Economy and commerce
Trade
Banana farms ordered to stop
Chinese farms in Laos’ provinces have been suspended due to their ongoing use of hazardous chemicals which are having negative impacts on people’s health and the environment. The Prime Minister’s Office’s ordered the farms which are preparing to cultivate banana trees to cease their efforts ...
Country makes remarkable achievements in foreign affairs
The relations between the Lao PDR and great powers have seen positive escalation, while the nation has maintained normalcy in its relations with developed countries, reflecting some remarkable achievements in Laos’ foreign affairs. The achievements were disseminated at the 13th meeting on foreign affairs, which ...
Thailand attempts to revive weakening economy
Thailand’s government plans to allocate an additional $5.3 billion this fiscal year to investment projects in provincial areas, in what appears to be a major effort to appeal to the rural population and kickstart economic growth after several years of stagnation. High household debt, dropping ...
Bus importer floats duty deal with government
Bestlin Group, the firm contracted to procure 489 natural gas for vehicle air-conditioned buses to the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority, on December 8 proposed a deal with the Finance Ministry amid fears it might be ineligible for a 40% import duty exemption for the buses. The firm ...
Minebea opens third plant
Minebea, the largest Japanese company in Cambodia, officially opened a third manufacturing plant in the Phnom Penh Special Economic Zone on December 8 to coincide with the fifth anniversary of its presence in the country. Yoshihisa Kainuma, president and CEO of Mineba (Cambodia), told reporters at ...
Strong demand boosts exports to CLMV
Exports to Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam continue to rise due to strong demand in the neighbouring countries, where the economies continue to grow, according to the Office of Industrial Economics. Ittichai Yotsi, director of the OIE’s Bureau of Industrial Economics Research, said exports to ...
Bad weather threatens to put a damper on sugar harvest
Unfavourable weather has delayed Thailand’s sugar crushing season, threatening a reduction in sugar output for the 2016/17 crop. The drop will prevent Thailand, the world’s second largest sugar exporter, from capitalising on rising global sugar prices at a time it is being challenged by Brazil ...
Customs impounds 100 NGV buses amid duty doubts
The Customs Department has impounded 100 natural gas vehicle air-conditioned buses which were supposed to hit Bangkok streets late this month amid doubts over whether the import order is legitimate or was falsely declared to avoid more than 100 million baht in tax. The first ...
Vietnam’s cocoa receives “fine flavour” designation from Int’l Cocoa organisation
Viet Nam has become the second Asian country to achieve a fine flavour cocoa designation from the International Cocoa Organisation. Forty per cent of the country’s cocoa exports have received this designation. Indonesia was the first Asian country to receive the recognition in 2011, but it ...
Will coal shares bounce back?
The strong increase in coal prices has rekindled hopes for Vietnam’s miners and securities investors after a period of disappointment. After eight years of decline, the coal price began recovering in early 2016. Analysts commented that the coal price has been witnessing the strongest recovery compared ...