News
S44 to speed up high-speed train
Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha will use his special power as the junta chief to speed up the long-delayed Thai-Chinese railway project. He insisted his planned issuance of the all-powerful Section 44 of the interim charter to clear legal hurdles in the Thai-Sino rail project is not ...
Supporting SMEs, manufacturing locally and operating in underdeveloped areas criteria for FDI approval, official says
A top official from the Ministry of Commerce told an audience of foreign investors and businesses that foreign investments should be able to support SMEs, manufacture products in Myanmar and operate in underdeveloped areas. Those are the criteria upon which the government will approve or ...
Yunnan pushing trade, investment between Laos, China
Trade value between Laos and China’s south-western Yunnan province has reached US$1.37 billion, making up 40 percent of the total trade between the two nations.Speaking at the opening ceremony of the 2017 South and Southeast Asia Commodities Expo and Investment Fair (SSAECIF) on Monday, Deputy ...
Land compensation issue remains unresolved
Although a verbal promise had been made for compensation to be paid for lands which were seized from a subsidiary of a Chinese firm Wanbao Mining, Myanmar Yang Tse is still operating the Sabetaung and Kyisintaung mines beside Letpadaung.The lands have been seized twice, between ...
Severe form of dengue fever surfaces in Vientiane
Health authorities say Laos still faces challenges in preventing dengue fever this year, especially with the emergence of dengue hemorrhagic fever. Meanwhile, the number of dengue fever infections in Vientiane overall has increased at a higher rate than in other parts of the country.Head of ...
New plan to boost community involvement in mining concessions
The government intends to draw up a new master plan on the mining industry in which regulations on ore processing and community participation will be tightened, according to a national policy committee.However, it remains uncertain if Akara Resources, formerly the largest gold mine operator in ...
Attapeu tourism development requires more all-season roads
Attapeu province in southern Laos has huge untapped tourism potential but still lacks the funding to develop these tourism sites and roads access, officials have confirmed.Without roads access, it would make it difficult for authorities to attract the business sector to develop those attractions and ...
The most neglected threat to public health in China is toxic soil
Tang Donghua, a wiry 47-year-old farmer wearing a Greenpeace T-shirt, smokes a cigarette and gesticulates towards his paddy fields in the hills of southern Hunan province. The leaves of his rice plants poke about a foot above water. Mr Tang says he expects to harvest ...
Feasibility study begins on Borikhamxay irrigation project
The Department of Irrigation under the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has agreed with China’s Hunan Construction Engineering Group No. 2 Company on a feasibility study of the Nam Khu irrigation project in Pakkading district, Borikhamxay province.A Memorandum of Understanding was signed in Vientiane on ...
Fuel smuggling on the rise in Vietnamese waters
Fuel smuggling is on the rise in Vietnamese waters bordering Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand recently, partly due to the discrepancy between selling prices in Vietnam and neighbouring countries, according to the Vietnamese coastguard.Colonel Tran Văn Nam, head of the Legal Department at the Maritime Police ...