Asean morning news for June 13

Asean morning news

Compiled by Stella-maris Ewudolu @stmarisewudolu

ASEAN, Hong Kong FTA comes into effect
Trade between Hong Kong and ASEAN will be boosted with yesterday’s implementation of the ASEAN-Hong Kong Free Trade Agreement (AHKFTA), building on the already solid economic foundation both parties share and countering the escalating United States (US)-China trade war.
— The Asean Post

1MDB scandal fallout driving up regulatory costs for financial institutions in Asean, report finds
Compliance costs are on the rise in Southeast Asia as financial institutions and regulators continue to grapple with the fallout of 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal, according to a report by global analytics provider LexisNexis Risk Solutions.
— South China Morning Post

SE Asia defies global foreign investment downturn
While global foreign direct investment (FDI) dipped in 2018 for a third consecutive year, Asia bucked the global trend with rises nearly across the board, including record inflows to Southeast Asia’s booming economies.
— Asia Times

ASEAN unwilling to get tough on North Korea for economic benefits
In the year since the historic first U.S.-North Korea nuclear summit in Singapore, ASEAN countries have become unwilling to get tough on North Korea, with some eyeing economic benefits from Pyongyang in the future.
— Kyodo News

ASEAN apologizes for using inverted PH flag
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on Wednesday apologized for using an inverted Philippine flag in its Independence Day greeting.
— ABS-CBN News

S. Korea, ASEAN countries discuss customs deals to facilitate trade
The head of South Korea’s customs agency discussed signing customs deals meant to facilitate bilateral trade with his counterparts from Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam, the agency said Wednesday.
— Yonhap News

South China Sea: US warship flexes muscles in drills as tensions with Beijing soa | World | News
The drills, which began on Monday and were due to finish today, include joint combat training in the waters and airspace of the huge stretch of sea.
— Spratly Islands

Singapore ‘holds back’ adoption of ASEAN Indo-Pacific concept
The planned conclusion and adoption of an ASEAN Indo-Pacific perspective in the upcoming ASEAN Summit this month might be delayed because Singapore has yet to endorse it, a diplomat familiar with the issue has said.
— The Jakarta Post (paywall)

ASEAN: Prioritize rights of Rohingya
As ASEAN prepares for its 34th Summit in Bangkok on June 20 to 23, the heads of member states must keep the Rohingya crisis at the top of their agenda.
— The Jakarta Post (paywall)

Asean discusses challenges in customs cooperation
Asean countries are discussing multiple topics related to challenges as well as successes in regional customs cooperation in Vientiane this week.
— ANN/ Vientiane Times

Center set up for promoting trade with South, Southeast Asia
A commodity exhibition and trade center opened Wednesday in Kunming, capital of southwest China’s Yunnan Province, in an effort to boost trade between China and South, Southeast Asian countries.
— Xinhuanet

India’s NE land hub to deepen ties with ASEAN region: CM Biren
India’s Act East Policy is a reflection of the commitment to deepen ties with the ASEAN region, and more importantly with our immediate neighbour Myanmar.
— The News Mill

South and Southeast Asia Commodity Expo and Investment Fair opens in China’s Yunnan
A Sri Lankan exhibitor introduces Sri Lankan tea to a visitor on The South and Southeast Asia Commodity Expo and Investment Fair (SSACEIF) in Kunming, capital of southwest China’s Yunnan Province, June 12, 2019.
— Xinhuanet

Fight the double burden of malnutrition with dairy foods
The market for dairy products has been valued at over Bt92 billion and consumers are becoming increasingly aware of how dairy can play an important role in their diet.
— The Nation

TCP in B3bn drive to fortify regional sales
TCP Group, Southeast Asia’s largest energy drink maker and distributor, plans to invest 3 billion baht over the next five years to strengthen its Krating Daeng brand in Southeast Asia and boost sales. Supachai…
— Bangkok Post

Cambodia morning news

Compiled by Justhine Uy @justhine.aecnews

Provinces combating dengue outbreak
With four people having now died from dengue fever in Kratie and Ratanakkiri, three of whom were children, the provincial health departments are spraying and distributing insecticide to target the Aedes aegypti mosquito that carries the virus.
— The Phnom Penh Post

Sar Kheng slams abuse of noodle event
Gathering to eat Khmer noodles to discuss politics and democracy is good, but doing so to prepare for the return of a certain leader to incite a colour revolution is “illegal”, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sar Kheng said on Tuesday.
— The Phnom Penh Post

Cambodian PM on Industrial Revolution 4.0
Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen shared here this morning some remarks on the Industrial Revolution 4.0.
— AKP

See here for more of today’s Cambodia morning news

Indonesia morning news

Compiled by Justhine Uy @justhine.aecnews

Is Indonesia ready for halal certification obligation?
Almost five years have passed since the issuance of Indonesia’s Halal Product Assurance (HPA) Law in October 2014. Recently, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo signed the Government Regulation for the implementation of HPA Law. Article 4 in HPA Law states that all products that enter, are circulated, and are traded Indonesia must be halal-certified.
— The Jakarta Post

Indonesia Expanding its Submarine-Building Capacity
In April this year, Indonesia launched its third Nagapasa-class submarine (type 209/1400), which was also the first to be locally manufactured.
— Future Directions International

Indonesia’s eco-friendly supply chain
Asia-Pacific has 422 million farmers, where most are smallholder farmers with less than 2 hectares (5 acres) of land each.
— The Asean Post

