News
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 ...
New day dawns for Yangon bus system
Today it begins – Yangon’s brand new experiment in public transport. In a major step toward reducing consumer chaos and hazardous competition among private bus lines, the number of routes has been reduced to only 61, starting on January 16. On January 14, Yangon Region Chief ...
Yangon’s extreme poverty needs action: report
In a one-room hut in north Yangon, a middle-aged woman has a trick for those evenings when the children complain of hunger and she has run out of money and rice. “I ask them to drink extra water and go to bed,” said mother-of-seven Daw ...
Myanmar voices commitment to social development In Naga self-administered zone
Myanmar government has voiced commitment to the social development of the ethnic people in Naga Self-Administered Zone, northwestern Sagaing region, Myanmar News Agency reported Monday, according to China’s Xinhua news agency. President U Htin Kyaw made the pledge Sunday in his speech at the opening of ...
New study analyses biggest threats to Southeast Asian biodiversity
Southeast Asia is a global biodiversity hotspot — but with about 4 billion people living in the region, the pressures on that biodiversity are severe. Southeast Asia is a global biodiversity hotspot — but with about 4 billion people living in the region, the pressures on ...
