Economy and industry

Agribusiness operators in Phongsaly province are struggling for trade after Chinese authorities banned the import of some agricultural produce. Commercial crops including green tea and sweetcorn being traded by Lao entrepreneurs in the province cannot be exported to China, the provincial Green Tea Processing Factory Director, ...

Cambodia improved its ranking for the ease of doing business from 133 last year to 127 in 2015, making marked progress in the number of days and procedures required to start a business, though it is still ranked well below the world average, according to ...

Asia’s largest sugar producer, Mitr Phol, is responsible for violating the rights of hundreds of villagers in Oddar Meanchey who saw their land grabbed, homes destroyed and livestock killed to make way for plantations, according to the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand (NHRCT). The Thai ...

The media has to fully comprehend the newly instigated sub-regional cooperation mechanism and participate in getting its message out to wider society for the initiative to succeed. Deputy Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism Mr Savankhone Razmountry made the statement when speaking about the establishment of ...

Vietnam moved three places to the 90th position out of 189 economies in the World Bank’s Doing Business report released on 28 October.   The country’s score on a scale of 0-100 increased from 60.35 to 62.1, indicating an improved environment for businesses, according to the report.   Keep reading   ...

The Bank of Thailand is considering a plan to expand categories of asset class investment in order to manage its foreign reserves more effectively, says the Bank of Thailand governor. “If we can find an asset class that could yield greater management of foreign reserves, result in ...

With increasing foreign direct investment (FDI) flows into its manufacturing sector, Vietnam stands a great chance of leaping ahead and replace China as the new production center, experts have said.    They were speaking at a conference recently organized by the State Bank of Vietnam in collaboration ...

Rising temperatures and humidity due to climate change are likely to increase the number of days with unsafe “heat stress,” putting Thailand at risk of a significant drop in productivity, a research firm said on 28 October. Thailand – with three of the 50 highest-risk cities ...

The Korean Economic Development Cooperation Fund from the Republic of Korea has signed a loan agreement for US$80.8 million (about 658 billion kip) with the Lao government. The funds will be used for the development of the Xepian-Xenamnoy hydropower plant in Champassak province. The loan agreement was ...

It has been observed that the drivers of some tuk-tuks and jumbos in Vientiane are rude to foreigners when they question the often exorbitant charges cited by drivers. While most Lao people prefer not to use tuk-tuks and jumbos, visitors often have no choice but to ...