The year-on-year inflation rate in Laos surged to 9.9 per cent in April, the highest figure recorded since January 2016, according to the latest report from the Lao Statistics Bureau. The consumer price index jumped at its fastest pace in recent months, further putting the squeeze on consumers with more to be paid for food, fuel and other essentials. Laos has one of the highest rates of inflation in Southeast Asia, mainly driven by rising oil prices and the continuing depreciation of the kip. The Russia-Ukraine conflict has resulted in a volatile global fuel market, heightening geopolitical uncertainty and impacting…
Author: Asia News Network
South Korea’s number-one mobile carrier SK Telecom on May 8 said it has inked a strategic alliance with German counterpart Deutsche Telekom to bring its metaverse platform to European market. SK Telecom said in a statement that the two companies will carry out a field test for metaverse operation in Europe before the end of 2022, create contents that work on the virtual world and implement a marketing for metaverse migration in Europe. SK Telecom premiered an international version of its own ifland metaverse platform in March during the Mobile World Congress 2022. As part of the long-term plan, SK…
Even as it reported record revenue over the last three quarters, shares in Samsung Electronics have fallen over the past year, indicating weak market confidence in the tech giant’s prospects as inflation and Russia’s military offensive against Ukraine threaten the general economy. Not all is well at the company, despite the strong bottom line. The memory chip business is suffering from weak pricing, and its chip foundry investments are lagging behind rivals TSMC and Intel. Meanwhile it is still struggling to get an edge over US players in the processor chip business. Worse, its latest Galaxy S22 smartphone suffered a…
Vietnam enjoyed the largest trade surplus ever, about $4 billion, in the first four months of this year, 3.2 times higher than the previous year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD). Total trade value in agricultural, forestry and seafood products hit $31.8 billion in the first four months, an increase of seven per cent year-on-year, the ministry reported. Of this, exports were worth $17.9 billion, up 15.6 per cent year-on-year, while imports totalled $13.9 billion, down 2.3 per cent. Aquatic exports saw the highest growth during the period at 43.7 per cent to reach $3.6 billion.…
Chief executive-elect John Lee Ka-chiu pledged to create a stable, competitive and livable Hong Kong in the next five years, after winning the poll in Hong Kong’s sixth-term chief executive election on May 8. The former chief secretary secured historic 1,416 votes from Election Committee members, far surpassing the threshold of 750 votes to win the election. A total of 1,428 members cast their ballots in the poll. Lee said he will firmly safeguard the nation’s core interests and the rule of law, and protect the city from internal and external threats to ensure its long-term stability. He will also…
Thailand has raised the age of criminal responsibility to 12 years old unconditionally and to 15 years with conditions, under a legal amendment that took effect on May 8. The 29th amendment to the Criminal Code replaces Section 73 and states: “Children under the age of 12 shall not receive penalties for committing actions that are deemed to violate the law.” The amendment was published in the Royal Gazette on May 7. Cited for the change was medical data showing that the brains of children aged 12 were at a similar development stage to those of 10-year-olds. Children’s conscience was…
Dozens of Koreans have been duped out of more than two million ringgit ($460,000) in what is believed to be a flight ticketing scam. The victims were enticed with huge discounts on their airline tickets between Malaysia and South Korea as well as the promise of 100 per cent refunds for those unable to board their flights should they test positive for Covid-19. So far, over a dozen police reports have been lodged nationwide, especially in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor and Johor. It is learnt that a couple – a Malaysian in his 20s and his Korean wife in her 30s…
Bali Governor I Wayan Koster has reiterated that the province will not tolerate any foreign nationals who do not respect the local culture as authorities deported on Friday night a Russian couple caught in a viral video, which shows one of the pair posing naked by a sacred tree at a temple compound. “Although they have apologized, we will not forgive them. They should be sanctioned. It is about maintaining the dignity and [honor] of Balinese culture,” Koster told a press conference earlier on Friday, at which the couple was also present. “It is more important for us to uphold…
The annual sessions of the National People’s Congress and the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference in March addressed the question of how to ease the financial burden on parents in order to encourage them to have more children. There have been discussions on proposals such as giving monthly subsidies to families with more than one child and providing free kindergarten care for the third child of every household to increase the fertility rate. Indeed, such measures will alleviate families’ financial burden, somewhat easing their worries about raising children. And providing quality nursery care services for parents…
The launch of e-tax was expected to facilitate tax declaration and tax payment in Vietnam, but some firms are still finding it difficult to fulfil their financial duties via the online portal. A representative from FK Trading Ltd revealed that his firm filed the tax forms for the financial year 2021 early this year, but later found that it had made mistakes related to the income tax of the fourth quarter. The firm filed an additional tax form under Circular 80 to correct the mistakes but the portal said the tax form took effect in the first quarter of this…