Asean morning news for February 6

Asean morning news

Compiled by Stella-maris Ewudolu @stmarisewudolu

Dealing with pollution as urbanisation spreads in Asia
Bangkok choked for weeks last month as smog filled the air while drones and fire trucks fought to bring the pollution under control.
— The Phnom Penh Post

The Most Underrated Difficulty in Southeast Asian E-Commerce Market
Between now and 2025, e-commerce in Southeast Asia is expected to grow eightfold and hit $102 billion in sales.
— Entrepreneur

67% cancer patients in SE Asia die before 70: WHO
In 2018, 18.1 million new cases of cancer developed worldwide; 9.6 million people died from the disease; 70% of the deaths occurred in low and middle-income countries, including those of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Southeast Asia region; and 67% of the region’s cancer patients died before the age of 70.
— The Hindu

PM declares 2019 Year of ASEAN Culture
Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha has declared 2019 the “Year of ASEAN Culture,” introducing the English publication of “Vivid ASEAN.”
— NNT

China’s Belt and Road Initiative could increase alien species invasion
China’s ambitious, multi-trillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative could introduce alien invasive species into several countries, threatening their native biodiversity, warns a new study.
— Mongabay

South East Asia’s internet needs a light touch
South East Asia has made positive strides recently in supporting the development of the region’s fast-growing internet economy with effective regulation.
— Nikkei Asian Review (paywall)

Southeast Asia / 8 stories to watch in the Year of the Pig
From snouts in the trough to African Swine Fever, Southeast Asia Globe breaks down the stories worth watching in the Year of the Pig.
— Southeast Asia Globe

VN’s supporting industries strive to be best in ASEAN
Vietnamese enterprises have the potential to participate in regional and global production value chains on par with the leading countries in ASEAN, because Việt Nam has been a top priority choice of multinational corporations.
— Viet Nam News

ASEAN vehicle market growth slowed in Q4
New vehicle sales in southeast Asia’s six largest markets combined increased by 5.3% to 988,948 units in the fourth quarter of 2018 from 938,692 units in the same period of the previous year, according to data collected by AsiaMotorBusiness.com from local associations and government departments.
— Just-auto

Southeast Asian Chinese Ring In Year of the Pig
Southeast Asia joined millions of people worldwide in celebrating the Chinese New Year on Tuesday, initiating the Year of the Pig with lion dances, the lighting of firecrackers and doling out of money in red paper envelopes – in the hope of striking good luck.
— Benar News

Blockchain solutions firm sees SE Asia as a priority
RIPPLE, which provides enterprise blockchain solutions for payments, sees Southeast Asia, including the Philippines, as a priority market to expand its blockchain technology for cross-border payments and remittances.
— BusinessWorld Online

Domestic Stainless Steel manufacturers allege misuse of provisions of India-ASEAN FTA rules
The alleged misuse of provisions of the India-Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) free trade agreement (FTA) has irked the domestic stainless steel manufacturing industry.
— The Hindu BusinessLine

Migrant workers in Taiwan put pen to paper
By the standards of global literary history, Taiwanese literature is a fairly new phenomenon, dating back to the aftermath of the 1949 Chinese Communist revolution when the island was separated from the mainland.
— Nikkei Asian Review (paywall)

VN’s supporting industries strive to be best in ASEAN
Vietnamese enterprises have the potential to participate in regional and global production value chains on par with the leading countries in ASEAN, because Viet Nam has been a top priority choice of multinational corporations.
— Viet Nam News

Cambodia morning news

Compiled by Piseth Pov @piseth6666

Government dismisses Cambodia smog rumours
The Ministry of Environment has dismissed “rumours” that the current chronic smog gripping Thai capital Bangkok will spread to Cambodia, saying that, unlike its neighbour, the Kingdom does not have a serious air pollution problem.
— The Phnom Penh Post

CMAA official asks China for more demining assistance
A Cambodian Mine Action Authority official has requested the Chinese government to assist the Kingdom in achieving its mine-free 2025 goal by training demining forces.
— Khmer Times

