Economy and commerce
Trade
Industrial rail project gathers steam with government push
Transport Minister Sun Chanthol has vowed to reinvigorate a long-dormant project to connect the Kingdom’s sole operating railway line to the capital’s biggest industrial park – a move that would boost rail traffic ahead of the completion of a rail link to northwestern Cambodia and ...
What does the possible end of the TPP mean for the Mekong Delta projects?
China and Japan remain committed to the region; matter of time before private investment picks up. The future of the U.S.-led Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement looks increasingly unlikely to progress in the wake Donald Trump’s U.S. election victory. And Vietnam, once touted as one of the ...
Government to air concerns on Lao VAT
The government is set to raise the issue of Laos’s value-added tax in a joint discussion with Lao counterparts, fearing the new tax measure may cripple growing border trade. Adul Chotinisakorn, deputy director-general of the Foreign Trade Department, said that while the issue is an ...
The Philippines to buy rice from Myanmar
Myanmar’s Ministry of Commerce revealed that the Philippines has offered to ink a government-to-government treaty to buy rice from its fellow ASEAN country. “The Philippines has offered to buy rice. More detailed discussions are needed [for the treaty]. Currently, it imports rice mainly from Vietnam. ...
Laos-China railway to spur border zone development
The Laos-China railway will provide significant momentum for the development of the Boten-Mohan border economic cooperation zone, experts have noted. The railroad, a key project under China’s Belt and Road initiative, will link the Mohan-Boten border crossing in northern Laos to Vientiane, over a distance ...
Farmers petition to improve conditions
The government has three months to act on issues raised in a petition submitted on December 5 to the National Assembly and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries or risk a mass protest being staged. A group of 300 people, representing 2,260 families from Svay Rieng, ...
Customs urged to move online
Customs authorities should work quickly to adopt an envisioned online registration system for cross-border cargo shipments that would expedite delivery and cut out pesky middlemen who tack on unofficial fees, Transport Minister Sun Chanthol said on December 5. “Online registration is important because right now ...
China eyes high speed railway as part of One Belt, One Road strategy
A super fast railway will connect Myanmar’s cities, cutting the journey time from Muse, Shan State, to Yangon to one hour. That was the claim made by China’s consul general in a recent meeting in Mandalay. Wang Zongying was discussing China’s One Belt One Road project, ...
Equal, transparent climate necessary for SMEs: PM
Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc has underscored the need to create an equal and transparent climate in order to facilitate the operation of small-and medium-sized enterprises. Speaking at the third national congress of the Vietnam Association of SMEs (VINASME) in Hà Nội on December 3, ...
China is stepping up its global power play
With US president-elect Donald Trump threatening to build a wall on the Mexican border and force Asian allies to increase defence spending, Beijing is busy luring countries across the eastern hemisphere into its orbit. President Xi Jinping, who is consolidating his power at home, is ...
