Directorate of Industrial Supervision and Inspection, Ministry of Industry has been implementing the project namely Hybrid Seminar on Innovation and Young Entrepreneurship for Regional Development by the support of Mekong-Lancang Cooperation Special Fund (MLCSF) 2018 with the following objectives:

1)     developing the innovation practices among entrepreneurs in Mekong region,

2)     sharing and disseminating the best experiences among successful young entrepreneurs and

3)     building up the networking with public, private and government as youth development for economic development of Mekong regions

The project is being implemented in three phases. As the first phase of the project, the seminar was held in Park Royal Hotel, Nay Pyi Taw in 2019. In that seminar, 75 participants from MLC countries participated and shared their experiences concerned with innovation and entrepreneurship in Mekong region. At the first seminar, (6) types of innovation focusing on Profit Model, Network, Structure, Process, Product Performance and Product System were shared out of 10 types totally.

          The planned follow-up seminars couldn’t be held timely due to the third wave of COVID-19 situations in Myanmar. In accordance with the COVID-19 Discipline by the Ministry of Health, the Hybrid Seminar on Innovation and Young Entrepreneurship for Regional Development was held from July 22 to 24, 2022 in Office 30, Ministry of Industry, Nay Pyi Taw. In that seminar, thirty participants from Cambodia, China, Laos PDR, Thailand, and Vietnam participated virtually and seventy representatives from Myanmar's Ministry of Industry, state/region, union territory, and MSMEs participated physically.

          In this seminar, led by local and international experts, recalling the knowledge learned during the first seminar, including its shortcomings and strengths and discussion of the participants' feedback are carried out. And, human-centered innovations such as service-related innovations focused on human resources, brand loyalty, building a strong connection with customers and sharing Knowledge for MSMEs for using a broader digital system were conducted in this seminar. Moreover, there was a panel discussion with the topic “Collaboration between Public, Private & Government for Entrepreneurship Development” participated by representatives from MLC countries, deliberating on how governments should support for entrepreneurship development, how government, private sector and NGOs should collaborate to strengthen the entrepreneurship, and as well as discussed about the strength, weakness, opportunities and threats faced by entrepreneurs in the region.

By organizing this seminar, the benefits acquired are as follows:

(i)       promoting the entrepreneurship and innovation among the young entrepreneurs in MLC region and sharing best practices,

(ii)            exchanging the views and experiences between government and private sector,

(iii)          developing innovative practices by utilizing advanced technologies among MSMEs

(iv)          building network among MSMEs in States and Regions, and

(v)            understanding more about the current implementation status of regional countries for encouraging entrepreneurship

The Incubation Network, in partnership with the Global Plastic Action Partnership, UpLink by the World Economic Forum, and the Alliance to End Plastic Waste, have recently launched the Plastic Waste to Value Southeast Asia Challenge to tackle plastic waste mismanagement in the region.

Established to accelerate innovative solutions that are focused on plastic recycling and upcycling in Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam, the challenge is excited to unveil five innovators that will be participating in the tailored development program over the course of five months.

The challenge received a total of 101 incredible applications through the UpLink platform. 48 shortlisted candidates were carefully assessed by academic researchers, corporate sustainability practitioners, innovators, and climate & circular economy specialists. The selected innovators will receive partnership building opportunities, mentorship, increased visibility, access to networks, and grants to scale their solutions.

“Working in partnership with the Global Plastic Action Partnership and the Alliance to End Plastic Waste, The Incubation Network is committed to support solutions that will enhance waste management ecosystems and accelerate the move towards a circular future for plastics,” says Simon Baldwin, Global Head of Circularity, SecondMuse. “We are very excited. The selected innovators have demonstrated a compelling opportunity for growth and economic & environmental impact!”

Urgent sustainable solutions are needed to combat the ever-growing global plastic waste pollution crisis. Between 2017-2019, an estimated 2 million tonnes of plastic waste leakage per year came from Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. This accounts for 17 per cent of annual global marine plastic waste leakage. Plastic waste that is not polluting waterways is either burnt or dumped - posing a significant threat to environmental and biodiversity health.

