Economy and industry
Malaysia, Indonesia to take EU curbs on palm oil to WTO
Malaysia and Indonesia plan to raise the prospect of European Union curbs on the imports of palm oil with the World Trade Organisation, both countries said in a joint statement on Sunday.Keep reading ...
Agencies instructed to speed up rubber plans
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has instructed nine state agencies to speed up the use of rubber in a bid to lift domestic demand which will help shore up falling rubber prices.Keep reading ...
Replace workers with machines: experts
The Korea Institute of Industrial Technology (KITECH) and the Việt Nam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS) on Thurday held a conference to promote smart manufacturing for Viet Nam’s textile industry.Keep reading ...
Government to open centres for returning Lao workers
The government called on all Lao workers returning home from Thailand to register at forthcoming provincial assistance centres and acquire passports so they can be legally re-employed in Thailand. The government this week confirmed it will open centres this month in the Labour and Social ...
Major reservoir at risk of pollution
Đá Đen reservoir, which supplies water to 90 per cent of the people in Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu Province, is at risk of being severely polluted. Many local residents in Châu Đức and Tân Thành districts bordering the reservoir are worried that the waste water treatment plant ...
Myanmar should renegotiate expensive loans from China
Myanmar must renegotiate the terms to its existing loans from China, as these loans have saddled the country with the burden of repaying the loans at high interest rates, economists say. Of the US$600 million in foreign debt repayments due from Myanmar this year, interest payments, ...
Lack of accountability and clarity in SEZ Law highlighted in Dawei
An inadequate legal framework, poor implementation process, absence of accountabilities and the lack of transparency lead to violations of human rights and environmental disruption in Myanmar’s Special Economic Zones, speakers at the Myanmar Special Economic Zones Forum highlighted.Read more ...
Minister hails Lao-Vietnamese communications cooperation
Laos and Vietnam have successfully cooperated in communications, especially human resources and ICT sector development, and will continue to do so, according to a leading official. The successful cooperation has highlighted at a press conference in Vientiane on Tuesday by Minister of Post and Telecommunications ...
MoF maintains raw iron export tax
The price of refined iron ore is 200 times more expensive than the raw iron ore for exporting, therefore, reducing the export tax on raw iron ore is unreasonable and discouraging investments in ore sorting technology, according to the Ministry of Finance (MoF).Keep reading ...
Universal basic income could work in SE Asia, but only if it goes to women
The universal basic income debate has been raging for some years, with politicians and people hotly divided over the notion of their government paying every citizen a set amount of money on a regular basis, without requiring work to be completed. The idea of everybody, including ...