Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, right, and his then-Lao counterpart Phankham Viphavanh preside over a groundbreaking ceremony for the fifth Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge in Bung Kan province in October, 2022 (Photo: bangkokpost) Bangkok (VNA) – The Thai government on January 28 announced that the fifth Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge is set to open early next year which should help boost border exchanges not only between localities between Thailand and Laos but also trade in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS), as it will speed up imports between Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam , and China (Yunnan). The bridge, which connects the Thai northeast province of Bueng Kan and Laos' Bolikhamsay province, costs 3.6 billion THB (nearly 110 million USD), of which 2.5 billion THB comes from Thailand and the rest from Laos. According to deputy government spokeswoman Tipanan Sirichana, the construction is 60% complete and proceeding faster than planned. The project is … [Read more...] about Fifth Thai-Lao bridge to open next year
Ultra boost collaborations
Vietnamese firms earn big from Amazon
Many Vietnamese enterprises achieved success in 2022 after shifting to exports through e-commerce platforms, especially Amazon. The trend is expected to continue this year. Vietnam was among the top five countries with the highest e-commerce retail sale growth rates in 2022, according to a report by the U.S.’s market research company eMarketer. Impressive growth A year after beginning to sell goods on Amazon to European and American markets, ChicnChill, a Vietnamese handicraft brand, reported a growth rate of up to 700 percent. Tran Tuan Dung, CEO of ChicnChill, said he saw the start-up thrive when a majority of Vietnamese enterprises have scaled down their operations due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. He and his team spent months studying the lifestyle in European and American markets and home decoration trends there, thereby determining the company’s key products and penetrating into these markets. After a year, ChicnChill’s home decoration products are … [Read more...] about Vietnamese firms earn big from Amazon