“Innovative solutions are critical to address plastic waste management in the region. We are thrilled to have worked closely with The Incubation Network and the Alliance to End Plastic Waste to identify an impressive cohort of Top Innovators with high-impact solutions that bring value to plastic waste. We look forward to providing the Innovators with greater visibility and impact in the region.” says Poonam Watine, Knowledge Specialist, Global Plastic Action Partnership.

Solutions have been assessed based on their contributions to at least one of the three focus areas: (1) Increasing the amount of plastic waste managed, processed and/or recycled; (2) supporting the operational improvement of plastic waste management and recycling; and (3) improving working conditions of enterprises in plastic waste management and recycling.

The Plastic Waste to Value Southeast Asia Challenge cohort includes:

Bank Sampah Bersinar (Indonesia)
Bank Sampah Bersinar is a social enterprise that provides community-based waste management solutions.

ENVIROTECH WASTE RECYCLING INC. (Philippines)
Envirotech collects Single-use plastic (SUPs) and turns them into useful products such as school chairs.

Kibumi (Indonesia)
Kibumi is a disruptive startup company that strengthens the plastic recycling supply chain through digitalised and modernised waste collection points.

Plastic People (Vietnam)
Plastic People transforms plastic waste into useful and upcycled products such as furniture or accessories.

TerraCycle Global Foundation (Thailand)
TerraCycle Global Foundation provides simple, innovative, and high impact solutions to prevent, remove, and recycle waste from the environment.

“Ending plastic waste is a clear and urgent necessity recognising both the environmental costs and economic losses when plastic waste is not recovered,” says Nicholas Kolesch, Vice President Projects at the Alliance to End Plastic Waste. “With growing demand for post-consumer plastic, the Plastic Waste to Value Southeast Asia Challenge will support ventures in the region to close this gap, getting plastics out of the environment and back into a circular economy.”

The Plastic Waste to Value Southeast Asia Challenge is led by The Incubation Network, the Global Plastic Action Partnership, UpLink by the World Economic Forum, and funded by the Alliance to End Plastic Waste, and supported by SecondMuse, The Circulate Initiative, Global Affairs Canada, and DEFRA.

About The Incubation Network

The Incubation Network is an impact-driven initiative that sources, supports and scales holistic innovative solutions to combat plastic pollution and improve the livelihoods of vulnerable groups in waste management and recycling systems.

Part of a highly collaborative community of startups and entrepreneurs, investors, partners and programs, The Incubation Network works together with industry players to tackle key barriers to address plastic leakage and advance a circular economy. This includes sourcing and supporting, to scaling early-stage or pre-investment solutions and connecting compatible ecosystem players to reinforce the value chain in waste management and recycling.

Established in 2019, The Incubation Network is a partnership between non-profit organisation, The Circulate Initiative and impact innovation company, SecondMuse. The Incubation Network is open to interested collaborators, corporations, and mentors, looking to address plastic leakage and advance a circular economy in South & Southeast Asia.

For more information, visit: www.incubationnetwork.com.

About Global Plastic Action Partnership

As part of the World Economic Forum’s dedication to accelerating impact under the Paris Agreement and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), The Global Plastic Action Partnership (GPAP) was launched in September 2018 at the Sustainable Development Investment Summit.

GPAP partners with countries and global partners to champion a shift towards a new plastics economy both by addressing the root causes of plastic pollution, from production to consumption and reuse, and by improving waste management efforts downstream. GPAP brings together governments, regional bodies, international organisations and businesses, as well as innovators and civil society organisations on an impartial collaboration platform with the aim of creating dedicated communities and driving positive change. 

For more information, visit: https://globalplasticaction.org/

About the Alliance to End Plastic Waste

The Alliance to End Plastic Waste (Alliance) is a global non-profit organisation with the mission to end plastic waste in the environment. Its focus is implementing projects and investing in innovative solutions to develop or enhance waste management systems. ­­­­As of June 2022, its portfolio comprises over 50 projects across 30 countries worldwide.

Tackling plastic waste is a complex challenge that requires collective action. Since 2019, the Alliance has convened a global network of industry leaders across the plastics value chain, together with government, civil society, entrepreneurs, and communities to work towards advancing a circular economy for plastic waste.

