AEC Feed

Germany has committed 800,000 euros (Bt30.7 billion) for the Lao Access to Finance Fund to strengthen capacity-building and training of the Bank of Laos and partner banks.
The grant was provided through Germany’s KfW Development Bank.
The handover ceremony took place on Tuesday at the bank in the presence of Director-General of the Banking Operation Department Fongchinda Sengsourivong, KfW country director Lorenz Gessner and a representative of the Finance Ministry.
“The additional grant for the Lao Access to Finance Fund will further strengthen the banks’ capacity and quality participating in the fund, which will have in turn positive effects on the overall services provided by the banks to the private sector in order to develop and expand,” she said. – Vientiane Times

Changi Airport hopes retail hub will fly for visitors

When it opens its doors in early 2019, Changi Airport’s lifestyle and retail hub Jewel is set to be a tourist attraction in its own right. A tourist destination in its own right, it will have attractions aimed at both locals and travellers.
You will be able to walk through its indoor gardens, bounce on its nets and see children lose themselves in its mazes.
Thrill-seekers will be able to walk along a bridge suspended 23 metres from the ground and jump on a 250m-long bouncing net, which at its highest point will be suspended 8m, or three storeys, above ground. There will also be slides and walking trails amid simulated clouds.
The attractions are part of a 14,000-square-metre Canopy Park, the size of 11 Olympic-size swimming pools, located on the top floor of Jewel, which is being built in front of Terminal 1.
Jewel Changi Airport – a joint venture of Changi Airport Group and CapitaLand Mall Asia – will boast one of the largest indoor collections of plants in Singapore. 
About half of the greenery will be housed in Canopy Park, which will have 1,400 trees and palms. – The Straits Times

Mekong forum promotes sustainable tourism

Around 350 representatives of states, international organisations and the private sector from the Greater Mekong Subregion, Asia-Pacific and the UN World Tourism Organisation are attending a tourism forum in Luang Prabang.
The Mekong Tourism Forum, opened on Wednesday by Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism Bosengkham Vongdara, provides a cooperative platform for public and private sector stakeholders in the tourism industry to discuss the development, marketing and promotion of travel within the GMS while also monitoring sustainable and responsible tourism growth.
The GMS consist of Laos, Cambodia, China, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.
Professor Bosengkham said on Wednesday that the GMS has a high potential for its tourist attractions to be further developed as colourful, high-quality destinations through the uniqueness of customs and traditions of GMS countries.
“In this connection, the forum will provide a great opportunity for not only government agencies but also all relevant organisations in the tourism industry to discuss, exchange and share experiences and ideas in order to explore more potential collaborations,” he said. – Vientiane Times

Philippines eases Qatar worker restrictions

The Philippine Department of Labour and Employment has announced the partial lifting of the deployment suspension of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to Qatar.
Labour Secretary Silvestre Bello, however, clarified that the suspension was lifted only for workers with overseas employment certificates and those returning to their jobs in Qatar.
A OEC is a document issued by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) to OFWs before they are allowed to work abroad.
Those with pending applications are still not allowed to be deployed, he said, adding that the POEA has suspended the processing of workers bound for Qatar.
According to Bello, the lifting of the suspension came after the crisis committee, which he formed to monitor the situation in Qatar, made the recommendation after getting updates from the Philippine Overseas Labour Office in Qatar. “They reached a consensus to lift the temporary suspension until further assessment of the situation in Qatar,” he said. 
Qatar has been caught up in diplomatic row with its neighbours led by Saudi Arabia. – Philippine Daily Inquirer