Economy and industry
Thailand printers refuse to print New York Times cover story
The New York Times’ printer in Thailand has refused to print one of its articles, leaving a blank space on its cover page. The article, titled “Thai spirits sagging with the economy”, discussed the country’s flagging economy and touched on royal succession concerns. The printer withheld an ...
Vietnam rules out interest rate cuts despite record-low inflation
The State Bank of Vietnam said it will not lower interest rates any time soon even though inflation has been slowing down. Bank deputy governor Nguyen Thi Hong told a press conference late last week that low inflation is only one of many factors that have ...
Thai Government urged to also help big companies go abroad
The Thai Government should change its mindset about offering help only to small and medium-size firms expanding overseas and extend it to larger companies, said Thiraphong Chansiri, president and chief executive of Thai Union Group. Thiraphong added that a new challenge for companies branching out internationally was ...
Thai-Chinese railway project on schedule
The 873-km Thai-Chinese railway project for the country’s northeastern line got underway on 30 November as scheduled, Transport Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith said. “The project was not delayed,” he said, adding that even though more details would be added to the system design criteria work, everything was expected ...
Yangon government faces transparency call on flyovers
Outspoken independent MP Daw Nyo Nyo Thin has called on the regional government to publicly reveal the true cost of controversial flyover bridge projects before the end of its term. She submitted the proposal at a special meeting of the Yangon Region Hluttaw on 30 November. ...
Judge knocks back villagers on Laos dam
A Central Administrative Court judge has given a preliminary opinion dismissing villagers’ demands to have a say in the Xayaburi hydropower dam project, on the grounds that it is not a state-owned project. The judge, whose name court officials declined to reveal, also said that a process ...
'Agencies broke no laws over Mekong dam'
A Supreme Administrative Court judge rapporteur has suggested it will rule in favour of five state agencies accused of violating laws in their handling of the Xayaburi Dam project in Laos. The judge opinion was the case against them be dismissed, as the five state agencies in ...
From commodities to satellites: China, Laos seeing more cooperation
China and Laos have witnessed rapid development in economic, trade cooperation in the past years, evolving from simple commodity trading to a higher level of cooperation. On 21 November 2015, Laos’ first ever satellite was launched into space from Xichang satellite launching center in China. Earlier ...
Paving the way for new SMEs
The Cambodian government is reviewing a draft sub-decree that would see the creation of a one-stop shop to handle small- and medium-enterprise (SME) registration aimed at encouraging more of them to join the formal sector and improving the quality of state support, an official said ...
FDI disbursement in Vietnam up 17.9% in 11 months
Disbursement of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Vietnam reached an estimated US$13.2 billion from the beginning of 2015 until 20 November, up 17.9 per cent against 2014. Data from the General Statistics Office showed that the country attracted $20.22 billion worth of FDI during the reviewed ...
