Aid and development
World Bank offers funds for Myanmar's national power plan
The World Bank approved an interest-free loan to Myanmar of US$400 million on 16 September to aid the country’s ambitious National Electrification Plan and its goal of ensuring nationwide access to electricity by 2030. In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Bank said the loan would assist expansion ...
Japan pledges patrol vessels, loans to Vietnam
Japan pledges to provide Vietnam with 200 million yen (US$1.6 million) in non-refundable aid to buy Japanese used patrol ships for its maritime safety in the 2015 fiscal year, according to a joint statement issued on 15 September following Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong’s ...
Japan pledges 100bn yen in loans for Vietnam
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged on 15 September that his country will extend 100 billion yen ($835 million) in loans for Vietnam to boost the Southeast Asian economy’s infrastructural development, as Tokyo and Hanoi aim to strengthen ties on the economic and security fronts. Keep reading ...
ADB set to slash Thai GDP growth forecast
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will revise down its GDP growth forecast for Thailand to lower than 2.9% this year following the country’s slower-than-expected performance in the first half. However, the new growth forecast, due to be announced on 22 September, will be higher than 2.5%, ...
Korea extends support to Laos for ASEAN integration
The Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) will provide more than US$13 million (more than 104 billion kip) in assistance to Laos next year in various sectors of development. KOICA President Kim Young-Mok announced the support when he paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong ...
Parliament approves more than $300m in soft loans
The Pyidaungsu Hluttaw on 26 August gave the green light to US$305 million in new development loans focused on improving electricity supply, water supply and a major highway. MPs approved a $240 million loan from the Asian Development Bank, $20 million from the ASEAN Infrastructure Fund ...
Sumprabum IDPs miss out on state government aid
The Kachin State government has ruled out providing aid to most people displaced by fighting in Sumprabum township because they have fled to areas close to Kachin Independence Army-held territory. The state government and Tatmadaw have in recent weeks blocked local aid groups from sending aid to ...
New strategy for Japan, Mekong cooperation
Japan and four Southeast Asian nations along the Mekong River Basin – Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand – have approved a plan to speed up industrial development in the region. Keep reading ...
Flood coordination drastically improved, but not without flaws
According to the National Natural Disaster Management Committee, the ongoing flood crisis has critically affected more than 1.6 million people, displaced over 333,000 households and killed at least 110 people. The massive relief effort is still under way, with the current outpouring of humanitarian aid more ...
Poverty reduction for Laos receives boost from further World Bank financing
The Government of Laos and the World Bank on 17 August signed agreements for three projects aiming to improve the efficiency and reliability of electricity, to improve women’s and children’s health and nutrition, and to enable the construction of vital infrastructure including schools, health clinics, roads, ...