For more information, visit: www.endplasticwaste.org

Source: Eco Business

Read the original news here

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has onboarded almost 300 Filipino micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) for the ASEAN Online Sale Day (AOSD) – the largest online sale event in Southeast Asia that will take place on 8 to 10 August 2022.

The strengthening of the logistics relationship with Thailand will help the transport sector in Cambodia reduce costs and time, thereby luring more investment.

To make this deal sacrosanct, Ministry of Public Works and Transport secretary of state Koy Sodany and Danucha Pichayanan, secretary-general of Thailand’s National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC), signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on July 19 in Bangkok, Thailand.

The MoU is aimed at establishing cooperation in the spirit of mutual understanding and a goodwill framework, and enhancing closer ties between both countries in the field of logistics.

According to the deal, both parties will work on three areas, namely logistics policy and legal framework; logistics cost per gross domestic product (GDP) and logistics performance index (LPI); and strengthen institutional and stakeholder capacity in the field of logistics.

Chea Chandara, president of the recently-renamed Logistics and Supply Chain Business Association in Cambodia (Loscba), told The Post on July 20 that Cambodia and Thailand share a common border, across which they regularly transport goods. As such, the MoU will provide positive results for the parties, he said.

The transport sector plays an important role in economic activity, therefore when the transport sector is expensive and onerous, it will automatically undermine competitiveness and raise the price of goods, he added.

“Because Cambodia and Thailand have a lot of transport links every day, when there is an MoU, coordination with each other would certainly bring mutual benefits to both countries,” Chandara said, adding that he is not able to quantify the benefits as yet.

However, he is optimistic that the transport sector in Cambodia would give rise to a positive trend, thanks to ongoing infrastructure construction including roads, airports and ports.

For full article, please read here


Author: Hin Pisei

Source: The Phnom Penh Post 

During the January-June period this year, Cambodia’s top three export destinations were Vietnam, China and Japan, the report said, adding that the kingdom shipped products worth 1.17 billion dollars to Vietnam, 612 million dollars to China and 542 million dollars to Japan.

The RCEP free trade agreement comprises 15 Asia-Pacific countries including 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states — Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam — and their five trading partners, namely China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

Cambodian Ministry of Commerce’s undersecretary of state and spokesman Penn Sovicheat said RCEP and the Cambodia-China Free Trade Agreement (CCFTA), which both took effect on Jan. 1 this year, are a contributing factor to boost Cambodia’s exports.

“Our export growth is a testament to the larger market access of our products to other RCEP member countries with tariff concessions,” he told a press conference in Phnom Penh on Thursday. “The two FTAs have been giving a boost to our economic growth in the long term.”

Meanwhile, Sovicheat said China has played a leading role in assisting the least developed countries (LDCs) including Cambodia through preferential tariffs, noting that the support was crucial to helping the LDCs boost their economic development.

For full article, please read here


Author: Xinhua
Source: Khmer Times

Like most countries in the world, Southeast Asia's economies have made their own nationally determined contributions commitments during the UN climate conferences, most recently updated in 2021 during the Glasgow negotiations. During the Glasgow climate conference in 2021, most Southeast Asian countries announced their new climate targets, with net-zero targets to be achieved between 2050 and 2065. The new targets are more aggressive than before and will require an accelerated energy transition to be achieved. Currently, governments in Southeast Asia have plans to add more than 250 GW of solar and wind capacity over the next two decades, and this will likely be increased further when their power development plans are updated in the coming years.

Grid readiness for more intermittent renewables to be added to the power system

The current solar and wind renewable penetration across Southeast Asia is still relatively low, at 5% and 11% of total generation and installed capacity, respectively, compared with leading countries like Germany, which have already reached levels of 34% of generation and 55% of capacity from solar and wind. This level of renewable penetration is somewhat skewed by the large share of intermittent renewable capacity contributed by Vietnam, which over the past three years has added more than 20 GW of solar and wind capacity. Vietnam's renewable penetration is more than double the region's average, at 13% and 30% for generation and capacity, respectively. Although the level of solar and wind penetration is still relatively low, some countries are already facing challenges in dealing with the intermittency and grid congestion impeding the utilization of solar and wind generation.

