Asean Morning News For May 30

Asean Morning News

Compiled by AEC News Today @aecnewstoday

Singapore to spearhead regional access to financial services
Broadening access to financial services will be a key priority when Singapore assumes the chairmanship of the regional Association of South-east Asian Nations (Asean) group next year, said Mr Ravi Menon, managing director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
— Today Online

Mekong basin dams pose danger: experts
Countries in the Mekong River basin have been urged to stop building hydroelectric dams on the river’s main stream as alluvial soil and vital nutrients are being seriously depleted.
– Viet Nam News
Senior officials of ASEAN regional forum discuss ways to combat terrorism and violent extremism
Senior Officials of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) met on 24 May 2017 in Manila to discuss ways of bolstering cooperation to combat non-traditional security threats including cybercrime, terrorism and violent extremism, trafficking in persons and illicit drugs, the proliferation or use of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear weapons, and natural disasters.
– Eagle News

RCEP’s to ensure international trade remains prime driver
A swift conclusion to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) negotiations will help ensure international trade remains a prime driver of economic growth in Asia, says HSBC Bank Malaysia chief executive officer Mukhtar Hussain.
– The Borneo Post

APAC 2017 Coaching Conference extols Thailand’s peacekeeping commitment
The APAC 2017 Coaching Conference has commended Thailand for its success in integrating religious teachings and business principles into its peacekeeping operation.
– NBT (VDO)

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Cambodia Morning News

Compiled by Leakhena Khat @leakhenakhat

Garment Industry Facing Subcontracting Threat: ILO
Cambodia’s garment factories appear to be ramping up their use of subcontractors, which tend to get the least attention from regulators and raise the most fears of abuse among labor rights groups, according to a report released on Monday.
— The Cambodia Daily (paywall)

Cambodia wielding ‘court of injustice’ ahead of polls
Cambodia’s government has ramped up use of the courts to harass political activists and rights defenders ahead of elections, Amnesty International said Tuesday, warning the climate of fear was likely to get worse.
— The Nation

Port’s listing delayed until after elections
The listing date for Sihanoukville Autonomous Port (SAP) has been postponed until after commune elections to ensure attendance by senior state officials and distinguished guests, a Cambodia Stock Exchange (CSX) representative said yesterday.
– The Phnom Penh Post

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Indonesia Morning News

Compiled by Leakhena Khat @leakhenakhat

Bank Indonesia : Economy Unaffected by Jakarta Bombings
The Governor of Bank Indonesia Agus Martowardojo said that Indonesia’s economy is unaffected by suicide bombings in Kampung Melayu, East Jakarta. According to him, the recent drop in the rupiah was caused by stronger US dollar.
— Tempo

SOEs threaten private firms
When the current administration rolled out the idea of spurring robust infrastructure development across the country, it realized many of the projects were not commercially feasible enough to lure in the necessary investment.
— The Jakarta Post

Indonesia to become LNG net importer by 2020
Fitch Group’s BMI Research said Indonesia is projected to become a net importer of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) by 2020, with an estimated annual growth rate of 4% over the next 10 years. This was amid the increasing demand and dwindling output at mature gas fields.
– International Business Times

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Lao PDR Morning News

Compiled by Leakhena Khat @leakhenakhat

Singapore Holds Training for Lao Officials
The Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs recently funded two courses on food security and the International Framework for Court Excellence at the Lao-Singapore Training Centre.
— Lao News Agency

Lao bankers open to emerging tech trends
THE LAO banking sector will have an opportunity to apply the use of new technology in banking solutions especially for payment and enterprise integration.
— The Nation

Luxembourg supports Lao legal sector development
A new project with financial support from Luxembourg worth 5 million euros has been launched in Laos aiming to strengthen higher education in the legal sector.
— Vientiane Times

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Malaysia Morning News

Compiled by Leakhena Khat @leakhenakhat

Genting Malaysia’s Q1 FY17 core earnings below forecast
Genting Malaysia’s 1Q17 core earnings were below CIMB Equities Research and market’s expectations.
— The Star Online

ML Global To Invest RM40 Million In Pre-Cast Panels Plant
ML Global Bhd, which expects to double its order book to RM2.04 billion, is planning to set up a plant to manufacture precast panels to reduce reliance on skilled labour.
— Malaysian Digest

