People and government
Optimism for pharma sector

Vietnamese pharmaceutical companies are optimistic about the business prospects of the sector, as well as its potential in 2016-17. This information was released in a survey alongside the top 10 most prestigious pharmaceutical companies in the country by the Ministry of Information and Communications and Việt ...
Cabinet approves budget worth B17.5bn for Village Funds

The cabinet on October 25 approved a 17.5-billion-baht budget for 74,655 Village Funds across the country at 250,000 baht each for local development. The move is a fresh bid to boost the rural economy, prevent people from borrowing from loan sharks and maintain the country’s ...
Myanmar leader begins VN visit

Myanmar President Htin Kyaw and his wife Su Su Lwin arrived in Hà Nội on October 25 for a visit to Việt Nam at the invitation of President Trần Đại Quang. The three-day visit starting on October 26 aims to seek stronger co-operation between the two countries, especially ...
Agro report reveals drop in state fisheries revenue

A report issued by the Ministry of Agriculture for the first nine months of this year showed a dramatic decline in government revenue from the fisheries sector, while providing incomplete information on revenue from other agricultural sectors. The report, issued earlier this month and published in ...
Parliament calls for full revenue collection

National Assembly members have called for the government to do more to seek new revenue sources and fully collect revenue following last fiscal year’s revenue shortfall despite there being numerous income generating sources. Members of parliament put forward the requirement when debating the government’s proposal to ...
USAID funds project to monitor HIV prevalence
Laos has a concentrated HIV epidemic compared to other countries, with the prevalence of HIV still at a low level in key groups. But risk behaviours threaten to increase the prevalence of HIV transmission amongst the population so the National Centre for HIV/AIDS and Sexually Transmitted ...
Commission consults on child rights convention
The National Commission for Mothers and Children and United Nations Children’s Fund on October 25 organised a consultation workshop to review and provide input into a draft of the 3rd to 6th state Convention on the Rights of Child report. The workshop in Vientiane reported that ...
Vietnam among top places for business expansion in Southeast Asia: survey

With competitive labor cost, the country only comes after Singapore in terms of attractiveness. In the Southeast Asia region, Singapore tops the list of most favorable expansion destinations for Asian companies, with 32 percent of respondents saying they will invest more, followed by Vietnam, according ...
Public debt ceiling to remain at 65%

The government will not lift the public debt ceiling but will tighten its financial discipline to develop enterprises and further attract social investment to create the resources needed for reform and socioeconomic development. Lifting the ceiling would affect the country’s loan repayment capacity, Deputy Prime Minister ...
Govt asks parliament to lower growth targets

On October 24, the government asked the National Assembly to lower economic growth targets over the next four years after encountering difficulties that resulted in failure to meet the target set for last fiscal year. Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith presented the proposal at the second ordinary ...