Economy and industry
Economy expected to average 7.1 percent growth over next three years
Myanmar’s economy is expected to grow by an average of 7.1 percent per year in the next three years, amid easing inflation and a rise in investments in infrastructure and sectors such as light manufacturing and hospitality, the World Bank said in a report on ...
An economic success story: How Vietnam became Southeast Asia’s top performer
Vietnam’s remarkable economic progress looks set to continue in the coming years, despite a regional slowdown which has affected other states in Southeast Asia. Its increasingly diversified and resilient economy has grown at a healthy rate – of above 6 percent – in each of the last ...
Deforestation-free commodities represent a major investment opportunity: report
It’s estimated that about 10 percent of global emissions comes from deforestation — meaning we could make considerable progress toward halting climate change simply by keeping what remains of the world’s forests standing. Agricultural commodities — especially beef, palm oil, soy, and pulp and paper ...
Consultation on investment rules highlights land issues
A public consultation on the regulations that will accompany Myanmar’s new investment law threw the spotlight onto the country’s complicated land legislation once again. But although they acknowledge the barriers that land rules present to potential investors, officials in charge of the investment law regulations ...
Pacitan villagers say coal plant reduced livelihoods, brought little new employment
The waves of the Indian Ocean crash against the breakwater at Bawur Bay, a protective arm shielding the Pacitan coal-fired power plant. A few meters away, a barge full of coal is berthed. Its cargo is unloaded onto a conveyor belt and transported about 500 ...
Coastal erosion threatens Bình Thuận Province
Extreme weather conditions resulting in a complex tide phenomenon, landslides and sea erosion are threatening coastal areas in central Bình Thuận Province, authority officials and local people have said. Mai Kiều, director of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said this week that ...
Proposed hydropower plant in Laos to affect lower Mekong River in Vietnam
Laos is making hectic preparations for the building of one more hydropower dam – Pak Beng – on the Mekong river section which runs through Oudomxay province, despite strong warnings about the influence on the lower course, especially in Vietnam’s Mekong River Delta. The Mekong ...
Chinese keen to invest in Champassak's Khonphapheng SEZ
A Chinese company has told Lao authorities they want to invest US$10 billion in developing Khonephapheng special economic zone in Champassak province. Deputy Governor of Champassak province Mr Buasone Vongsongkhone told Vientiane Times on Tuesday that provincial authorities held talks with the company recently and ...
Solar pegged for urban expansion
Solar power has always been an easier sell in sun-drenched rural Cambodia, where millions of villagers live beyond the reach of electrical grids and those with connections face tariffs up to a staggering 3,000-riel per kilowatt hour. Declining prices of solar technology and a growing ...
Parents of trafficking victims testify in Thailand
Chab Sanna, 67, on January 26 told a courtroom how her three sons had been lured from their Svay Rieng province home in search of work abroad only to be trafficked into a life of near-slavery on a Thai fishing vessel. It’s an all-too-familiar tale, though ...
