News
2016 set to be another strong year for Vietnam housing market
Vietnam’s housing market is expected to enjoy another good year after record sales in 2015 aided by improved economic conditions and infrastructure and lower interest rates. According to the industry’s estimates, apartment sales in Hanoi hit around 28,300 units in 2015, a 70 percent rise from ...
China launches new AIIB development bank as power balance shifts
Chinese President Xi Jinping launched a new international development bank seen as a rival to the U.S.-led World Bank at a lavish ceremony on 17 January, as Beijing seeks to change the unwritten rules of global development finance. Despite opposition from Washington, U.S. allies including Australia, ...
Thai Government eyes high-tech response to hackers
The Defence Ministry will invest in high-technology devices to protect state agencies’ websites from being hacked again, says Gen Prawit Wongsuwan. Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Gen Prawit said on 14 January the government is looking at various high-tech options to protect the websites from hackers ...
Ex-manager of ThaiHealth named Thai PBS chief
The Thai Public Broadcasting Service (Thai PBS) has appointed a former manager of Thai Health Promotion Foundation (ThaiHealth) as its new chief. Two-thirds of the nine-member ThaiPBS policy committee voted Krissada Raungarreerat in as the new director-general of Thailand’s first public broadcasting service. The panel had ...
Cases to be opened over election campaign expenses
Legal cases will be opened against 175 candidates in the November 2015 general election for failing to submit their campaign expenses on time, according to the Union Election Commission. “The election tribunal will start hearing those cases on 21 January in Nay Pyi Taw,” said U ...
Rakhine IDPs call for international aid
Organisers of makeshift camps for villagers fleeing a military offensive in remote areas of Rakhine State are appealing to the international community for aid. More than 300 civilians, all of whom are said to be ethnic Rakhine Buddhists, have fled to the safety of monasteries following ...
Vietnam needs new wave of investments
Greater efforts at a national level are needed to create a new wave of investments in Vietnam, Vuong Dinh Hue, head of the Party Central Committee’s Economic Commission, said. Speaking during a recent interview with Vietnam News Agency, Hue said the country’s advancing legal framework and ...
As ASEAN takes symbolic step toward unity, Vietnam officials want new labor barriers
Now that the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) has officially been launched, with the goal of creating a common regional market where skilled workers can move freely, officials in Vietnam began to fear that many Vietnamese are not ready for the tough competition ahead. Speaking at a ...
Furniture fair raises profile of Lao wood products
The Lao Furniture Association hopes that the furniture fair, which opened in Vientiane on 14 January, will attract more domestic and foreign investors in the sector and promote Lao wood products on regional and international markets. The Lao Furniture Association on 14 January officially opened its ...
Truck ban in force on 10 main roads
Six-wheeled vehicles including sand and gravel trucks and trailers are being prohibited from using 10 main thoroughfares in Vientiane for 10 days this month. The Vientiane Public Works and Transport Department announced the ban, which runs from 12-22 January to coincide with the 10th Party Congress. Keep ...
