Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Laos to deepen economic ties with Malaysia – Lao Voices and New Strait Times

Lao President Choummaly Sayasone and his delegation have ended their three-day trip to Malaysia, the first visit of the Laotian leader to the country, and reciprocate the visit of the Malaysian king Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin to Laos in 2008. Both leaders acknowledge the improved tourist arrivals in the two countries in recent years and urged further strengthening of bilateral ties between Laos and Malaysia toward the formation of the Asean Economic Community before 2015. Sayasone also invited Malaysian company Putrajaya Corporation to look into opportunities of doing business in Laos. Read full stories here 1 | 2.

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Tags: Laos, Malaysia, economy, bilateral, doing business

Myanmar inks massive infra dev’t project with Thailand – Asia Times Online

Two years after the project was first conceptualized during a meeting of Myanmar and Thailand’s diplomatic leaders at the sidelines of ASEAN foreign ministers meeting in 2008, the multi-billion Dawei Development Project is finally expected to get underway. The project will further ink the two countries’ close borders through the construction of a deep-sea port and highway. The Myanmar government likewise announced that they will set up Burma’s first special economic zone (SEZ) around the Dawei area making the entire plan the government’s single biggest investment project. Read full story here.


Tags: Thailand, Myanmar, Burma, investing in capital, infrastructure, economy, investments  

Monday, November 29, 2010

Tablet PCs not eating away netbooks' market share in Brunei – The Brunei Times

Netbook PCs should be able to maintain their strong position despite the entry of tablet devices in Brunei’s PC market. The affordability factor continues to be the biggest draw of netbook PCs especially for budget consumers. Tablet PCs led by Apple’s iPad and Samsung’s Galaxy Tab currently sell at 30 to 100 percent premium of some laptop computers available in Brunei. Read full story here.


Tags: Brunei, PC market, netbooks, tablet, iPad, laptops, computers, market share

Irish bailout plan could settle investors’ nerves in Singapore – The Edge Singapore

Despite Wall Street’s fall last Friday possibly rubbing off to Singapore’s Strait Times Index at the start of the week, the the finalization of the Irish bailout plan may provide some support to the shares market. The European Union (EU) on Sunday approved the $89.4 billion rescue package for Ireland which is saddled in a banking crisis. Read full story here.


Tags: Singapore, Strait Times, stocks, investing in Singapore, Ireland crisis

Friday, November 26, 2010

Duties on Vietnam stainless steel fastener exports scrapped by EU – Vietnam Financial News Network

The European Union (EU) agreed to stop implementing the 7.7 percent anti-dumping duty on stainless steel fasteners and parts imported from Vietnam beginning November 20. The move benefited Vietnamese manufacturers since tariffs for the same products have not been lifted on their market competitors that included China, Taiwan, Thailand, and Indonesia. Stainless steel fasteners and parts with origin from Vietnam were slapped with the tariff by the EU after a complaint was filed by European Industrial Fasteners Institute (EIFI) in 2005. Read full story here.


Tags: Vietnam, EU, steel fasteners, tariff, duties, trade, exports, anti-dumping

Thailand seeks measures to regulate capital inflows – The Nation

Thai Finance Minister has hinted that the country’s central bank are considering levying Tobin tax to transactions involving foreign capital inflows as one of the options aimed to avoid massive capital flight that is destructive to the economy. Authorities are carefully monitoring the rate of speculative capital flows which so far has not been quite significant. The central bank also expressed confidence that Thailand’s financial institutions have little exposure to European countries struggling with debt issues thus will not be greatly affected with the current crisis. Read full story here.


Tags: Thailand, Tobin tax, levy, capital inflow, hot money, speculators, finance

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Cambodia urged to open its door wider for Vietnamese investments – Viet Nam Business News

Vietnamese business leaders have asked the Cambodian government to institute policy changes to enhance the flow of more investment capital to the country. Vietnam  is already one of the biggest sources of foreign investments for the booming Cambodian economy which now is valued at $600 million in various sectors including finance, telecommunications, energy, and agriculture. A group of Vietnamese businessmen operating Cambodia has expressed enthusiasm with the agricultural sector as an area that both economies can further explore through economic cooperation. However, they have also stated their concerns to the Cambodian government that existing laws have prevented them to push forward with some of the projects. Read full story here.


