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Asean morning news

Compiled by Stella-maris Ewudolu         @stmarisewudolu

Southeast Asia tames wage hikes to keep manufacturing thriving
Southeast Asian countries plan to raise minimum wages more slowly in 2020 as they seek to maintain competitive labor markets against China and weather the fallout from the trade war.
— Nikkei Asian Review (paywall)

‘Ring of fire’ solar eclipse sweeps across India, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines
Sky watchers in Southeast Asia were treated to a rare “ring of fire” solar eclipse on Thursday, which occur when the moon is not close enough to the Earth to completely obscure the sun.
— South China Morning Post

Construction of border industrial park starts in south China
Construction of a deep processing industrial park started Thursday in the border city of Dongxing, south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, to explore a new way of international cooperation on production capacity.
— Xinhuanet

Asia Pacific to outperform other regions in 2020 for real estate investment
According to the real estate consultancy, foreign investments into Asia Pacific are at a decade-high, making up 35 per cent of total volumes, mostly driven by private equity funds and large-scale transactions.
— Thailand Business News

Rules of engagement
For many of its detractors, ASEAN will always be this cumbersome piece of machinery that seems unable to act swiftly or efficiently with regard to its increasingly complex challenges.
— The Jakarta Post

Experts doubt effectiveness of new plan to address Mekong drought
After a year of severe drought that hit the region, the inter-state agency Mekong River Commission (MRC) has laid out new measures to mitigate the effects of the crisis but experts have questioned the effectiveness of the plan.
— Aljazeera

Poor gender gap improvement in ASEAN
The World Economic Forum (WEF) recently released its 2020 Global Gender Gap Report. The report assessed the rate of gender parity and concluded that it would take another 99.6 years before gender parity is achieved. In other words, there remains to be a 31.4 percent gender gap globally.
— The Asean Post

Grab and e-scooter rivals hit regulatory bumps in Southeast Asia
For a while, ride-hailing unicorn Grab’s electric-scooter sharing service seemed to enjoy a rare prospect in Jakarta: an open road.
— Nikkei Asian Review (paywall)

Women and security: Ensure programs not merely on paper
An attack by a couple of men against the former chief security minister in Banten last October, the suicide bombing by a young online motorcycle taxi driver in Medan who was believed to have been radicalized by his wife and last year’s suicide bombing in Surabaya involving families, including children, are among the incidents that confirm no one can ignore violent extremism and religious radicalism in Indonesia.
— The Jakarta Post

Asia-Pacific micro irrigation market set for a rapid growth
The micro-irrigation systems market in the Asia-Pacific is set to fast progress at a CAGR of 19.19 per cent in the forecast period 2019-2027, according to ResearchAndMarkets.
— Far Eastern Agriculture

Relocating Your Business from China to ASEAN – Latest Issue of ASEAN Briefing Magazine
ASEAN countries have become an alluring destination for Chinese-based businesses looking to relocate all or part of their production facilities amid the brewing US-China trade war.
— Asean Briefing

Taiwan startups urged to develop integrated solutions for Southeast Asia
Taiwan-based startup businesses tapping the Southeast Asia market should offer one-stop solutions integrating have innovations from different startups, according to Vincent Lu, vice managing director for Jumpway, a Thailand-based electronics manufacturer established by Taiwanese entrepreneurs over 30 years ago.
— Digitimes

Cambodia morning news

Compiled by Raksmey Khoem          @raksmey.aecnews

Almost 8000 Cambodian Casino Workers Lose Jobs
A Department of Labor and Vocational Training spokesman told a local website on December 26, that after it was decided to close online gambling businesses, which will be completed by the end of 2019, a number of casinos have ceased their business operations, which has resulted in the loss of about 7,700 Cambodian casinos worker jobs.
— CNE 

PM urges farmers to diversify crops amid shortage of water
Prime Minister Hun Sen on Thursday called for farmers to diversify beyond rice during the dry season, amid meteorologists’ warnings that a decline in water levels due to drought will adversely impact output and prices.
— The Phnom Penh Post

