Economy and commerce
Trade
Vietnam moves closer to market economy
Vietnam was striving to perfect the market economy and committed to creating the most favourable conditions for foreign investors, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said at the Vietnam Global Investment Forum on 30 September. With improvements in the business climate, infrastructure and the financial markets, Vietnam ...
Vietnam's trade ministry now wants 150 percent tax on luxury cars
Only one month after the Ministry of Finance proposed increasing luxury taxes on cars with large engines to up to 75 percent, trade officials now say the maximum tax rate should be raised to 150 percent to restrict the use of expensive, fuel-hungry vehicles. Keep reading ...
Thailand slips in competitiveness survey
Thailand has slipped one place on the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) and is now ranked 32nd out of 140 economies analysed in a survey released by the World Economic Forum on 30 September. This year’s results reversed the uptrend that the Kingdom had been on in previous ...
Rising anger in Thailand's boom-to-bust northeast
The rural heartland of Thailand’s deposed leader Yingluck Shinawatra and her exiled billionaire brother Thaksin is hurting as a result of the military government’s economic policies, stirring discontent and the threat of protests. The removal of generous agricultural subsidies has left rice farmers in northeast Thailand ...
Vietnam GDP grows 6.8% in 3Q
Vietnam’s economy grew 6.8% in the third quarter, up from 6.1% and 6.5% in the first and second quarters, respectively, the government said on 29 September. Keep reading ...
Vietnam's produce exports expected to top $2b in 2015
Fruit and vegetable exports are expected to reach US$2 billion this year as more and more countries have opened their door to Vietnamese fruits and vegetables. Earnings from fruit and vegetable exports have increased strongly in recent years, from $460 million in 2010 to $1.47 billion ...
Retailers to invest B100bn to make Thailand shopping hub
The Thai Shopping Centres Association said it will invest 100 billion baht to turn Thailand into a regional shopping destination. Keep reading ...
Foreigners pull record US$5b as Southeast Asian stocks sink
Foreign investors are selling Southeast Asian stocks at the fastest pace on record as the region’s economic outlook worsens and the US gets closer to raising interest rates. Overseas funds unloaded a net US$5.1 billion (S$7.28 billion) of Indonesian, Thai and Philippine shares in the third ...
Asian currencies set for worst quarter in 17 years
Asian currencies are headed for their biggest quarterly loss since the Asian financial crisis, having been battered by China’s surprise devaluation of the yuan and the prospect of a US interest-rate increase. The Bloomberg-JPMorgan Asia Dollar Index, which tracks the region’s 10 most-active currencies outside of ...
Kuwait proposes Laos visa exemption
The Lao and Kuwaiti governments should offer visa exemptions for their citizens as part of efforts to boost the exchange of tourism and trade between the two nations, according to the Kuwaiti ambassador to Laos, Mr Nabeel Aldaheel. The ambassador announced his government’s proposal to the ...
