The Asean Morning News Roundup presents a selection of reports on what has been happening overnight and this morning around the Asean Economic Community (AEC).

RCEP members ramp up talks as TPP flops

Shortly after the US withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), senior officials of the 16-member Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) have vowed to step up talks, pledging to conclude modalities for trade in goods liberalisation by the middle of this year.

– Bangkok Post

Sar Kheng Fires 3 Police Officers Implicated in Beating Death“

Interior minister Sar Kheng fired three police officers in Kandal province following their alleged involvement in the beating of two men in October.

– The Cambodia Daily (paywall)

Railway links construction date set

A construction of Phnom Penh International Airport-Phnom Penh Special Economic Zone (PPSEZ) is to be set on March 2018 following a meeting between Ministry of Public Works and Transport with the French Development Agency ñ Agence Francaise de Developpement (AFD) ñ Royal Railway, State Secretariat of Civil Aviation, Cambodia Airports, and PPSEZ last Thursday.

– Khmer Times

Pesticides pose risk to workers, research finds

A new study conducted and published by a group of health researchers last month confirmed that Cambodian migrant workers in Thailand are saddled with health problems due to exposure to pesticides and lack of using personal protective equipment when working on farms.

– The Phnom Penh Post

Cambodia Against “Internationalization of Rohingya Crisis

Prime Minister Hun Sen declares his view on Rohinya crisis emphasizing that he is against the attempt to internationalize the on going crisis, considering it is an internal issue of Myanmar.

– The Cambodia Daily (paywall)

Indonesia adopts cautious stance on US new trade policy

Indonesiaís central bank gave its strongest signal yet that it may be done with cutting interest rates as it adopts a cautious stance with the US Federal Reserve set to tighten further and president Donald Trump pursuing a new trade policy.

– The Star Online

Indonesia and Africa: Beyond the Bandung Spirit

At the 2014 World Economic Forum, the global managing director of McKinsey and Company spoke of a continent that ìrepresents our fastest-growing region in the world.î He said ìif you want to be relevant, you need to be in this part of the world.î If one was to guess the region being referred to, chances are many would get it wrong, as the answer was Africa.

– The Jakarta Post

Indonesia, US fight against intolerance

Indonesians are right to be wary of United States President Donald Trumpís executive order on immigration, which temporarily bans travel and immigration by people from seven Muslim-majority countries. Indonesia is not one of the seven countries affected and it is wholly possible that President Trump will never issue a travel or immigration ban that directly affects Indonesian citizens.

– The Jakarta Post

ADB to support health security in Laos, Mekong region

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Lao government have signed an agreement for a 12 million-U.S. dollar loan and grant package from 2017 to 2022, to bolster health security in 12 provinces of Laos and the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS).

– Xinhua English News

CIMB Research retains Add for Malaysia Airports after concession extended

CIMB Equities Research is negotiating with the cabinet for the approval of the 35 years extension of the Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB).

– The Star Online

Strengthen country’s resilience, Najib tells civil servants

Effective and on-time implementation of government projects will strengthen the country’s resilience, Prime Minister Najib Razak told civil servants.

– The Star Online

And now for a Bangkok-KL high-speed railway line

Thailand ís Transport Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisiht expects to meet with this Malaysian counterpart on the construction of a 1,500km Kuala Lumpur-Bangkok high-speed railway (HSR).

– Free Malaysia Today

PepsiCo Supports Economic Development in Myanmar

Partnerships with UNESCO and Positive Planet and an expanding agriculture program are helping PepsiCo play a positive role in Myanmar’s growth.

Sanjeev Chadha, CEO, PepsiCo Asia, Middle East and North Africa, and Adel Garas, President, PepsiCo Asia Pacific, reconfirmed PepsiCo’s focus on promoting economic development in Myanmar during a visit to the country on February 1-3, 2017.

– Yahoo Finance

Serge Pun optimistic on real estate demand

For much of the last two years, things seemed not to have gone well for the real estate sector. Amid the chorus of caution and anxieties, however, some still chant optimism ñ Serge Pun seems to be rather assured with the outlook of the market demand.

– Myanmar Times

Lump sum rent a growing problem for tenants

As rents in the commercial capital rise, the longstanding arrangement of paying six monthsí or even a yearís rent upfront is increasingly a burden to Yangonís residential and business tenants.