Vietnam and Indonesia will face the toughest challenge to accommodate more renewables. The two countries have the most ambitious renewable target and greatest renewable potential, respectively, and are starting at two extreme ends of the spectrum, with Vietnam having more intermittent renewable capacity than the entire remainder of Southeast Asia and Indonesia having one of the smallest in the region. Despite the differences, they face grid congestion and challenges dealing with the intermittency from renewables, which will hinder future growth of solar and wind capacity.

Grids in Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand do not face any challenges to accommodate the operating intermittent renewable capacity thanks to a low renewable penetration and robust requirements before capacity could be developed. Going forward, as solar and wind additions pick up pace (either through increased tender sizes or more aggressive government plans/targets), similar to the rest of the region in their energy transition journey, locations with sufficient grid capacity will dwindle, and similar grid enhancements will be needed.

Countries in Southeast Asia are currently targeting to add close to 50 GW of solar and wind capacity by 2030, and this target is slated to be increased further. Most of the countries have either experienced first-hand the impact to the grid and power system caused by the rise of intermittent renewables or have witnessed the issues faced by their regional neighbors. Each country is facing a different situation in terms of the current state of their grids to handle the existing and planned intermittent renewable additions, but they have all incorporated the lessons from the region into the power development plan, which is to upgrade the grid infrastructure to facilitate the connection for more renewables, in line with their ambitious targets. The plans for renewable additions need to keep pace with the grid upgrades to ensure that the additional renewables can be utilized.

The plans for grid upgrades to support more renewables will come at a high cost. This is because, unlike conventional generators, which can be located closer to the load centers, renewables have a significantly larger land requirement and will need to be developed further away, where land is cheaper. Therefore, as the share of renewables in the generation mix increases, so will the investments in transmission infrastructure. Many of the Southeast Asian countries currently have government-regulated power tariffs, which are set at levels below the cost of supply; therefore, it will definitely be challenging to finance increasingly larger grid investments.

Regulation and policy readiness to facilitate the addition of more renewables

Most of the legacy power development plans for Southeast Asian countries mainly focused on generation capacity additions to serve the strong power demand growth. Capacity expansion planning was weighted on total supply adequacy rather than supply reliability and flexibility. In recent years, more plans are proposed to accommodate the addition of more intermittent renewables across all the Southeast Asian countries' national power development plans. However, beyond enhancements to the transmission and distribution grid, it remains to be seen what the countries will be doing from the regulation and policy perspective to facilitate the development of more flexible generation sources of power demand and supply.

Currently, the main regulatory and policy tool being utilized to ensure that additional intermittent renewable generation does not impact the power system comes from requiring grid impact studies or power system studies before the development approval is given. Both the project developer and the transmission and distribution company are responsible for carrying out these studies together. Such studies have been in place for countries like Malaysia (large-scale solar photovoltaic [PV] tender), the Philippines (Energy Regulatory Commission interconnection agreement), and Thailand (grid connection code) and utilized effectively, as no grid-related curtailment/congestion issues have been reported. Most recently, following the grid issues faced in Vietnam, there is now a clear set of grid-related conditions placed alongside each newly proposed solar and wind project, when they are seeking to be added to the approved national project list.

Long-term power/energy development plans are useful in guiding necessary investments and the corresponding policy and regulatory changes to achieve the target fuel mix. However, in Southeast Asia, many of the long-term plans have a planning horizon of up to 25 years and are being updated frequently. The most frequent updates to power development plans are being done annually, and even the less frequently updated ones are being updated before a quarter of the planning horizon period is over—even though the plans cover an outlook horizon of between 10 and 25 years and typically consist of relatively significant changes. Frequent revisions to the development plans would not be an issue if the changes were not drastic, however, this has not been the case for many countries.

The power development plans across the countries in Southeast Asia appear to still be based mostly on planning based on conventional generation. Although they do mention the need for increased flexibility to allow more intermittent renewables to be added to the generation mix, there is little mention of the addition of flexible generation. This will need to be addressed in future plans to provide more clarity for potential independent power producers to attract investments in such flexible generation sources.

