News
Laos, Indonesia seek closer ties
Laos and Indonesia are taking steps to deepen their bilateral relations with the foreign ministers of the two Asian countries holding talks in Vientiane on 27 January. Visiting Indonesian Foreign Minister Ms Retno Marsudi is in Laos for a two-day official trip on 27 and 28 ...
Vietnamese from Laos welcomed
Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has approved a plan to support free migration for Vietnamese returning from Laos to settle in Vietnam. The plan will be carried out in 10 provinces that border Laos including Dien Bien, Son La, Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh, ...
Water to be stored in 36 disused mines
Thailand’s Primary Industries and Mines Department is preparing 36 disused mines for water storage to help address the drought crisis. If the mines can be used as planned, their combined capacity will be 166 million cubic metres, said director-general Chat Hongtiamchant. He said his department found 36 ...
Thai rice exporters pessimistic about market prospects
Thai rice exports are expected to have another difficult year as the world market is likely to be volatile amid foreign exchange and oil price risks, according to exporters. Charoen Laothammatas, president of the Thai Rice Exporters Association, said the association projected shipments would slip to 9 ...
Strong FDI inflows to drive Vietnam's economy this year: forecast
As foreign investment will remain strong this year, both manufacturing and construction sectors in Vietnam will see positive growth, helping the economy rise 6.9 percent, according to a new Standard Chartered Bank report. It will be the second highest growth in Asia, after India, the London-headquartered ...
Vietnam watches out for alarming Zika virus spread
Health officials are monitoring the spread of Zika virus in other countries, saying Vietnam is also at risk. The Preventive Health Department said the virus, which has been linked to brain damage in thousands of infants in Brazil, has not been detected in Vietnam. Keep reading ...
Vietnam FDI surges this month
Foreign direct investment (FDI) in Vietnam rose impressively by 101.2 per cent to more than US$1.33 billion in January of this year, according to the Foreign Investment Agency. Up to 127 new foreign-invested projects, worth more than $1 billion, were licensed as of January 20, surging ...
Reduced Rakhine State budget under fire
The incoming Rakhine State parliament will have only half the funds it needs to develop the state, a local MP has complained. The state parliament adopted the 2016-17 budget on 25 January, days before it rose to give way to the new parliament elected last ...
Close to bottom of corruption index but improving slightly
Myanmar still languishes among the world’s most corrupt countries although its performance has improved slightly over the past year, according to a global review released on 27 January. Berlin-based graft monitor Transparency International said that with a better score on perceived levels of public sector corruption, ...
Thai bank buys Cambodian MFI in mammoth deal
In what may be the biggest deal in Cambodia’s financial sector history, Thailand-based Bank of Ayudhya has reached an agreement to acquire the local microfinance institution (MFI) Hattha Kaksekar, with the deal expected to be valued at upwards of $140 million. In a statement released on ...
