Economy and commerce
Cheapest Thai fragrant rice for six years
The global price of Hom Mali fragrant rice has dropped to the lowest in six years as growers sell their grain direct to millers-cum-exporters instead of joining a state-run bank’s scheme to increase rice prices. Keep reading ...
Financial illiteracy persists as banks blossom
Most Cambodians continue to have low financial literacy even as an increasing number of them are beginning to embrace the formal banking sector, according to a recent Standard & Poor’s report. The international credit rating firm’s Global FinLit Survey showed that only 18 per cent of ...
Vietnam coffee industry in trouble as prices plunge
Despite efforts to reduce costs and increase yields, Vietnam’s coffee exports have faced a difficult year, delegates heard at a seminar in Ho Chi Minh City on 2 December. “The international coffee market has seen unexpected trends and seriously impacted Vietnamese exports,” Deputy Minister of Agriculture ...
Groundless EU rumour smacks big-cap Thai shares
Thai stocks dived 1.29% on 2 December on panic selling after rumours swirled on social media that the EU had imposed sanctions on Thailand. The Stock Exchange of Thailand index, Asia’s worst-performing market for the day, took a nosedive just minutes after the afternoon session began, with the ...
Revenue, debt alarms sounded in Thailand
Concerns about the private sector’s revenue and debt servicing ability have been raised at a joint meeting of two Bank of Thailand committees. The Monetary Policy Committee and the Financial Institutions Policy Committee held a joint session on 30 November to discuss financial developments and risks to financial ...
Companies begin to feel the heat as import costs climb
Myanmar’s plummeting currency has prompted a vicious circle of rising prices in the import-dependent economy, in which even export-driven companies face rising costs, say businesspeople. New laws and regulations are urgently needed to control the kyat, they said, which has fallen by more than 25 percent ...
Scramble behind the scenes as Yangon Stock Exchange nears launch
Just a week before Myanmar’s first modern stock exchange is set to open on 9 December, a much-delayed announcement on the names of securities companies has not yet been made, underwriters have not received licences and domestic IPOs seem a distant dream. Ten companies have been ...
PV Oil Laos marks anniversary
A ceremony to celebrate the 5th anniversary of Lao PetroVietnam Oil (PV Oil Laos), a subsidiary of the PetroVietnam Oil Corporation (PV Oil), was held in Vientiane on 30 November. The event was attended by Vietnamese Ambassador to Laos Nguyen Manh Hung and Vice President of ...
Thailand 'to reap rewards' from IMF's yuan move
Thailand’s trade and investment will benefit in the long run from inclusion of the yuan in the special drawing rights currency basket of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), says a senior central bank official. Greater use of the Chinese currency would help to slim down foreign ...
Vietnam rules out interest rate cuts despite record-low inflation
The State Bank of Vietnam said it will not lower interest rates any time soon even though inflation has been slowing down. Bank deputy governor Nguyen Thi Hong told a press conference late last week that low inflation is only one of many factors that have ...
