Economy and industry

Rubber growers and exporters have expressed concern that prices will continue to fall as Thailand seeks to boost its natural rubber exports, industry insider Men Sopheak said. In March, the International Tripartite Rubber Council (ITRC), which comprises Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia, agreed to reduce rubber exports ...

An aerial view from the China-Laos border to the capital Vientiane reveals a ruled, comparatively straight line embedded into northern Laos, laid among the foothills, crossing gullies, rivers and fields, and with small arcs bypassing villages. It’s the China-Laos railway project, a landmark construction project in ...

Organisations in Vietnam are facing longer downtimes caused by cybersecurity breaches, compared to the regional and global averages, according to a recent Cisco study. The Cisco’s 2019 Asia Pacific CISO Benchmark Study was released this week. Almost a third of companies in Vietnam were offline for 24 hours or ...

In a scathing report, the European Union warned Cambodia that it has not taken enough steps to prevent a loss of its special trade privileges, noting particularly “further deterioration” of its human rights record since a review process was launched nine months ago. The confidential 70-page ...

Nguyen Thi Bien cannot speak Vietnamese properly since she was trafficked to China 28 years ago and virtually lost her mother tongue. She returned to Vietnam in August after Chinese authorities raided and deported undocumented immigrants. More about how she returned later. Cut to the present. In a countryside ...

The rural southwestern province of Koh Kong, previously off the international community’s radar screen, has drawn the global spotlight. That’s because a massive runway stretching approximately 3,200 meters appeared suddenly at a resort being developed by a Chinese company in this otherwise out-of-the-way province, about a ...

The government will light another 4000 villages across the country in the second phase of its electrification plan, said U Thura Aung Ko, chief engineer and project manager of the Ministry of Electricity and Energy. He added the agency has begun inviting tenders to supply equipment for ...

Stakeholders are concerned about the legitimacy of the multinational approval process for Laos’ Luangprabang hydropower project, after recommendations to lower the environmental impact were raised, but few were accepted during a meeting of the Mekong River Commission (MRC) last week in Vientiane. The meeting was held ...

King Norodom Sihamoni has signed off on a new law that will see unlicensed construction company officials punished with a maximum of 15 years in prison if a worker is to die due to negligence. The Law on Construction, passed by the National Assembly and the ...

The Mekong – Lancang Business Forum 2019, themed “Promoting Agribusiness and Investment in Processed Food Sector”, took place in Ho Chi Minh City on November 7. The event was co-organised by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Thai Ministry of Commerce and the Mekong Institute. Speaking ...