資訊

1 Alibaba keen for more Ascend Money

November 2, 2016 (Bangkok Post) -- A financial affiliate of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. seeks to acquire an additional 10% stake in Thailand’s Ascend Money by 2018 after buying a 20% stake in August. If the deal is done, Ant Small & Micro Financial Services Group, known as Ant Financial, will hold a combined 30% stake in the Thai financial services company. “The deal is to synergise collaboration to cash in on Southeast Asia’s unbanked population,” said Punnamas Vichitkulwongs, chief executive of Ascend Group. “We aim to become a key player in digital financial services in the region.” Eric Jing, chief executive of Ant Financial, said that the partnership creates a win-win resolution for both companies as it can bring a greater variety of convenient financial services to small and micro-sized companies as well as individual consumers.

2 China 2016 Asian International Stamps Exhibition to kick off next month

November 2, 2016 (China Daily) -- China State Post Bureau announced today in Beijing that the China 2016 Asian International Stamps Exhibition will kick off early next month (December 2-6) in Nanning, provincial capital of South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The exhibition includes a stamp competition as well as cultural and economic exchange events among different countries. Organizers disclosed that more than dozens of countries and regions will take part. Guangxi is the hub that links China and Southeast Asia. “Stamp is the window to different countries and cultures. We want to prompt the communication between Guangxi and Southeast Asia,” said Yang Limin, chairman of All-China Philatelic Federation (ACPF), founded in 1982, a member of Inter-Asia Philatelic Federation (FIAP).

3 China sends satellite, upper stage craft into orbit

November 3, 2016 (Xinhua) -- China on Thursday sent a payload combination of a satellite and an upper stage aircraft into space with the latest heavy-lift Long March-5 carrier rocket. In its maiden flight, the rocket blasted off at the Wenchang Space Launch Center in south China’s Hainan Province at around 8∶43 p.m. on Thursday Beijing Time. Shijian-17, developed by China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, is a satellite for verifying new technology in geostationary orbit, the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence said. China Satellite Communications Corporation will run communication and broadcast services through the satellite, and verify technology in observation of space debris, new electric sources, and electric propulsion. The Yuanzheng-2 is China’s largest liquid-fuel upper stage aircraft with the strongest capability for orbit transfer.

4 Vietnam to grant e-visa for int’l tourists on trial basis in 2 years

November 4, 2016 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam will grant e-visa to international tourists on trial basis in two years of 2017-2018, said Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) on Friday. Following that, all procedures from applying files, reviewing and announcing visagranting result will be carried out on the Internet. The visa fee payment will be made via banking transactions to improve financial transparency and facilitate the application of visitors, said VNAT chief Nguyen Van Tuan at a press conference held in Vietnam’s capital Hanoi on Friday. The time to review and grant e-visa is three days while the duration of a visa is 30 days. In the first ten months of 2016, Vietnam welcomed more than 8.07 million international tourists, up 25.4 percent year-on-year.

（Source: Xinhuanet.com）

5 China, Malaysia to work closely on infrastructure

November 4, 2016 (China Daily) -- China and Malaysia agreed on Thursday that bilateral ties are in their best period ever, and that cooperation in the long term will be sought on regional infrastructure projects. Malaysian Prime Minister Najib, who arrived in Beijing on Tuesday for a six-day trip, described his visit as "extremely successful". Malaysia is ready to boost cooperation with China in the fields of investment, transportation and port construction, he added. Najib and his Chinese counterpart, Premier Li Keqiang, witnessed the signing of a dozen deals including the purchase of four patrol ships and loans for the construction of a planned railway line in Malaysia.

6 China-funded reforestation effort slated for Magwe, Myanmar

November 7, 2016 (Myanmar Times) -- To combat the effects of illegal logging and deforestation, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation will partner with China to implement a new ecological project in Magwe Region, said Union Minister U Ohn Win. The Chinese-Myanmar Friendship Forest project was launched in Yangon on October 30. China plans to put forward 500 million kyat to help rebuild the cooperative forest at the Ngamin Reserved Forest in Taungdwingyi township, Magwe Region. According to Chinese ambassador Hong Liang, the initial Chinese input is set to fund the replanting of 42,000 trees over 120 acres by 2017.

7 Philippine president orders police to cancel firearms deal with U.S.

November 7, 2016 (Xinhua) -- Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday ordered the Philippine National Police to cancel an arms deal with the United States, saying there is no urgency in acquiring assault rifles at the moment. Duterte said, “I am ordering the police to cancel the order,” referring to the 26,000 assault rifles that have been previously ordered from the United States. Last week, Duterte lashed the United States for threatening to stop the sale of the rifles to the Philippine police due to what the U.S. called human rights concerns. The Philippine president said his country “will just have to look for another source that is cheaper, and maybe as durable and as good as those made from the place we are ordering them,” and “there is no “hurry” to acquire those assault rifles anyway”.

8 Free HIV/AIDS treatment center opens in Lao capital

November 14, 2016 (Xinhua) -- The Lao Ministry of Health recently opened a new unit to treat people living with HIV/AIDS at Mittaphab Hospital in capital Vientiane, local media reported Monday. The unit comprises patients’ rooms, a laboratory, a counseling room, a pharmacy and other facilities with primary focus of providing patients with advice on sexually transmitted infections (STI), HIV/AIDS, reproductive health, and other related issues, according to local Vientiane Times on Monday. Currently, there are 10 units that treat HIV/AIDS free of charge across Laos. Some 11,000 people are estimated to carry the HIV infection in Laos. Fully 7,000 of them have not received treatment and 100 have recently died. Over 4,000 people living with HIV, including 227 children, have received treatment with antiretroviral drugs, said the report.