Search results
The Philippines, Japan, Chinese Taipei, and the United States are situated within the Pacific Ring of Fire making them vulnerable to earthquakes and tsunamis which historically have claimed more lives than weather related hazards like typhoons and flooding.
Manila, Tokyo, Taipei, and San Francisco are among the mega cities that lie along the ring.
The Philippines has only one megacity which serves as both the national economic and political center. The Greater Manila Area is exposed to several active faults, although the Marikina Valley fault system, particularly its western branch, is expected to have the severest impact on lives and property as it cuts through the Metro Manila area.
NDO/VNA – The Vietnamese Government will create optimal conditions for US enterprises to invest successfully in Vietnam and is willing to listen to their recommendations to improve the local business environment, said Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.
While receiving a delegation from the US-ASEAN Business Council (USABC), led by its President and CEO Alexander Feldman, in Hanoi on March 14, PM Phuc expressed his belief that the delegation’s visit will contribute to promoting economic, trade, and investment relations between Vietnam and the US.
He recalled his meeting with US President Donald Trump in Hanoi on the occasion of the second DPRK-US summit in Hanoi in February, during which the two sides agreed on a number of measures to enhance bilateral relations across all fields.
The legislator made the remarks at a reception for a USABC delegation, including representatives of 40 leading US businesses and groups – including Microsoft, Google, GE, and FedEx – in Hanoi on March 14.
Hien welcomed the USABC delegation’s visit, which, he said, is taking place in the context of fruitful development of the Vietnam-US comprehensive cooperation, with rapid progress made in economic ties.
He spoke highly of the great contributions by US enterprises to Vietnam’s economy throughout the past.
Vietnam has conducted reforms and pursued a foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, diversification and multilateralisation of relations, and international integration.
The Joint Foreign Chambers (JFC) of the Philippines and other groups have supported the Open Access in Data Transmission bill or Senate Bill (SB) 1762, saying the measure would give the local telecommunications industry improved “competition, innovation and a level playing field.”
In a statement over the weekend, the JFC, local businesses and civil society groups backed the passage of the measure, seen to improve internet services in the country.
The bill, they said, opens the sector for more service providers, pushing the sharing of infrastructure and resources among telco players and improving “access, affordability and quality of transmission services.”
Telco towers
Allowing more telco players to set up transmission services is also necessary to expand internet access across the country for inclusive development, they said.
US investors are showing interest in Myanmar following recent efforts to open up and regulate several sectors of the economy, such as banking and finance, and education.
Last Thursday, US Ambassador to Myanmar Scot Marciel met with businessmen from the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce (UMFCCI) to discuss potential investment opportunities available to US businesses.
The US has already sent delegations to Myanmar to review opportunities following the recent slew of reforms in the banking and finance sector, according to the UMFCCI.
On November 8, 2018, for example, the Central Bank of Myanmar announced that it would allow branches of foreign banks in the country to offer financing for local businesses and operate other banking services as well as expand.
The oil-rich kingdom of Brunei is expected to ratify a major new trade deal spanning the Pacific Rim in the second half of 2019, Bloomberg Law has learned.
Brunei plans to ratify the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership by year’s end, said Alexander Feldman, president of the U.S.-ASEAN Business Council. ASEAN is the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, of which Brunei is a member.
Feldman spoke with Bloomberg Law on the heels of a business mission to the...
According to the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS), 2018 was a successful year for the textile and garment industry with a total export turnover of over 36 billion USD, up over 16 percent year-on-year, making Vietnam one of the three biggest exporters of textiles and garments in the world.
VITAS Chairman Vu Duc Giang said last year, the world saw complicated developments, rising trade disputes and scientific-technological advances. In that context, the association proposed many measures to the Government, and relevant ministries and sectors to remove policies that cause difficulties for businesses operating in this field, he said.
With the results achieved in 2018, Vietnamese textile firms have witnessed positive signals for orders in 2019.
IN an increasingly dynamic and technology-driven world, all governments face challenges and opportunities in deciding what investments and policies should be implemented today to encourage innovation while protecting its people and ultimately, developing the best possible societies for tomorrow.
As ASEAN nations continue their individual socio-economic journeys with the aspiration of collectively building a regionally integrated and globally connected ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) with the potential of becoming the fourth largest economy in the world by 2050, the over 150 member companies of the US-ASEAN Business Council (US-ABC) look forward to continuing our longstanding partnership with ASEAN.
With increasing ASEAN integration creating further potential for growth, and the government emphasizing value creation as one of the key pillars of Singapore’s economy, the city-state will play a crucial role for U.S. investors seeking to capitalize on the region’s growing opportunities.
Singapore has long been a strategic partner for U.S. traders seeking to gain a foothold in the lucrative Southeast Asian region. As far back as the early 19th century, U.S. merchants would visit the port on their way to and from China, and that early mercantile connection has given way to a broad and deep relationship today. Today, Singapore is home to a whopping $274.3 billion of U.S. investment, more than the figures for China and Japan combined.
SINGAPORE — U.S. Vice President Mike Pence is in Singapore for regional summits during which he will highlight the Trump administration’s commitment to keeping the Indo-Pacific region free and open, but where leaders will be watching closely what he will actually offer, both on security as well as trade and investment.
Fulfilling a 'Free and Open Indo-Pacific'
In a briefing to reporters, a senior administration official said the vice president’s visit to the region will unveil “concrete, substantive initiatives” to fulfill the “Free and Open Indo-Pacific” strategy outlined by President Donald Trump in the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Da Nang, Vietnam, last year.
The strategy focuses on achieving free markets and freedom of navigation in the region, and replaces the Obama-era “pivot to Asia,” a strategic “re-balancing” of U.S. interests from Europe and the Middle East.