News
Open defecation still of great concern in Laos
Sixty two percent of people in Phongsaly province continue to practice open defecation which is higher than the national-level average rate of 40 percent. “Even where you are improving dietary intake and you have more diversified crops, where there is still open defecation, it has ...
Vietnamese PM Nguyen Tan Dung leaves office

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung officially stepped down from the position after concluding two five-year terms in a National Assembly session on 6 April. “Mr. Nguyen Tan Dung has fulfilled all his tasks during his terms,” President Tran Dai Quang said in the session. Keep reading ...
DSI vows to help save Naga Noi forest

Pol Lt-Colonel Prawut Wongseenin, who heads the DSI Bureau of Consumer Protection and Environment Crime, disclosed on 6 April that the department in Thailand would ask Justice Minister General Paiboon Koomchaya for help in seeking an order from the junta to block any bulldozing operations pending ...
Vietnam warns of dire impact from planned Mekong dams

Vietnam has predicted “very high adverse effects” on the Mekong River environment and economy if 11 proposed dams are built on its lower mainstream. Mekong River Commission said it considers the report an internal document and is not yet releasing it. Vietnam has not released ...
Concerns grow over Cambodian rice exports

Taing Chhung Ngy, director of market promotion at rice exporter LBN Angkar (Kampuchea), said that March’s sub-par performance was just the first indicator that the sector’s growth was decelerating. The decreasing amount of rice exports in March shows that the issues that rice millers and exporters ...
Vietnam to prosecute farmers using banned drugs in animal feed

Vietnam has introduced a new rule in the Penal Code under which the use of banned and harmful substances in animal farming can lead to strong punishments including prison terms of 20 years. Nguyen Van Viet, chief inspector of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, ...
Mon armed group seeks talks with prospective investors

Nai Win Hla, an executive committee member of the New Mon State Party, said Mawlamyine Cement Limited inked a deal with the Mon State government in Myanmar to build a cement factory, and then built a coal-fired power plant inside the compound without local residents’ knowledge. ...
Hadxaifong people to have clean water on tap in 2017
A huge number of people living in around 30 villages of Hadxaifong district, Vientiane, will have clean water coming from their taps next year after a local company completes the construction of the Thadeua water treatment plant. Work on the project began last year and is ...
PPSEZ sets timeline for delayed IPO launch

After numerous delays, industrial park operator Phnom Penh Special Economic Zone announced on 6 April that it had finalised a timeline for the launch of its upcoming initial public offering, and would kick off a five-day bookbuilding session starting on 18 April and hold a public ...
No more land concessions in Champassak
No more state land will be released under concession for planting rice, coffee, rubber, cassava or maize in Champassak province, as most areas suited to agriculture are already being utilised. Champassak agricultural authorities in Laos advised that prospective investors should go to the province of Saravan ...