News
Krungthai Bank nears B100bn deal
The Finance Ministry plans to acquire the entire 55% stake in Krungthai Bank held by the Financial Institutions Development Fund (FIDF) in a deal worth 100 billion baht. The acquisition would pave the way for transferring the 12 corporatised state enterprises as planned to a holding company ...
Vietnam orders local governments to stop building extravagant offices for themselves
Vietnam has ordered local governments to suspend all of their plans for new offices before all costs and expenses are reviewed carefully. The Ministry of Construction will look into all the projects and any shortcomings will be reported and fixed to prevent wasteful spending, Deputy Prime ...
Australian, German tourists are the biggest spenders in Vietnam: report
Vietnam has released the first annual tourism report, naming the top visitor markets and the biggest spenders in 2014. According to the report from the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT), Australians topped the list in terms of spending per trip. The number of visitors from Australia ...
Smartphone ownership in Cambodia exploded since ’13: study
The number of Cambodians who own at least one smartphone has almost doubled since 2013, helping put Cambodia on track to having more than half of its population accessing the web in about a year, according to a new study. Almost 95 per cent of Cambodians ...
Dozens of Phnom Penh's homeless sent to Prey Speu
Just weeks after reports emerged of more fatalities from Phnom Penh’s Prey Speu social affairs centre and ensuing promises of reform, authorities yesterday rounded up dozens more homeless people and detained them at the notorious facility. Kim Vutha, Daun Penh district’s chief of security, said 61 ...
'Room for improvement' in Cambodia's land dispute resolution process
Cambodia continues to lack an effective way to resolve land disputes, which remain a major destroyer of livelihoods for many families, according to a study released by the NGO Forum on 18 November. The study examines 26 sample villages in Battambang, Kampong Speu, Pursat and Kampong ...
Cambodian CSO coalition letter ready for climate talks
A coalition of civil society organisations (CSOs) has produced a document laying out in detail the projected dire effects of climate change on Cambodia, in the hopes it will help their voice be heard among the 25,000 delegates attending the upcoming Paris Climate Talks in ...
Lower Sesan 2 dam putting livelihoods and environment at risk
The giant Lower Sesan 2 dam is one of the most controversial construction projects in Cambodia. The electricity-generation potential of the Lower Sesan 2 is massive but, for the Mekong River’s aquatic life and nearby villagers, the price of such progress could be colossal. The mighty Mekong River ...
Women leaders welcome increase in regional MPs
Domestic violence is one of the issues that might be brought up now that the number of female representatives in Mandalay Region Hluttaw has risen from one to four. The election of three new female members in last week’s election – all members of the National ...
Law changes delayed after MP urges sex worker protections
Draft changes to a law outlawing prostitution have been sent back to committee after an upper house MP objected and argued that the law should be amended to protect, rather than punish, sex workers. Yangon Region parliamentarian U Phone Myint Aung urged MPs to look past ...
