Bloomberg

Thailand has launched a pilot program to test, vaccinate and isolate factory workers to limit Covid-related disruptions to its export-driven manufacturing industry, one of the few bright spots in an economy crushed by the virus.  The “Factory Sandbox” initiative aims to protect 3 million jobs and ...

Nguyen Tuan was watching the sun shine down on his four-hectare cantaloupe farm in southern Vietnam when he realized it could do more than help his crops grow. The 46-year-old installed 40 solar panels on greenhouses at his farm 55 miles outside of Ho Chi Minh ...

Thailand aims to only sell zero-emission vehicles in the country from 2035 as it works to transform itself from a Southeast Asian hub for the production of conventional autos to one making electric cars. “We can see the world is heading in that direction so we ...

The U.S. is increasing scrutiny of Chinese dams along the Mekong River, its latest move aimed at helping Southeast Asian nations push back against Beijing. The ‘Mekong Dam Monitor,’ funded by the U.S. government and run by for-profit consultancy Eyes on Earth and the Washington-based Stimson Center gathers ...

The Mekong is one of Asia’s most important rivers, supporting 60 million people in Southeast Asia. But for the second consecutive year, the lower Mekong basin has hit a record low water flow, affecting irrigation, rice production and fisheries, all vital to the region’s food security. The drought ...

For the past three decades, Vietnam has known only good — or great — economic news. The nation’s consistent growth as an exporter, propelled by Communist leaders who began embracing market-oriented policies in the late 1980s, pushed many into the middle class. The coronavirus pandemic changed ...

Thailand is ramping up domestic production of Covid-19 test kits to avoid a potential shortage, as it prepares for a possible second wave of infections after most businesses and services reopened. “Thailand has always received criticism for testing too few, and that was the case at ...

About 1 million people may lose their jobs in Myanmar’s fisheries industry, with almost all exports ceasing since February as the spread of Covid-19 prompted major buyers, led by China and the U.S., to halt orders. Processing plants wouldn’t have been able to deliver anyway, as ...

Vietnam’s prolonged drought, coupled with an extensive buildup of salinity, have driven five provinces in the country’s rice bowl to declare a state of emergency. “This year’s drought and salinity have been way more devastating than what we saw four years ago,” said Nguyen Thien Phap, ...

Getting old can be hard under any circumstances, and harder still when you’re poor. That’s the predicament for Thailand, the developing country first in line to face the consequences of a first-world-style baby bust. Data published last month by the United Nations show births in Thailand ...