The Asean Morning News Roundup presents a selection of reports on what has been happening overnight and this morning around the Asean Economic Community (AEC).
Asean
RCEP members ramp up talks as TPP flops
Shortly after the US withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), senior officials of the 16-member Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) have vowed to step up talks, pledging to conclude modalities for trade in goods liberalisation by the middle of this year.
– Bangkok Post
Cambodia
Sar Kheng Fires 3 Police Officers Implicated in Beating Death“
Interior minister Sar Kheng fired three police officers in Kandal province following their alleged involvement in the beating of two men in October.
– The Cambodia Daily (paywall)
Railway links construction date set
A construction of Phnom Penh International Airport-Phnom Penh Special Economic Zone (PPSEZ) is to be set on March 2018 following a meeting between Ministry of Public Works and Transport with the French Development Agency ñ Agence Francaise de Developpement (AFD) ñ Royal Railway, State Secretariat of Civil Aviation, Cambodia Airports, and PPSEZ last Thursday.
– Khmer Times
Pesticides pose risk to workers, research finds
A new study conducted and published by a group of health researchers last month confirmed that Cambodian migrant workers in Thailand are saddled with health problems due to exposure to pesticides and lack of using personal protective equipment when working on farms.
– The Phnom Penh Post
Cambodia Against “Internationalization of Rohingya Crisis
Prime Minister Hun Sen declares his view on Rohinya crisis emphasizing that he is against the attempt to internationalize the on going crisis, considering it is an internal issue of Myanmar.
– The Cambodia Daily (paywall)
Indonesia
Indonesia adopts cautious stance on US new trade policy
IndonesiaÃs central bank gave its strongest signal yet that it may be done with cutting interest rates as it adopts a cautious stance with the US Federal Reserve set to tighten further and president Donald Trump pursuing a new trade policy.
– The Star Online
Indonesia and Africa: Beyond the Bandung Spirit
At the 2014 World Economic Forum, the global managing director of McKinsey and Company spoke of a continent that ìrepresents our fastest-growing region in the world.î He said ìif you want to be relevant, you need to be in this part of the world.î If one was to guess the region being referred to, chances are many would get it wrong, as the answer was Africa.
– The Jakarta Post
Indonesia, US fight against intolerance
Indonesians are right to be wary of United States President Donald TrumpÃs executive order on immigration, which temporarily bans travel and immigration by people from seven Muslim-majority countries. Indonesia is not one of the seven countries affected and it is wholly possible that President Trump will never issue a travel or immigration ban that directly affects Indonesian citizens.
– The Jakarta Post
Lao PDR
ADB to support health security in Laos, Mekong region
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Lao government have signed an agreement for a 12 million-U.S. dollar loan and grant package from 2017 to 2022, to bolster health security in 12 provinces of Laos and the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS).
– Xinhua English News
Malaysia
CIMB Research retains Add for Malaysia Airports after concession extended
CIMB Equities Research is negotiating with the cabinet for the approval of the 35 years extension of the Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB).
– The Star Online
Strengthen country’s resilience, Najib tells civil servants
Effective and on-time implementation of government projects will strengthen the country’s resilience, Prime Minister Najib Razak told civil servants.
– The Star Online
And now for a Bangkok-KL high-speed railway line
Thailand Ãs Transport Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisiht expects to meet with this Malaysian counterpart on the construction of a 1,500km Kuala Lumpur-Bangkok high-speed railway (HSR).
– Free Malaysia Today
Myanmar
PepsiCo Supports Economic Development in Myanmar
Partnerships with UNESCO and Positive Planet and an expanding agriculture program are helping PepsiCo play a positive role in Myanmar’s growth.
Sanjeev Chadha, CEO, PepsiCo Asia, Middle East and North Africa, and Adel Garas, President, PepsiCo Asia Pacific, reconfirmed PepsiCo’s focus on promoting economic development in Myanmar during a visit to the country on February 1-3, 2017.
– Yahoo Finance
Serge Pun optimistic on real estate demand
For much of the last two years, things seemed not to have gone well for the real estate sector. Amid the chorus of caution and anxieties, however, some still chant optimism ñ Serge Pun seems to be rather assured with the outlook of the market demand.
– Myanmar Times
Lump sum rent a growing problem for tenants
As rents in the commercial capital rise, the longstanding arrangement of paying six monthsà or even a yearÃs rent upfront is increasingly a burden to YangonÃs residential and business tenants.
