News
Mekong forum focused on sharing responsibility for common prosperity: expert
The Mekong Forum 2016 served to foster dialogue among partners and agencies of Greater Mekong Subregion countries to pursuing their development targets, an expert said on August 29. “These include reducing poverty and inequality, generating inclusive growth, improving capacity development, and exceeding the sustainable development ...
FDI inflow seen as driving economic development
A modest increase in the inflow of foreign direct investment is a sign that Cambodia remains an attractive destination to investors, and will go a long way toward the country’s development, analysts said on August 31. Total capital inflow of foreign direct investment to Cambodia amounted ...
India approves CLMV fund
The government of India yesterday approved the creation of a project development fund of about $75 million to help Indian firms invest in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam ‒ the so-called CLMV countries. “The project development fund will benefit India’s industrial community in terms of business ...
Illegal logging mars Magwe’s deep forests

The scene is lined with turquoise mountains, surrounded by white cloud. Wherever you look you can see green-tinted hills and mist. This is the western fringe of Magwe Region in central Myanmar, on the border with Rakhine State, where valuable forests cover the Yoma mountains. Vast ...
Yunnan: China's bridge to South and Southeast Asia

China is revisiting its periphery with a new, localized approach to regional multilateralism. China is revisiting the importance of its peripheries for engaging with its neighbors according to its ambitious economic plans. Beijing’s new approach is a top-down regulatory regionalism in exploring economic engagement with the neighborhood, particularly Southeast ...
New community fisheries project to preserve Mekong's biodiversity

A new community fisheries project in the Mekong River was launched in Vientiane on August 28 with the Department of Livestock and Fisheries, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry agreeing to cooperate with the Worldwide Fund for Nature. A memorandum of understanding was signed by the DLF’s Deputy ...
Vietnam considers buying electricity from Laos to ease reliance on China

Vietnam may import electricity from Laos to minimize the risks from relying on Chinese imports and to offset supply shortages caused by cutting off power sources which pollute the environment. Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung has urged the Ministry of Industry and Trade to submit ...
Japan readies 100bn yen in lending for Myanmar

Japan plans to extend about $994 million in low-interest lending to Myanmar for such projects as railways and water treatment plants, the latest step in Tokyo’s push to bolster ties with the Southeast Asian country. This would mark Japan’s first development financing initiative for Myanmar since ...
Human-induced climate change began earlier than previously thought

Signs of warming appear as early as 1830 say researchers, whose analysis will help build accurate baseline of temperature before influence of human activity. Continents and oceans in the northern hemisphere began to warm with industrial-era fossil fuel emissions nearly 200 years ago, pushing back the ...
Taiwan to boost scholarship opportunities for SE Asian students

Taiwan will significantly increase scholarship opportunities to attract students from Southeast Asia and India as part of the government’s “New Southbound Policy,” the Ministry of Education announced on August 25. Starting in 2017, the Taiwan Scholarship program will offer 182 openings for students from Southeast Asia ...