Economy and industry
Myanmar moves to legalise casinos
Myanmar is considering a plan to legalise casinos. Some already operate under special provisions but changes to the law are being proposed to encourage more tourism and tax collection. A Chinese company is now working with a militia to help it develop a large border ...
Trade war: Focus turns to Thailand to conclude $7 trln RCEP
Six years in the making, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is slated to transform the region into an Asean-centric, comprehensive free trade area, poised to make a large contribution to Asian and global economic cooperation. The RCEP may well become the second major Asia-led trade ...
ASEAN countries lag on renewable energy
Renewable energy sources include mainly biomass, waste to energy technology, wind, solar, run-of-river, impounding hydropower sources, ocean, geothermal and hybrid systems. The current renewable energy surge is due largely to booming solar panel deployment in China and throughout the world. It grew by 50 per ...
ASEAN to open markets for regional startups
Member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are expected to open their markets for startup companies from the region, especially unicorn startups, to boost development of the regional digital economy. “We also discuss ways to open the markets within ASEAN and expand ...
Lao Dam Collapse Creates Hardship for Student Far From Floodwaters
Laos’ worst flooding in decades — the rupture of a dam in July that inundated 12 villages and killed at least 43 people, leaving hundreds more missing – is still reverberating far away in the capital of the poor, landlocked country. Survivors of the flooding ...
Sanya hosts 2018 Sanya Forum of Lancang-Mekong River Tourist Cities Cooperation
Themed “An Open and Innovative Lancang-Mekong River for A Future with Win-Win Cooperation”, the 2018 Sanya Forum of Lancang-Mekong River Tourist Cities Cooperation opened in Sanya, a seaside city in southern China’s island province of Hainan, on November 23. []More than 200 guests including delegations from 18 cities in China, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam, as ...
Cambodia eases pressure on opposition, media after EU sanctions threat
Cambodia’s parliament is reviewing a five-year ban on more than 100 members of the main opposition party, which could allow them to return to politics, following threats by the European Union to deny duty-free trading access to the Southeast Asian nation. Keep reading ...
Laos looks to increase electricity export
Lao media on November 30 quoted a report by the country’s Minister of Energy and Mines Khammani Inthilath as saying that it is looking to increase electricity export in the time to come. The article said the minister pointed out at the ongoing session of ...
After a Long Boom, an Uncertain Future for Big Dam Projects
A timely analysis piece by Yale Environment 360 on the rise of wind and solar power, coupled with the increasing social, environmental and financial costs of hydropower projects, could spell the end of an era of big dams. But even anti-dam activists say it’s too early ...
Trade Department pushes 12 priorities for Asean chair
Twelve economic issues, including the conclusion of negotiations on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, have been proposed for consideration as Thailand readies itself to assume Asean’s chairmanship. Keep reading ...