Asean Morning News
Compiled by AEC News Today @aecnewstoday
Asia’s digital embrace puts it on fast track
ASIAN economies are more digitally engaged relative to their global peers at similar stages of development, according to Deloitte, which released the second edition of their Voice of Asia series yesterday.
– The Nation
S. Korea’s exports to ASEAN more than double thanks to FTA
South Korea’s exports to the group of Southeast Asian countries more than doubled over the last decade as commerce and investment increased following the implementation of a free trade deal, government data showed Wednesday.
— Viet Nam News
Southeast Asia finds China love as Xi pushes One Belt, One Road
Armed with trillions of dollars of savings, China is rapidly accumulating foreign assets as it transforms into a global power.
— Free Malaysia Today
Economic partnership between India, ASEAN and six FTAs likely in 2017
A comprehensive economic partnership between India, ASEAN and six Free Trade Agreement (FTA) partners will likely take place in 2017, an External Affairs Ministry official said Kolkata on Tuesday.
— SME Times
Manufacturers in the APAC Gas Detection Market Offer Smart, Innovative, Value-add Services
Domestic demand, surging industrialization, and changing customer preferences multiply growth opportunities, finds Frost & Sullivan’s Visionary Science team
— PR Newswire
Luxembourg to shift cargo hub from Singapore to Indonesia’s Batam
Indonesia and Luxembourg finalised on Tuesday (May 30) a bilateral air transport agreement that will shift the latter’s air cargo operations to Batam in Riau Islands province from neighbouring Singapore.
— THE STRAITS TIMES (paywall)
ASEAN enterprises accelerate digital transformation with Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform
Red Hat Inc has announced that enterprises in the ASEAN region have adopted Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform to enable faster application delivery.
— The Nation
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Cambodia Morning News
Compiled by Leakhena Khat @leakhenakhat
U.S. Demands Cambodia Repay Loan From Vietnam War Era
Cambodia owes more than $500 million for when the nation borrowed to help feed refugees impacted by the war. The U.S. helped create many of those refugees through its bombing of eastern Cambodia.
— NPR
EU extends deadline on fungicide in rice
The European Commission has extended the deadline for Cambodian producers of white rice to effectively eliminate the use of the fungicide Tricyclazole in their exports to the EU, the Cambodia Rice Federation said yesterday.
— The Phnom Penh Post
Cambodia’s Courts Are Government ‘Tools’ Targeting Activists, Opposition: Report
Cambodia’s government is using its control over the judiciary to silence rights campaigners and opposition activists ahead of local elections, Amnesty International said Tuesday, drawing a rebuke from an official who claimed the report does not reflect reality of the country’s courts.
— Radio Free Asia
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Indonesia Morning News
Compiled by Leakhena Khat @leakhenakhat
Indonesia’s life premiums jump 28% in Q1
Premiums in the Indonesian life industry soared by 28% in the first quarter of this year, compared to the same period in 2016, according to latest data released from the Financial Services Authority (OJK).
— International Adviser
Indonesia’s 2017 Growth Rate Could Top Gov’t Target: Finance Minister
Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said on Tuesday (30/05) that economic growth this year could top the current official target, thanks to better trade numbers and investment than in 2016.
— Jakarta Globe
Who’s responsible for Indonesia’s deadly abandoned coal mines?
Hundreds of abandoned coal mine pits in Borneo reflect institutional failures and utter neglect from owners. And now, the life and health of surrounding communities are at stake.
— Eco-Business
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Lao PDR Morning News
Compiled by Leakhena Khat @leakhenakhat
Logistics giant Linfox signs with Vientiane
LINFOX has today become the first foreign logistics company to operate in Laos with the signing of a joint venture with the Lao Logistics Group in Vientiane.
— Big Rigs
Foreign Visitor Arrivals Decrease by 11% in Q1
The number of overseas tourist arrivals in Laos is decreased by 12 percent in the first three months of 2017, downing from 1.24 million people in the same period last year to 1.11 million people in March this year.
— 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
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Malaysia Morning News
Compiled by Leakhena Khat @leakhenakhat
Taxpayers won’t end up holding Proton baby, Johari assures
The government is not interested in owning Proton anymore, Finance Minister II Johari Abdul Ghani said.
