This kind of fuzzy debt is neither new nor unique to Chinese development financing. Many other countries, including the United States, have been financing infrastructure in Southeast Asia for decades with deals that obfuscate the precise role of the state and its responsibilit
Category: Region
Selected environmental stories from media outlets in the Mekong region and beyond.
Southeast Asia energy policies on track to disaster
ASEAN leaders’ climate change pledges are undeliverable empty promises
Myanmar’s forests under pressure from illegal logging, smuggling
Criminal gangs, with a long history of involvement in illegal logging in Myanmar and across Asia, have become better organized and efficient in harvesting and exporting illegal timber.
Chinese firms claim their bright ideas protect ecosystem in Laos
“We release and stock the fish along the Nam Ou River every year, ” Wang Peng, a PowerChina staff in charge of the Nam Ou reservoir immigration, adding that his company pays attention to the choice of fish, “even if the price is higher, we choose local fish fry, but not foreign species.”
What does the data tell us about electricity pricing in Laos?
Through a variety of data sources an evidence-based picture of electricity pricing and the electricity-generation business in Laos is revealed.
Selected bidders announced for community-based renewable power projects
This initial bid round is for approximately 150MW, to be produced in equal amounts from biomass and biogas resources. Biomass power plants under this scheme cannot be larger than 6MW, and biogas plants may not exceed 3MW.
Carbon neutrality by 2065, vows PM
Gen Prayut promised that the government would try its best to help businesses with their transition to a low carbon economy and ensure that any negative consequences are minimised.
Time to ratify Basel ban on toxic waste
The government has been reluctant because the private sector and some government agencies fear the new rules will affect their thriving recycling factories that rely on the import of foreign scrap materials to boost their margins beyond what is achievable from only taking in local refuse.
Laos-China Railway to open for freight transport before allowing passengers
Lao government still plans to launch the Laos-China Railway in December, but with a focus on freight traffic first, followed by tourist transportation when conditions allow.
Vietnam’s hidden debts to China expose its political risks
Although Vietnam’s Chinese debt burden is low compared to some of its neighbors, it is still a worry for the Communist Party mandarins in Hanoi. So why does Hanoi continue to seek Chinese lending? In part it is a political calculation, hoping that being tied more closely to China will limit Beijing’s bullying and aggression.