Energy
China's chill hits banks' bottom lines
Unable to shrug off its disappointing performance of the preceding year, Asia’s financial sector registered a second straight year of decline in its bottom line in 2016. Net profit for the sector came in at $173.1 billion, a decline of 8.8% compared to 2015 and ...
A look inside Xayaburi dam
The Xayaburi dam, with installed capacity of 1,260 MW, is the first one among 12 mainstream dams on the Mekong river. Located approximately 30 kilometers east of Xayaburi district, in northern Laos, this $3.2 billion dam is a controversial case: while Laos and dam-developers are ...
Oil imports lift US trade deficit
The US trade deficit jumped to a near five-year high in January as rising oil prices helped to push up the import bill, pointing to slower economic growth in the first quarter and posing a challenge for the Trump administration. President Donald Trump took office ...
Light Festival set to electrify Yangon
Yangonites! Though many of us know November to be the month of light festivals, this summer will soon be known as another time for celebration. Beginning on March 19, the International Standard Lighting Festival will feature over 60 light sculptures including a light tunnel, Paris’ Eiffel ...
Japanese, Singaporean banks finance controversial Indonesian coal plant
A consortium of Asian banks will provide US$3.36 billion in loans to support the expansion of the Tanjung Jati B coal-fired power plant project in the Jepara district of Indonesia’s Central Java province. Plans to expand Tanjung Jati B are part of a broader initiative ...
Coal power plants could endanger marine protection areas
Environmentalists have urged authorities to ‘learn lessons from the Formosa incident and reconsider proposed coal thermal power projects in Vinh Tan’. According to Nguyen Chu Hoi from the Hanoi National University, Vietnam has 16 marine protection areas, including Hon Cau, which, if well developed, will bring ...
Academics call for reform of environmental impact studies on projects
A strategic Environment Assessment was proposed by academics to serve as a sustainable solution for conflicts over major development projects such as the Krabi coal-fired power plant. A team of academics and public policy campaigners discussed the current problems of Environmental Impact Assessment and Environmental ...
Govt pushes Krabi coal plant forum
The government has pressed ahead with its plan to improve the public’s understanding about new environmental and health impact assessments needed for the Krabi coal-fired power plant project, saying a forum have to be organised within a month from now. Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon assigned agencies ...
Agreement to conserve Mekong River fish
Cambodia and Laos have formed a joint committee aimed at preserving and increasing the population of freshwater fish in the Mekong River. The committee was formed because of declining fish stocks in part due to illegal fishing and the construction of hydropower dams. In a ...
Power in South stable without Krabi plant: academics
Academics said on February 28 that the southern region would still have stable power generation in the near future even without the proposed Krabi coal-fired power plant, although Thailand would have to invest in some form of new power generation in the long term. Meanwhile, the Office ...
