Private sector

However, President of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte on February 15 last year signed into effect an act that turned the Philippines' rice imports from a quota-based system to a tax-based one. The act abolished quotas in rice imports to the Philippines to impose a 35% tax rate applicable to rice imports from ASEAN countries. The import tariff is much lower than that imposed on non-ASEAN nations, which is up to 180%. … [Read more...] about Vietnam wins deal to supply 60,000 tons of rice to the Philippines

As schools worldwide seek to put in place safety measures that allow them to reopen, the latest data from the WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) reveals that 43 percent of schools around the world lacked access to basic handwashing with soap and water in 2019 – a key condition for them to be able to operate safely in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. … [Read more...] about 2 in 5 schools globally lacked basic handwashing facilities before COVID-19: UNICEF, WHO

Bangkok (VNA) – The Thai cabinet on August 13 agreed to establish a centre to address the economic situation heavily battered by the COVID-19 outbreak. The economic situation administration centre, tasked with working in the same way as the Center for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA), will be chaired by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha. The secretary-general of the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC) will be the center's secretary. The centre's main focus is to promote Thailand's economic rehabilitation from the pandemic crisis. It will take charge of proposing solutions to tackle economic problems and supervise the government's economic rehabilitation efforts. The centre will comprise 22 committees with representation from all economic ministers, the interior and labor ministries, the Bank of Thailand's (BoT) governor and the heads of three large private-sector organisations. Prime Minister Prayut said that the COVID-19 pandemic has taken an … [Read more...] about Thailand creates new economic centre to recover COVID-19-hit economy

The investment was made through associate company BRE Singapore Pte., Ltd. (BRES), in which the Thai company holds 50 per cent of shares through Banpu NEXT Co., Ltd. For this project, Banpu secured a feed-in tariff of 8.5 US cents per kilowatt-hour for a period of 20 years, in accordance with the power purchase agreement with Electricity of Vietnam. … [Read more...] about Southeast Asian M&As gathering momentum