Economy and industry

A delegation of Lao officials will visit two neighboring countries to inform them about the commencement of construction work on a controversial 260-megawatt hydropower dam on the Mekong River, a Lao official with knowledge of the issue said on 14 October. Three lower Mekong countries – ...

Thailand’s military government has scrapped a plan to create a single Internet gateway, a deputy prime minister said on 15 October, putting paid to a system aimed at allowing authorities to monitor content. Keep reading ...

The Seventh nationwide Congress of the Lao Federation of Trade Unions (LFTU) concluded on 15 October with the election of 49 members as the new Executive Committee to further oversee the tasks of the union. The congress elected Mr Pan Noymany as the President of the LFTU ...

Surging demand following the widespread destruction of paddy fields during the recent flooding has forced a record spike in prices, say the Myanmar Rice Federation and local paddy and rice traders in Naypyidaw. Since September, the price per 100 baskets of Manaw Thukha old crop in ...

Investment in Myanmar will continue to grow after the elections, business sources predict.  They were commenting on the announcement by the Directorate of Investment and Companies Administration that Myanmar Investment Commission had permitted 204 local and overseas investments in the first six months of the current ...

Myanmar authorities have arrested a peace activist and a young woman for mocking the country’s powerful military in the latest crackdown on free speech ahead of landmark elections on 8 November. Human rights groups have condemned the military-dominated government for moving their repression into social media, ...

Foreign direct investment from the European Union to Vietnam is recovering this year after a downtrend since 2011, according to a report from the Ministry of Planning and Investment’s Foreign Investment Agency. A report released this week pointed out that the EU’s total investment in Vietnam ...

Offshore capital is rapidly flooding the Thai bond market, with half of the first nine months’ fund outflows from the market turning back during the first 12 days of October. The return had been buoyed by hopes of the US Federal Reserve rate hike delay.  Keep reading ...

A Cambodian Information Ministry official has been charged with defamation over a Facebook post accusing a CPP senator of being the mistress of a military general, and has been summoned to trial on 19 October. According to the 5 October summons, Prum San, deputy director of ...

The seventh nationwide congress of the Lao Federation of Trade Unions (LFTU) opened on 14 October in Vientiane to summarise their work and plan for the year ahead as well as elect a new executive committee. Keep reading   ...