– Myanmar Times
Philippines
Foreign businessmen fear for their safety
Foreign businessmen in the country are beginning to doubt the ability of local authorities to ensure their safety, following reports that high-ranking police were behind the kidnap-slay of Korean businessman Jee Ick-joo at police headquarters in Camp Crame last October.
– Philippine Star
Gov’t liabilities at end-2016 still above P6T on fluctuating peso
The weaker peso toward yearend kept the national government’s outstanding debt above the P6-trillion level at the end of 2016, the latest Bureau of Treasury data showed.
– Philippine Daily Inquirer
Moody’s unit sees sustained growth in Phl factory output
Factory output continued to post a double digit growth in December, but at a slightly slower pace than in the preceding month due to a slowdown in food production, a unit of MoodyÃs Corp. said in a report.
– Philippine Star
Philippines-China dev’t plan seen completed in February
THE GOVERNMENT is set to complete the Philippine-China development plan in time for the official visit of the Chinese delegation later this month, said the country’s Finance chief.
– BusinessWorld Online
Singapore
S’pore shipyards ‘valued for expertise and track record’
Shipyards here remain prized for their expertise in shipbuilding despite the beaten-down market.
– The Straits Times
SkillsFuture Singapore’s goal for 2017: Reach more Singaporeans
Improving its outreach to more Singaporeans is among SkillsFuture SingaporeÃs priorities this year. The newly-formed statutory board, which aims to provide Singaporeans with the opportunities to develop their fullest potential through life ñ regardless of their starting point ñ saw 380,000 Singaporeans benefit from programmes under the SkillsFuture movement last year, 30,000 more than the year before.
– Channel NewsAsia
Brightening IPO market – chance for SGX to get new investors
Things are beginning to look up in the Singapore initial public offering (IPO) market.
– The Straits Times
Thailand
Health officials on alert for haze in the North
Amid threats to the health of people and the economy from the smog, the Public Health Ministry is now on alert as local residents in many northern provinces have reported seeing air pollution in their hometowns.
– The Nation
Agencies to band together in corruption case
The country’s anti-graft agencies assigned to investigate the Rolls-Royce bribery case will meet on Thursday to share information in the case and mull whether to take legal action against those involved in the bribery.
– Bangkok Post
Phuket hospitals rejecting migrant workers’ insurance
Some women are forced to abandon their babies at hospitals as they’re being denied universal health coverage.
– The Nation
Govt operations to clean canals is money down the drain
The Office of the Attorney-General (OAG) has called on Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha to investigate efforts by state agencies to eradicate water weeds from canals after it was found their operations were not in line with their allocated budgets.
– Bangkok Post
Sansiri plans aggressive marketing push abroad
LISTED PROPERTY firm Sansiri plans to open two new sales offices in China – in Shenzhen and Guangzhou – and expand into Japan and the Middle East, especially Dubai, to drive the value of purchases from foreign buyers to Bt7.5 billion this year.
– The Nation
Family Man Shoots Teen Dead After Parking Dispute
A teen boy was shot dead Saturday after he and his friend attacked a 50-year-old man over a parking conflict.
– Khaosod English
Vietnam
In 2016, Singapore was the largest FDI provider in Vietnam with an investment of US$ 416 million
As of January 20, registered capital totalled over US$ 1.4 billion, representing a year-on-year growth of 6.6%, reported the General Statistics Office (GSO).
– Adalidda
FDI sector reports trade surplus of 1.8 billion USD in January
Vietnam’s trade deficit rose by $100 million in the first month of the year after witnessing a trade surplus of billions of dollars in 2016, according to the statistics of the General Statistics Office (GSO).
– VietMaz
Agriculture sees lowest growth in five years
The agricultural sector is expected to grow 2.21 percent in 2015, a drop of 1.4 percent over 2014 and the lowest rise in five years, said Nguyen Thi Hong, head of the Agriculture and Rural Development Ministry’s Planning Department, at a press conference in Hanoi on November 4.
– VietnamPlus
Vietnam nabs another railway official over alleged 0,000 Japanese graft
Vietnamese police detained another senior railway official on Thursday for his involvement in an alleged bribery case, in which the leader of a Japanese consultant firm said it had paid over US$780,000 in kickbacks in exchange for an ODA-funded project order in Vietnam.
– Vietnam Breaking News
Asean Morning News Roundup February 6 added by Digital Editor on
View all posts by Digital Editor →