News
Country makes remarkable achievements in foreign affairs
The relations between the Lao PDR and great powers have seen positive escalation, while the nation has maintained normalcy in its relations with developed countries, reflecting some remarkable achievements in Laos’ foreign affairs. The achievements were disseminated at the 13th meeting on foreign affairs, which ...
Minebea opens third plant
Minebea, the largest Japanese company in Cambodia, officially opened a third manufacturing plant in the Phnom Penh Special Economic Zone on December 8 to coincide with the fifth anniversary of its presence in the country. Yoshihisa Kainuma, president and CEO of Mineba (Cambodia), told reporters at ...
Central bank orders lenders to step up lending in riel
Cambodian microfinance institutions have said they would comply with a new regulation issued by the central bank that requires them to hold at least 10 percent of their loan portfolio in the Kingdom’s national currency. A prakas published by the National Bank of Cambodia on ...
What does the possible end of the TPP mean for the Mekong Delta projects?
China and Japan remain committed to the region; matter of time before private investment picks up. The future of the U.S.-led Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement looks increasingly unlikely to progress in the wake Donald Trump’s U.S. election victory. And Vietnam, once touted as one of the ...
Thai banks bullish on Vietnam even if Trump scraps TPP
Thai banks in Vietnam believe a large labour force and low wages will still be magnets for trade and foreign direct investment in that country even if the Trans-Pacific Partnership is scrapped in line with US President-elect Donald Trump’s policy. Vietnam is among the 12 Pacific ...
Bank Negara Malaysia dealing with short-term volatility of the ringgit
A slew of measures undertaken by Bank Negara Malaysia are expected to help enhance a continuous supply of foreign currency. To discourage the trading of non-deliverable forwards offshore, the central bank has announced several initiatives to liberalise and deregulate the onshore ringgit-hedging market. They include providing ...
Japanese MFI starts social loans expansion
Japanese microfinance lender MJI Enterprise has started offering three new types of loan and is expanding into two new areas, its chief executive told The Myanmar Times. Yuko Kato said the firm is now offering education, health-care and solar power loans, in addition to its ...
KBank targets middle-income earners for its insurance
Kasikornbank is adjusting its back-office processes and training branch employees to better explain and sell insurance products to middle-income earners. Kattiya Indaravijaya, president of KBank, said that the Office of Insurance Commission wants banks to educate customers about insurance products that are not deposit products. ...
Visa bullish on nationwide growth in Myanmar
As only 0.5 per cent of the population has access to electronic payments so far, Visa Inc, the global payments firm, sees a lot of room for improvement in Myanmar. Arturo Planell, Visa country manager for Myanmar, said at a press conference last week that ...
Equal, transparent climate necessary for SMEs: PM
Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc has underscored the need to create an equal and transparent climate in order to facilitate the operation of small-and medium-sized enterprises. Speaking at the third national congress of the Vietnam Association of SMEs (VINASME) in Hà Nội on December 3, ...
