News
Asean professional women's forum tackles tourism issues

A networking forum for women professionals active in South-East Asia’s tourism and travel sector was held in Vientiane on 13 June. More than a hundred female tourism professionals from across the region attended the forum which continues today to identify ways to develop aspects of their ...
VN Central Bank’s $12 billion worth of US govt bonds not a surprise

Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia, with forex reserves many times bigger than Vietnam’s, only invest 10 percent of reserves on US government bonds. Meanwhile, the proportion is 30 percent for Vietnam. Singapore invests $109 billion on similar items, while the Philippines has poured $41 billion into the ...
Industry Ministry crushes Binh Son export aspirations

The Ministry of Industry and Trade has refused Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical Co. (BSR)’s proposal to export Dung Quat oil refinery’s products, according to newswire Vneconomy. According to the MoIT, the government put a high priority on consuming Dung Quat’s products on the domestic market, ...
Productivity soars for Vietnam

Vietnamese workers have substantially improved their productivity levels in the last 15 years, according to ICAEW’s latest ‘Economic Insight: South East Asia’ event launched in Ha Noi on 10 June. According to the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales report, ‘pure productivity’ grew 2.3 ...
Salt mine protests intensify

More than 500 villagers rallied on 12 June against a company’s underground salt mining project in Kham Thale So district amid concerns over the environmental impacts. The company is excavating to explore underground salt deposits in a location about 500 metres away from Bang Nong Hua ...
Universal health cover still a challenge
While economic growth and poverty reduction has been impressive, health outcomes improved and Millennium Development Goals 4, 5, 6 and 7 are on tract; Universal Health Coverage is still a major challenge. The symposium was held on 13 June in Vientiane and also attended by President of ...
PM challenges EU to follow through on threat to cut aid
Prime Minister Hun Sen on 13 June blithely brushed aside a recent threat from the European Parliament to cut hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to Cambodia over human rights abuses, challenging the body to follow through.“I am never afraid of China because Cambodia has ...
No decision yet to be made on Noi Bai Int’l Airport expansion

No plan for the Noi Bai International Airport expansion has yet been selected, Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Nhat said in a recent interview with Vietnam News Agency amidst public debate about the expansion, which is said to cost up to five billion USD. Proposals on ...
Ministry promotes LPG industry

The government will issue free licences to small liquefied petroleum gas retailers in a bid to promote safety in the under-regulated industry, while moving forward with plans to allow larger companies to distribute the fuel. Licences for small and medium enterprises to sell LPG will be ...
Facebook racks up 10m Myanmar users

The world’s most popular social network, Facebook, has made millions of new “friends” in Myanmar over the last few years. In that time, the site has played the part of nationwide news outlet, emergency relief coordinator and community water cooler – but it has also provided ...