South East Asia

Date
2023-06-02

Rice miller and exporter Amru Rice (Cambodia) Co., Ltd. and buyers, representative from the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, development partners, and donors held here earlier this week a discussion on the promotion of organic agriculture, rice and sustainable agriculture practice in Mondulkiri province. “Through the collaboration project, Amru Rice with the help of the Dutch government and stakeholders will create employment opportunitie…


2023-06-02

Emirates’ flagship A380 has achieved a milestone as it made a landmark touchdown at Bali’s I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport earlier today and became the first-ever scheduled A380 service to Indonesia. Emirates’ flight EK368 left Dubai at 03:10 hrs and arrived in Bali at 16:20 hrs. The return flight, EK369, will depart Bali at 19:40 hrs and arrive in Dubai at 00:45 hrs. All times are local. The world’s largest passe…


2023-06-02

The “Green Start-up” programme initiated by the HCM City-based Business Studies and Assistance Centre has been creating a generation of young agricultural entrepreneurs who effectively exploit indigenous resources, a seminar has heard in HCM City. At the "Green start-up, 10-year journey to create young agricultural entrepreneurs" seminar on May 31, many successful young entrepreneurs shared their start-up stories by using local resour…


The Digital Industry Sentiment Index rose above the threshold offirst quarter for the first time in 12 months, reaching a three-year according to a survey by the Digital Economy Promotion Agency The index surged to 54.0, up from 49.0 in the fourth quarter of 20driven by entrepreneurs' confidence as Thailand's economy recovthanks to a tourism rebound and higher foreign investment....


Philippine factories posted faster output growth in May, with manufacturers reporting faster delivery of raw materials they need for production, which helped them meet growing demand. Results of a survey of around 400 companies showed the Philippines’ Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) — a measure of factory output — went up to 52.2 in May, from the 8-month low of 51.4 in April, S&P Global said in a report on Thursday...…


2023-06-02

Tycoons on the 2023 Forbes list of Malaysia’s 50 Richest saw their combined wealth increasing to US$81.6bil (RM376.3bil) from US$80.5bil (RM371.2bil) a year ago.   The marginal increase of 1.4% in their collective fortunes came despite a dip in the stock market and the decline in the value of the ringgit.... More https://bit.ly/43yrce1 Via thestar.com.my


THE Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has prohibited six former agents of Great Eastern Financial Advisers (GEFA) from providing any financial advice, being part of the management, and becoming director or substantial shareholder of any financial advisory. They are also disallowed from carrying on business and taking part in the management of any insurance intermediary. The six individuals will be prohibited from taking part in business activ…


2023-06-01

Economic think tank INDEF fears that Indonesia might have not carefully planned the imminent ban on unprocessed bauxite ores. A ban on unprocessed bauxite ores is set to come into effect on June 10 in a bid to drive domestic processing of the mineral. However, Indonesia may be far from ready once the ban enters into force. Indonesia’s success with its nickel downstream policy prompted the government to rush into banning exports of raw miner…


PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. called on government agencies to “fully embrace” digitalization by making as much as 95 percent of their transactions done online. Marcos made the pronouncement after the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) reported during its 86th anniversary celebration last Wednesday was able to successfully process 95 percent of its more than one million multi-purpose loan (MPL) application online......


Total retail sales of consumer goods and services in the first five months of this year was estimated at VNĐ2.52 quadrillion ($107.2 billion), a year-on-year rise of 12.6 per cent, the highest recorded in the same period since 2015, reported the General Statistics Office (GSO). It underlines that the five-month result represents a surge of 28.3 per cent over the same time in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic broke out.....


2023-06-01

Tan Sri Robert Kuok, the largest gainer in dollar terms this year, is Malaysia's richest person, according to the 2023 Forbes list of Malaysia's 50 Richest. Kuok has held the top spot for more than a quarter-century and is one of just two people on the list with a fortune in excess of US$11.8 billion..... More https://bit.ly/3OQ8slE Via nst.com.my


NEARLY three weeks have passed since Thailand’s general election was held, yet the country is still nowhere close to finding out who its next prime minister will be. The May 14 polls were historic for many reasons. What was not unexpected was the record number of voters who turned up at the ballot boxes to deliver a firm rejection of the military-backed establishment that had been in power since a controversial coup in 2014.....


