Asean Morning News For June 27

Asean Morning News

Compiled by Stella-maris Ewudolu @stmarisewudolu

Asean Property Market Q1: Thailand an Island in Stormy Seas
Figures assembled by international real estate firm Knight Frank show that in the first quarter of this year (Q1 2017) the Thailand property market remained an island of opportunity in a region of stormy seas.
— AEC News Today

ASEAN Organic Cosmetics Market Expected to Reach US $ 4,410.9 Mn by 2020
The global organic cosmetics market was valued at nearly US$ 40 billion in 2015, and by 2020, it is expected to reach US$ 66 billion, increasing at a CAGR of over 10%. ASEAN, an emerging market for organic cosmetics, is expected to witness high demand, driven a number of factors on which information is offered in the report, “Organic Cosmetics Market: ASEAN Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment, 2014-2020”.
— MilTech

ASEAN Needs More Skills Mobility to Realize Full Potential
To stay competitive, countries need to attract global talent. To do this, talent must be able to relocate when and where needed. Among other factors, global demographic and economic imbalances further strengthen the case for skills mobility including facilitating the movement of professionals across countries where their skills are needed.
— BRINK

ASEAN rolling out next wave of ‘low emissions’ power technologies
Member-countries of the Southeast Asian region are now giving sharp focus on more massive deployment of high efficiency, low emissions (HELE) technologies, especially for nations that can still not totally get out from the clutches of coal-fired electricity generation on aims of economic advancements.
— Manila Bulletin

Thailand’s Role in Strengthening ASEAN beyond 50: Inclusivity, Human Security and Sustainable Development
BANGKOK, June 26, 2017 /PRNewswire/ — On the occasion of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) 50th anniversary, Thailand, as a co-founder of the ASEAN, aims to strengthen ASEAN by promoting Inclusivity, Human Security and Sustainable Development.
— SATPRnews (press release)

Southeast Asian nations torch $1 billion of seized drugs
Myanmar, Thailand, and Cambodia torched nearly $1 billion worth of seized narcotics on Monday, a defiant show of force as police struggle to stem the rising flow of drugs in the region.
— Manila Bulletin

ASEAN Forum in Davao draws inspiration from national hero
DAVAO CITY June 26 (PIA)-Local chief executives of Davao Region together with heads of national government agencies gathered last Monday (June 19) during the 156th birthday of national hero, Dr. Jose P. Rizal.
— Philippine Information Agency

Geely Plots Strategic Course for Malaysia’s Proton
Malaysia becomes the right-hand-drive production hub for Geely in the ASEAN region, allowing Proton’s modern but underused 150,000-unit-a-year Tanjung Malim plant to run at its maximum capacity, possibly including Volvo cars.
— Ward’s Auto

Workers lack motivation to increase productivity
Workers process frozen aquatic products at the Sài Gòn Food Joint-stock Company in HCM City. In the past two decades, labour productivity in Việt Nam grew at 4.3 per cent on average, the highest increase among ASEAN countries.
— Viet Nam News

China extends highway cargo link to Southeast Asia
A regular road cargo service between China’s Chongqing city and Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, will start operation in July, Xinhua news agency reported, citing sources from local authorities.
— Vietnam Plus (press release)

Women and the Industrial Revolution 4.0
Industry 4.0 is the current trend of automation and data exchange in manufacturing technologies. It includes cyber-physical systems, the Internet of Things and cloud computing. Industry 4.0 creates what has been called a “smart factory.”
— BusinessWorld Online

Cambodia Morning News

Compiled by Leakhena Khat @leakhenakhat

Flexibility measures weighed for CSX
Cambodia’s capital market regulator will meet soon to discuss a proposal to permit market orders for trading stocks on the Kingdom’s bourse, a move that would give investors more flexibility when buying or selling shares, officials have said.
— The Phnom Penh Post

100 New Buses Set to Hit Phnom Penh’s Streets
Five new bus routes will be added to Phnom Penh’s fledgling public bus service next month after 100 buses donated by China arrived at the Sihanoukville port on Monday.
— The Cambodia Daily (paywall)

NBC, South Korea team up for research
The central banks of Cambodia and South Korea signed an agreement on Friday to jointly conduct research and analyse the relationship between exchange rates and inflation in the Cambodian economy, according to bank officials.
— The Phnom Penh Post

See here for more of today’s Cambodia Morning News

Indonesia Morning News

Compiled by Stella-maris Ewudolu @stmarisewudolu

‘Indonesia keeping pledge to end cross-border haze’
Indonesia has adopted systematic measures to address the cross-border haze that affects South-East Asia, in keeping with its assurance to ensure an end to the problem by 2020, said Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar.
— The Star Online

Exclusive: Kresna-backed Gotomalls.com to raise $5m this year
Kresna-backed mall directory website Gotomalls.com is looking to raise a minimum of $5 million in funding from existing and new investors.
— Deal Street Asia

Trump’s Indonesian business partner slapped with travel ban
Authorities in Indonesia have issued a travel ban against the Indonesian business partner of U.S. President Donald Trump after he was accused of threatening a deputy attorney general, officials said Monday.
— ABC News

See here for more of today’s Indonesia Morning News

Lao PDR Morning News

Compiled by Cara Navarro @cara_nav

Laos to benefit from new technology and innovation center
Laos will benefit from a new Technology and Innovation Support Center that is scheduled to open next year, according to a senior official from the Ministry of Science and Technology on Monday.
– Xinhua News Agency

Govt seeks shareholders for Lao Airlines
The government is seeking shareholders for Lao Airlines as part of its efforts to overhaul state-owned enterprises and make their operations more efficient and profitable.
– Vientiane Times

