Ministers celebrate start of Asean Charter in Jakarta on

By The Nation
Published on December 12, 2008

The region's foreign ministers will gather at the Asean Secretariat in Jakarta on Monday to cel�ebrate the coming into force of the Asean Charter.

"December 15, 2008 will be a momentous day for our community, an occasion for joyous cel�ebration for all peoples of Asean," the group�ing's secretarygeneral Surin Pitsuwan said.

Also planned is a special meeting of the for�eign ministers to discuss the rescheduling of the 14th Asean Summit and other matters.

"The entry into force of the charter is a his�toric milestone for the organisation, reposition�ing Asean to better meet the challenges of the 21st century," Surin said.

"Having the celebration at the Asean Secretariat, the headquarters of Asean, adds to the symbolism of the occasion. I thank the Asean foreign ministers for agreeing to change their schedule on such short notice to grace this event." - The NationThailand expects VN tourists to return

Thai tourism officials said on Tuesday they expected the number of Vietnamese visitors to remain high, despite the recent temporary clo�sure of the country's main airport.

Speaking at a press briefing in Ho Chi Minh City, Pichai Raktasinha, director of HCM City's Tourism Authority of Thailand, said he expect�ed Vietnam's Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday in late January would draw more tourists back to the country.

Pichai said Thailand expected to have a total of 250,000 Vietnamese tourists by yearend.

During the first seven months of the year, 212,000 Vietnamese travelled to Thailand, growth of 68 per cent compared to the same period last year, according to the official.

"The recent incident at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport did not cause any harm to tourists, but of course there was some impact. But the situation is back to normal and visitors are able to come to Thailand again," said Pichai.

"It may take weeks or months, but some tour operators tell us they are promoting Thailand for the Tet holiday," he added. - Viet Nam News, Asia News Network

Melewar reduces power expo�sure

Malaysia's Melewar Industrial Group intends to pare down its interest in power assets by about 30 per cent due to the gloomy outlook for the sector.

Group chairman Tunku Yaacob Tunku Abdullah said prospects were not good for the division as the internal rate of returns tended to be low as powergeneration assets were expensive.

"We are looking for potential partners now as we feel it is time to consolidate and reduce exposure in power generation assets," he told reporters after the company AGM on Tuesday.

The group, via wholly owned subsidiary Mperial Power, acquired an additional 25.03percent stake in Thai Siam Power Generation for 36.16 million ringgit (Bt356 million) in cash in July, bringing its total interest in the power project to 95.03 per cent.

Thai Siam Power had been given the concession to build a 450megawatt power plant in Rayong. - The Star, Asia News Network

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Ministers celebrate start of Asean Charter in Jakarta on

The region's foreign ministers will gather at the Asean Secretariat in Jakarta on Monday to cel�ebrate the coming into force of the Asean Charter.

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