Economy and industry

Rebuilding of Laos’ 106-km Road No. 18A, which links Road No. 13 South in Thangbaeng village, Pathoumphone district, Champassak province with Samakhixay district in Attapeu province, is on track and scheduled for completion in 2017. Work on the road began in 2013 after surveys were carried out, ...

Laos’ first telecommunications satellite (Lao Sat-1) will officially start business operations in March after successfully launching late last year and is keen to sign up government and private sector customers. Lao Sat-1 officials met in Vientiane on 23 February to introduce the satellite to potential government and ...

Cambodia passed a key Millennium Development Goal milestone last year with half of rural areas now having access to clean drinking water, according to a Ministry of Rural Development annual report released on 23 February. The report also touted improvements to sanitation in rural areas, which ...

Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in Vietnam grew by 9.7 percent last year to US$5.2 billion, mostly with small and medium-sized enterprises involved, according to a new market report.   The number of deals was up 23.1 percent to 341, local market research company StoxPlus said in the ...

Vietnam’s transport ministry wants electronic toll collection systems (ETCs) installed at all toll booths nationwide from 2020, to end delays and cut costs, Deputy Minister Nguyen Hong Truong said. The ministry has asked investors to install the systems on National Highway 1 and 14 before 30 June. ...

It is officially described as the best-preserved city in Southeast Asia, a bygone seat of kings tucked into a remote river valley of Laos. Luang Prabang weaves a never-never land spell on many a visitor with its tapestry of French colonial villas and Buddhist temples draped ...

Five foreigners accused of multiple offences of fraud involving the use of fake bank cards or electronic equipment to withdraw cash can be tried together, Yangon Region’s High Court has decided. The decision means that the cases of a British man and four Indian citizens will ...

Bangkok’s Metropolitan Waterworks Authority (MWA) will test lower-water-volume distribution for 24 consecutive hours in some areas this week as it braces for an imminent drought crisis. The test will run from 9pm 24 February till 9pm 25 February. “We need to make preparations for any emergency and any ...

Construction of the controversial Bt14-billion Chao Phraya Landmark project is expected to start early next year, according to a source close to the project. The source also said on 21 February that Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwan had ordered state radio and TV stations ...

Vietnam needs to create policies to promote investment in agriculture to build a farming sector to compete internationally, as the country integrates into the global economy. Investments in agriculture remain modest, although the sector involved nearly 70 per cent of the country’s population, while contributing some ...