See here for more of today’s Indonesia morning news

Lao PDR morning news

Compiled by Justhine Uy @justhine.aecnews

Currency control measures being moderately implemented: Lao PM
The management of the Lao currency is being moderately implemented across the country and it is stable as the rate of inflation stands at 1.5 per cent.
— ANN/ Vientiane Times

NA’s Members Share Points Of View On Court Decision Enforcement
The National Assembly’s members shared their points of view on the enforcement of court rulings after Minister of Justice Xaysy Santivong briefed the meeting about the issue at the ongoing 7th Ordinary Session of the National Assembly’s 8th legislature.
— KPL

Laos closes wood processing plants to comply with PM’s Order
More than 500 wood processing plants and family-based furniture workshops have been shut since the Prime Minister’s Order No. 15 was issued in 2016.
— ANN/ Vientiane Times

See here for more of today’s Lao morning news

Malaysia morning news

Compiled by Sreypov Men @MenSreypov

Penang’s approved investment of RM8.8 billion in Q1 highest in Malaysia
Penang recorded RM8.8 billion of total approved manufacturing investment in the first quarter of this year, up 768 per cent year-on-year and surpassed 2018’s amount of RM5.6 billion.
— New Straits Times

Malaysia welcomes investments that raise skills, wages: Lim
Malaysia will welcome any investments from abroad – especially from Japan – that will raise the skills and wages of Malaysian workers.
— New Sarawak Tribune

CPO price to trend higher in 2H19, says Maybank IB
The crude palm oil (CPO) price is likely to trend higher in the second half of 2019 (2H19) as the weak price for the first quarter was dragged.
— New Sarawak Tribune

See here for more of today’s Malaysia Morning News

Myanmar morning news

Compiled by Sreypov Men @MenSreypov

Myanmar sends over 30,000 workers to work abroad in May
Myanmar sent 30,326 workers to work abroad legally in May, according to the country’s Ministry of Labor, Immigration and Population Wednesday.
— Xinhua

Yangon Lawmakers Reject 3 Regional Govt Proposals Worth $10 Million
Regional government wanted funds earmarked in fiscal 2019-20 budget for new police HQ, courthouse and Coco Island ferry.
— Irrawaddy

Local insurance providers see growth potential in industry
The government is expecting a total of 29 foreign and local life and non-life insurance companies to operate in Myanmar.
— Myanmar Times

See here for more of today’s Myanmar morning news

Philippines morning news

Compiled by Stella-maris Ewudolu @stmarisewudolu

Government debt payments in Q1 rise 11% to P220.2 billion
DEBT payments made by the national government as of the first quarter of 2019 amounted to P220.179 billion, increasing by 11.09 percent from the P198.2 billion recorded in the same period for 2018, with amortization outpacing interest payments for the period.
— Business Mirror

Filipino boat sinks after collision with ‘Chinese vessel’ in West Philippine Sea
A Filipino vessel sank after colliding with a suspected Chinese ship in the West Philippine Sea Sunday night, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorezana said Wednesday.
— CNN Philippines

See here for more of today’s Philippines morning news

Singapore morning news

Compiled by John Le Fevre @photo_journ

Economists trim Singapore’s 2019 growth forecast to 2.1%
TRADE protectionism remains the top growth risk cited by private-sector economists, who have further trimmed their 2019 forecast for Singapore to 2.1 per cent, in the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (MAS) quarterly survey of professional forecasters, released on Wednesday.
— The Business Times

Retail slump continues in April, sales down 1.8%
SINGAPORE retail sales were down 1.8 per cent year on year in April, deepening from March’s 1 per cent fall and worse than economists’ expectations of a 0.2 per cent decline.
— The Business Times

Starfresh bottled drinking water from Malaysia recalled after bacteria detected: SFA
A brand of bottled drinking water imported from Malaysia has been recalled in Singapore due to the presence of environmental bacteria detected in the product, the Singapore Food Agency said on Wednesday (Jun 12).
— Channel NewsAsia (very annoying popups)

See here for more of today’s Singapore morning news

Thailand morning news

Compiled by John Le Fevre @photo_journ

Fisheries leaders threaten protests in the capital
The National Fisheries Association of Thailand is threatening protests in the capital if the new government ignores its demand to revise strict rules and regulations on trawlers and their crews.
— Bangkok Post

Thailand, US ready to expand military cooperation
The Commander of the United States Special Operations Command (SOCOM), Gen. Richard D. Clarke, said the US looks forward to expanding military cooperation with the country to fight terrorism and support the International Military Education and Training (IMET) program.
— NBT World (video)

Former Foreign Minister Resigns from Dems Over Prayuth
Another prominent member of the Democrats, former foreign minister Kasit Piromya, has resigned from the party over its support for junta leader Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha’s second term in office.
— Khaosod English

See here for more of today’s Thailand morning news

Vietnam morning news

Compiled by Sreypov Men @MenSreypov

Vietnam ramps up pressure on Google’s YouTube advertisers
Vietnam has asked companies not to advertise on videos hosted by Google’s YouTube that contain “anti-state propaganda,” state media said on Wednesday (Jun 12), as the Southeast Asian country ramps up pressure on global tech giants.
— Channel NewsAsia

Vietnam’s plastic import rises slightly in 5 months
Vietnam spent nearly 3.7 billion U.S. dollars importing roughly 2.5 million tons of plastic in the first five months of this year, posting respective year-on-year rises of 2.4 percent and 12.8 percent.
— Xinhua

Vietcombank takes big stride in international market
The Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank) has been named in the 17th annual Global 2000 – Forbes’ ranking of the World’s Largest Public Companies in 2019.
— VietnamPlus

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.