News

Cambodia’s government has approved a controversial hydroelectric dam on a tributary of the Mekong River. The joint venture involves Cambodian, Chinese and Vietnamese investment of $781m (£488m) and is due to be completed within five years. The project in northern Stung Treng province is known as Lower ...

The number of foreign tourists arriving in Cambodia increased 23 per cent in the third quarter of the year compared to the same period last year, according to new statistics from the Ministry of Tourism.  The data show the number of tourists who arrived in the ...

Cambodia attracted some 2.57 million international visitors in the first nine months of this year, a 24% rise compared with the same period last year, a report from the Ministry of Tourism showed on Wednesday. ...

The Finnish government will investigate multinational consulting and engineering firm Pöyry over its involvement in Laos’s Xayaburi dam project, a letter obtained by the Post yesterday reveals. According to the letter from Finland’s Ministry of Employment and the Economy, dated October 16, a complaint filed by ...

The inking of a €300 million contract for water turbines, and job advertisements marked “urgent” appear to be the latest signs that Laos is powering forward with the Xayaburi hydroelectric dam project on the Mekong River. Assurances the $3.8 billion project was on hold pending further ...

Kratie, a province in northeast Cambodia has seen an improvement in tourist arrivals and length of stay since the Mekong Discovery Trail project was established in 2007. The Mekong Discovery Trail is a co-operative effort with the Cambodia’s Ministry of Tourism and has the support of ...

Russian giant pulling back to core markets to achieve more rational structure and raise funds for investment Russia’s VimpelCom is considering selling many of its subsidiaries in Africa and Asia to focus on more “mature” markets, according to reports. The Financial Times newspaper says that the operator ...

Scientists and international experts fine-tuning the design of the Xayaboury dam have unveiled a scale model of the planned run-of-river structure to ensure the most efficient level of sediment flushing. The 1:120 scale model simulates actual hydrologic flows and water velocities in the Mekong River at ...

PTT has set aside up to Bt6 billion to carpet key Asean markets with more than 240 retail petrol stations over the next five years. President and chief executive officer Pailin Chuchottaworn said the company had earmarked spending of between Bt5 billion and Bt6 billion through ...

Even as its controversial Xayaburi Dam project is still drawing protest from Mekong river downstream countries such as Cambodia, Laos has inked a deal with South Korean firms to build and operate another large hydropower plant on the Mekong River network. According to the Phnom Penh ...

The Asian Development Bank is considering providing funds to a controversial 400 megawatt dam project in Laos that could have adverse impacts on the Mekong River in downstream Cambodia. Conservation group International Rivers wants the Lao government to pull the plug on the $1 billion Xe ...

Laos has contracted firms to build and operate another significant hydro-power plant on the Mekong River system, adding to the existing furor over potential effects on downstream countries such as Cambodia from the controversial Xayaburi dam. The contracts, reportedly worth $1 billion, are for a series of three dams making ...

Onyx Hospitality Group is looking to expand its portfolio to the “CLMV” countries of Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam, as well as to Malaysia, as it positions itself to reap the benefits of upcoming Asean economic integration The Thailand-based hotel group, whose goal is to become ...

FedEx has officially opened its new South Pacific Regional Hub in Singapore, the largest consolidated facility in the Asia-Pacific region. The $97 million hub is the first and only express transportation facility in Singapore. The 282,700-square-foot integrated facility houses air, ground and clearance operations under one roof ...

The Mekong River Commission has released a comprehensive risk analysis of the transport of dangerous goods and issued recommendations to prevent oil spills, industrial waste and other emerging threats from navigation. Developed by the MRC Navigation Programme in Phnom Penh, the risk analysis finds that the ...

Economic growth in the East Asia and Pacific region – covering 14 countries, including Thailand – may slow by a full percentage point to 7.2 per cent this year, before recovering to 7.6 per cent next year, according to a World Bank report Excluding China, the ...

The United States says it will give Vietnam a loan of more than $100 million to buy a telecommunications satellite from a U.S. companyLockheed Martin Ex-Im says the satellite will provide coverage to Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand. It says President Barack Obama was required to ...

PTT Plc, the national energy conglomerate, is moving forward with plans to establish a retail oil business in Myanmar by working with a local partner Currently, oil consumption per head in the neighbouring country is very low at 38 litres annually, compared to 140 litres in ...

Kasikornbank aims to expand its bancassurance business into neighbouring countries after finding that customers in Laos and Cambodia incur higher medical expenses. Pakorn Partanapat, executive vice president, said that the bank has prepared business plans to cope with the Asean Economic Community (AEC), and bancassurance is ...

Thailand has to revise its strategy concerning a regional single visa scheme, or it could lose millions of tourists to neighboring countries, which are kicking off the “CLMV Single Visa” next year without the Kingdom’s participation. Five countries – Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and Myanmar – ...

Dell Corporation (Thailand) has announced two new services to support enterprise customers and expects them to be key for potential business in the near future Dell services now come with global support and deployment, providing onsite service, customisation and outsourcing. Its infrastructure and cloud unit offers ...

Thailand has to revise its strategy concerning a regional single visa scheme, or it could lose millions of tourists to neighbouring countries, which are kicking off the “CLMV Single Visa” next year without the Kingdom’s participation. Five countries – Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and Myanmar – ...

Khon Kaen Sugar Industry KSL.BK, Thailand’s fourth largest sugar producer, expects revenue could grow as much as a fifth next year, fuelled by expansion and a bumper sugarcane crop in 2012/13, the company’s chief executive said on Monday Chalush said sugar production from factories in Laos ...

Rita O’ Sullivan, ADB Country Director Tourism is a dynamic component in the economic sector. In the Greater Mekong Sub Region – Thailand, Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia – bound together by the Mekong River, the tourism industry is a driving force, says Rita O’ Sullivan, ...