Protestors in Bangkok on Thursday dumped plastic waste in front of a government building and called on Southeast Asian leaders to ban imports of trash from developed countries.The protest comes ahead of a weekend meeting of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), with many countries struggling to deal with the flood of plastic waste unleashed by China's decision last year to stop importing recyclables from abroad.Countries in ASEAN now receive more than a quarter of

TMF Group, a multinational professional services firm headquartered in Amsterdam, recently released its Global Business Complexity Index 2019 report.While the report looks at how easy it is to do business in 76 different countries around the world, it also shows just how diverse ASEAN can be with two member states positioned on opposite ends of the business-friendly ladder.

Early this year, it was revealed that Thailand had set a new record for tourist arrivals, welcoming as many as 38.2 million tourists in 2018. For 2019, the government there hopes to bring in as many as 41 million tourists to the Land of Smiles. One sector that can help it achieve that goal is halal (permissible by Islam) tourism.A recent annual survey by Mastercard and CrescentRating found that Thailand is one of the top holiday destinations for Muslims.

Thailand’s economy may be in for far more turbulence than anticipated after the March elections. Social unrest has risen and consumer confidence has sagged since the poll, which this month saw parliament return junta leader General Prayut Chan-o-cha to power. Critics have denounced the election as rigged in favour of the pro-military camp, and foreign investors are holding back.

Some of the most rapidly ageing countries can be found in Southeast Asia. The population of Singapore over the age of 65 is expected to reach 26.6 percent in 2035, whereas the ageing population in Thailand is expected to reach 22.8 percent.

In March, news was abuzz regarding the seasonal heavy air pollution in Thailand. Because this toxic smog is something that Thais are no strangers to, there surely must have been some sighs of relief when the government revealed years ago that it was looking at becoming the hub for the production of electric vehicles (EVs) in the region.The use of EVs is part of a bigger plan by the government there which is the Thailand Alternative Energy Development Plan 2012-2021 in which its commi

When Kulthirath Pakawachkrilers had to convince yet another Chinese investor that business was still a good bet in Thailand despite the political upheaval, she knew it was going to be a tough sell.Companies once considering investing in Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy were now looking at other options – and the uncertainty surrounding the aftermath of the elections was driving much of the concern, said Kulthirath, chief executive officer of the Thailand e-Business Center, which advise

As dusk falls along the Mekong River, a nightly dance begins between Thai border security and Lao drug gangs now using drones, scouts and a pool of poor fishermen to shift record amounts of meth into Thailand.Landlocked, secretive and with ungovernable borders, Lao has become a sluice for transporting Made-In-Myanmar meth to the drug hungry markets of Southeast Asia and Australia, where billion-dollar seizures are now being made.Whisked over the remote mountains of Lao – one of the world&#039

 Junta chief Prayut Chan-O-Cha formally became Thailand's 29th prime minister Tuesday after a royal endorsement, completing a long transformation from soldier to civilian leader and vowing "love, unity and compassion".But critics may doubt the divisive leader's pledge after his previous stint in power which was marked by a ban on political gatherings, a clamp down on the media and the muzzling of dissent.The 65-year-old ex-army chief led the 2014 coup, the last of