Singapore’s central bank ends 1MDB review, penalizes Credit Suisse, UOB
Singapore’s central bank said on Tuesday that it has imposed financial penalties on Credit Suisse CCGN.S and United Overseas Bank (UOB) (UOBH.SI) after completing its two-year review of banks involved in 1MDB-related transactions.
— Reuters

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Myanmar Morning News

Compiled by Leakhena Khat @leakhenakhat

iMyanmarHouse founder plans tech-focused venture fund by 2018
Nay Min Thu, founder of real estate website iMyanmarHouse.com, is planning to launch a venture capital (VC) fund targeted at early-stage tech startups in Myanmar by next year.
– Deal Street Asia

Dutch specialists help Myanmar boost potato production
Specialists from the Netherlands are helping local farmers in Myanmar boost their potato yield with training in land development, systematic seeding, and proper storage. The Dutch agriculturalists have also introduced a new potato species.
— Fresh Plaza

Ministry to set up industrial zone in Paletwa
That industrial zone is aimed for the development of value-added small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Those SMEs include Chin traditional loom business, coffee industry and ginger and elephant foot yam (a tropical tuber crop) in Chin State, he explained at the session of Amyotha Hluttaw.
— Myanmar Times

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Philippines Morning News

Compiled by John Le Fevre @photo_journ

Philippine army says ‘in full control’ of Marawi
Government forces have regained complete control of the city of Marawi and the clashes with the Islamic State-linked Maute group will soon come to an end, spokesman of the Armed Forces of the Philippines said on Monday (May 29), according to Turkey”s Anadolu Agency (AA).
– Channel NewsAsia

Fears grow of increasing ISIS foothold in Mindanao
nside this lakeside city dotted with hundreds of mosques, a powerful militant designated by the Islamic State group as its leader in the Philippines has managed to unify a disparate group of gunmen under a single command.
– The Philippine Star/ AP

RTB issue pads gov’t debt to P6.37 T
The national government’s outstanding debt hit P6.37 trillion in end-April after the issuance of fixed-rate retail treasury bonds (RTB) during the review period, the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) reported yesterday.
– The Philippine Star

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Singapore Morning News

Compiled by Leakhena Khat @leakhenakhat

Customs Recorded Less Than 1% of Singapore Sand Imports
Cambodia’s customs department counted less than 1 percent of the sand Singapore reported importing from Cambodia last year, according to trade statistics.
— The Cambodia Daily

Electric vehicle adoption in Singapore slowly but surely growing
Singapore is one of the first few Asean countries to test-bed electric vehicles (EV), but its deployment has been rather slow, say RHB lead analyst S.hekhar Jaiswal in a Monday report.
— The Edge Markets

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Thailand Morning News

Compiled by John Le Fevre @photo_journ

Public debt up Bt101 bn in April compared to March
Theeraj Athanavanich, a bond market adviser, reported that Thailand’s outstanding public debt as of April 30 was Bt6.26 trillion – or 42.64 per cent of gross domestic product
– The Nation

FPO: Thai economy to grow by 3.6% this year
The Fiscal Policy Office (FPO) has indicated that the Thai economy will expand by 3.6 percent this year, given positive signs in investment and export.
– NNT

Legal experts baulk at draft of cyber bill
The cybersecurity draft bill proposed by the National Reforming Steering Assembly (NRSA) gives too much authority to the government to gain access to the computer systems of both private organisations and individuals without a court order in cases of emergency or urgency, legal experts say.
– Bangkok Post

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Vietnam Morning News

Compiled by John Le Fevre @photo_journ

Vietnam-US trade growing 20% annually
Two-way trade hit $47 billion last year, 33.5 times higher than when BTA came into effect in 2001.
– Vietnam Economic Times

Vietnam’s key rice crop output falls more than expected on saltwater, rain
With lower output and renewed overseas interest, prices are hovering at around their highest in a year.
– VnExpress.net

European firms lose confidence in Vietnam’s market
The overall business climate index among European firms has fallen 7 points since the last quarter.
– VnExpress.net

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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.