The Jevit: home-grown Cambodian demining robot saves time and limbs (video)
Necessity is often said to be the mother of invention and no truer is it the case than for Khmer-Canadian mechanical engineering graduate Richard Yim.
— AEC News Today 

See here for more of today’s Cambodia morning news

Indonesia morning news

Compiled by Justhine De Guzman Uy         @justhine.aecnews

Netflix, Digital Tax Policy to Be Noted in Omnibus Law: Govt
Communication and Information Minister Johnny G. Plate said the government was drafting regulations to tax digital-based entertainment service providers such as Netflix and Spotify.
— Tempo.co

Police seizes taxidermied protected animal specimens at AM’s house
The South Jakarta Police seized several specimens of taxidermied protected animals during further investigation on a Lamborghini driver arrested for pointing a gun at two high school students.
— Antara News

Indonesia sets focus on European tourists amid decline in Chinese visitors
Following a decline in the number of Chinese tourists caused by the increased tension of China’s trade war with the United States, the government is now seeking to lure more visitors from European countries.
— The Jakarta Post

See here for more of today’s Indonesia morning news

Lao PDR morning news

Compiled by Raksmey Khoem         @raksmey.aecnews

Organic agriculture centre to cultivate learning
Representatives of the government, sponsor companies and related sectors attended the centre’s official opening ceremony on Tuesday.
— ANN/Vientiane Times

Efforts on to keep prices in check during New Year celebrations
The Vientiane Industry and Commerce Department on December 18 instructed business operators and vendors to sell goods at specified prices, especially controlled goods such as rice, pork, beef, chicken and fish, while other goods should be sold at prices stated over the past year.
— ANN/Vientiane Times​

Drought, Dams Cause Mekong River in Laos to Turn Unhealthy Blue
A section of the Mekong river in Laos has changed color from muddy brown to blue—a warning sign indicating poor health in Southeast Asia’s most important waterway.
— RFA 

See here for more of today’s Lao morning news

Malaysia morning news

Compiled by Sreypov Men         @MenSreypov

Sarawak to fully enforce smoking, vaping ban from Jan 1 — Penguang
The smoking and vaping ban in all food premises, effective Jan 1, 2020 will be fully enforced by the state Health Department, said Assistant Minister of Local Government and Housing Datu Dr Penguang Manggil.
–The Borneo Post

Malaysia’s 3rd automotive policy to focus on next-gen vehicles: analyst
Malaysia’s third version of its National Automotive Policy (NAP) will be “the most scrutinised” compared to earlier versions as it will chart the country’s automotive sector over the next decade, but vehicle sales growth is expected to be “tepid” in 2020, Maybank Kim Eng analysts said.
— Business Times

Malaysian banks fare well in 2019 amidst fintech trends, global challenges
Malaysian banks have fared well in 2019 amidst financial technology (fintech) disruption that is reshaping the industry and external headwinds and uncertainties brought by, among others, Brexit and the trade spat between the United States and China.
— The Edge Markets

See here for more of today’s Malaysia Morning News

Myanmar morning news

Compiled by Sreypov Men         @MenSreypov

Rakhine Rebels Say Myanmar Official Killed in Fighting
Rebels in Myanmar’s Rakhine region said a captured official from Aung San Suu Kyi’s ruling party has died, two weeks after being taken for organizing protests against genocide accusations faced by Myanmar at the World Court.
— VOA

Japanese Ambassador Voices Support For Myanmar on Genocide Charges
Japan believes that Myanmar did not commit state-sponsored genocide against Rohingya Muslims during a 2017 military-led crackdown that left thousands dead and drove more than 740,000 out of the country, Japan’s ambassador to Myanmar said Monday, despite legal action being taken on such charges in international courts.
— Radio Free Asia

Thailand approves loan for Myawaddy development
The Thai Cabinet has approved a preferential loan worth 777 million THB (over 25.76 million USD) under a 30-year contract for Myanmar for infrastructure development in Myawaddy city, vietnamplus reported.
— Mizzima

