Economy and commerce
Trade
Rubber oversupply causes price slump in Laos
As rubber plantations mature and the trees are ready to be tapped, Lao growers stand to face a substantial loss amid a slump in the rubber price on the world market. A respected Lao researcher says poor assessment of the market prior to planting the trees ...
Gold prices unchanged at B18,200
Thailand’s Gold Traders Association have announced buying prices at 17,843.32 baht per baht weight for gold ornaments. Keep reading ...
Overseas Vietnamese granted import tax exemption on used cars
According to a new Government decree, a tax exemption on used cars imported to Vietnam has been given for Viet kieu (Overseas Vietnamese), who are intellectuals, experts and skilled workers. Keep reading ...
Thai PM coy on plans to join TPP
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on 7 August poured cold water on a call by an American business lobby group urging Thailand to join the controversial Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade pact. The premier said the pros and cons of the new trade bloc need to be considered ...
Post-coup Thailand sees economic slump putting pressure on junta
Thailand’s government is under increasing pressure to overhaul the cabinet and bolster the economy as falling exports, eroding consumer confidence and a slump in manufacturing portend one of the region’s slowest expansions. The finance ministry has cut its forecasts for exports and gross domestic product growth ...
Vietnam strives to improve its trade statistics for ASEAN
Vietnam will strive to become one of ASEAN’s top five nations in international trade statistics by 2017. This is part of a plan for Vietnam’s integration into the ASEAN Statistics system in the 2016-20 period, as approved by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung. According to the plan’s general targets ...
With farms, fruit and feed, Vietnam's tycoons explore agribusiness ventures
Some of Vietnam’s top firms are carving out opportunities in its $37 billion agriculture and seafood sector and looking to expand overseas, helped by free trade pacts. “We’ll have global food shortages by 2050. If we invest fundamentally and correctly, this market is infinite,” said Nguyen Duy ...
New rice deals hammered out with African countries
Thailand has clinched several deals to sell 765,000 tonnes of rice worth US$313 million to African countries. Commerce Minister Chatchai Sarikulya said during a five-day visit to South Africa that Thai exporters had signed 11 memorandums of understanding with African importers for the rice, worth 10.9 ...
Laos stone not a rock-solid investment for Chinese speculators
A government ban, fines and the confiscation of goods has not stopped Chinese opportunists seeking to make a quick buck in Laos stone, reports the Shanghai-based China Business News. The popularity of Laos stone has investors betting that it could step up next to the greats ...
Thailand’s low ranking in human trafficking report could hamper trade deal
With the Obama administration pushing to conclude a vast Asian trade pact, the State Department on 27 July upgraded its assessment of Malaysia’s efforts to combat human trafficking, a move that could ease the country’s inclusion in the trade deal. Though the human trafficking report from the State ...
