Economy and commerce
Trade
50% increase in Myanmar-Thai border trade
Yangon – Myanmar-Thai border trade value from April to October increased by 50 per cent to US$601.73 million, according to Thailand’s Commerce Ministry. Keep reading ...
Japanese malls in Southeast Asia eye middle-class consumers
Japanese distributors have been opening shopping malls and department stores one after another to attract the increasing population of middle-income earners in Thailand, Malaysia and other major Southeast Asian countries. Other foreign and local companies are also opening commercial facilities in those countries, although their economies ...
Post-election, kyat resumes its weakening trend
The kyat weakened against the US dollar this week as the greenback strengthened in international markets and business resumed in Myanmar following the 8 November election. Fears the election could spur currency volatility have not materialised, indicating a certain level of confidence in political developments and ...
Rubber market to be built in Mawlamyine, Myanmar
Myanmar’s first central rubber market will be built at Mawlamyine in Mon State as authorities seek to help the industry amid low prices and sluggish sales. Mon State is the country’s top rubber producer and the commodity is considered a “promising export” in Myanmar’s National Export ...
Luxury timber goes to Vietnam en masse
While crowds gathered in Phnom Penh to watch Cambodia’s Independence Day parade, a different sort of procession drew the attention of villagers in Ratanakkiri province on 9 November, with hundreds of motorbikes flooding across border checkpoints loaded with luxury timber. The spectacle, which on a smaller ...
Warning for Thailand's ailing enterprises
The State Enterprises Policy Commission or superboard yesterday gave a mandate for seven loss-ridden state enterprises including embattled Thai Airways International (THAI) to launch rehabilitation plans next month. The superboard, which met on 9 November and was chaired by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, will hold executives, management teams and ...
Vietnam growth surge masks weak local firms in 2-speed economy
Vietnam’s export-driven economy is set to grow at its fastest pace in eight years in 2015 and it’s foreign firms in the country that are riding the wave, leaving local companies lagging far behind. Foreign-owned businesses shipped 70 percent of Vietnam’s total exports so far this ...
New Zealand PM to discuss trade, security in Southeast Asian meetings
Trade and security links will be high on the agenda when New Zealand Prime Minister John Key undertakes a three-nation tour of Southeast Asia next week. Key said Monday he would lead a trade delegation to Vietnam from 14 to 17 November and meet with Prime ...
Thai consumer confidence Index hits 10-month high
The University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce has revealed a 10-month high in the country’s consumer confidence, as a result of the government’s economic stimulus measures. Director of the UTCC Center for Economic and Business Forecasting Thanawat Polwichai said the consumer confidence index for October ...
While China growth slows, cash-hungry firms steer Asia IPOs into fast lane
As the world absorbs life with a slowing Chinese economy, business is brisk for one group – Asia’s bankers, handling a burst of stock listings by mainland firms that need funds now and are resigned to their shares being worth less than before. Though initial public ...