— Malaysiakini
Robbery victim will have tough time suing Uber, lawyers say
Exclusion clauses and Uber’s unique relationship with its drivers could make it difficult for a woman to successfully sue the firm over her robbery on one of its rides, lawyers suggested.
— The Malay Mail Online
Gobi exits online beauty products firm Hermo to Japan’s i-style
Shanghai-headquartered venture capital firm Gobi Partners has sold its portfolio company, an online beauty e-commerce site Hermo, to Japanese firm i-style for an undisclosed amount.
— Deal Street Asia
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Myanmar Morning News
Compiled by Leakhena Khat @leakhenakhat
Teleco operators get 1800MHz spectrum, networks to go 4G
Local telecom operators can now to utilize the 1800MHz spectrum that has been allocated to them by the Posts and Telecommunications Department.
— Myanmar Times
City Mart, HAGL ink deal on Myanmar Plaza expansion
Vietnam’s Hoang Anh Gia Lai Group and Myanmar retail giant City Mart Holdings have inked an agreement to open a new Ocean Supercenter by 2019, as the second phase of the Myanmar Plaza development in Yankin gets underway.
— Frontier Myanmar
Journalist abducted, seriously injured in Myanmar
A reporter was abducted, dragged into a waiting vehicle, and then critically wounded in an auto accident on May 26, near the town of Loikaw, in Myanmar’s southeastern Kayah State, according to news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on security forces to identify the assailants and swiftly bring them to justice.
— CPJ
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Philippines Morning News
Compiled by Leakhena Khat @leakhenakhat
‘Infra program at risk from stalled tax reform’
The envisioned golden age of infrastructure under the Duterte administration may end up becoming the “bronze age” even or “dark age” if Congress does not pass the proposed tax reform bill, a Cabinet official said yesterday.
— Phil Star
Govt set to fund most infra projects
The government will tap its own budget to fund most infrastructure projects under the 2017-2022 Public Investment Program, National Economic and Development Authority Undersecretary Rolando Tungpalan said Tuesday.
— Manila Standard
Govt sees better Q2 economic growth
The Philippines’ chief economist expects the country to post improved gross domestic product (GDP) results in the second quarter compared with the first on the back of sustained domestic demand and investment.
— The Manila Times
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Singapore Morning News
Compiled by Leakhena Khat @leakhenakhat
Singapore ranked most ‘digitally competitive’ in the world
The Republic is the most “digitally competitive” place in the world, based on an inaugural report measuring an economy’s ability to adopt and explore digital technologies leading to transformation in government practices, business models and society in general.
— The Malay Mail Online
Real wages grew at slower pace as more firms suffered losses last year
With the tepid economic conditions denting firms’ profits, the real wages of workers here grew at a slower pace last year, compared with 2015.
— Today Online
Singapore’s foreign workers face bed crunch under new rental laws
Subdividing apartments into small sublets has been a mainstay of the cheaper end of the housing market in Singapore, but has drawn the ire of neighbours who are faced with a lot of people crammed next door.
— Singapore Business Review
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Thailand Morning News
Compiled by John Le Fevre @photo_journ
3rd list of firms committed to sustainable development released
RETAIL investors who want to put their money into listed companies that are committed to sustainable development may have more choices, as this year’s ESG 100 list was announced yesterday.
– The Nation
BSR secures B100bn deal to build Pink and Yellow monorails
The cabinet has awarded 100 billion baht in contracts for two monorail projects to BSR Joint Venture.
– Bangkok Post
Thai Cabinet Approves $2.9 Billion Infrastructure Fund
Thailand’s cabinet on Tuesday (30/05) approved a 100 billion baht ($2.93 billion) infrastructure fund, as the military government seeks to finance more investment projects to boost the economy.
– Jakarta Globe
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Vietnam Morning News
Compiled by John Le Fevre @photo_journ
Vietnam runs trade deficit of $2.7 billion in five months
According to the Vietnam Customs, the total import-export turnover in the first five months of this year was estimated at 161.28 billion USD, a year-on-year increase of 20.7 percent.
– VietNamNet Bridge
Vietnam, Laos sign protocol on adjustment of good transit deal
A protocol adjusting the goods transit agreement between Vietnam and Laos has been signed, creating favourable conditions for transit of goods between the two countries.
– NNT
Government-backed fishing boats sink Vietnamese fishermen into debt
Modern steel vessels that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars are floundering just months after they were launched.
– 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.
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