News
Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia to ease visa rules for Chinese
Three of China’s neighbors in Southeast Asia are further easing their visa regimes to attract more Chinese tourists. Vietnam’s Ministry of Finance announced move to lower Chinese visitors’ visa-application fees in a new step to boost its tourism. Starting from 23 November, Chinese tourists’ visa fees ...
Japanese malls in Southeast Asia eye middle-class consumers
Japanese distributors have been opening shopping malls and department stores one after another to attract the increasing population of middle-income earners in Thailand, Malaysia and other major Southeast Asian countries. Other foreign and local companies are also opening commercial facilities in those countries, although their economies ...
Myanmar polls a success: international observers
Despite criticism of Myanmar’s “flawed” constitutional framework, international observers on 10 November gave a largely positive appraisal of the elections, commending a well-run election day while highlighting major issues such as an opaque system of advance voting. The Carter Center, the Asian Network for Free Elections, and ...
WHA eyes expansion into ASEAN, Myanmar
Stock Exchange of Thailand-listed WHA Corporation will set up fully integrated models in its four core businesses to meet expanding investment in ASEAN, though Myanmar investment will depend on the final election result. The company has restructured its operation over the past year to increase its ...
Myanmar opposition victory resonates in Cambodia
Cambodia’s opposition leader on 10 November lauded the success of Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) party in Myanmar’s historic election, an outcome he said will help pave the way for his party’s own electoral victory. In a post on his Facebook page, Cambodia ...
Nearly 170 Chinese ‘scammers’ deported
Early morning on 10 November, 168 Chinese nationals were deported from Cambodia, following their arrest last month for allegedly using the Kingdom as a base from which to extort money from victims in China, police said. Keep reading ...
ASEAN nations adopt new technology plan
ASEAN ministers of science and technology met recently in Vientiane to adopt the ASEAN Plan of Action on Science, Technology and Innovation (APASTI) for 2016-2025. The 16th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Science and Technology was organised in Vientiane by the Ministry of Science and Technology and presided over by ...
Luxury timber goes to Vietnam en masse
While crowds gathered in Phnom Penh to watch Cambodia’s Independence Day parade, a different sort of procession drew the attention of villagers in Ratanakkiri province on 9 November, with hundreds of motorbikes flooding across border checkpoints loaded with luxury timber. The spectacle, which on a smaller ...
Aung San Suu Kyi: NLD has won election majority
Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi has told the BBC she believes her party has won a parliamentary majority, in her first interview since the historic elections. Early results point to a sweeping victory for her National League for Democracy (NLD), but final official results will not ...
Thai border troops primed for possible Myanmar unrest
Thai security authorities along the Myanmar border have been put on alert in preparation for any unexpected incidents or violence following the neighbouring country’s election. The Surasee Task Force of the 9th Infantry Division, responsible for the Thai-Myanmar border area in Kanchanaburi held a meeting with police, ...