Singapore’s detentions of oil and chemicals tankers have surged since early last year, highlighting growing concerns over the environmental and safety impact of an expanding fleet of aging vessels plying major shipping lanes. The city-state has held 33 ships for failing safety inspections so far this year, the same as for the whole of the decade through 2019, according to figures from Tokyo MOU, a regional port control organisation. April s…


2023-05-31

Econpile Holdings Bhd has secured US$9.5mil (RM43.8mil) piling contract for a mixed high-rise development project in Cambodia. The piling and foundation specialist said its wholly-owned subsidiary in Cambodia, Global Piling Solutions Co Ltd, secured the letter of acceptance from by Odom Living Co Ltd, to undertake bored piling and diaphragm wall works for Odom Development at Norodom Boulevard, Sangkat Tonle Bassac, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.....


Cambodian goods exports to India reached $91.526 million in the first four months of 2023, Customs (GDCE) reported, as King Norodom Sihamoni makes his maiden visit to the world’s most populous country, marking the culmination of celebrations of the 70th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two nations. This figure represented a 64.2 per cent year-on-year surge from $55.746 million and 42.1 per cent half-on-half jump from $64.40 millio…


Despite electronics exports declining in the first half of the year, the Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Foundation Inc. (SEIPI) remains optimistic that the industry will grow by five percent, driven by the continued demand for electronics products. In an interview with reporters, SEIPI president Dan Lachica said the group is keeping its five percent electronics export target for the year.....


SAMSUNG and other foreign companies are pushing Vietnam to introduce a multi-million-dollar reform that would compensate them for higher levies they face from next year under a global overhaul of tax rules, a source involved in the talks said. The discussions precede the introduction from January of a minimum tax rate of 15 per cent for large multinationals under a landmark global reform led by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Develo…


CONDOMINIUM rental prices and volumes rebounded in April after a dip in March, while the rental market for Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats continued to strengthen for the second straight month. Flash estimates from SRX and 99.co released on Wednesday (May 31) showed that condo rents were up 1 per cent in April, with most regions except the Core Central Region (CCR) registering rent increases.....


2023-05-30

Cambodia’s ministry of commerce and the UK’s ministry of business and trade have established a Joint Trade and Investment Forum (JTIF) to strengthen trade and investment ties. An MoU was signed by minister Pan Sorasak and British ambassador Dominic Williams in this regard.... More https://bit.ly/3q90NV0 Via khmertimeskh.com


However, the Vietnamese rubber market share is shrinking here, while the market shares of Indonesia, China, the Philippines, Cambodia, and Singapore tend to increase. Vietnamese rubber exports to South Korea in the first four months of 2023 totalled 12,470 tonnes, valued at US$18.92 million, up 5.6 per cent in volume but down 15 per cent in value year-on-year, according to statistics from the General Department of Customs.....


International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) said on Monday it has broken ground for the construction of the eighth berth of its flagship port, Manila International Container Terminal (MICT). The Enrique K. Razon-led company said Berth 8—which will cost some P15 billion—is “beyond the contractual commitments” of the company to the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA)......


2023-05-30

British American Tobacco (Malaysia) Bhd (BAT Malaysia) posted a lower net profit of RM40.32 million for the first quarter ended March 31 2023 (1Q23) from a net profit of RM52.28 million a year ago.  Group revenue declined 25 per cent to RM390.23 million from RM521.56 million a year ago....


