Exports of footwear and related items from Cambodia to international markets during the first 10 months of 2023 totalled nearly $1.1 billion. The figure represents a significant decrease of nearly 25% compared to the same period in 2022. The exports constituted almost 6% of the country’s total exports, according to the General Department of Customs and Excise (GDCE)....

Allowing the import of completely built-up (CBU) cars with small engine capacity will lead to the dumping of such vehicles in the local market and hamper the government's goal of developing the local automotive industry, said Deputy Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Liew Chin Tong.... More https://bit.ly/4a7z75C Via nst.com.my

Top agricultural and rural development lender Agribank remains unwavering in pursuing its green banking strategy to contribute to the sustainable development of Vietnam. In the National Strategy on Green Growth for this decade and beyond, green credit and green banking will play an important role. Deeply aware of the risks posed by a multitude of climate change challenges to the Vietnamese agriculture industry, Agribank is determined to lead the …

Jhoanna Ballaran, a Manila-based journalist working for a Japanese news agency, dedicates almost half of her day going through the internet. As a reporter, Ballaran has to monitor national issues all the time, requiring her to stay online in messaging channels like Viber and WhatsApp to keep herself up to speed.....

Deforestation and biodiversity loss need to be addressed in tandem with carbon emissions DIRECTORS who fail to identify their companies’ impact on nature and address the resulting risks could face legal consequences for breaching their duties, according to a new legal opinion in Australia. While the opinion was focused on Australia, Singapore directors should pay heed. Forest and biodiversity conservation in South-east Asia are co…

As the government tries to woo foreign firms to invest here, green energy policies have become a crucial lureThe government of Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin has visited several large conglomerates over the past few months in an effort to increase foreign direct investment (FDI), notably in digital and high-tech...link:https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/general/2697954/tempting-tech

The National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) and the State Bank of Vietnam yesterday launched the cross-border QR code payment linkage in a boost to business and tourism in both countries. The launching ceremony was held in Siem Reap in the presence of Chea Serey, Governor of NBC, Nguyen Thi Hong, Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam and representatives of various partner banks..... More https://bit.ly/46C3jmk Via khmertimeskh.com

Indonesia is trying to ramp up its infrastructure development to make the archipelagic country more attractive to global investors. Indonesia over the past years has been intensifying its infrastructure works to cut logistic costs, among others, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said on Monday.....

Malaysia's retail industry achieved a better-than-expected growth rate of 2.7 per cent in retail sales in the third quarter of 2023 compared to the same July-September period in 2022. Retail Group Malaysia (RGM), in its latest November industry report today, said the performance was above market expectation.... More https://bit.ly/3uJfzUQ Via nst.com.my

Vietnam is among the 10 biggest producers of construction ceramics and has the fourth largest ceramic tile output, according to Deputy Minister of Construction Nguyen Van Sinh. The ceramic industry contributes more than three billion USD to Vietnam’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) annually.  In addition to serving domestic market demand, Vietnam-made construction ceramic products have been exported to many regions and coun…

The Philippine capital has logged the fastest growing price in luxury residential market across the world, real estate consultancy firm Santos Knight Frank (SKF) said. In a press conference in Makati City on Friday, the SKF said the price growth of Manila’s prime residences was recorded at 21.2 percent over the past 12 months and at 19 percent in the last six months, based on the Knight Frank’s Prime Global Cities Index. Upward change…

To boost climate mitigation across eight key sectors, Singapore has set new criteria for banks and financial institutions on the financing of green business activities, and transitional activities that are currently not green but are on a pathway to net-zero emissions. This will reduce the risk of green or transition washing by banks and financial institutions, and ensure that transition activities will meet the green criteria over time....

European businesses want to see speedy resultsThailand is gearing up for the resumption of Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations with the European Union (EU) after the talks were suspended in 2014 due to the coup. The talks should be completed in 2025, said Commerce Minister Phumtham Wechayachai. Mr Phumtham said on Saturday he had discussed the matter with 39 representatives of the EU-Asean Business Council (EU-ABC) and the European Assoc…

International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) said on Wednesday the Victoria International Container Terminal (VICT) is “on track” to complete Phase 3A of its expansion project by yearend. The expansion project is being carried out in two phases. It involves the investment of P8.64 billion or AUD235 million.....

GXBANK has launched its digital banking app nationwide in Malaysia. The bank – which counts Singapore’s GXS Bank as a shareholder – had commenced beta operations in Malaysia on Sep 1, and is now open to the public, offering both a savings account and a debit card.   Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) had awarded five digital bank licences in April last year to:.....

To place the Republic’s built environment on a more sustainable footing, developers need to turn away from demolishing and rebuilding, and move instead to adaptive reuse. TAYLOR Swift had been singing longer than Bedok Point had been standing, when developer Frasers Property said in 2021 that it would tear down the four-storey mall at 11 years of age. In its place: Sky Eden@Bedok, a 17-storey residential-commercial hybrid....