– Myanmar Times

Foreign businessmen fear for their safety

Foreign businessmen in the country are beginning to doubt the ability of local authorities to ensure their safety, following reports that high-ranking police were behind the kidnap-slay of Korean businessman Jee Ick-joo at police headquarters in Camp Crame last October.

– Philippine Star

Gov’t liabilities at end-2016 still above P6T on fluctuating peso

The weaker peso toward yearend kept the national government’s outstanding debt above the P6-trillion level at the end of 2016, the latest Bureau of Treasury data showed.

– Philippine Daily Inquirer

Moody’s unit sees sustained growth in Phl factory output

Factory output continued to post a double digit growth in December, but at a slightly slower pace than in the preceding month due to a slowdown in food production, a unit of Moodyís Corp. said in a report.

– Philippine Star

Philippines-China dev’t plan seen completed in February

THE GOVERNMENT is set to complete the Philippine-China development plan in time for the official visit of the Chinese delegation later this month, said the country’s Finance chief.

– BusinessWorld Online

S’pore shipyards ‘valued for expertise and track record’

Shipyards here remain prized for their expertise in shipbuilding despite the beaten-down market.

– The Straits Times

SkillsFuture Singapore’s goal for 2017: Reach more Singaporeans

Improving its outreach to more Singaporeans is among SkillsFuture Singaporeís priorities this year. The newly-formed statutory board, which aims to provide Singaporeans with the opportunities to develop their fullest potential through life ñ regardless of their starting point ñ saw 380,000 Singaporeans benefit from programmes under the SkillsFuture movement last year, 30,000 more than the year before.

– Channel NewsAsia

Brightening IPO market – chance for SGX to get new investors

Things are beginning to look up in the Singapore initial public offering (IPO) market.

– The Straits Times

Health officials on alert for haze in the North

Amid threats to the health of people and the economy from the smog, the Public Health Ministry is now on alert as local residents in many northern provinces have reported seeing air pollution in their hometowns.

– The Nation

Agencies to band together in corruption case

The country’s anti-graft agencies assigned to investigate the Rolls-Royce bribery case will meet on Thursday to share information in the case and mull whether to take legal action against those involved in the bribery.

– Bangkok Post

Phuket hospitals rejecting migrant workers’ insurance

Some women are forced to abandon their babies at hospitals as they’re being denied universal health coverage.

– The Nation

Govt operations to clean canals is money down the drain

The Office of the Attorney-General (OAG) has called on Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha to investigate efforts by state agencies to eradicate water weeds from canals after it was found their operations were not in line with their allocated budgets.

– Bangkok Post

Sansiri plans aggressive marketing push abroad

LISTED PROPERTY firm Sansiri plans to open two new sales offices in China – in Shenzhen and Guangzhou – and expand into Japan and the Middle East, especially Dubai, to drive the value of purchases from foreign buyers to Bt7.5 billion this year.

– The Nation

Family Man Shoots Teen Dead After Parking Dispute

A teen boy was shot dead Saturday after he and his friend attacked a 50-year-old man over a parking conflict.

– Khaosod English

In 2016, Singapore was the largest FDI provider in Vietnam with an investment of US$ 416 million

As of January 20, registered capital totalled over US$ 1.4 billion, representing a year-on-year growth of 6.6%, reported the General Statistics Office (GSO).

– Adalidda

FDI sector reports trade surplus of 1.8 billion USD in January

Vietnam’s trade deficit rose by $100 million in the first month of the year after witnessing a trade surplus of billions of dollars in 2016, according to the statistics of the General Statistics Office (GSO).

– VietMaz

Agriculture sees lowest growth in five years

The agricultural sector is expected to grow 2.21 percent in 2015, a drop of 1.4 percent over 2014 and the lowest rise in five years, said Nguyen Thi Hong, head of the Agriculture and Rural Development Ministry’s Planning Department, at a press conference in Hanoi on November 4.

– VietnamPlus

Vietnam nabs another railway official over alleged 0,000 Japanese graft

Vietnamese police detained another senior railway official on Thursday for his involvement in an alleged bribery case, in which the leader of a Japanese consultant firm said it had paid over US$780,000 in kickbacks in exchange for an ODA-funded project order in Vietnam.

– Vietnam Breaking News