UNICEF calls for action to prevent bullying, harassment for young people online in Cambodia
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned on Tuesday of the dangers posed by online violence, cyberbullying and digital harassment for the 85.7 percent of young people aged 15 to 24 years old who are online in Cambodia.
— Xinhua

See here for more of today’s Cambodia morning news

Indonesia morning news

Compiled by Stella-maris Ewudolu @stmarisewudolu

Direct Investment Realization in Indonesia Fails to Achieve Target in 2018
Total domestic direct investment (DDI) realization in 2018 reached IDR 328.6 trillion, showing a solid increase of 25.3 percent on an annual basis. Meanwhile, total foreign direct investment (FDI) realization in 2018 was recorded at IDR 392.7 trillion, down 8.8 percent (y/y).
— Indonesia Investments

Asian banks give billions to firms linked to deforestation, study finds
Industries that cause the loss of rainforest and peatlands in Southeast Asia were bankrolled to the tune of $62 billion between 2013 and 2018, according to new data released by the Forests and Finance campaign of the Rainforest Action Network (RAN).
— Mongabay

Indonesia’s set to position Batam as shipping, manufacturing rival to Singapore
Bloomberg reported that Indonesia wants to re-position its Batam island as an alternative shipping and manufacturing hub to Singapore with a potential to draw USD 60 billion in new investment.
— SteelGuru

See here for more of today’s Indonesia morning news

Lao PDR morning news

Compiled by Piseth Pov @piseth6666

Health ministry gets 2,800 billion kip to improve services
The government has allocated a budget of over 2,800 billion kip for capacity development and improvement of the health sector in 2019.
— Vientiane Times

Laos lays out solid steps towards development
THE Lao National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LNCCI) is developing a long-term business strategy based on green and sustainable development to comply with the government’s policy on SME development.
— The Phnom Penh Post

Govt, partners review efforts to strengthen agro-climatic information systems
Government officials and development partners met in Vientiane on Tuesday to review the Strengthening Agro-climatic Monitoring and Information Systems (SAMIS) project towards improving adaptation to climate change and food security in Laos.
— Vientiane Times

See here for more of today’s Lao morning news

Malaysia morning news

Compiled by Sreypov Men @MenSreypov

Guan Eng confident 2019 beginning of economic development for Malaysia
Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng is confident 2019 will see the beginning of economic development for Malaysia, given the country’s fiscal position which has begun to consolidate and the impressive increase in foreign direct investments (FDI) into the country since 2018.
— The Sun Daily

MIDF: Inflation down, Producer Price Index at three-year low
Malaysia’s Producer Price Index (PPI), which measures changes in prices from a sellers’ perspective, is currently at a three-year low, according to MIDF Research.
— FMT

MAHB confirms AirAsia the only one flouting passenger fee
LOW-COST carrier AirAsia and its sister airline, AirAsia X, are the only airlines operating at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (klia2) not to have complied with the revised passenger service charge (PSC) as it continues to collect the old rate, the New Straits Times reported Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) as saying.
— The Malaysian Insight

See here for more of today’s Malaysia Morning News

Myanmar morning news

Compiled by Sreypov Men @MenSreypov

5080 villages to receive electricity with World Bank support this year
A total of 5080 villages will receive electricity this year as part of the National Electrification Plan (NEP) which is currently under implementation with World Bank assistance, U Thura Aung Bo, project manager and deputy chief engineer of NEP, told The Myanmar Times.
— Myanmar Times

About 5.7 billion U.S. dollars of investment enter Mandalay region
About 5.7 billion U.S. dollars of investment from over 70 foreign enterprises have entered Myanmar’s Mandalay region so far since the regional investment committee was founded in 2017, Xinhua reported.
— Mizzima

CBM to publish market-based reference exchange rate
The Central Bank of Myanmar (CBM) will publish a market-based reference exchange rate, or the aggregate of actual market rates for the day, from today onwards, according to a CBM press release.
— Myanmar Times

