Economy and commerce
Trade
Booming trade benefits China, Vietnam
When Xiang Jiancheng started doing business in Dongxing two decades ago, trade in the China-Vietnam border city was still lukewarm. These days, however, more than 10,000 Chinese and Vietnamese walk across the border bridge every day to do business in bustling markets on both sides. Cross-border business ...
No Thai-Myanmar border closed as rumored
Myanmar says it did not close its borders along Thailand’s Tak province as rumored. Tak authorities have confirmed that trade on the Thai-Myanmar border remains open as usual, after the 4th Infantry Regiment investigated the claims. Keep reading ...
Charoen eyes $4bn buy of Vietnam's biggest company
Shares in Vinamilk, Vietnam’s largest listed company, hit an all-time high on Tuesday after local media said a drinks-maker controlled by Thailand’s second-richest man plans to buy out the state’s 45% stake. Keep reading ...
‘We’re not independent enough’ – ASEAN rights body
It’s now six years old, but few know what the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) does. It has been called toothless, though its creation was seen as a step forward given the principle of non-interference in the 10-member Association of South-east Asian Nations ...
Rice market gains momentum
The rice market is expected to continue gaining ground in export, as the Philippines plans to import a million tonnes in early 2016. The announcement comes on the back of winning previous bids to sell 450,000 tonnes of rice to the Philippines and a million ...
Cambodia pins economic hopes on AEC
Cambodians are expecting a ‘seamless transition’ when the ASEAN Economic Community is launched in two months and hopefully heralds a second investment wave, capable of transforming this country’s pool of unskilled labor into a manufacturing hub. The first investment wave followed Cambodia’s ascension to the World ...
From bombs to bracelets, this jewelry line is clearing land mines
“After the war, we live afraid of unexploded bombs, and we’re very careful when we go and do anything,” says Somechit Phouangsavat, an artisan from Ban Naphia, also known as War Spoon Village, in Laos. The 32-year-old works alongside 30 other artisans at Article 22, a company ...
Lao agribusiness operators face problems exporting to China
Agribusiness operators in Phongsaly province are struggling for trade after Chinese authorities banned the import of some agricultural produce. Commercial crops including green tea and sweetcorn being traded by Lao entrepreneurs in the province cannot be exported to China, the provincial Green Tea Processing Factory Director, ...
Cambodia's business rankings edge up
Cambodia improved its ranking for the ease of doing business from 133 last year to 127 in 2015, making marked progress in the number of days and procedures required to start a business, though it is still ranked well below the world average, according to ...
Vietnam on track to replace China as new manufacturing hub: experts
With increasing foreign direct investment (FDI) flows into its manufacturing sector, Vietnam stands a great chance of leaping ahead and replace China as the new production center, experts have said. They were speaking at a conference recently organized by the State Bank of Vietnam in collaboration ...