Lao Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith has pledged to create favourable conditions for Vietnamese firms to continue investing in agricultural development in Laos.
Vietnam’s exports to many Southeast Asian countries like Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, and Cambodia have grown strongly recently and are predicted to continue the upward trend in 2019.
Lao authorities have reduced import tariffs on 8,536 items to zero as part of national efforts in establishing the Asean Free Trade Area, according to a government report.
The Indonesian government has expressed the hope that 2019 will bring their nation a step closer to strengthening its trade with Africa, and especially South Africa, when it hosts the Indonesian-African Infrastructure Dialogue in Bali.
Indonesia and Morocco have started negotiations on a preferential trade agreement (PTA) to boost trade and investment between the two countries.
Malaysia’s economy is expected to go through more pain this year, due to a slowing export sector and ongoing institutional reforms before recovering in 2020, says UBS Investment Bank.
The UK and member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have agreed to maintain close ties via official channels following Brexit, during a meeting at the ASEAN Secretariat’s headquarters in Jakarta on January 10.
Southeast Asia has surpassed China to become the region most likely to produce the best investment returns, as the ongoing trade war between China and the US puts a chill on the world’s second-largest economy, according to a survey at the recent Asian Financial Forum 2019.
<p>Time: November 2025<br /> By: WTO and International Trade Group, Legal Department – VCCI</p>