AI Singapore has inked a partnership with Indonesian developers for an open-source large language model (LLM) specifically tailored to the Indonesian language to decrease bias and promote cultural sensitivity in artificial intelligence (AI). While American generative AI applications like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Meta’s Llama and Google’s Bard are available for use in almost every country, research in the domain remains centered on the …

The private sector is being encouraged to adopt circular economy principles for business operations to reduce costs, increase efficiency and generate income from innovative business models. Poonpong Naiyanapakorn, director-general of the Trade Policy and Strategy Office, said the circular economy concept was introduced in response to the ongoing development of technology and rapidly changing consumer demands that... link:https://www.bangkokpost.c…

Citaglobal Bhd and TIZA Global Sdn Bhd have entered into a 40:60 joint development agreement (JDA) with clean energy company Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company PJSC (Masdar) to build a US$2 billion (RM9.75 billion) two-gigawatt (2GW) solar farm in Pahang. According to Citaglobal, the project will involve the construction of ground-mounted solar arrays, floating solar farms and battery energy storage systems (BESS) across multiple sites in suitable l…

A four-day press and study tour of the Cambodian cashew production chain in Phnom Penh, Kampong Thom, Kratie and Stung Treng provinces was organised by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in collaboration with the Ministry of Commerce. The visit, which is supported by the EU, is being held from November 29 to December 2. Speaking at the opening of the tour on November 29, the agriculture ministry spokesperson Im Rachna stated that…

The 121 Malaysians, who were victims of job scams in Myanmar, have been successfully brought back. They were working for a scam syndicate in Laukkaing when unrest broke out in the region.Deputy Foreign Minister Datuk Mohamad Alamin said the group returned via a flight from Kunming, China...... More https://bit.ly/47YkX4R Via thestar.com.my

Some 2.87 billion USD in foreign direct investment (FDI) was registered in the Vietnamese property market during January-November, a year-on-year fall of 31.4%.The industry ranked second in FDI attraction, occupying 10% of the total foreign capital flow.

THE PHILIPPINES dropped three spots in the global digital competitiveness index of the World Competitiveness Center of Swiss-based International Institute for Management Development (IMD), finishing at the bottom of its South-east Asian peers. The country fell to 59th out of 64 economies, scoring 48.31 in IMD’s 2023 World Digital Competitiveness Ranking.... More https://bit.ly/47WyFVV Via bworldonline.com

From high-integrity carbon credits to best practices in carbon management, here’s what panellists from Climate Impact X, ClimeCo, Bain and EDB discussed at the North America Climate Summit. Southeast Asia (SEA) is set to play an important role in global carbon markets, being a rich source of renewable energy and natural carbon sinks across mangroves and peatlands, holding 20-25% of the global Natural Climate Solutions (NCS) supply. Fro…

The Ministry of Commerce (MoC) is keen on strengthening and expanding bilateral trade with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) through the Cambodia-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CAM-UEA CEPA), enhancing cooperation on the digital sector, environment, competition and youth capacity development to adapt with the rapid change of technology revolution...... More https://bit.ly/49US7UR Via khmertimeskh.com

Exports were valued at US$47.84 billion and imports $37.29 billion, resulting in total export and import turnover of agro-forestry-aquatic products worth $85.13 billion in the 11 months of 2023, down 5.9 per cent from the same period last year. Việt Nam's agro-forestry-aquatic sector saw a trade surplus of $10.55 billion in the January-November period, up 33.7 per cent year-on-year, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) …

The Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) has recorded a noteworthy increase in individual investors, reaching 11.9 million in the current year as opposed to 10.3 million in 2022. Iman Rachman, President Director of IDX, attributed the surge to the exchange's amplified promotional and educational initiatives aimed at enhancing public awareness about the capital market..... More https://bit.ly/4173QeP Via jakartaglobe.com

Think tank Infrawatch PH has asked the government to consider cancelling P159 billion worth of Chinese projects, mostly in transport, in light of Beijing’s aggression in the West Philippine Sea that endangers Filipino lives. In a statement, Infrawatch PH convenor Terry Ridon said the government would find it challenging to fight for Philippine sovereignty in the West Philippine Sea if it continues to obtain loans from China to fund infrastr…

Consumers in Singapore and Malaysia will soon be able to enjoy fresh vegetables produced by vertical farms in Johor Bahru that use technology developed by Singapore agritech company Archisen. This after Archisen and FarmByte, a Malaysian agri-food company under the Johor Corporation Group (JCorp), recently signed an agreement to set up an automated vertical indoor farm in Johor Bahru....

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) and the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS) have signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) to collaborate on various maritime digitalisation and decarbonisation initiatives.  2.         The LOI was signed by Mr Teo Eng Dih, Chief Executive of MPA and Mr Nick Brown, Council Chairman of IACS, at the sidelines of the 33rd session of th…

Thailand's Digital Competitiveness ranking in 2023 has climbed up by five places from last year, reaching the 35th position out of 64 economic territories, according to the Institute for Management Development's World Digital Competitiveness Ranking (WDCR) 2023. link:https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/general/2695491/thailand-climbs-up-to-35th-in-digital-competitiveness

Cambodia welcomed over 4 million foreign tourists in the first ten months of 2023, a sharp increase compared to the corresponding period last year. Visitors from three neighbouring ASEAN member states remained at the top of the arrivals list, according to the Ministry of Tourism....