Govt striving to collect revenue as planned
The government is striving to meet national revenue collection targets as approved by the National Assembly for 2017 despite challenges and shortfalls recorded in previous years.
– Vientiane Times

See here for more of today’s Lao Morning News

Malaysia Morning News

Compiled by Leakhena Khat @leakhenakhat

Foreign banks lose out to local rivals on earnings but they still hold advantage
While locally incorporated foreign banks did not see as high earnings growth as their local counterparts in the first quarter of this year, they have some competitive advantage over most of the local boys in the areas of cross-border banking, private banking and wealth management.
— The Star Online

M’sian Companies Ink 4 MOUs Over USD50mil At Astana Expo 2017
Malaysia has signed four memorandum of understanding (MOUs) worth over USD50 million this week at the Astana Expo 2017.
— Malaysian Digest

Mavcap-Gobi’s $200m tech fund gets Bosch, Cisco, Unilever as anchor investors
Malaysia Venture Capital Management Bhd (MAVCAP) and Shanghai-based Gobi Partners‘ $200 million Asean Growth fund, which is among the largest vehicles in this region, has secured three big names in the technology space as anchor investors — German electronics firm Bosch, US tech giant Cisco and consumer goods firm Unilever.
— Deal Street Asia

See here for more of today’s Malaysia Morning News

Myanmar Morning News

Compiled by Cara Navarro @cara_nav

4 new companies to join YSX by 2018
Four new companies are expected to join the Yangon Stock Exchange within the next 18 months, according to a senior member of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Myanmar, which oversees the country’s first bourse.
– Frontier Myanmar

Myanmar-focused PE Delta Capital to close $50m second fund by July
In a market like Myanmar that contributes a marginal portion to Southeast Asia’s private equity (PE) deal value and volume, one of the nations few PE firms Delta Capital has deployed its first vehicle fully and is well on its way to raise $50 million for the second one by July — an indication that PE investment activity is slow but picking up in the country.
– Deal Street Asia

India to hand over six vessels worth $81 million to Myanmar
India will hand over six cargo vessels worth US$81.29 million (K110.08 billion) to the Myanmar government in Sittwe today under an agreement called the Kaladan Multi Modal Transit Transport Project.
– The Myanmar Times

See here for more of today’s Myanmar Morning News

Philippines Morning News

Compiled by Stella-maris Ewudolu @stmarisewudolu

PH ranks 6th in S&T dev’t among ASEAN states
Among the 10 member-states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Philippines ranked number six in Science and Technology (S&T) development amid continuing government initiatives in this direction.
— Philippine Information Agency

Marawi attackers beheading hostages, says military
The military confirmed Monday that there is strong indication that Islamic State-linked militants have been beheading hostages since they laid siege to the southern city of Marawi a month ago.
— ABS-CBN

Exporters urge reforms to hit $100-B target early
Exporters are calling on both the public and private sector to implement reforms necessary to help boost exports as they set their sights on achieving an ambitious $100-billion revenue target over the medium term.
— The Philippine Star

See here for more of today’s Philippines Morning News

Singapore Morning News

Compiled by Leakhena Khat @leakhenakhat

Singapore is falling behind Hong Kong, just do the math
‘People in Hong Kong on average have US$29,000 each a year to spend on themselves while Singaporeans have only US$19,000, and the margin is growing rapidly in Hong Kong’s favour’
— South Morning China Post

Cost of data breach down 10% globally, says study
WITH cyberattacks becoming more sophisticated, the threat of a data breach has become the new normal for businesses.
— The Business Times

Visitor Arrivals to Singapore Increased Eight Percent in 2016, But Gaming Spend Down
Singapore’s tourism sector is growing in terms of visitor arrivals and overall spending, but when it comes to the “sightseeing, entertainment, and gaming” component, receipts were down in 2016.
— Casino Org

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Thailand Morning News

Compiled by John Le Fevre @photo_journ

Korn frets over risk of zero-growth economy
FORMER finance minister Korn Chatikavanij is more troubled by the country’s sluggish economic growth rather than the prospects for a repeat of the Asian financial crisis that broke out in 1997.
— The Nation

Armed forces told to prepare arms shopping lists for PM during his US visit
The three armed forces have been told by Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwan to prepare their separate lists of armaments or spare parts they want to procure from the United States within this month so that they can be complied and submitted to Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha before his visit to the US tentatively in July at the invitation of President Donald Trump.
— Thai PBS

See here for more of today’s Thailand Morning News

Vietnam Morning News

Compiled by Cara Navarro @cara_nav

VN ditching leather for e-wallets
Electronic wallet (e-wallet) services are becoming more popular in Viet Nam, with a number of new e-wallet services officially licensed in the last year and a half.
– Viet Nam News Bizhub

Hanoi conducts synchronous measures to lure domestic and foreign investment
In the first half of 2017, the Capital city of Hanoi has conducted synchronous measures to lure domestic and foreign investment and non-State budget worth over VND 190 trillion (US$ 11.21 billion), representing a year-on-year surge of 74.6%.
– Hanoitimes

Local banks recovering from a long slump
Since the beginning of this year the shares of many banks have appreciated significantly, with the increases ranging from 8 per cent to even 80 per cent.
– Viet Nam News

See here for more of today’s Vietnam Morning News

Asean Morning News is the most comprehensive selection of reports on what you need to know from around the Asean Economic Community (AEC) published. All articles are hand curated by the team at AEC News Today. It is published M-F by AEC News Today: Governance, not government; policies not politics.