ASEAN NEWS UPDATES      Updated: 3 September 2010

• Philippine tariff body drops Indo case
The Philippine Tariff Commission has dismissed the anti-dumping petition of local mosquito coil makers against Indonesian imports.  

• Malaysian Islamic bank expands
 Malaysia’s largest lender Maybank on Friday announced plans to expand its Islamic finance business in Singapore and Indonesia to tap the markets' demand for these services.  .

• Court lifts environmental block
The Administrative Court ruling ending the environmental impasse in Rayong’s Map Ta Phut industrial estate could improve the country’s investment climate and investment could grow by about 9.3 per cent in 2011, according to Kasikorn Research Centre.

• Thai telecoms foreign-cap end urged
A leading Thai think tank has advised the government to propose a new telecom law to allow 100 percent foreign-owned companies in the Thai telecom market, reasoning as the best way to prevent the use of nominees.  

• Asia decoupling itself from Western economies
HSBC says Asia is decoupling itself from the Western economies.

• Russian nuclear cooperation with Vietnam
Russia plans to cooperate with Vietnamese experts to establish a centre to train staff, experts and engineers in nuclear power plant operations as well as establish a research academy on nuclear energy, General Director of Russia's Rosatom State Corporation Sergey Kirienko said yesterday.  

• Paying the bill for clean industry
Lack of awareness and financial support for technology enabling Cleaner Production in Industry (CPI) has delayed its introduction in Viet Nam, said Nguyen Khac Kinh, deputy president of the Viet Nam Association for Environment Impact Assessment.

• Watchdog cites Cambodia as “repressive” on labour
Cambodia continues to be a “repressive” environment for labour activists in 2009, despite the existence of relatively progressive legislation, according to a new report from United States-based watchdog Freedom House.  

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NEWS UPDATES       Updated:  2  Septembert 2010

• Asean-US draw closer
Asean Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan said Thursday that Asean leaders have been invited by U.S. President Barack Obama to meet in New York on September 24.  

• Thai exporters wary of baht rise
 The Thai baht, which traded at 31.1 to the US dollar yesterday, has gained more than 6 percent against the US$ this year, prompting concerns among business leaders and policy makers about whether the country would lose competitiveness in global export markets.  .

• Chambers complain about Philippine mining regs
The Aquino administration’s mining policy is unsettling the investor community at a time when the government is courting private sector support for the Philippines’ infrastructure development in the next six years according to foreign chambers of commerce.

• Singapore fights property bubble
Asian economies fearing a US-style housing market bubble are pursuing measures to curb runaway property prices as the region leads the global rebound from recession.  

• Vietnam’s FTAs scrutinized
Free trade agreements (FTAs) in general have led to higher economic growth, but regional FTAs have had mixed results, experts have said.

• Cost of Vietnamese borrowing drops
The interest rate on loans at commercial banks from August 20-26 was lowered by 1 percent to about 13 per cent per ear.  

• Cambodia's tourism up
Cambodia’s tourism is up more than 13 percent during the first seven months of2010. Cambodia is one of five Asean countries to see an increase in 2010, according to a Ministry of Tourism report.

• Thai ministry opposes Thai Tiger startup
In yet another example of what makes Thailand an interesting and at times quirky place, the Transport Ministry has come out against the startup of new budget air carrier, Thai Tiger.  

• Philippines has dollar surplus
 The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said the Philippines had a dollar surplus in August.  .

• Pertamina reduces 2010 investment
Indonesia’s state oil and gas company PT Pertamina has revised its investment target by Rp 18.6 trillion (US$2.06 billion) or nearly 42 percent of the initial target due to the stronger rupiah and the delay of some projects.

• Sumitomo raided in Indonesia
Indonesia’s anti-graft agency has raided the local office of Japan's Sumitomo Corporation as part of a probe into alleged corruption in the transport ministry, reports said on Wednesday.  

• Singapore economy up 15 percent in 2010
Singapore's economy is expected to expand at a record pace this year as a surge in demand for the city-state's exports drives manufacturing, according to a central bank survey of analysts.

• Lao garment industry benefits from rising Chinese labour costs
The garment industry in Laos is benefiting from more orders as the cost of Chinese labor continues to rise, according to the Lao Garment Industry Association.  

• Germany Pledges US $7M for Lao, Vietnamese Climate Change
The German Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and the German Reconstruction Bank (KFW) have pledged to fund a combined US$7 million for a project to cope with climate change in Vietnam and Laos in next four years, a KFW senior official said.

• Thailand plans high-speed rail
The cabinet of Thailand is reviewing a joint investment plan between Thailand and China to develop high-speed train routes in Thailand. Everyone agrees that faster rail transit will benefit the country economically and socially. 

• Microfinance at Thai post offices
 Thailand post offices nationwide could become microfinance centres to provide financial services to lower-income groups, according to the Finance Ministry. .

• Aquino to abolish obsolete agencies
THE Aquino administration is looking to determine which obsolete government owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) would be abolished to rein in its budget deficit.

• Higher fees on Philippine telecoms
Philippine regulators plan to raise spectrum users’ fee (SUF) imposed on telecom companies to raise more revenues in line with the government’s effort to narrow its record budget deficit.  

• Airport woes in Indonesia
Frequent flyers have urged Soekarno-Hatta International Airport operator, PT Angkasa Pura II, to improve services as the holiday season approaches.

• Three more companies plan IPO
Oil and gas company Borneo Lumbung Energi, gas stove manufacturer Aditec Cakrawiyasa and retail firm Midi Utama have asked for approval to sell a part of their shares to the public.  

