News
Chinese investors reconsider plantations as profits prove elusive in banana business
Some Chinese investors plan to shutter their banana farms in Laos and relocate to other countries while others plan to replace the yellow herbaceous fruit with other agricultural crops after sustaining losses. The northern province of Bokeo has been a major location for banana plantations ...
Potatoes to take root
Cambodia’s eastern Mondulkiri province will become the country’s first hub for potato growing after a successful pilot project, researchers say. Cheang Hong, of the Potato Research Center at the Royal University of Agriculture, said a team spent several months studying weather conditions, potato varieties and ...
Fight against corruption
The World Bank is to train police, prosecutors and court staff on how to combat money laundering and financial terrorism under a national scheme to fight corruption. The three-day training will be offered in partnership with the Anti-Corruption Unit to 37 employees from organizations including ...
Japan to help country go green
Japan has signed a three-year deal to help train government officials on attracting environmentally friendly investment. The Environment Ministry and Japan International Cooperation Agency on March 6 signed the agreement to educate officials about how to use environmental impact assessments and enforce pollution controls. The project is ...
China asked to fund bridges
Cambodia on March 6 asked China to help fund the construction of two bridges across the Mekong River, which it said would cut traffic congestion in Phnom Penh and help create a ring road around the city. Speaking at the inauguration ceremony of the Cambodia-Vietnam Friendship ...
JICA to aid impact studies
The Ministry of the Environment signed an agreement yesterday afternoon with the Japan International Cooperation Agency in an effort to improve the Ministry of the Environment’s capacity to curb pollution and review environmental impact assessments for development projects. “[JICA] will deploy advisers and discuss with officers ...
Japanese, Singaporean banks finance controversial Indonesian coal plant
A consortium of Asian banks will provide US$3.36 billion in loans to support the expansion of the Tanjung Jati B coal-fired power plant project in the Jepara district of Indonesia’s Central Java province. Plans to expand Tanjung Jati B are part of a broader initiative ...
Fast-growing Cambodian bank eyes cross-border growth
When In Channy took over the Association of Cambodian Local Economic Development Agencies (Acleda) in 1993 he found himself managing an odd assortment of loan officers. “I was from a refugee camp in Thailand, some of my colleagues used to work for the government, and ...
Shelters offer hope to the homeless
After living under Rama VIII Bridge for more than eight years, a 54-year-old disabled man grasped the chance for a new start. He walked with crutches to a vehicle that would take him to a state-run shelter where he was promised food, basic necessities and ...
Hanoi’s iconic lakes need urgent clean-up help
One sunny morning in October 2016, Hanoi residents living around the city’s West Lake woke up to a foul and irritating smell. “We could not bear the overwhelming smell,” Ms Huong, a local resident said, wearing a mask while inside her home. “But we have nowhere ...
