ASEAN
Thailand spearheads regional push towards organic agriculture
Thailand is establishing itself as a driving force for a push towards organic agricultural products within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN,...
Laos expects 7% GDP growth next year
The government in Laos expects economic growth of at least seven per cent in 2018, the same level expected for 2017, according to Vientiane...
AirAsia founder to launch budget healthcare service ASEAN-wide
Tony Fernandes, founder of low-cost carrier AirAsia, is planning the launch of a new "affordable healthcare" business called Tune Care within his company holding...
Migrant worker chaos highlights ASEAN’s policy failures
The current migrant worker crisis in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) highlights the ineffectiveness of the bloc in regulating core issues of...
Uber launches ride-hailing services in Cambodia
Uber's application launched in Phnom Penh on June 23 with a pilot service, leaving Thailand the last country in ASEAN where Uber is being...
Austrian fiber maker to open plant in Thailand
Austrian Lenzing Group is planning to open a facility to produce lyocell fibres in Thailand, the company announced on June 29. Plans are to...
Former ASEAN secretary-general to run for Bangkok governor
Surin Pitsuwan, secretary-general of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) between 2008 and 2012 and also Thailand's former foreign minister between 1997 and...
Three ASEAN countries among top-50 innovative nations globally
Just three countries from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, made it in the top-50 of this year's Global Innovation Index, published...
Brain drain from Southeast Asia growing constraint for economic growth
Young well educated people leaving their home countries in Southeast Asia to pursue a better career in a well-salaried job in richer countries of...
Harley-Davidson builds factory in Thailand
In what is quite a contradiction to US President Donald Trump's motto "Buy American, hire American," iconic US motorbike maker Harley-Davidson announced on May...
ASEAN considers Schengen-style single-visa scheme
Tourism officials of the ten-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, are looking into the possibility of creating a European Union-style single visa...
Malaysia passport climbs to rank 4 globally for travel freedom
The Malaysian passport is now the fourth most powerful in the world, according to a new ranking by Global Passport Power Rank 2017. This...
Indonesia kicks off high-speed train project
The Indonesian government signed the contract to construct the planned 142-kilometer high-speed railway between Jakarta and Bandung in West Java last week with a...
Vietnam’s economy in first slowdown in four years
Vietnam's economy expanded an estimated 6.21 per cent this year, slightly less than in 2015 and marking the first slowdown in four years, but...
Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia enter currency pact to counter strong US dollar
The central banks of Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia agreed on a currency cooperation in order to promote the use of their local currencies for...
Thailand’s economy to gather much needed pace next year
The World Bank revised up its forecast for Thailand's economic growth by 0.1 percentage point to 3.2 per cent for next year in anticipation...
Setting up shop in the Philippines
Multinational corporations (MNCs) are finding it increasingly harder to survive in an evermore competitive global economy. The challenges decision makers of the world’s leading...
Thailand’s English proficiency still among lowest in Asia
The newly released English Proficiency Index by Switzerland-based education company Education First, one of the most authoritative studies on English language abilities worldwide, brought...
Latest
Smoking ban comes into force in the Philippines
Hard times for smokers in the Philippines began on July 23 when a nationwide smoking ban decree signed by President Rodrigo Duterte back in...
Stories of the week
Filipino jeepney drivers protest against phase-out plans for old vehicles
Hundreds of drivers of the Philippines' ubiquitous public transport vehicle, the jeepney, representatives from various private transport organisations and operators joined protests in Manila...