News
China’s expanding influence in Laos
The recently signed Joint General Scheme of Mohan–Boten Economic Cooperation Zone is the first cross-border economic cooperation zone that China has established in Laos and, for that matter, in the whole of Southeast Asia. The deal hints at the Asian giant’s goal to expand its ...
Thai Government dusts off cable car scheme
The Thai government has dusted off the controversial 4.4-km Phu Kradueng cable car project, initiated more than 30 years ago, claiming there will be little environmental impact during its construction and that it has overwhelming support from locals. The move came amid strong opposition from environmentalists. Keep reading ...
Casinos could bring B100bn windfall
More than 100 billion baht a year in tax revenue is expected to pour into state coffers if casinos are legalised in Thailand, according to a study conducted by the dean of Rangsit University’s College of Social Innovation. The estimated revenue excludes contributions from tourism and ...
Food shipments expected to rebound after 2015 slip
Despite a contraction of 1.9% last year, Thailand’s National Food Institute (NFI) expects food exports this year will grow by 5.8%. The optimism is based largely on rising demand for some food segments in neighbouring emerging markets and government efforts to boost exports. NFI president Yongvut Saovapruk attributed ...
Power reaches villages high up in the mountains
Life has become different, and easier, for people who live high up in Vietnam’s mountains. That is because electricity has come to places in Lai Chau Province where there had not been electricity in the past. Sometimes people there would make electricity from an oil generator but the ...
Vinamilk strikes $12.5 million deal to export baby formula to Middle East
Vietnam’s biggest dairy company Vinamilk has closed a US$12.5 million deal to export baby formula to Middle Eastern countries, with shipments expected to increase by around 10 percent a year. The deal, signed at the week-long international food fair Gulfood wrapped up in Dubai on 25 ...
PM gives ministers an 'F', lashes out at illegal logging task force
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen unleashed a tirade against underperforming government officials in a pair of speeches on 25 February – musing aloud about reshuffling his Council of Ministers and wondering why rockets had not yet been deployed in the Kingdom’s recent “crackdown” on illegal logging. Speaking ...
‘No HIV outbreak’ in Kandal village, say WHO, local authorities
Following consternation this week over the Cambodian government’s decision to cease HIV testing in Peam village, health authorities released a statement on 25 February seeking to ally any fears of an outbreak. In January, five of 47 villagers tested by a local NGO returned positive results, with ...
Critics sceptical of NGO's optimistic findings
Cambodians were optimistic about the economic and political future of the Kingdom, according to a national survey on citizens’ perceptions released on 24 February by the Asia Foundation, although observers on 25 February questioned whether that optimism remains in light of the government’s recent crackdown on the ...
ASEAN integration fuelling trafficking, crime
Southeast Asia is witnessing an explosion of organised crime thanks to increasing economic integration, according to a new United Nations report. The illegal trafficking of people, drugs, counterfeit goods and wildlife is already estimated to exceed US$100 billion a year – more than the GDP of ...
