Economy and commerce - Open Development Mekong

Southeast Asia’s Quest for Digital Sovereignty

Data is the oil of the 21st century, and Southeast Asia risks pumping its reserves into foreign tanks. The need for the region to develop its own technological infrastructure has never been more pressing. With nearly 700 million people and rapidly growing economies, Southeast Asia has become a pivotal region in the global geopolitical landscape. The technological […]

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Thailand turns to mangrove carbon credits despite scepticism

Watchara Kumpai, 68, spends most of his time in boots, stomping through coastal mangrove forests in southern Thailand. He used to work in the tin mining and logging industries that contributed to mangrove loss, until all concessions in mangrove areas were cancelled in 1991. Today, Watchara is dedicated to restoring and protecting these vital ecosystems in Ranong […]

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Infrastructure development boosts economy in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta

Thanks to the national government’s investment in infrastructure in the Mekong Delta, localities in the region have achieved outstanding results in economic development over the past few years, returning to the growth trajectory seen before the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021-25, the economy of the Mekong Delta and the country as a whole were heavily impacted […]

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IMF Forecasts 6.1% Growth for Vietnam in 2024 Despite Ongoing Challenges

The IMF projects Vietnam’s GDP growth at 6.1% for 2024, supported by external demand and government policies, despite risks in exports and the real estate sector. In its recent September report, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) significantly upgraded its 2024 GDP growth forecast for Vietnam to 6.1%, anticipating that the country’s GDP will achieve $468.5 […]

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Cambodia hopes a new canal will boost trade. But it risks harming the Mekong that feeds millions

PREK TAKEO, Cambodia (AP) — The Mekong River is a lifeline for millions in the six countries it traverses on its way from its headwaters to the sea, sustaining the world’s largest inland fishery and abundant rice paddies on Vietnam’s Mekong Delta. Cambodia’s plan to build a massive canal linking the Mekong to a port […]

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Thailand, Laos to open more friendship bridge this November

The fifth Thai – Lao friendship bridge, which links Bueng Kan province of Thailand with Pakxan town of Laos, is scheduled to open this November. Deputy Transport Minister of Thailand Manaporn Charoensri said recently that the project features a 1.35km crossover with a dual-lane road traversing the Mekong River and a four-lane bypass on the […]

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China-South Korea competition grows in Vietnam

TAIPEI, TAIWAN — A Vietnamese delegation’s visit to China last week has underscored increasingly close economic ties between the territorial rivals, which analysts say is posing a challenge to the dominance of South Korean investment in Vietnam. Vietnam’s National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue led the high-level delegation from April 7 to 12 and met with […]

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Mekong Delta creating favorable conditions to attract investment

Statistics from the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) show that out of 47 million tonnes of straw per year, only 20 percent is used as straw mushroom beds, cattle feed, cushion for fruit transportation. The rest is either burnt (20 million tonnes such each year in Vietnam) or buried in rice fields, which is a […]

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Thai investment in Laos hydropower reveals dire disconnect in the Mekong

Over the past year, the pace of hydropower development along the mainstream of the Mekong River in Laos has picked up, fuelled by long-term funding agreements. Chinese and Thai hydropower project investors have been signing Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), which usually cover a 30-year period, with the governmental Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT). Thailand […]

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Laos PM vows stronger action to improve business environment

VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times/ANN): Laos Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone has pledged to amend legislation to improve the business environment amid fierce international competition by governments to improve their ease of doing business. he government will “amend the Investment Promotion Law and relevant legislation to smooth business operations and investment,” he told lawmakers at the ongoing National […]

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