Economy and industry

In 2009, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) forecast that from 2010 to 2020, Asia would need US$8 trillion in national infrastructure. The discussion on connectivity in Asia has continued since then, but it was China that seized the moment with its proposal in 2013 for ...

A group of Thai and Lao business people have announced a plan to spend 10 billion baht to develop a large shopping and hotel complex in Vientiane in order to cash in on opportunities arising from the coming from the coming Asean Economic Community. The massive ...

A new information technology (IT) system to be introduced this year will quicken the issuance of registration documents for new vehicles and driving licences in Laos, according to a report. The Transport Department under the Ministry of Public Works and Transport admitted the issuance of these ...

Ho Chi Minh City has approved a plan to build a new road through Can Gio Mangrove Forest, a biosphere reserve recognized by UNESCO, in a bid to attract more tourists.  The road will be 17 meters wide and run 3.5 kilometers, which means 18,600 trees ...

At least 500 workers from three garment factories in Cambodia demonstrated on 14 July outside the Labor Ministry in the capital Phnom Penh, demanding that government officials intervene in their quest for better working conditions and food and transportation subsidies. The workers from two factories in Kandal ...

Hoteliers in the resort city have been relying mainly on Chinese tourists after the sharp fall in European tourists, particularly Russians, due to the economic recession in their countries. Locally run Pattaya hotels have faced an oversupply since last year and the situation is getting worse ...

Confused citizens in coastal communities like Kampot and Sihanoukville are complaining about surging electricity bills, which they say are not linked to higher usage or even rises in per unit cost. The rising costs are largely unexplained and often disproportionately high in relation to actual power ...

Thailand, China and Myanmar are expected to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the development of the 7,000-megawatt Mong Ton hydropower-plant project on the upper Salween River this year, after Myanmar’s government cancelled its Tasang hydropower project. Speaking yesterday on behalf of the three countries, ...

Burma’s state-owned Myanmar Posts and Telecommunications (MPT) on 15 July halved the price of landline phone installation after years of wringing the country’s monopolized communications market. The fixed phone rate has been pinned at a staggering 650,000 kyat (US$565) rate for more than a decade. Twenty years ...

The International Labour Organization (ILO) on Thursday will launch a news bulletin focusing on Cambodia’s garment and shoe sector, aimed at providing data for Cambodian policymakers during annual minimum wage talks.    ILO officials intend on releasing the newsletter four times per year, an ILO chief technical ...