Economy and industry

Political leaders are under constant pressure to introduce new initiatives, because new implies better, and that’s the nature of politics. Even clever repackaging of previous efforts is often not enough. So, it was quite a surprise when, in June 2018, Thai prime minister Prayuth Chan-ocha ...

Despite rising trade tensions and geopolitical risks, half of ASEAN’s member states are among the top drivers of global growth. The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) World Economic Outlook released last week painted a bleak future for the global economy which is in a “synchronised slowdown” and ...

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said the government would mobilize all efforts for the implementation of major transport projects in 2020. These include the Eastern North-South expressway, Long Thanh International Airport, expansion of Tan Son Nhat International Airport, and feasibility study of North-South express railway project, ...

Veerathai Santiprabhob, governor of the Bank of Thailand, and his Myanmar counterpart U Kyaw Kyaw Maung, signed two memoranda of understanding (MoU) on October 18 during the IMF-World Bank meeting in the US. The signing was witnessed by Myanmar’s Minister for Planning and Finance U Soe ...

Digital consumers in ASEAN will be spending three times as much in 2025 according to a new study from Facebook and Bain & Company. The joint study by the social media giant and global management consultants released this week found that while consumers in Southeast Asia ...

ASEAN has a problem as far as personal data protection goes, and at the bottom of this rung sits Thailand. In a study of privacy and surveillance of 47 countries – four of which are ASEAN – by British tech website Comparitech, Thailand was ranked ...

Thais can profit from plastic waste, as well as help the environment, by adopting a more circular economy, according to one of the world’s largest plastic producers, Indorama Ventures Plc. The company’s senior vice-president Richard Jones told the Bangkok Post last week that plastic waste deserves proper management ...

China will step up cooperation with the five Mekong countries in the textile and apparel sectors, according to the China National Textile and Apparel Council (CNTAC). More efforts will be made to strengthen trade and investment interaction and improve cooperation mechanisms, so as to deepen the ...

The level of water in the Mekong river in this northeastern border province is dropping rapidly, exhibiting the most unnatural phenomenon in 50 years, according to local media reports. The reports said water in the Mekong river is dropping by 10-20 centimetres per day. The water ...

Environmental rights groups are calling on Laos to cancel the latest hydro-electric dam it has approved for construction across the Mekong River, warning of dire consequences for the millions of people who rely on the waterway for a living. A six-month “prior consultation process” for the ...