Thailand GDP expands 7.5% on year in Q2; outlook grim
BANGKOK -- Thailand's gross domestic product grew 7.5%, year on year, during the three months to June, its first expansion in six quarters, Thai government's economic planning agency said Monday, although the outlook remains grim due to the outbreak of the delta variant.
The growth largely reflects a rebound from last year's sharp decline. During the entire second quarter, Thailand battled a third wave of the pandemic. But until late June, Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha's government
Sudden death of my father: Saha Group chairman's story (21)
Boonsithi Chokwatana is chairman of Saha Group, Thailand's leading consumer products conglomerate. This is part 21 of a 30-part series .
No one can escape death. I knew this to be true, but the loss of my father Thiam came so suddenly.
On June 29, 1991, many of the Chokwatana family, including my father, were gathered in the resort town of Pattaya in eastern Thailand. My brothers and sisters and I were competing in a golf tournament organized by Siam
Thai coal miner buys gas-fired power plant in US for $430m
BANGKOK -- Thailand's biggest coal miner Banpu has invested $430 million to acquire a 100% stake in a large-scale gas-fired power plant in the U.S., hurrying to move away from its main business, which has a large environmental impact, to a green business.
The company acquired the power plant in Texas from Temple Generation I and signed the contract on Aug. 10. The transaction is expected to be complete by the fourth quarter of 202
Jokowi says COVID shouldn't hinder Indonesia structural reforms
JAKARTA -- Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo vowed Monday to keep working to reform the nation, even as the COVID-19 pandemic continues the batter Southeast Asia's biggest economy.
Widodo's remarks came in his annual state of the union speech to parliament to commemorate the 76th anniversary of Indonesia's independence. Like last year, only a select group was present in parliament to minimize the risk of infections.
The pandemic prompted an economic contraction last year. And while gross domestic product grew
Hitachi targets market for verifying carbon neutral factories
TOKYO -- Hitachi is developing a system to monitor energy consumption and the use of renewable energy in factories, at a time when verifying greenhouse gas emissions reduction efforts is becoming more important as investors put more focus on companies' green credentials.
The Japanese industrial conglomerate plans to develop and implement a new system to measure and optimize energy use in at least three of its factories this year. The company then hopes to make the system available for other manufacturers and suppliers from 2022.
The system eventually would be a
Afghanistan crisis throws wrench into Biden's effort to focus on China
NEW YORK -- The Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan has thrown U.S. President Joe Biden's effort to focus foreign policy on China into disarray, as criticism of the White House deepens in the face of the Central Asian country's escalating crisis.
The speed of the Islamist militant group's advance and the Afghan military's collapse has shocked many observers in Washington and other western capitals that have just pulled out troops after an almost two decade occupation.
The U.N. Security Council is
Japan GDP rebounds in Q2 with 1.3% annualized growth
TOKYO -- Japan's economy grew 0.3% in April-June from the previous quarter, equal to an annualized pace of 1.3%, the Cabinet Office announced on Monday, as corporate capital spending turned positive despite consumer spending that remained sluggish amid COVID-19.
The first turnaround in two quarters was bigger than an annualized increase of 0.66% that economists had expected. Most of the period between April and June coincided with a state of emergency in Tokyo, Osaka and other
Can Jokowi defy the pandemic to secure his legacy?
JAKARTA -- Indonesia's next presidential election is still two and a half years away, but campaigning to succeed Joko "Jokowi" Widodo is already getting into swing.
The political battles among his allies could further stall Widodo's ambitious reform and infrastructure plans, which have had to take a back seat to his government's attempts to stem the spread of COVID-19 infections that have ripped through Southeast Asia's biggest economy.
"We've started seeing a number of parties and even a number
Afghanistan crisis throws wrench into Biden's effort to focus on China
NEW YORK -- The Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan has thrown U.S. President Joe Biden's effort to focus foreign policy on China into disarray, as criticism of the White House deepens in the face of the Central Asian country's escalating crisis.
The speed of the Islamist militant group's advance and the Afghan military's collapse has shocked many observers in Washington and other western capitals that have just pulled out troops after an almost two decade occupation.
The U.N. Security Council is
America's Afghan misadventure is not Biden's 'Saigon moment'
Lionel Barber is former editor of the Financial Times. He is author of "The Powerful and the Damned: Private Diaries in Turbulent Times."
The unfolding humanitarian tragedy in Afghanistan, where a lightning offensive has overwhelmed government forces, with the Taliban entering Kabul on Sunday and President Ashraf Ghani fleeing the country, carries echoes of the end of the Vietnam War in 1975.
Then as now, a U.S. military intervention ended in a humiliating defeat born of conflicting war aims, a misplaced confidence in
