News
Tokyo stocks dive more than 8% on Brexit shock: report
Tokyo stocks went into a hair-raising dive on Brexit fears, plunging more than 8 per cent Friday (Jun 24), as major firms’ shares including Toyota and mobile carrier SoftBank went into freefall.The benchmark Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange dropped as much as ...
The water conflict on the Mekong
Located at the end of the Mekong River basin, the Mekong Delta in Vietnam is currently experiencing the most severe drought and salinity intrusion in 100 years. According to experts, the principal reason is development activities in Greater Mekong Subregion countries related to the use of ...
Strong need expected for distributed power generation
The inadequacy of transmission and distribution infrastructure and the topographical challenges in isolated islands such as those in Indonesia and the Philippines have created strong demand for distributed power generation in Southeast Asia. “Indonesia, Myanmar and the Philippines have been facing severe rolling blackouts due to ...
Trade and investment between Thailand and CLMV tipped to rise
Thailand’s Ministry of Commerce sees further potential for trade and investment between Thailand and CLMV (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam) countries. The remark came after it was revealed that trade between Thailand and CLMV from January was Bt353.31 billion, up 1.74 per cent on the same period ...
Diverting the Mekong River into Thailand: The Khong-Loei-Chi-Mun project
Recently, the Royal Irrigation Department has reinvigorated its irrigation plans through the “Mekong-Loei-Chi-Mun River Management and Diversion by Gravity in the Northeast” project. It entails diverting water from the Mekong River’s mainstream into the Loei River in Northeastern Thailand, which would then be connected via tunnels ...
Mekong dam projects ‘could destroy livelihoods, ecology’
The ecology of the Mekong River could be destroyed within 10 years if dam projects along the river are allowed to continue, Thai and Cambodian non-government organisations have warned. They have also warned that it will be very difficult for people to claim compensation for ...
China takes over Thai fruit and vegetable industry
Chinese traders have gained control of the fresh fruit and vegetable segments of the Thai agriculture industry – negatively affecting the quality of produce shipped into Vietnam. Experts at the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetables Association also say there are legitimate concerns that Chinese domination of these ...
Why the Mekong River is Asia’s next big investment locale
Japan recently announced a three-year, $7 billion investment deal to improve the infrastructure of the lower Mekong River region. This deal is a move to offset China’s growing economic influence within the region. Furthermore, because of geopolitical reasons, it will be beneficial to Japanese investors ...
Asia stocks sag as oil slip dampens sentiment, dollar stalls
Asian stocks sagged on 1 June as a slip in crude oil prices dampened investors’ appetite for riskier assets, while the recently bullish dollar stalled against the euro and yen following a mixed bag of U.S. economic data. There was little market reaction to the official and private ...
Cambodia and Thailand edging closer to nuclear power
Step by step, Cambodia and Thailand are edging towards nuclear power generation as the region hunts for vast, stable power sources to fuel rapid development and improve the livelihoods of growing populations. As the debate over nuclear grows, so do the region’s power needs. According to ...
