Economy and industry
Myanmar official suggests downsizing or relocation of dam that frayed China ties
A top Myanmar investment official on Tuesday (Jan 29) suggested alternatives such as scaling back or relocating a stalled Chinese-backed dam project that has strained ties between the neighbours. Myanmar angered China in 2011 when its former quasi-civilian government suspended the US$3.6 billion Myitsone hydro-power ...
Thailand: Cross-border trade up 6 percent in 2018
Thailand fetched 1.4 trillion THB (44.5 billion USD) from cross-border trade in 2018, up 6 percent over the previous year, but falling short of the set target of 1.5 trillion THB. According to Thailand’s Department of Foreign Trade, the ongoing US-China trade row, natural disasters, ...
VN, Thailand head toward $20 billion in trade

Việt Nam and Thailand have agreed to implement measures to boost economic co-operation with the aim of reaching US$20 billion in two-way trade turnover by 2020 at the meeting of their Joint Committee on Bilateral Cooperation in Thailand which wrapped up yesterday. Keep reading ...
Forty Three Tourists Rescued After Tour Boat Capsizes and Sinks on its Way to Koh Phi Phi
43 foreign tourists from Phuket have been saved after water started pouring into a speedboat they were travelling in and capsized on the way to Koh. Keep reading ...
Cambodia Faces Next Trade-Sanctions Move by the European Union
The European Union moved closer to imposing trade sanctions against Cambodia as a result of alleged human-rights violations in the country. The European Commission in Brussels has asked EU national governments to give the green light by Jan. 29 for suspending a policy that lets ...
Victims of Xe Pian-Xe Namnoy dam collapse in Laos languish in shelters as aid, supplies dry up
Even six months after the collapse of the Xe Pian-Xe Namnoy hydropower dam, which washed away numerous homes in southern Laos, the victims are still having to live in temporary shelters with no certainty about their future. The camp residents are suffering from a severe ...
Kachin parties refute China’s claim of local support for Myitsone Dam
Three ethnic Kachin political parties said on Monday they sought the “permanent suspension” of the multi-billion dollar Myitsone Dam, discrediting a Chinese embassy statement that implied support for the divisive project among the state’s political leaders. Keep reading ...
Laos urged to conduct impact studies
Member countries of the Mekong River Commission have sent a request to the Lao government to carry out thorough impact studies prior to the construction of the Pak Lay hydropower dam in order to minimise risks in the future. Keep reading ...
Thailand first in ASEAN to ban production, imports, sales of products containing trans fats
The Public Health Minister, Clin. Prof. Piyasakol Sakolsatayadorn, said Thailand’s ban on artificial trans fats came into effect last week, making the country the first in the ASEAN to ban the production, imports, and sales of partially hydrogenated oils as well as any food items that contain them. Keep reading ...
Vietnam: Mekong Delta firms urged to sell to Japan

Mekong Delta firms should make use of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) to do more business with Japan, experts told a conference in Cần Thơ city. Keep reading ...