Economy and industry

Suvarnabhumi airport expects to see traffic surge nearly 20% over the next six months on the back of strong high-season travel demand, turning it into one of Asia’s busiest airports. A total of 24.8 million passengers are expected to pass through the country’s gateway airport between 25 ...

Vietnam’s export-driven economy is set to grow at its fastest pace in eight years in 2015 and it’s foreign firms in the country that are riding the wave, leaving local companies lagging far behind.   Foreign-owned businesses shipped 70 percent of Vietnam’s total exports so far this ...

Trade and security links will be high on the agenda when New Zealand Prime Minister John Key undertakes a three-nation tour of Southeast Asia next week. Key said Monday he would lead a trade delegation to Vietnam from 14 to 17 November and meet with Prime ...

Laos needs more young people to study science so they can contribute to the nation’s development, according to a leading official. The number of students enrolling in science courses is continuing to decrease with most high school leavers studying in other fields, Minister of Science and ...

Following the opening of Cambodia’s first modern abattoir last month, a new draft law to regulate animal produce and slaughterhouses was announced on 6 November, along with the establishment of a “National Butchers’ Day” to be recognised annually on 8 January. The 22-chapter law, revealed by ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen on 8 November took to Facebook to warn companies against “colluding with bad officials” to illegally construct buildings on public parks and sidewalks, ordering those that have already done so to dismantle them immediately. Keep reading ...

Deputy Minister of Finance Do Hoang Anh Tuan has instructed tax offices in Ho Chi Minh City to review businesses’ applications for tax refunds and resolve possible problems that have been delaying payments.   He issued the order at a meeting on 5 November after many businesses complained ...

Over 30,000 tourists visited Xekong Province in the 2014-2015 period.  This number has been rising gradually year on year, according to the Deputy Director of the Xekong Information, Culture and Tourism Department, Mr Souban Detsomphong. Keep reading ...

Laos’ Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism’s Tourism Management Department is working with local authorities and other sectors towards more efficient management of tour operators. The move comes after the Lao Association of Travel Agents asked the department to step in and address the problem of tour ...

The Japanese government has provided further support to improve the operations of water supply state enterprises in Vientiane and the provinces of Luang Prabang and Khammuan. The Department of Housing and Urban Planning, the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, and the Public Enterprise Bureau, Saitama ...