People and government
China works with Asean countries for return of corrupt officials
China and ASEAN countries will set up a regional anti-corruption legal framework to facilitate the return of corrupt Chinese officials who are still at large in ASEAN countries and confiscate their ill-gotten assets, a senior anti-graft official said. China is in advanced negotiations with some ASEAN ...
Bancassurance has room to grow
The bancassurance model, while still relatively undeveloped in Cambodia, has huge potential to drive the growth of the insurance sector, financial industry specialists said during a conference in Phnom Penh on November 2. Robert Elliott, CEO of Manulife, said during a panel discussion that rising ...
ACIAR extends support to forestry sector
The Australian Centre for International Agriculture Research is ready to continue assisting people’s tree plantings in northern Luang Prabang province and will also extend support to the wood processing sector in Laos. The extension in support comes after the ACIAR project achieved success in the ...
Indigenous lands are even more critical to preserving the Earth than we thought

Nearly one quarter of the carbon stored above ground in tropical forests is currently in the care of indigenous and traditional communities. A new report suggests that keeping those populations on the land and guaranteeing their right to it could be the key to keeping ...
New guidelines on impact assessments almost ready

Civil society groups are getting closer to unveiling a new set of guidelines that will change how the impact of big development projects is assessed across the Mekong region, NGOs said on November 1, following the end of a two-month public consultation period. Activists, however, ...
‘Forward Cabinet’ meets to resolve problems in southern border provinces

The 13-member “Forward Cabinet” will meet with the heads of state agencies and private sector representatives to gather inputs for the “Triangle of Stability, Prosperity, and Sustainability” development project on November 2. The project is aimed at elevating three districts in the southern border provinces into ...
Public debt near red line: NA deputies

The second session of the National Assembly on November 1 continued with debates on a five year financial plan, targets and orientation for the mobilisation and use of public investment loans as well as public debt management during 2016-2020. Finance Minister Đinh Tiến Dũng presented a ...
Goa summit could be the turning point for BIMSTEC

The recently concluded eighth BRICS summit in Goa, India on October 15-16 saw a range of unprecedented outcomes and engagements. One of the biggest highlights among them was the BRICS-BIMSTEC Outreach Summit, where the BRICS leaders met the heads of government of the BIMSTEC countries. ...
Indonesia, Vietnam look to blaze trail for solar in Southeast Asia

Indonesia and Vietnam are looking to join Thailand in blazing a trail for solar power in Southeast Asia, introducing targets to fire up green energy generation as a landmark global agreement to curb pollution is set to take effect. Countries around the world are coming ...
Tobacco turns over a new leaf

Agriculture officials and struggling smallholder tobacco farmers are cautiously hopeful that tariff exemptions granted under a new trade agreement with Vietnam will lift sagging demand for their crops. Khann Samban, director of industrial crops at the Ministry of Agriculture, said that the market for tobacco ...