Headline inflation in March saw Thailand’s highest year-on-year increase in 13 years, the Trade Policy and Strategy Office said on April 5. Headline inflation was recorded at 104.79 points, up 5.73 per cent from the same month last year. Trade Policy and Strategy Office chief Ronnarong Phoolpipat told a press conference that March headline inflation had also increased month-on-month, by 0.66 per cent compared to February’s 104.10 points. Headline inflation in February had already broken a 13-year record with an increase of 5.28 per cent, but it was even higher in March, Ronnarong said. The increase in headline inflation was…
Author: Asia News Network
A survey of 500 business and sustainability leaders reveals that Singapore’s green efforts – which came into focus in the recent Budget 2022 – are gaining traction. In this first edition of the Singapore Green Pulse Survey conducted by Schneider Electric, it found that 76 per cent of business leaders support efforts to expand the green economy. Close to eight in 10 (78 per cent) are optimistic that local businesses can directly benefit from this growth. To ride on this development, seven in 10 business leaders plan to create green jobs over the next year or so. France-headquartered Schneider Electric…
Lao’s economy is projected to grow 3.4 per cent this year and 3.7 per cent in 2023, due to the country’s investments to boost exports, according to the Asian Development Outlook (ADO) 2022 released by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on April 6. “Growth in 2022 and 2023 will be underpinned by recovering investment and rising output in capital intensive industries, including electricity and mining; gradually recovering tourism; and agriculture’s continued steady performance,” the report stated. “Downside risks to the outlook are the possibility of new Covid variants and inflationary pressures exacerbating an already high level of debt distress. A…
The US Department of Commerce in late March initiated an anti-dumping and countervailing investigation on solar modules imported from Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and Cambodia, according to the Trade Remedies Authority of Vietnam on April 4. The subject of the investment was crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells and modules (CSPV). The inquiry aims to decide whether solar cells and modules produced in Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, using parts and components from China and exported to the US, were circumventing anti-dumping and countervailing duty orders on solar cells and modules from China. Vietnamese exporters were accused of importing silicon panels from China…
Hong Kong’s No 2 official, John Lee, says he will contend for the top job once his resignation is approved by Beijing, paving the way for him to make a bid for the post of chief executive next month when the Election Committee picks the city’s next leader. Lee, 64, had been tight-lipped on whether he would run for the top job amid the election buzz, but quitting his chief secretary for administration post is a necessary step if he wishes to seek higher office. Breaking his silence on Wednesday, Lee said: “The reason for my resignation is that if…
Nearly one million students from the first to sixth grade returned to school in Hanoi, Vietnam ,on Wednesday morning after almost a year spent learning online due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Nguyen Diem, the mother of a second and a sixth grader in Hoang Mai District said her two children were unable to sleep because they were very excited to go back to school after a long time learning online. On Wednesday morning, Diem and her husband took their children to school together, she said. “It is a simple source of happiness but it has taken a year,” she said.…
The Lao language research committee is carrying out a study of policies and legislation on the use of the Lao language, with the aim of ensuring accuracy and consistency. The committee has discussed the editing of Lao language dictionaries and will set rules on the use of the Lao language in relation to reading, writing, and the culture of language use. Director General of the Research Institute of Educational Sciences under the Ministry of Education and Sports, Dr Onekeo Nouannavong, recently outlined the committee’s background, organisational structure, functions, and action plan for 2022. Dr Onekeo said the action plan will…
The Philippines should do away with political dynasties and achieve “inclusive democracy” in order to address the burgeoning inequality in the country. This was the finding of a study made by Ateneo School of Government Dean Ronald Mendoza, titled “Reducing Inequality in the Philippines: Rationale and Reforms,” which emphasised the country’s failure to liberalise its politics that causes bad governance. In his paper, Mendoza pointed out that the country was not able to build a more inclusive democracy, which is crucial to making “upward mobility among people.” “We managed to liberalise the economy, but we failed miserably to liberalise our…
The Financial Transaction Report and Analysis Center (PPATK) has frozen 345 accounts allegedly related to illegal investment schemes worth 588 billion rupiah ($40.9 million). “Those accounts are related to 78 persons or parties,” PPTAK chairman Ivan Yustiavandana said during a hearing with the House of Representatives Commission III overseeing legal affairs on Tuesday, as quoted by Antara. Ivan said the financial watchdog had received 560 transaction reports believed to be related to illegal investments, which include reports on asset purchases, suspicious financial transactions, cash transactions and money transfers to and from abroad, involving 35.7 trillion rupiah. The PPATK, he told…
Fast-growing companies and start-ups were once the preserve of Silicon Valley and Seattle. No longer. Today, the US boasts several innovation hotspots, including Austin, Miami, New York City, and Washington, DC. In recent years, similar hubs have also emerged in Europe, including in Amsterdam, Berlin, Helsinki, London, Paris, and Stockholm. But this phenomenon is no longer limited to the advanced economies of the West. In fact, start-up culture has gone global. At the top of the list of innovators is China, with India close behind. But unicorns (private companies with a valuation above $1 billion) can be found in a…