• Malaysia's starts new air terminal
Malaysia's new low-cost air terminal is to be completed in April 2012 at a cost of more than 2.5 billion ringgit ($800 million), officials said at a groundbreaking ceremony.

• Vietnam opens new beer-bottling line
Vietnam's thirst for beer is hard to quench, and a new production line with a capacity for 50,000 bottles an hour is the latest attempt to target that key market.  

• ASEAN sets tone for competition
 Ministers from the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have gathered here for the five-day 42nd ASEAN Economic Ministers and 4th ASEAN Economic Community Meetings this week, to discuss how to strengthen the regions’ economies. .

• Smartphone sales to fuel Asian markets
Mobile communication companies are set to manufacture ever-cheaper handsets, a new report says the region will be a hotbed for smartphones in the future.

• Thai stockbrokers brace for deregulation
Thai stockbrokers may employ anti-dumping and fair competition laws as sanctions once members as deregulation on commission fees takes effect in 2012, according to the trade association.  

• UN assistance to match local priorities
THE National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said that the next United Nations assistance program for the Philippines would be aligned with the new government’s development priorities.

• Economist wants more FDI in Philippines
THE Aquino administration has to relax restrictions on foreign direct investments (FDI) to sustain higher economic growth, according to Bernardo M. Villegas, economist at the University of Asia & the Pacific (UA&P).  

• Vietnamese FDI funds get boost
The Ministry of Planning and Investment is working with provinces and cities nationwide to speed up disbursement of funds for foreign – invested projects as many are behind schedule.

• Thai election when normalcy returns
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said on Saturday that new national elections would take place only after the domestic situation returns to normal He was responding to a report that he has not dissolved the House of Representatives for fear that a general election would never take place.  

• Thais look at border trade
 A business mission to Phnom Penh and Ho Chi Minh City to study road transport and logistics development as part of the country's plan to raise the value of border trade by 4o percent to 1.1 trillion baht a year within three years is being planned Deputy Commerce Minister Alongkorn Ponlaboot said the government wanted to take a first-hand look at the land transport development linking Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam so that the three countries could jointly address any problems and move ahead. 

• EU, India see Asean deals
The European Union expects to conclude a free trade deal with Singapore by the end of next year and is likely to begin talks with other Southeast Asian nations soon.

• Asean-China deal use not satisfactory
A Malaysian government minister says that peer review of the Asean-China Free Trade in Goods Agreement (ACFTA) implementation shows the agreement utilisation is still unsatisfactory, said Malaysia's International Trade and Industry Minister Mustapa Mohamed.  

• Vietnam too dependent on imports
Vietnam industry's dependence on imports for production was identified as a major weakness in the economy at a seminar in Ha Noi yesterday.

• Vietnamese agricultural exports climb 20 percent
Agricultural exports totalled US$12.2 billion in the first eight months of this year, an increase of 20 percent compared to the same period a year ago, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development announced.  

• Cambodia earns ‘mini-tiger’ status
Cambodia’s economy has emerged as a “mini-tiger” in terms of textile processing, despite a lack of attention from international investors, according to a report by Swiss banking giant UBS.

• Thai growth expected to slow
The Thai economy in the second half of the year is expected to slow down from the growth rate in the first half.  

• Ford, Mazda pledge US$350 million
 Ford Motor Company and Mazda Motor Corporation are investing US$350 million in their 50:50 joint venture in Thailand to support the the next generation of pickup trucks. .

• Indo banks to meet new LDR rules
Major Indonesian banks, including Bank Mandiri, Bank Central Asia (BCA), Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI) and Bank Tabungan Negara (BTN), agreed that they will have difficulty in meeting central bank’s new loan-to-deposit ratio (LDR) policy.

• Philippine SMEs are upbeat
Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have turned more optimistic about economic prospects this year, two recent surveys report.  

• Philippines stops new logging permits
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said on Thursday that it will no longer issue new permits for logging activities in all natural forests to preserve the country’s remaining vegetative cover.

• Ringgit reaches new high against dollar
The strengthening ringgit reflects the underlying sentiment and the country's robust growth in the first-half of the year, Bank Negara Governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz said.  

• India-Asean may set deadline for services
Trade ministers from India and the 10-member Asean countries currently meeting in Vietnam are to come up with deadlines to wrap up negotiations on the opening of services and investment that appear to be running late.

• RI-Malaysia migrant worker talks stall
Negotiations between Indonesia and Malaysia over migrant workers have stalled after Malaysia proposed that employers keep the passports of Indonesian maids.  

• Panasonic names Indonesia battery, LED hub
 On the 50th anniversary of cooperation between Japanese electronics manufacturer Panasonic Corporation and the Gobel corporate family, PT Panasonic Gobel Indonesia (PGI) said it would contribute more to the Indonesian economy. .

• International air travel increasing
THE International Air Transport Association (IATA) said the industry has taken off with international passenger traffic picking up stronger than expected.

• Singapore manufacturing declines
Growth in Singapore's manufacturing sector slowed significantly in July, dragged down by the biomedical cluster.  

• Obama needs to name new Asean ambassador
A senior US senator has urged President Barack Obama to quickly name a news ambassador to Asean.

• Jailing terrorists not a solution
Terrorism experts say that jailing terrorists will not solve the security problems in Indonesia.  

• Asean leader downplays US absence
The head of ASEAN downplayed the absence of US officials from annual trade talks, arguing their no-show does not detract from the US re-engagement with Southeast Asia.

• Vietnamese Industrial output rises 13.7 percent
Viet Nam's industrial output was worth VND504.2 trillion (US$26.1 billion) to the end of August - 13.7 per cent higher than for the same eight months of last year, reports the Planning and Investment Ministry's Industrial Economy Department.