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Thailand’s oil palm industry is leading the way for regional biopower projects and is more sustainable than operations in Indonesia and Malaysia which have faced global pressure for devastating old-growth forest and taking a wrecking ball to farming communities, experts say. But while the local sector is breaking ground with its renewable energy projects, inefficiency, […]

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Low interest rates and excess liquidity in Western economies could result in Asia’s markets falling prey to asset bubbles and speculation throughout the coming year, leading international and regional financial experts say. Relatively high interest rates and plentiful opportunities will increasingly spur western investors to look to Asia. The International Monetary Fund forecast the region […]

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Preventing foreigners from owning land and property in Thailand does many things: it protects powerful Thai landlords and agricultural monopolies, forces overseas investors to consider setting up shop in other regional markets, drives Thai capital from the country and provides a pool of nationalist bile for tub-thumping politicians to draw on and whip up a […]

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Thailand’s National Anti-Corruption Commission turns 10 today. A member of the public peruses documents detailing the assets and liabilities of former ministers in the Thaksin government, as released by the National Counter-Corruption Commission. Its very existence is testament to the endemic corruption that continues to erode local political, economic and social institutions; it is also […]

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Developing an Asian rail network to expand trade and economic development within the region will come a step closer this week when a new intergovernmental agreement comes into force. The Intergovernmental Agreement on the Trans-Asian Railway Network, which commits signatories to co-ordinate the development and operation of international rail routes linking 28 countries, is scheduled […]

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Siemens Thailand outlined three investment projects yesterday which it says show its long-term commitment to developing the country’s human capital and sustainable transport systems. But the industrial technology giant would not say how much capital it would inject into the projects, or what the investment horizon would be. Read more…

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By GREG LOWE The global recession and domestic political turmoil have clipped Siemens Thailand’s growth expectations this year but the company still expects its turnover to increase in 2009, says CEO Anthony Chay. The impact of slumping global demand on Thailand’s heavily export-oriented economy is the major factor crimping the profits of Siemens’ industry-dependent operations. […]

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The global recession and the fallout from last year’s astronomic oil prices have forced the Scandinavian national carrier SAS to restructure, shedding some 3,000 staff from its payroll. Despite the cutbacks, the company maintains its commitment to making air travel greener and has no plans to downsize locally, says Bangkok-based Hakan Olsson, the company’s director […]

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‘Complacency breeds failure’ A new book scrutinises the Bush administration’s policies by GREG LOWE If you love President George W. Bush, then Sidney Blumenthal’s latest book The Strange Death of Republican America: Chronicles of a Collapsing Party will get your blood boiling. On the other hand, if you think ‘Shrub’ has made more than the […]

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Tony Wheeler, co-founder of the Lonely Planet guide books, talks about the nature of travel and its impact on the environment by GREG LOWE When Tony Wheeler and his wife Maureen travelled from London through Asia to Australia in 1972, little did they know that their adventure would transform the nature of travel. Nevertheless, the […]

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