Singapore’s entrepreneurs and start-ups in the deep tech sector – which includes medical and clean technology – can draw on new collaborations with big corporations to bring their technology to market. The Singapore Deep-Tech Alliance (SDTA), which helps start-ups that focus on sustainability, launched four different models of collaborations on Monday – whereby companies can work with the alliance to create a new start-up …


2023-05-30

Trade between New Zealand and Thailand is set to become easier, bringing advantages to traders between the two economies, thanks to a new Customs arrangement signed yesterday (29 May 2023). Christine Stevenson, Comptroller and Chief Executive of the New Zealand Customs Service, and Patchara Anuntasilpa, Director General of Customs Department Thailand, signed the Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA), at the World Customs Organization regional head…


Vertex Ventures is an early stage investor that mostly invests in the seed funding and Series A stage and is supported by Singapore state investor Temasek. It has made 34–35 investments so far from its $305 million Fund IV, which was launched in 2019 and has a focus on SouthEast Asia (SEA) and India. Vertex Ventures, one of SEA's largest and oldest venture capital firms, which manages assets of over $5.1 billion across SouthEast Asia and In…


2023-05-29

Malaysia attracted RM71.4 billion in approved investments from January to March 2023 (1Q23), once again proving its value as a preferred investment destination.  The Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) said with an impressive number of 1,265 projects approved, the projects would generate 23,977 new job opportunities across the manufacturing, services and primary sectors..... More https://bit.ly/43qC4d6 Via nst.com.my


2023-05-29

Nusantara Capital City (IKN) is a megaproject of unrestrained ambition, as the planners of Indonesia’s future capital envision facilities straight out of science fiction, from smart buildings powered by renewables to flying cars. However, questions about how realistic such plans are grow louder by the day, as the inauguration deadline nears for what some say might be the single biggest contributor to President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo’s l…


2023-05-29

Thailand's economy is on a solid path to recovery and showing resiliency, helped by good revenue collection and a normalisation of its tourism sector, while inflation should come in below 3% this year, its finance minister said on Monday. Southeast Asia's second-largest economy expanded faster than expected in the first quarter of this year due to a revival in its vital tourism sector..... More https://bit.ly/3ovhNVg Via thestar.com.my


2023-05-29

Japan remains a key partner in Cambodia’s journey towards becoming a fully-digitalised economy, according to a prominent banker in the country. Chea Serey, Deputy Governor of National Bank of Cambodia made this remark during an interview with Japanese media. She said Japanese cooperation is vital for Cambodia’s technological transformation, especially in the fintech sector......


The central city of Da Nang targets to become an attractive logistics centre of the central key economic region by 2030, and the key gateway of the East-West Economic Corridor and an important link of the Asia-Pacific transport corridor by 2050.  The target is set in a project on developing logistics services in the city in association with the central key economic region and the East-West Economic Corridor for the 2021-2030 period…


he strong double-digit growth in the share of digital payments in total retail transactions was likely sustained last year as more Filipinos embrace digitalization even with the lifting of strict COVID-19 mobility restrictions, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. BSP Deputy Governor Mamerto Tangonan said the twin goals under the central bank’s Digital Payments Transformation Roadmap would be delivered this year......


REAL estate agents in Singapore enjoyed a banner year in 2022, earning bumper commissions on higher-priced housing sales even though deal volume was lower than in previous years.  And at least one major agency saw its agents’ sales commissions for residential property deals surpassing that of past housing market peaks....


Agreement aims to reduce overreliance on ChinaMinisters from Thailand, the United States, Japan and 11 other Indo-Pacific nations agreed Saturday to strengthen supply chain resilience for critical items such as semiconductors and medicines to respond morepromptly in emergencies...link:https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/2580105/thailand-11-other-indo-pacific-nations-vow-to-fortify-supply-chains


2023-05-28

JStar Motion Sdn Bhd, which has invested RM300 million in four factories in Johor, would invest an additional RM100 million in automated equipment or robotics over the next two years to boost its production capacity, according to Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi..... More https://bit.ly/3q5Tc9K Via nst.com.my


A freshly-inked supplementary memorandum of understanding (MoU) to the Cambodia-Swiss air service agreement (ASA) may be a promising catalyst for new international commercial flights to the Kingdom as well as an uptick in European visitors, according to tourism and civil aviation industry insiders. The MoU was signed on May 23 in Switzerland between State Secretariat of Civil Aviation (SSCA) chief Mao Havannall and Federal Office of Civil Aviatio…


2023-05-28

THE PHILIPPINES should take advantage of the opportunities presented by artificial intelligence (AI), which has the potential to contribute as much as $90 billion to the economy in the next seven years, a Microsoft Corp. executive said. “The possibilities that AI present the Philippines are many and exciting. According to the Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI) predictions, it will be contributing as much as $90 billion…


Some people think it is “easier” to buy a new home that is under construction because payments are made in stages over a couple of years, depending on the building process. But if your finances are not in order, it could cost you a bundle.....