Staying consistent in planning and the creation of renewable energy zones will help coordinate power system planning and allow for faster-pace development of solar and wind capacity. This would be highly beneficial as it will help optimize the limited investment capital available for investments in grid enhancements by concentrating the capital on areas that have better renewable resources and more economically efficient transmission investment outcomes. In addition, this will provide a clear road map for investors and reduce the investment uncertainty on the areas where additional solar and wind capacity and flexible generation can be developed over the planning horizon.

Technology readiness to handle the increasing intermittency in the power system

The recognition of the need for more flexibility in the power system across most power development plans in Southeast Asia bodes well for the accommodation of more intermittent renewable capacity. However, for many of the plans, this is the very first time this has been included and it remains a relatively new concept for much of the region. The supporting mechanisms, such as capacity payment/market, ancillary service market, or frequency regulation service, are not implemented or are still at a very early stage.

Flexible generation is not a newly established technology, but the status quo needs to be changed to enable its development in Southeast Asia. There is currently no clearly defined remuneration mechanism for the delivery of frequency regulation services for batteries, as the only revenue stream is through the sale of electricity, which needs to change. Gas-fired generation is technically capable of playing a role in managing the intermittency, but the current contracting structure, based on a high level of utilization and fuel contracting with high fixed offtake obligations, does not allow for it to play a flexible role. The current gas generation fleet is also not suitable to play a peaking role. Its efficiency and corresponding fuel cost are greatly affected by lower utilization—as much as 300% higher than a baseload plant.

Source: S&P Global

Read the original article HERE

The measure to lower transfer and mortgage fees for properties costing more than three million baht was meant for Thai nationality only, the government spokesman said on Friday.

“The interior ministry’s announcement which came into effect since January 18 was meant for Thai nationality only,” Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana told reporters.

He was referring to the Ministry of Interior’s measure to lower transfer and mortgage fees for properties costing more than three million baht from two per cent down to 0.01 per cent which was approved by the Cabinet and came into effect in January.

Government critics were attacking the government for introducing incentives for foreigners to buy up lands in Thailand.

“The government never had an idea to allow foreign nationals to use this privilege,” he said.

Thanakorn explained that the Ministry of Interior’s latest measure to allow foreigners who invest 40 million baht for at least three years in Thailand to purchase a residence on a one rai of land does not relate to the interior ministry’s announcement of the lowered transfer and mortgage fees in January.

Deputy Interior Minister Nipon Boonyamanee said on Wednesday that the ministry will propose the measure to allow foreigners who invest 40 million baht for at least three years in Thailand to purchase a residence on a one rai of land to the Cabinet but he did not say when.

Only four groups of foreigners will be allowed to participate including affluent individuals, retirees, job seekers and experts within targeted industries.

The right to own land will be in line with existing laws, including that can purchase only 49 per cent of rooms in each condominium, Nipon said.

He also echoed Thanakorn’s latest comments that only Thais will have the right to receive a 0.01 per cent transfer and mortgage fees for residences and condominiums that do not cost more than three million baht.

Thanakorn said if the ministry’s latest measure is approved by the Cabinet, it could increase the number of affluent foreigners living in Thailand by one million people and they could contribute more than one trillion baht to the Thai economy, 800 billion baht via new investments and 270 billion baht via tax collection.

Source : THAI ENQUIRER

Krungsri (Bank of Ayudhya)’s fintech arm announced on Friday it will invest 3 billion baht in Thai and foreign start-ups over the next three years as part of the digital banking revolution.

            Krungsri Finnovate will invest the money via its new “Finnoverse” private equity fund, which will focus on blockchain and decentralised technology start-ups.

Sam Tanskul, managing director of Krungsri Finnovate, said the new fund’s launch was driven by the belief that banks and banking services are changing fast.

Blockchain is at the core of the trend for digital banking and assets, as the new technology that underlies secure online transactions.

Both blockchain and digital assets are fast becoming a part of people's everyday life, Sam said.

The Finnoverse Fund has been launched as a three-year investment plan (2022-2024) worth 3 billion baht.

