Myanmar

Frontiir plans to expand its service coverage to lower-income townships within Yangon and Mandalay, and expects to grow to 22 cities and towns by 2022.
Business deals

Myanmar telco Frontiir bags $30m from UK development finance group

Investment from CDC Group to help bring over 2 million people online

25 July 2019
A Chinese Navy vessel prepares to depart Stonecutters Island, Hong Kong, in this 2017 file photo. Washington's security establishment has long claimed China's Belt and Road investments in ports and airfields around the globe have a strategic military component.
Asia Insight

China's Belt and Road ports raise red flags over military plans

Cambodia shows how Beijing's 'string of pearls' threatens US ties

23 July 2019
The benefits of Chinese investment have not been widely shared with the local population.
Opinion

Chinese investment strains Cambodian society

Drastic transformation of Sihanoukville should warn other Asian countries

22 July 2019
A Japanese-owned clothing factory in Yangon: Foreign investment is flowing into Myanmar's garment industry. (Photo by Yuichi Nitta)
Economy

Myanmar investment inflows double from China as deals surge

Southeast Asian nation's garment industry benefits from production shift

18 July 2019
Workers spray insecticide on a corn field infested with fall armyworms in Thailand's Nakhon Ratchasima Province.
Agriculture

Tropical American pest devours corn fields across Asia

Fall armyworms spread over entire region in just a year, risking up to 20% of crops

15 July 2019
Prime Minister Hun Sen wants to remain in office for another decade. He will be walking a tightrope if he does.
International relations

Hun Sen gently adjusts Cambodia's intimacy with China

Prime minister feels the disenchantment at home and anger from abroad

13 July 2019
Only five companies are listed on the Yangon Stock Exchange.
Markets

Myanmar bourse seeks shot in the arm from overseas investors

Yangon Stock Exchange expected to allow stakes of up to 35% within months

12 July 2019
Daiwa Securities was an early entrant into Myanmar as the country opened its economy.
Finance

Japan's Daiwa readies fund to invest in Myanmar startups

$30m vehicle would usher promising companies toward listing over a few years

11 July 2019
The uptick in Cambodia's approved construction investment follows a slight slowdown in 2018, which was an election year. (Photo by Akira Kodaka)
Construction

Cambodia construction approvals hit $3.1bn in Q2 as China piles in

Surge in planned condo development boosts residential sector, CBRE figures show

11 July 2019
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Nikkei Markets

Asian equities rebound ahead of Fed Chair testimony

Tencent and Chinese lenders among key gainers on A300 index

10 July 2019
As global average temperatures warm, glaciers are retreating.
Opinion

Himalayan states must unite to protect mountain environment

Time for a Himalayas Council to manage and safeguard vital water supplies

10 July 2019
Local startup PassApp has become shorthand for ride hailing in Cambodia, but now faces a challenge from Grab. (Source photos by Shaun Turton and Ken Kobayashi)
Startups

Grab takes on Cambodia's PassApp for ride-hailing supremacy

Battle for local market pits deep pockets against market familiarity

8 July 2019
The Dawei special economic zone was originally envisioned as a home for heavy industry, but much of the land is still vacant.
International relations

Myanmar economic zone reimagined as export hub to India

Japan hopes reworked Dawei will mean more leverage over Chinese influence

8 July 2019
Wave Money has a nationwide network of 45,000 agents, far outnumbering bank branches and ATMs in Myanmar. (Photo by Yuichi Nitta)
Business trends

Myanmar's digital money transfers set to triple in 2019

Top operator Wave Money expects to move $4bn in cash as traditional remittances disappear

6 July 2019
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Nikkei Markets

Asian stocks fall ahead of key US jobs data

Chinese banks among key losers, Samsung drops on earnings guidance

5 July 2019
A container terminal near Yangon: Myanmar has been building more port capacity as its economy grows.
Belt and Road

Myanmar's strategic coastline draws big Asian economies

Japan and India vie with China in construction race, but debt fears mount

3 July 2019
Personnel of the Royal Cambodian Navy attend a ceremony after participating in an exercise with the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy in Preah Sihanouk province, Cambodia, in February 2016.
International relations

US questions Cambodia over possible Chinese military presence

Phnom Penh denies speculation amid rising Beijing influence

1 July 2019
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Markets

Asian equities little changed as bets for aggressive Fed rate cut fade

Overnight slump in US stocks also damps investor appetite

26 June 2019
A gas-fired power plant on the outskirts of Yangon: The World Bank estimates that the nation's peak electricity demand will more than triple by 2030. (Photo by Yuichi Nitta)
Energy

Myanmar hikes electricity rates to fund grid investments

Blackout-prone country has some of Southeast Asia's cheapest power

26 June 2019
Rescuers pick through the rubble of the collapsed building in Cambodia's Sihanoukville on June 22.
International relations

Cambodia building collapse probed as anti-China sentiment simmers

Critics point to corruption while Hun Sen denies link to Beijing's influence

25 June 2019
Thailand Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha gestures during a press conference following the Association of Southeast Asian Nations opening ceremony in Bangkok on June 23.
International relations

ASEAN seeks to steer middle path between US and China

Southeast Asian leaders come up with their own Indo-Pacific strategy

23 June 2019
Toll Group's large logistics center in Singapore. (Photo by Kentaro Iwamoto)
Business trends

Trade war lures logistics giants deeper into Southeast Asia

Nippon Express and DHL respond to demand as supply chains move out of China

22 June 2019
Yangon has planned rolling blackouts every day to cope with Myanmar's power shortage. (Photo by Yuichi Nitta)
Economy

World Bank warns Myanmar to double electricity sector investment

A power shortage that already results in scheduled blackouts is set to worsen

20 June 2019
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Nikkei Markets

Asian equities surge on brighter prospects of US-China trade deal

ECB signaling stimulus measures also buoys investor sentiment

19 June 2019
Malaysia is lukewarm about joining military exercises yet accepts aerial surveillance drones from the U.S.
Opinion

Asia-Pacific's smaller states can be active players in great-power rivalry

US-China tensions are raising anxiety but Trump and Xi do not hold all the cards

18 June 2019