See here for more of today’s Myanmar morning news

Philippines morning news

Compiled by Stella-maris Ewudolu @stmarisewudolu

January 2019 inflation eases to 10-month low of 4.4%
The increase in consumer prices nationwide eased for a third straight month last January as food and beverage costs grew slower while the full effect of the second round of fuel tax hike has yet to be felt, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported yesterday.
— The Philippine Star

ADB and IFC invest $95m in green bonds issued by Ayala’s energy unit
International Finance Corp. and the Asian Development Bank invested $95 million in AC Energy Inc.’s green bonds.
— Manilastandard.net

Explosions in Mindanao reported a day before BOL plebiscite
Four explosions have been reported on Tuesday, a day before the Bangsamoro second plebiscite.
— CNN Philippines

See here for more of today’s Philippines morning news

Singapore morning news

Compiled by John Le Fevre @photo_journ

Singapore Airlines opens digital innovation lab
Singapore Airlines has opened a digital innovation hub called Krislab, where it says its staff will develop new ideas in collaboration with outside partners, start-ups, incubators and accelerators.
— Business Traveller

Milestone: MAN celebrates handing over its 1,000th bus in Singapore
MAN Truck & Bus has delivered 1,300 chassis for city buses to Singapore over the last eight years. In late October 2018, the 1,000th vehicle was symbolically handed over to its new owners. A remarkable success story.
— Automotive World

A look into the Singaporean ‘quickie’ problem
On February 3, 2019 (Sunday), the CEO and founder of a Singapore-based company called Simply Safety uploaded a post on Facebook that addressed a problem of Singaporeans.
— The Independent

See here for more of today’s Singapore morning news

Thailand morning news

Compiled by John Le Fevre @photo_journ

Thailand rebuffs Australia’s plea to free Bahraini refugee footballer
The Australian government on Tuesday urged Thailand to exercise its legal discretion to free a refugee football player who lives and plays in Australia and told a Bangkok court that he refuses to be voluntarily extradited to Bahrain.
— Bangkok Post

Australian ‘red notice’ led to arrest of Bahrain footballer: Don
IT WAS Australia’s issuance of an Interpol red notice for former Bahraini footballer Hakeem al-Araibi that led to his arrest in Thailand, Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai revealed yesterday.
— The Nation (very annoying popups)

600 polluting factories shut
About 600 factories have been ordered to temporarily shut while they reduce emissions of pollutants, according to Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.
— Bangkok Post

See here for more of today’s Thailand morning news

Vietnam morning news

Compiled by Sreypov Men @MenSreypov

VN’s supporting industries strive to be best in ASEAN
Vietnamese enterprises have the potential to participate in regional and global production value chains on par with the leading countries in ASEAN, because Vi?t Nam has been a top priority choice of multinational corporations.
— Viet Nam News

Vietnam expects boost in shrimp exports
Vietnam’s shrimp exports are expected to reach more than US$4 billion in value this year aided by free trade agreements.
— The Asean Post

Key Hanoi transport projects close to completion
The road from Dam Hong in Thanh Xuan District to Giap Bat in Hoang Mai District in the southwest of Hanoi was to have been completed in 2016, but was pushed back to 2019 due to a delay in acquiring lands.
— VnExpress

See here for more of today’s Vietnam morning news

The Asean morning news roundup and its individual country morning news round-ups are the most comprehensive hand-curated selection of news reports from around the Asean Economic Community (AEC) published. We scour hundreds of local and international news and websites to find the things that you need to know to start your working week day.

We clearly identify the source of the story, whether it is behind a paywall, a media release, or whether the site uses annoying pop-up advertising or auto-play video, in case those things annoy you. It’s all then packaged up in an easy to read format enabling you to make an informed choice of whether you want to learn more by clicking directly through to the original source, or keep on reading the headlines. AEC News Today: Governance, not government; policies not politics.