News

Laos wants to start construction this year on the $3.8 billion (Bt115 billion) Thai-financed Xayaburi hydropower plant on the Mekong River after changing the design of the dam to placate neighbouring countries opposed to the project. Laos completed a review of the dam recently to ease ...

Cambodia approved $1.2 billion in investments from China in the first six months of the year, a 104 percent increase in the amount of Chinese money set to flood into the economy compared to the same period last year, the Cambodian Investment Board said. The ...

VISA, Mastercard, Dell and Cisco Systems have been added to a growing list of US companies looking to enter the Cambodian market, according to Frances Zwenig, counsellor of the US-ASEAN Business Council. The financial services and information technology companies joined GE, Chevron, Johnson & Johnson ...

President of Laos National Assembly, Her Excellency Pany Yathotou, on September 1st arrived here for the four-day official visit in order to strengthen bilateral cooperation between the neighboring countries “Both sides will exchange visits of the officials and lawmakers of National Assemblies to strengthen bonds and ...

About half a million establishments in Cambodia as of March 1, 2011 released the preliminary results of the Economic Census of Cambodia (EC 2011) released by H.E. Chay Than on August 8th in Phnom  Penh. The final results of EC 2011 will be released in ...

Conservation group WWF on Wednesday called for urgent action to prevent the extinction of freshwater dolphins in the Mekong River, including the creation of special conservation zones. Entanglement in fishing nets, low calf survival rates and a steady degradation of the creature’s habitat are threatening ...

Southeast Asia needs to push ahead with a regional free trade bloc and policies to cope with global financial crises, Indonesia’s government said yesterday. Indonesia’s Vice President Boediono, addressing trade ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), said it was evident since the ...

Improved transportation links will assist further economic growth in the region, as Cambodia’s economy continues to improve, officials said yesterday.  Ministers from Cambodia as well as China, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand and Myanmar met yesterday at the 17th Greater Mekong Subregion Ministerial Conference held in Phnom ...

An environmental group has accused the Lao government of “unilaterally” pushing forward with construction on the controversial US$3.8 billion Xayaburi dam on the Mekong River, despite serious concerns about the project and an incomplete regional decision-making process.  In a statement released yesterday,  conservation group International ...

Ministers from the six Mekong region nations concluded a two-day meeting yesterday in which they solidified plans for an economic strategy that would span a decade and require billions in investment. Speaking at Phnom Penh’s Peace Palace at the annual ministerial meeting, Minister of Commerce ...

Vietnamese company FPT Telecom aims to extend operations to the Kingdom, after its attempted acquisition of Vietnam’s EVN Telecom fell through. FPT Telecom “has plans to expand business in Cambodia, but all is in discussion”, a spokesperson said late on Monday, declining to comment further. ...

According to the Asian Development Bank (ADB) the regional and national power grids are key to development, though plans for their development have come under criticism by a number of NGOs who believe that power generation should be decentralized. The ADB’s Greater Mekong Subregion program ...

Environment Minister Mok Mareth yesterday defended the recent surge of economic land concessions granted by his ministry inside the country’s enviornmental conservation areas, saying that they would do more to help the areas than hurt them. Mr Mareth’s comments came while responding to questions at ...

Construction  of the 1,260 megawatt Xayaburi dam on the Mekong river has been suspended after a meeting between the USA, Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam and Laos. A report from the Mekong River Commission (MRC) has been leaked showing that construction was begun on the dam without ...

Hillary Clinton, US Secretary of State, has called for a “pause” on construction of hydroelectric dams along the Mekong River. She is urging time and consideration for all who would be affected by the dams, with 11 planned for the Lower Mekong, nine of which ...

20 per cent of a planned equity fund by Dragon Capital will be invested in Cambodia and Laos according to Bill Stoops, chief investment officer. The fund is called Dragon Capital Third Wave Fund and is based in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The fund ...

Stock exchanges in Laos and Vietnam are being used for comparison when trying to determine the model that the Cambodia Securities Exchange (CSX) will take. The CSX has opened officially but no trading has begun. Cambodia’s stock exchange is expected to be more successful than ...

Approximately US $75 million will be invested in Cambodia and Laos by Leopard Capital. The company will focus on financial service, agriculture and power. The 10 year fund is targeting annual returns of 25 percent and will favor renewable energy sources. ...

US senators are pushing for a resolution that would use US influence within the Mekong basin to ensure that the construction of hydroelectric dams, such as the Xayaburi dam in Laos, would meet exacting environmental standards. The resolution would not be law but rather policy ...