Economy and commerce
Asia's smallest economies are among its fastest growing
Asia’s smallest economies are growing faster than giants like China, according to the World Bank. Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar will post the most rapid expansions in Asia after India from 2017 to 2019, sustaining growth rates of close to 7 percent, according to forecasts released this week. ...
Central bank of Vietnam: restructuring of banks needs legal framework
Vietnam will step up the restructuring of the banking sector this year but this process will require certain regulations to be revised to create a favorable legal framework, the governor of the State Bank of Vietnam said. Le Minh Hung said at a VietinBank 2017 ...
2018 budget deficit hiked
The government has agreed to set a larger budget deficit of 450 billion baht for fiscal 2018, marking a fresh attempt to rev up the economy. The next fiscal year’s budget expenditure is set at 2.9 trillion baht, with revenue collection of 2.45 trillion baht, ...
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 ...
Laos, Singapore to further enhance cooperation
Laos and Singapore will further enhance their relations and continue cooperation in the development of various fields. This was the main theme of a meeting on January 12 between President Bounnhang Vorachit and the President of the Republic of Singapore, Dr Tony Tan Keng Yam, when ...
Economy resilient to global headwinds: World Bank
Despite global uncertainty related to political shifts in the West and a continued Chinese economic slowdown, Cambodia showed strong growth prospects for the next several years, according to the World Bank’s latest report. The latest Global Economic Prospects report from the World Bank, titled “Weak ...
Palm oil projects destroy local livelihoods: report
More than 1.8 million acres of palm oil plantations in Myanmar’s southern Tenasserim Division do more harm than good for local Karen villagers, causing land conflict, damaging livelihoods, destroying biodiversity, and polluting the environment, according to a new report. Companies and businesspeople have taken over ...
Japan's Sumitomo adding rental factory space in Southeast Asia
Trading house Sumitomo Corp will expand its factory rental business in Southeast Asia serving small manufacturers from Japan, offering them the chance to launch overseas production without the hefty financial commitment of building their own plants. The factory space comes ready for use, equipped with electricity, ...
