Economy and industry
Activists claim arrests by Lao authorities at dam site
Two Cambodian activists say they were briefly detained by authorities in Laos on 24 January after sneaking across the border to take photographs of the planned site of the Don Sahong hydropower dam, which regional governments and environmentalists fear could cut into critical fish stocks downstream. Chum ...
Police to protect Kachin poppy destroyers
More than 1000 activists of a Christian-based anti-narcotics group are to have police protection after getting the go-ahead from the Kachin State government to destroy over 1600 hectares (4000 acres) of opium poppy fields. Permission was received on 21 January to mount the mass operation in Waingmaw ...
Chinese cash in on Thai solar power
Chinese solar companies are looking for opportunities in Thailand as an alternative growth destination to China, where the renewable power market has reached saturation point, according to BMI Research. Thailand is emerging as an attractive destination for renewable energy investment as the government looks to reduce the country’s reliance ...
Taiwan raises travel notices after Thai case of Zika virus
Taiwan has raised travel notices for five ASEAN nations, including Thailand and the Maldives, after a northern Thai man was hospitalised in Taiwan with a confirmed case of Zika, a mosquito-borne virus. Keep reading ...
Ho Chi Minh City cleans up the workplace
Workplace safety and hygiene improved slightly at Ho Chi Minh City companies last year, according to the city Centre for Occupational and Environmental Health. Speaking at a meeting held to review labour safety and hygiene on 20 January, Pham Thi Ngoc Loan, the centre’s deputy head, ...
Lao rice farmers seeking more export markets
Phanphet Agriculture Development Farm (PADF) is preparing to sell 10,000 tonnes of rice this year after negotiating exports with international partners. PADF President Mr Thongsavan Miboun told the media on 20 January the farm was doing its part to increase rice production and overseas sales. Keep reading ...
Vietnam seeks new investors for empty industrial park
The Vietnam government has decided to transfer a major industrial park in the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang to the local authority after its manager, PetroVietnam’s construction subsidiary PVC, failed to attract investors. After acquiring Soai Rap Industrial Park, Tien Giang will find investors to fill ...
Royal Group’s Sihanoukville port to be razed
A Cambodian government committee has ordered tycoon Kith Meng’s Royal Group to stop construction of a passenger port it was building on Sihanoukville’s Otres Beach, which it said was in clear violation of coastal development guidelines and had progressed without a permit. The National Committee for ...
Global slowdown sees a rise in jobless and vulnerable workers
The decelerating world economy is having far-reaching effects on unemployment, with new research projecting that the number of people out of work will grow to nearly 200 million this year, with millions of additional workers left vulnerable in developing countries, including Cambodia. Global unemployment reached 197.1 ...
Ayeyarwady monitored as levels plummet
As the water level of the Ayeyarwady River is set to fall about 30 feet (9.1 metres) below its rainy-season peak, water authorities are sending out staff to camp out along the banks to help river traffic avoid running aground. Mandalay Region’s Department of Water Resources ...