Tags: Cambodian economy, Vietnam, investment, doing business, investing in Cambodia

Japan firm looking for more opportunities in Philippines renewable energy sector – Business Mirror

Itochu Corp. has expressed willingness to further explore the Philippines’ renewable energy resources. The Japanese firm and its local partners are already in the initial stages of developing an ethanol-production facility in northern Luzon.  The current project is expected to begin operations in 2012 and will add 54 million liters of ethanol to the domestic energy sector. While the project is awaiting certification from the government, the company has already hinted that it is looking at other prospective projects for possible future expansion.  Read full story here.


Tags: ethanol, green projects, Philippines, Japan, renewable energy, investment

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

No heated competition seen in Malaysian telecom sector with entry of Yes – Bernama

There are no price wars in the offing, at least for the near term, in the Malaysian telecommunications industry after YTL Communications Sdn Bhd’s entry in the 4G services market. A Kuala Lumpur-based investment research group believes that the bold move by Yes will not cause stiff competition in the sector anytime soon against major existing players Maxis, DiGi, and Celcom. YTL Communications recently launched its new 4G product converging data, voice, and messaging services into a single plan. Read full story here.

Tags: Yes 4G, Malaysia, telecommunications, telecom, Kuala Lumpur, internet, mobile

Brunei proposes reforms to improve ease of doing business – The Brunei Times

Despite improving business climate and jumping five notches ahead in the recently released Doing Business report by the World Bank, government and business leaders agreed that there is still room for improvement in business operations in the Sultanate. Listed as among the top 10 most improved economies in the report, many sectors still feel that Brunei needs a lot of catching up to do in terms of improving the processes involved in starting a business in the country. Discussions are also being made on how to help local entrepreneurs get better access to credit. Read full story here.


Tags: Brunei, doing business, doing a business, doing the business, business doing

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Singapore bares incentives to boost energy efficiency investments – ChannelNewsAsia

Singapore’s parliament has included energy efficiency projects among those that may qualify for Investment Allowance Scheme to encourage capital investments in that sector. In a move to reduce the city state’s greenhouse emissions, the incentive package aims to attract investors to build “green” energy projects, which are characterized by high capital costs and long pay-back periods. The amendment extends the period in which qualified companies may avail of the investment allowance of up to 8 years from the previous 5. Read full story here.



Tags: Singapore, carbon footprint, green construction, saving energy at home, low cost electricity, energy management, investments

Indonesian firms to forge energy cooperation with Malaysia – Bisnis Indonesia

Indonesian state-owned energy company PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (Persero) and Serawak Energy Berhad (SEB) are completing talks with Malaysia for a possible sale and purchase of up to 200 MW electricity. Both sides have agreed to discuss the pricing and power details of the plan which is expected to be operational in 2013. The sale-purchase agreement is seen to benefit residents living near the West Kalimantan-Serawak border. Read full story here.


Tags: Malaysia, Indonesia, companies, economy, power, electricity

Monday, November 22, 2010

Doing business in Vietnam attracts Malaysian firms – Business Times

Vietnam is proving to be a good investment destination for Malaysian companies because of generous government incentives, young workforce, and strong domestic demand. Even as Vietnam is growing at an average of 7 percent in GDP in the last 10 years, the country’s Foreign investment Agency admits more investments are required in many sectors including renewable energy, support industries, and bio-technology. Malaysia is looking to pour in their investment dollars in retail, textile, and food sectors. Read full story here.

Or go to: http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/MonView8/Article/index_html

Tags: Kuala Lumpur, Vietnam, investment in capital, business in Vietnam, business investment

Thailand keen on Myanmar’s infrastructure rebound - The Nation

Burma’s junta government may be showing signals that they may be moving away from their isolationist stance. Just recently, Yangon conducted its first elections in 20 years and afterwards released the detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Yet there is so much that needs to be done in this Southeast Asian country and they need millions of dollars of foreign investments to rehabilitate their infrastructure system. ASEAN neighbor Thailand is particularly interested in the Tavoy mega-project which is seen as Myanmar's centerpiece contribution to the Greater mekong Sub-region (GMS) development plan. Read full story here.

Or go to: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2010/11/22/business/Burma-set-for-economic-resurgence-30142865.html

Tags: Myanmar, Burma, economic growth, Thailand, Greater mekong Sub-region (GMS)    
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