Economy and industry
Land used for palm oil could double without damaging forests, say researchers

The area covered by palm oil plantations worldwide could double without damaging protected areas or sensitive forests, Austrian researchers said on Tuesday (July 26).Researchers from the Austria-based International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) studied satellite maps from South-east Asia, Africa and Latin America to ...
Laos benefits from regional cooperation

Laos is benefiting from regional projects supported by the Republic of Korea and India through Mekong-ROK and Mekong-Ganga cooperation. The Sixth Mekong-ROK Foreign Ministers’ Meeting hosted by Laos in Vientiane on Sunday welcomed the endorsement of seven projects under the Mekong-ROK Cooperation Fund, to which the ...
Vietnam busts illegal transport of 18 bear legs from Laos

Police in the central province of Thanh Hoa seized 18 frozen bear legs transported aboard a bus by its driver without a license Tuesday.The limbs, weighing 38 kilograms in all, were identified as belonging to red-listed sun bears, news website VnExpress said.Dinh Hong Phuong, 47, ...
Agriculture abandoned by Vietnamese entrepreneurs

Vietnam has great advantages for agricultural production, but in the last 10 years, domestic enterprises have been focusing on the services sector and abandoning the field. The 2015 Business Annual Report released by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry recently showed a very low proportion ...
Thailand and the obesity epidemic
Obesity has reached alarming levels in the Asean Economic Community and especially in Thailand, where 32 per cent of the population are overweight, pushing the country into second place in terms of prevalence of obesity after Malaysia at 44 per cent and ahead of Singapore ...
Laos builds third hydropower dam, threatening Mekong River in VN

Vietnam needs to find solutions to the increasing number of hydropower dams being built in regional countries, according to Dr Vu Trong Hong, chair of the Vietnam Water Resources Association, and former Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development. Laos is preparing to build the ...
Lao PM calls for ASEAN nations to remain united

Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith has called for ASEAN nations to remain united, play a stronger role within the region, and stay true to ASEAN’s principles. Mr Thongloun made the call during his opening remarks at the 49th Asean Foreign Ministers’ Meeting held in Vientiane on 24 ...
Thailand shores up digital economy drive

The Thai Board of Investment Seoul Office held a seminar in mid-July to promote the country’s rising digital economy and attract investors and specialists. The venue titled “Thailand: Moving forward to digital economy” gave an overview of developments in the second largest economy in Southeast ...
Company ordered to halt Vietnam live exports

Ruralco has been ordered to halt live exports to Vietnam after the federal government raised concerns over animal control and traceability in the southeast Asian country. The Department of Agriculture and Water Resources has directed Ruralco live export business Frontier to cease supply of feeder and ...
Multi-billion dollar projects, approved in 'red-carpet' period, lose licenses

After joining WTO, Vietnam laid the red carpet out to welcome foreign investors with huge investment projects worth billions of dollars. But some of these projects never started or have lost licenses. Ca Na was one of the projects in the ‘FDI golden age’ when ...