Hanoi in Vietnam is becoming more popular as Qatar Airways plans to add more flights over the course of this Summer and in the Winter too. Between June and October, we will experience significant frequency upgrades from the carrier in Doha as operations ramp up. Without further ado, let’s get into it…


The government has highlighted the edge of the country as an investment destination as it pushed for the resumption of free trade agreement (FTA) talks between the Philippines and the European Union. During the 2023 European-Philippine Business Dialogue, Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno outlined the country’s latest accomplishments and policies with hopes to attract European trade and investment that will further drive the Philippines&rsqu…


BILLIONAIRE Mike Cannon-Brookes will revive a stalled plan to export solar power from Australia to Singapore after sealing an agreement to acquire the assets of the failed Sun Cable project. The deal gives Cannon-Brookes and Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners control of a vast renewable energy development in northern Australia, which went into voluntary administration in January following a dispute between the Atlassian co-founder and fellow billi…


2023-05-26

Accel-backed finbots.ai, a Singapore headquartered B2B SaaS FinTech today announced signing —Cambodia’s leading commercial bank—as their latest client. With this, finbots.ai’s fast growing client case has extended to 9 countries across APAC and MEA markets...... More https://bit.ly/439h1vW Via khmertimeskh.com


A workshop to kick off a project on developing a sustainable value chain of products from lotus silk in Vietnam to support the flood storage strategy for the Mekong Delta region was held by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in An Giang province on May 26.In the 2018-2021 period, the IUCN piloted a project in support of a water retention strategy for the Mekong Delta in An Giang, Dong Thap…


Tycoon Lucio Tan said PAL Holdings Inc., the operator of the country’s flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL), must rebuild its product and its fleet to remain competitive. During the company’s annual stockholders’ meeting on Thursday, Tan sought the support of the company’s stakeholders “for the task of surmounting these great challenges.”....


 It does not look particularly appetising – a mustard yellow-hued powder with the texture of starch – but the ingredient that made its global debut in Singapore on Thursday is being touted as the latest breakthrough in food technology. Produced from air, water, electricity and microbes by Finnish start-up Solar Foods, the substance can be used to make anything from bread to pasta. It had its first official tasting after Sing…


2023-05-25

Indonesia’s delegation looks set to curb ambitions at an upcoming global forum on plastic pollution amid concern that some of the plans could harm local industries. Ahead of the second session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-2) on plastic pollution to be held in Paris from May 29 to June 2, countries vary in their response to plastic waste.Click to read: https://www.thejakartapost.com/business/2023/05/24/ri-seeks-to…


Cambodia welcomed 1,291,539 international visitors in the first quarter of 2023, ended March 31, more than half (53.69%) of whom were from the Kingdom’s three bordering countries – Thailand, Vietnam and Laos – at 693,477, according to the Ministry of Tourism. The total marked a 709.5 per cent increase from the 159,546 visitors tallied in the corresponding period last year, but a 31.22 per cent drop from the 1,877,853 recorded fo…


2023-05-25

LOCAL tech company Smart Citi Teknologi and Hong Kong-based Xtreme Business Enterprises Ltd. (XBE) tied up to launch Philippine stablecoin. “I think the stablecoin is probably one of the most important projects as it is going to change and transform the way financial transactions are being done in the Philippines,” said Julian So, chief executive officer of XBE in a media conference..... More Via bworldonline.com


The Indian-based conglomerate Adani Group is working on a seaport investment project in Vietnam with an investment of about 2 billion USD, unveiled CEO of its Adani Ports and SEZ Limited (APSEZ) Karan Adani at a meeting with Vietnamese Minister of Transport Nguyen Van Thang in Hanoi on May 24.Accordingly, Anadi plans to invest in technical infrastructure at Lien Chieu port serving the handling of general, bulk, liquid/gaseous cargo and …