Asean morning news

Compiled by Stella-maris Ewudolu @stmarisewudolu

 

WHO calls for better preparedness in emergencies
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has called upon countries in the Southeast Asia region to strengthen their emergency medical teams in order to be better
prepared to respond to public health emergencies.
— The Hindu

Growth coming for Asian construction market
A new report produced by research specialist GlobalData predicts continued growth for Asia’s construction market.
— World Highways

‘Widespread sale of wild animals on Facebook’
MORE THAN 1,500 wild animals are up for sale on Facebook every month, the wildlife trade-monitoring network Traffic said yesterday.
— The Nation

TECH FIRMS PREDICTED TO LEASE A QUARTER OF SE ASIA OFFICE SPACE BY 2028
Tech firms will account for 15 to 25 percent of annual office leasing volumes in Southeast Asia in the coming ten years, said real estate brokerage JLL in a report published today.
— Mingtiandi

Vietnam bars second rights campaigner from World Economic Forum
Vietnam has refused to let a campaigner from Amnesty International attend the World Economic Forum (WEF) set to be held in the southeast Asian nation this
week, the rights group said on Monday, the second such refusal in as many days.
— Channel NewsAsia

Thailand promotes skills development in Mekong region
The Thai Ministry of Labour is promoting skills development among workers in the Mekong region in preparation for ASEAN’s free labour movement.
— Vietnam Plus

Searca offers PhD research scholarships
The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture offers research scholarships to doctorate students whose dissertation topics are relevant to its priority thrusts.
— Manilastandard.net

WEF on ASEAN: Asking the difficult questions
Southeast Asia has come a long way. ASEAN has evolved from an agrarian backwater that has been stricken by war and ravaged by colonialism to become a global
economic powerhouse.
— The Asean Post

Chinese tech giants battle to win the Southeast Asian market
Chinese tech giants Alibaba and Tencent have long been locked in a fierce battle to dominate the consumer Internet in their home country, but over the last several years, the jostle for supremacy has extended beyond China, with Southeast Asia becoming a key battleground.
— Channel NewsAsia

Inclusive growth, the future of ASEAN business
Countries in the region need to adopt business models that look beyond the bottom line to promote prosperity for all.
— VnExpress International

Science: Researcher investigating link between parasitic infection and bile duct cancer [Report]
Liver fluke infection is a major public health problem affecting more than 10 million people in Southeast Asia, particularly in Thailand and Laos.
— Infosurhoy

Cambodia morning news

Compiled by Michael Johansen @mfjohansen47

 

MRC urged to settle dam issues
Twenty civil society organisations in Cambodia have called on the Mekong River Commission to delay a regional forum to discuss the building of the Pak Lay hydropower dam in Laos.
— Khmer Times

Chinese tourists to Cambodia exceed 1 mln in 7 months, up 72.6 pct
Almost 1.1 million Chinese tourists had visited Cambodia in the first seven months of 2018, up 72.6 percent over the same period last year, said Cambodian Tourism Ministry’s latest report released Monday.
— Xinhua

Students say exam results do not add up
Nearly 100 students gathered at the Education Ministry yesterday to protest the results of the national exam, particularly their results in mathematics.
— Khmer Times

See here for more of today’s Cambodia morning news

 

Indonesia morning news

Compiled by Michael Johansen @mfjohansen47

 

East Nusa Tenggara Governor to Stop All Mines
East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) Governor, Viktor B Laiskodat said that all types of mining on the island-based province would be monitored because they could damage the surrounding environment.
— Netral News

Indonesia Charges Pole Suspected in Papua Arms Smuggling Plot
A Pole detained in Indonesia late last month could face life imprisonment having been charged with plotting against the state after being named as a suspect in a conspiracy to smuggle arms to separatists in Papua, a police spokesman said on Monday.
— The New York Times

Central bankers fretting about rupee, rupiah
In the past week, in all likelihood, the central banks of India and Indonesia pumped in billions of dollars to support their respective currencies with the Indian Rupee touching record lows against the US dollar and the Rupiah reaching its lowest level since the Asian financial crisis of 1998.
— JakartaNews.Net

See here for more of today’s Indonesia morning news

 

Lao PDR morning news

Compiled by Stella-maris Ewudolu @stmarisewudolu

 

Germany provides 9.3b kip to improve blood donation system
The German government has provided more than 9.3 billion kip (EUR 950,000) through the German Red Cross to strengthen the blood donation project in target provinces of Laos, as well as to improve aspects of blood processing and supply.
— Vientiane Times

IFC Continues To Support Lao PDR To Improve Investment Climate, Promote Sustainable And Inclusive Growth
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is accelerating its support to the Lao government in improving the climate for investment and doing business in the country.
— Lao News Agency

Laos suspends import of pigs, pork products from China
Imports of all pork products made in China, as well as live pigs and piglets, have been temporarily suspended following an outbreak of African swine fever in Liaoning province in north-east China.
— Vientiane Times/ Inquirer.net

See here for more of today’s Lao morning news

Malaysia morning news

Compiled by Sreypov Men @MenSreypov

 

Malaysia Axes Chinese-Backed Pipeline Projects Worth $3-Billion
The Malaysian government has finally decided to cancel three China-backed pipeline projects after halting work on them, The Financial Times wrote. The report said that Malaysia’s finance minister Lim Guan Eng had sent a letter to “relevant parties” in Beijing to terminate the planned projects.
— Investvine

