subregion, and threatening scores of species in one of the world’s most bio-diverse ecosystems. Trafficking in plant and animal wildlife is accelerating the trend, and governments are being pressed to do ...
China's currency devaluation could spark 'tidal wave of deflation'
China’s devaluation of the yuan has sent shockwaves through global markets. Edwards, of the bank Société Générale, argues that as well as creating a challenge for China’s Asian rivals, by making its exports more competitive, a cheaper yuan will send “a tidal wave of deflation” breaking ...
More investing in Laos' specific economic zones
Many more companies are planning to invest in special and specific economic zones (SEZs) in Laos after witnessing the potential to benefit from the coming regional integration, according to a recent report. Keep reading ...
