News
Halal order raises stakes for abattoir

SLN Meat Supplies, the company behind Cambodia’s first industrial slaughterhouse, is hoping to secure an export contract to supply $50 million worth of halal beef to a Malaysian distributor. This would be the company’s first overseas export agreement, and a much-needed boost to secure regular ...
Human trafficking needs urgent action: Mekong nations
Human trafficking continues to flourish within the region, requiring a joint effort by the Mekong countries to actively stamp out the trade and penalise those responsible. Human trafficking is harmful to socio-economic development and social order in the region and could worsen when the ASEAN Economic ...
Japan to end preferential tariffs for China, four others
Japan has proposed stricter tariff rules that would knock five trading partners including China and Mexico off the list of countries receiving preferential treatment for emerging economies. A finance ministry customs committee said on November 24 that the list of nations qualifying for zero or minimal ...
SRT plans high-speed rail talks with Malaysia

Thailand is preparing to sit for talks with Malaysia to discuss an ambitious initiative to build a new high-speed train system linking Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur. The planned meeting follows interest expressed earlier by the Malaysian transport minister, which drew an enthusiastic response from Thai ...
Stanchart: PH economy on track to beating ASEAN counterparts
Despite external headwinds, the Philippines is expected to grow the fastest among ASEAN economies until next year on the back of robust domestic demand and strong services exports, Standard Chartered Bank said on November 24. “The Philippines’ domestic growth engine is firing on all cylinders, ...
VN fruit sent to tough markets

Việt Nam exported nearly 10,000 tonnes of fresh fruit to difficult markets such as the United States, Canada, South Korea and Japan in the first 10 months of this year. This export volume doubled figures from the whole of last year. According to director of the ...
Thailand braces for Trump dumping TPP

Country needs to focus other bilateral and regional deals next year, officials say. Thailand should get ready to renegotiate the framework of the US-ASEAN free-trade agreement after US President-elect Donald Trump announced on November 22 that he would scrap the Trans-Pacific Partnership deal in his first ...
Banned rosewood trade up

Despite the presence of a blanket ban by the Cambodian government on all trade in Siamese rosewood since 2013, exports of the precious timber to Vietnam increased in the third quarter of this year, according to Vietnamese customs data compiled by US-based NGO Forest Trends. ...
Trump sinks Asia trade pact, opening the way for China to lead
An ambitious Asia-Pacific trade pact linking the United States and 11 countries lay in tatters on November 22 after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said he would kill the deal on his first day in office on Jan. 20. Trump’s statement appeared to open the way for ...
US President-elect Trump vows to withdraw from TPP on first day in office
US President-elect Donald Trump announced on November 21 that he will withdraw the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership on his first day in office. “I’m going to issue a notification of intent to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a potential disaster for our country,” ...