Economy and commerce
Trade
A more direct path for mango exports
Sweet and juicy mangoes grown in Cambodia have been finding their way into top Asian markets for years, but until now only through Thai and Vietnamese brokers, and often repackaged or processed into juices and jams to disguise their Khmer origin. Local producers’ lack of ...
Indonesia among Asia's top destinations attracting investors: ECN survey
Indonesia is among Asia’s most attractive investment destinations, thanks to a robust private demand combined with expectation of improvements in its business climate, a survey from The Economist Corporate Network showed. Published on January 17, the survey — titled “Navigating Asia’s Risks and Rewards: Asia ...
U.S. ambassadors in Asia make final plea for dead Trans-Pacific trade pact
When hope of enacting the ambitious Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact ended in November, Max Baucus, the United States ambassador to China, was among the officials who had to grapple with disappointment. The partnership, called the TPP, was a hallmark of the Obama administration. It would ...
Sugar yield quells ethanol shortage fear
Ethanol shortage concerns in Thailand have subsided on the good sugar yield from the latest sugar cane crop, providing abundant molasses for the ethanol industry, says a senior industrial official. Thai SugarMillers Corporation Ltd, which includes all Thai 52 sugar factories, said the current 2016/17 ...
China to buy 20,000 tonnes of organic rice from Laos
China has approved the purchase of 20,000 tonnes of organic rice a year from Laos, according to Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith. Mr Thongloun said in talks with Khong district authorities in Champassak province last week that Chinese premier Li Keqiang had agreed to the deal. The ...
Deconstructing China’s energy security strategy
Given continued American global naval supremacy, which is unlikely to be challenged successfully in the foreseeable future, Beijing’s highest strategic priority is to ensure energy security by connecting friendly major oil and gas producers to China via pipelines transiting through land routes beyond the effective ...
Honda idles Thai auto capacity amid weak sales
Honda Motor will halt one of its three automobile assembly lines in Thailand by the end of March, a move that amounts to a capacity reduction in a market short on growth. One of the two lines at the Japanese automaker’s plant in Ayutthaya Province, ...
Vietnam fears protectionism will affect farm produce exports
Vietnam in 2016 saw a high farm produce trade surplus of $7.6 billion, but big difficulties are still ahead, including returning protectionism with Brexit and US President-elect Donald Trump. Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong said at a press conference on January ...
Firmer prospects as rubber rebounds
Cambodia’s beleaguered rubber industry looks set for a turnaround as international rubber prices continue their strong rebound. Local traders and industry officials said on January 12 they were optimistic that rubber prices, which doubled during the course of 2016, would continue to rise as the ...
Cassava woes still persist
Local cassava producers still do not fully understand the process of obtaining a sanitary and phytosanitary certification, a necessity for those exporting their produce to Thailand. Department of Agriculture deputy director-general Hean Vanhan said that there were no barriers for local cassava vendors to export to ...