It will focus on key areas of blockchain technology including domestic and international funds that invest in blockchain, new decentralised finance tech, the Metaverse, Web 3.0, nonfungible tokens and play-to-earn gaming, and blockchain for businesses.

"We will focus on blockchain and decentralised technology – not cryptocurrency, where there is too much speculation," Sam said.

The fund is already investing in Zipmex, a leading crypto exchange platform in Thailand, and ADDX, a market-investment platform from Singapore.

Sam added that Krungsri Finnovate is in talks to invest in three more start-ups, whose names will be announced later this year.

Meanwhile, the firm’s Finnoventure Private Equity Trust I now has 16 prominent start-ups under its wing, mostly in fintech and e-commerce. Two of them – Grab and Flash Express – have become unicorns.

Investors in this fund include Thai corporations and financial institutions such as PTT Oil and Retail Business (PTT OR), Siam Rajathanee, NTT Data, and the Thai Stock Exchange. Private Equity Trust I is now valued at 5 billion baht, enough to fund Thai start-ups for the next few years. So far, 326.3 million baht has been invested in the start-ups.

Source : THE NATION THAILAND

The government is proceeding with plans to make Thailand a regional manufacturing center for hemp products over the next five years, with the goal of generating at least 25 billion baht in revenue.

According to Industry Minister Suriya Jungrungreangkit, the value of hemp cultivated and harvested in Thailand is projected to grow by at least 20,000 baht per rai, creating more jobs throughout the industry supply chain.

Suriya added that the move is in line with the industry’s expansion, fueled by the relaxation of legal restrictions on commercial hemp in the United States, Canada, Australia, the European Union, China, Japan and South Korea.

According to the industry minister, the global hemp industry was worth 142 billion baht in 2020, representing a 22.4% increase over the previous year. The value is expected to reach 558 billion baht per year by 2027.

Thongchai Chawalitpichet of the Office of Industrial Economics (OIE) meanwhile said the ministry has also tasked his agency with developing an operational plan to support the promotion of hemp as the nation’s newest cash crop. He also said at least four major measures have since been established and are expected to be implemented upon approval by all parties involved.

Source : Thailand Business News

THAILAND is planning to build a smart city in an industrial hub near Bangkok that has already drawn billions of dollars of investment pledges from global automotive, robotics, healthcare and logistics companies. 

A master-plan to build the city in Huai Yai subdistrict of Chonburi province, some 160 km south-east of Bangkok, was approved by a panel chaired by Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha on Monday (Jul 11). The yet-to-be-named city will be spread over 14,619 rais (2,340 ha) of land and will cost 1.34 trillion baht (S$52 billion) over the next 10 years, officials said.

The project will comprise 5 business centres for companies to rent as commercial areas, Kanit Sangsubhan, secretary-general of the Eastern Economic Corridor, told reporters. These will include a hub to house regional headquarters of firms, a financial centre, and areas for precision medicine, international research and development, and future industries such as clean energy and 5G technology, he said.

The residential quarter of the new city will be designed to accommodate 350,000 people by 2032, and generate 200,000 direct jobs, Kanit added. Residents will be mostly those employed in the industrial area, which is set to draw investments of about 2.2 trillion baht over the next 5 years, he said.

“The new city will be livable for the new generation of people as well as operate as business centres,” Kanit said. “We created this new project to compensate for the income Thailand lost during the pandemic.” 

The new city with its business centres can add an estimated 2 trillion baht to Thailand’s gross domestic product within 10 years, and the value of assets after a 50-year concession period will see a fivefold jump, the government said in a statement.

Prayuth’s government has touted the Eastern Economic Corridor — a development project whose goals include urbanisation, spurring advanced industries and adding infrastructure — to bolster the nation’s pace of economic growth that lags behind neighbours such as Indonesia and Vietnam.

The Eastern Economic Corridor comprises 3 provinces that historically have been the country’s manufacturing hub and currently contributes as much as one-fifth of the Thai economy. Its output is growing 6-7 per cent each year, faster than the rest of the country, officials said. BLOOMBERG

Source : THE BUSINESS TIMES