Economy and commerce

President Bounnhang Vorachit will attend the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation taking place from May 14 to 15 in Beijing, while economists say China’s Belt and Road Initiative will benefit the Lao economy.​ The president will lead a high-level delegation from Laos to ...

Southeast Asia’s youthful population is embracing the internet and rapidly connecting to the digital economy, creating enormous potential for economic growth throughout the region, panellists at the World Economic Forum on ASEAN said on May 10. Addressing a panel discussion on “The ASEAN Dream”, Kao ...

Cambodia sits at a crossroads in the ASEAN region, potentially making it a key part of regional economic development and trade flows, though improved infrastructure and more innovative financing approaches are still needed, infrastructure experts meeting in Phnom Penh said on May 10. Speaking at ...

The government is considering setting up public private partnerships to add value to the country’s farming industry, Agriculture Minister Veng Sakhon has told a meeting of senior regional leaders. Speaking at the Grow Asia Forum on May 10, Mr Sakhon said Cambodia is in the ...

The Japanese government has agreed to help Sihanoukville Autonomous Port (SAP) introduce an electronic system for handling import and export procedures. The Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) system will allow companies to send one another electronic information, replacing the manual method currently in use. The agreement ...

The bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives is stepping up its push to become more customer-focused under initiatives aimed at boosting farmers’ incomes.​ The bank also plans to upgrade 900 of what it calls community financial institutions by teaming up with grass-roots financial organisations. The moves ...

The board of investment is conservatively forecasting that the total value of actual investments under its tax-incentive support will reach at least Bt1 trillion during the three years to 2019, but secretary-general Hirunya Suchinai said on May 9 that the board was confident of hitting Bt1.5 ...

PTT Exploration and Production, Thailand’s state-owned oil and gas company, said on Tuesday that it will halt all new investments in Indonesia until a dispute with the government there over an oil spill in 2009 is settled. “As of today, PTTEP made the decision to suspend ...

Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith and his delegation are officially visiting Malaysia from May 9-10 at the invitation of Prime Minister Dato’ Sri NajibTun Abdul Razak. This is Mr Thongloun’s first visit to Malaysia since taking the top government post a year ago. His visit aims ...

Kerry Worldbridge Logistics’ special economic zone began operating yesterday, with promises of boosting the high-end technology industry. The zone, a joint venture between Hong Kong-listed Kerry Logistic Network Ltd and Worldbridge International, said the SEZ will be a hub for foreign manufacturing firms. Sear Rithy, president ...