News
China suggests joint South China Sea drills with ASEAN
China has proposed joint maritime drills with South East Asian nations in the hotly-contested South China Sea in 2016. Beijing is currently hosting an informal meeting for defence ministers from the region. Keep reading ...
Devastating Myanmar floods send paddy prices skyward
Surging demand following the widespread destruction of paddy fields during the recent flooding has forced a record spike in prices, say the Myanmar Rice Federation and local paddy and rice traders in Naypyidaw. Since September, the price per 100 baskets of Manaw Thukha old crop in ...
Permitted investments, local and foreign, on the increase
Investment in Myanmar will continue to grow after the elections, business sources predict. They were commenting on the announcement by the Directorate of Investment and Companies Administration that Myanmar Investment Commission had permitted 204 local and overseas investments in the first six months of the current ...
Myanmar arrests two for their mocking Facebook posts
Myanmar authorities have arrested a peace activist and a young woman for mocking the country’s powerful military in the latest crackdown on free speech ahead of landmark elections on 8 November. Human rights groups have condemned the military-dominated government for moving their repression into social media, ...
Vietnam tightens control over projects that need massive forest clearance
Vietnam will stop granting licenses to public and commercial projects that take over forest land but do not have a feasible plan to plant new trees, an official said. Keep reading ...
EU investments in Vietnam start to recover
Foreign direct investment from the European Union to Vietnam is recovering this year after a downtrend since 2011, according to a report from the Ministry of Planning and Investment’s Foreign Investment Agency. A report released this week pointed out that the EU’s total investment in Vietnam ...
Surge in Red River hurts Vietnamese crops
After hydrologists warned last week that huge discharges of water from Chinese reservoirs upstream would flood the Hong (Red River) in the north, water levels have risen sharply, damaging ships and destroying crops. The Nong Thon Ngay Nay (Countryside Today) newspaper reported that the water discharge ...
Offshore funds flood Thai bond market
Offshore capital is rapidly flooding the Thai bond market, with half of the first nine months’ fund outflows from the market turning back during the first 12 days of October. The return had been buoyed by hopes of the US Federal Reserve rate hike delay. Keep reading ...
Vietnam, Laos commit to strengthening traditional friendship, special solidarity
Vice President Nguyen Thi Doan and her Lao counterpart Bounnhang Vorachith reached a number of commitments to boost bilateral ties during their talks in Vientiane on 15 October. To foster cooperation between Vietnam and Laos, both sides pledged to facilitate visits by senior leaders and realise ...
Thai Forest Department department reclaims land for Hmong
Authorities have agreed to draft a master plan for zoning the Phuttubberk forest in Phetchabun’s Lom Kao district to allow hill tribe minorities to live and work there. The plan is also designed to keep resort business operators away. Keep reading ...