Singapore to return S$15 million in 1MDB-linked funds to Malaysia
A Singapore court ordered the return to Malaysia of about S$15.3 million, just a small portion of the total seized in the city-state as part of a probe into transactions linked to a scandal-hit state fund, lawyers for the fund and the Malaysian government said on Monday (Sep 10).
— Channel NewsAsia

Malaysia’s fuel oil, gasoil, naphtha output falls on year in July
Malaysia’s production of fuel oil, gasoil and naphtha fell year on year in July, while output of gasoline, kerosene, LPG and LNG rose, data from the Department of Statistics showed Friday.
— S&P Global

See here for more of today’s Malaysia Morning News

 

Myanmar morning news

Compiled by Joanne Encantador @encantador_jo

 

UN rights chief urges new panel for Myanmar atrocities
The UN rights chief called Monday for the creation of a new “mechanism” tasked with preparing criminal indictments over atrocities committed in Myanmar, amid allegations of genocide against the Rohingya minority.
— Bangkok Post

U.N.’s Bachelet presses for new body on crimes against Myanmar Rohingya
United Nations human rights chief Michelle Bachelet called on Monday for a new quasi-judicial body to collect evidence with a view to future prosecution of crimes against Muslim Rohingya in Myanmar including murder and torture.
— Reuters

Educators protest Myanmar’s veto over Israeli textbooks
A group of Israeli educators and scholars have petitioned Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to cancel an agreement with Myanmar that gives each country a veto over how it is depicted in the other’s textbooks.
— Coconuts Yangon

See here for more of today’s Myanmar morning news

 

Philippines morning news

Compiled by Stella-maris Ewudolu @stmarisewudolu

 

BSP reports 42.4% hike in FDI inflows to $5.8 B in first half
The country’s net foreign direct investments (FDI) climbed to $5.8 billion for the first six months of the year, up by 42.4 percent from $4 billion same time in 2017, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported Monday.
— Manila Bulletin

House okays TRABAHO bill, (TRAIN 2) on final reading
Voting 187-14-3, the House of Representatives on Monday approved on third and final reading the proposed “Tax Reform for Attracting Better and High-
Quality Opportunities” or TRABAHO which proposes to encourage investments by bringing down the corporate income tax rate from 30 percent to 20 percent and modernize investment tax incentives to enhance fairness, improve competitiveness, plug tax leakages and attain fiscal sustainability.
— Manilastandard.net

See here for more of today’s Philippines morning news

Singapore morning news

Compiled by Joanne Encantador @encantador_jo

 

MinLaw unveils bill to update insolvency and debt restructuring laws
The Ministry of Law submitted a bill to update insolvency and debt restructuring laws for first reading in the Parliament, an announcement revealed.
— Singapore Business Review

SET slightly gains, Singapore stocks decline again
Southeast Asian stock markets declined on Monday, with Singapore closing near a one-and-half-year low, as a potentially damaging escalation in the Sino-US tariff row weighed on investor sentiment.
— Bangkok Post

Use of PMDs to come under tighter regulations
The use of personal mobility devices (PMDs) will come under tighter regulations, with the passing of new laws that will expand the enforcement reach of the authorities and require e-scooters to be registered.
— The New Paper

See here for more of today’s Singapore morning news

 

Thailand morning news

Compiled by John Le Fevre @photo_journ

 

GDP growth to slow, says Credit Suisse
Despite buoyant growth during the first six months, Thailand’s economy is projected to expand at a slower pace in the second half mainly because of external headwinds, says Credit Suisse Securities Thailand.
— Bangkok Post

Banks cautioned over property loans
Commercial banks are taking a cautious approach on loan extension to real estate developers and retail customers following a signal of concerns from the Bank of Thailand (BOT).
— The Nation

NLA wants cyber law to cover poll fraud
The National Legislative Assembly (NLA) wants the government to enforce a new cyber law to control election campaigns on social media before next year’s general election.
— Bangkok Post

See here for more of today’s Thailand morning news

 

Vietnam morning news

Compiled by Sreypov Men @MenSreypov

 

Vietnam’s first automaker is quickly getting ready to debut a sedan and a SUV
It was once one of the most dangerous waterways in the world, heavily mined and bombed during the final stages of the Vietnam War, but today, Haiphong Harbor has become the heart of the country’s economic boom.
— CNBC

Updated import regulations to increase trade
The application of a customs bond model would benefit the country, contributing to an increase of one per cent of the total import-export turnover according to comments by Minister and Chairman of the Government Office Mai Ti?n Dung.
— Viet Nam News

“Invisible tariff” in Vietnam reaches 164%: expert
Trade costs in developing countries remain high, mainly due to administrative procedures, according to expert of the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation (GATF) in Vietnam cited by the government portal.
— The Hanoi Times

See here for more of today’s Vietnam morning news

 

The Asean morning news roundup and its individual country morning news round-ups are the most comprehensive hand-curated selection of news reports from around the Asean Economic Community (AEC) published. We scour hundreds of local and international news and websites to find the things that you need to know to start your working week day.

We clearly identify the source of the story, whether it is behind a paywall, a media release, or whether the site uses annoying pop-up advertising or auto-play video, in case those things annoy you. It’s all then packaged up in an easy to read format enabling you to make an informed choice of whether you want to learn more by clicking directly through to the original source, or keep on reading the headlines. AEC News Today: Governance, not government; policies not politics.