See here for more of today’s Myanmar morning news

Philippines morning news

Compiled by Stella-maris Ewudolu         @stmarisewudolu

PH accedes to UN treaty on paperless trade across Asia-Pacific
The Philippines was the first in Asean to approve a UN treaty facilitating paperless trade across the region, the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (Unescap) said on Thursday.
— Philippine Daily Inquirer

Palace sets P4-trillion budget signing on Jan. 6; lion’s share to Education
President Rodrigo Duterte will sign the proposed P4.1-trillion budget in the first week of January next year, the Palace said Thursday.
— Manilastandard.net

‘Ursula’ casualties piling up
Typhoon “Ursula,” which swept across remote villages and popular tourist areas in the Visayas on Christmas Day, claimed at least 16 lives, authorities said Thursday.
— Manilastandard.net

See here for more of today’s Philippines morning news

Singapore morning news

Compiled by Justhine De Guzman Uy         @justhine.aecnews

Singapore’s manufacturing output down 9.3% in November
Singapore’s monthly manufacturing output decreased in November after seeing an uptick in the previous months, data from the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) showed on Thursday (Dec 26).
— Channel NewsAsia (very annoying popups)

Minimum energy efficient standards for industrial chilled water systems to kick in Dec 1, 2020: NEA
December 26, 2019 6:00 PMSINGAPORE – New industrial facilities will have to meet minimum energy efficiency standards (MEES) in their water-cooled chilled water systems from Dec 1, 2020, the National Environmental Agency (NEA) said in a statement on Thursday (Dec 26).
— Straits Times (annoying popups)

Another tanker was boarded by pirates in Singapore Strait bringing total number of incidents to 30 in 2019
Just two days after The Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP ISC) issued an alert about two pirating incidents in the Singapore Strait, yet another incident occurred on Christmas Day.
— The Online Citizen

See here for more of today’s Singapore morning news

Thailand morning news

Compiled by John Le Fevre         @photo_journ

Prayut troubled by fake news
Prime Minister and Defence Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has ordered the military to be more proactive in tackling fake news online.
— Bangkok Post

Finance Ministry upbeat on private investment
The Finance Ministry has painted a rosy picture of private investment, forecasting 2020 growth of 4.6%, up from 2.7% predicted for this year.
— Bangkok Post

Scheme okays 28 SMEs
An initiative offering 3 billion baht in soft loans to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) has had 28 companies approved, obtaining loans for a combined 70.8 million baht, according to an Industry Ministry report.
— Bangkok Post

See here for more of today’s Thailand morning news

Vietnam morning news

Compiled by Sreypov Men         @MenSreypov

New code of conduct to be introduced in 2020 for brokers and securities firms
A new code of conduct will be introduced in 2020 to improve the ethical standards of brokerage firms and brokers, according to the Vietnam Association of Securities Businesses (VASB).
— Viet Nam News

Vietnam’s 4%-inflation target for 2020 challenging but feasible: Deputy PM
The inflation is estimated to be in range of 3.59 – 3.91% for 2020, much higher than the rate of 2.7 – 2.8% for this year.
— The Hanoitimes

Lotte shutdowns e-commerce website in Vietnam
South Korean multinational conglomerate plans to close its e-commerce website Lotte.vn in Vietnam from January 20 to restructure its business plan.
— Vietnam Insider

Vietnam mulls tariffs to protect its coil producers
Vietnam is mulling tariffs on flat steel imports to protect its domestic steelmakers in the face of lower-cost overseas shipments and new capacity in 2020, adding to oversupply in the market.
— Argus Media

See here for more of today’s Vietnam morning news

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About Asean morning news.

Asean morning news roundup and its individual country morning news roundups are the most comprehensive hand-curated selection of Asean English language news headlines published. Each weekday we scour hundreds of local and international news sites and websites to find the most recent Asean English language news today.

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