Air passenger traffic volumes have been on the rise and the anticipated reciprocal visa-free entry agreement between China and Malaysia from December 1 onwards is expected to give it a further boost. Malaysia has also decided to unilaterally extend a similar arrangement to India and the Middle East...... More https://bit.ly/47Tm4mn Via thestar.com.my

United States-based S&P Global Ratings on Wednesday affirmed the Philippines' ‘BBB+’ long-term and ‘A-2’ short-term sovereign credit ratings, citing the country's sustained economic recovery due to the government’s ongoing efforts to address infrastructure gaps and improvements in the business climate. "The stable outlook reflects our expectation that the Philippine economy will maintain healthy growth rates and …

Vietnam has approved a new global minimum tax for multinationals, which means these larger companies will be subject to a 15 per cent effective minimum tax rate from January 2024. According to the General Department of Taxation, while Vietnam’s standard corporate income tax is higher at 20 per cent, the country gives an average rate of 12.3 per cent to foreign-invested firms during the incentive period. Some larger players have even enjoyed…

In a major move to expand its footprint beyond the Asia-Pacific, Keppel Corp has bought a 50 per cent stake in leading European asset manager Aermont Capital for $517 million.  Keppel CEO Loh Chin Hua said that the Singapore company is planning to buy the remaining 50 per cent of Aermont in 2028....

Vietnamese furniture makers are introducing their products at the World Furniture Expo (WOFX) which opened in Mumbai, India on November 28.The three-day expo drew the participation of more than 400 furniture brands from many countries across the globe such as Bangladesh, China, France, Indonesia, Italy, the Philippines and Turkey......

The national government should encourage farming in urban and rural areas to end malnutrition and move closer to achieving food security, according to lawmakers. House Deputy Majority Leader and Iloilo First District Rep. Janette Garin said the persistent issue of malnutrition in the country requires the implementation of a long-term solution.....

WHEN Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin visited San Francisco recently for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, he had other plans on his agenda too. Known by his peers as a top salesman, the 61-year-old former property tycoon spent time in the US to make a business pitch to a group of deep-pocketed investors in the form of a 100-km land bridge....

‘Long Island’ is expected to be double the size of Marina Bay and will include a new reservoir, as part of government plans to tackle future housing needs, water resilience and rising sea levels SINGAPORE will embark on a land reclamation project to create a “Long Island” on the eastern coast of Singapore, Minister for National Development Desmond Lee announced on Tuesday (Nov 28).  The project will involve the reclam…

Leading engineering, design and architecture firm Haskell is keen to partner with Malaysian companies to encourage the transfer of knowledge and technology locally. Headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida in the United States, Haskell specialises in design-build, engineering, procurement and construction management, project management and engineering services. Its primary focus lies in serving industries such as food and beverage (F&B), consum…

The Philippines continues to lag behind other economies in Asia in terms of investments, which have yet to return to pre-COVID levels, according to ANZ Research...... In a report, ANZ economist Dabalika Sarkar said the Philippines and Malaysia are lagging other Asian economies in terms of investment recovery.,,,,

Singaporeans have reduced their debt levels as high interest rates discouraged them from taking new loans and healthy income growth helped them pay off their obligations, the central bank said in a report released on Nov 27. Aggregate household debt fell for the eighth consecutive quarter to 1.2 times personal disposable income in the third quarter of 2023, the lowest level in over a decade, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said in its F…

Coal India plans to phase out imports of high-capacity mining equipment over the next six years to encourage domestic manufacturing. State-owned Coal India Ltd, which has imported high-capacity mining equipment worth ₹3,500 crore in the past five years, has drawn up a plan to phase out such inbound shipments over the next six years, the government said on Thursday...

THE PHILIPPINE Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) approved investments worth P140.89 billion so far this year, more than double from a year ago, its top official said. “We are now at P140 billion as of our latest board meeting on Nov. 16, so that is about 92% of our target,” PEZA Director-General Tereso O. Panga told reporters on the sidelines of the PEZA Investors Night on Wednesday.... More https://bit.ly/3SOlJx0 Via bworldonl…

Vietnam's top leader vowed to extend "for the long-term" an anti-corruption campaign that has had a chilling effect on the country's economy, after police revealed financial scandals in the real estate sector worth more than 3 per cent of its gross domestic product.....

With Malaysia raising the sales and services tax (SST) at the start of 2024, hotel room rates across the country are also set to go up next year – in some cases, by as much as 30 per cent. Christina Toh, the president of the Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH), said the dearer rates are not just about the higher SST, which is set to go up to 8 per cent, from the current 6 per cent. She added that many hoteliers are feeling the strain from…

Retail customers dealing with Singapore-regulated providers of digital payment token (DPT) services will not be allowed to buy cryptocurrencies with local credit cards. They will also have to undergo risk awareness assessments of trading in DPTs, prices of which are volatile....