Economy and commerce
Trade
Record trade surplus for Australia
Australia boasted its biggest trade surplus on record in December as surging commodity prices showered the resource-rich nation in cash, a windfall that could lessen the risk of a downgrade to its triple A credit ratings. Yesterday’s data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed ...
Third cement factory for Thai giant
Siam Cement Group, Thailand’s largest conglomerate, is tapping into Cambodia’s booming construction sector and opening its third cement plant in Battambang province next year. Governor of Battambang province Chan Sophal told Khmer Times that SCG, a majority shareholder in Kampot Cement, started construction on the ...
As America retreats, Asia is the last hope for free trade
Fukunari Kimura, a professor at Keio University and an expert in Asian trade, indicated in a Nikkei interview that the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, a proposed free trade agreement, should be a stronghold of free trade, since the Trans-Pacific Partnership has suffered a setback with ...
PTT expects Thai fuel use to rise
PTT Plc., the national oil and gas conglomerate, forecasts Thailand’s fuel consumption will increase by two to three percent this year, in line with the country’s economic growth. The outlook was trimmed from the previous forecast because demand is expected to slip after subsidy cuts, ...
VnSteel aims to increase revenue by VNĐ800 billion
Vietnam Steel Corporation (VnSteel) aims to earn a consolidated revenue of US$835.5 million in 2017, an increase of VNĐ800 billion from 2016. It will produce around 2.4 million tonnes of steel billets this year, up 17 per cent from 2016, VnSteel said. To accomplish these ...
Location earmarked for Laos-Cambodia bridge
Lao and Cambodian officials have earmarked a location for the planned bridge across the Xelamphao River linking Laos and Cambodia to encourage people-to-people visits and boost tourism in the region. The bridge will link Nonyang village in Mounlapamok district of Laos’ southernmost province of Champassak ...
Thai-Myanmar talks due
Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak will be leading major Thai businesses to meet a team of Myanmar officials and businesses to seek further cooperation in developing industrial estates in Myanmar and border trade operations on Feb 3-4. Industry Minister Uttama Savanayana said the Thai business ...
Economy expected to average 7.1 percent growth over next three years
Myanmar’s economy is expected to grow by an average of 7.1 percent per year in the next three years, amid easing inflation and a rise in investments in infrastructure and sectors such as light manufacturing and hospitality, the World Bank said in a report on ...
An economic success story: How Vietnam became Southeast Asia’s top performer
Vietnam’s remarkable economic progress looks set to continue in the coming years, despite a regional slowdown which has affected other states in Southeast Asia. Its increasingly diversified and resilient economy has grown at a healthy rate – of above 6 percent – in each of the last ...
Japan cold to China in TPP
Japan is cold to the notion of inviting China to join a pan-Pacific trade pact abandoned by US President Donald Trump, fearing such a step would boost Beijing’s clout and water down what was meant to be the “gold standard” for rules of trade. Nor are ...
