As Thailand gradually transforms into an ageing society, the potential economic and social burden of retiring workers is one issue that is likely to be on the minds of many employees, employers, and policymakers.New amendments to Thailand’s Labor Protection Act have addressed this issue by introducing a retirement regime for the Thai private sector employees, placing severance obligations on employers, enhancing protection for employees, and creating a more effective framework for enforcement of labour laws.

On May 25, 2018, the new Law on Intellectual Property No. 38/NA, dated November 15, 2017 (the “New IP Law”), was officially published on the electronic Lao official gazette. The New IP Law will be effective 15 days after its publication. The New IP Law replaces the Law on Intellectual Property No. 01/NA, dated December 20, 2011. 

The National Committee on Minimum Wage issued Notification 2/2018 (the Notification) on May 14, 2018, which enters into force on the same date and sets the new minimum wage in Myanmar to be MMK 600 (approximately USD 0.45) per hour and MMK 4,800 (approximately USD 3.6) per eight-hour workday, irrespective of the type or location of work. This new minimum wage increase does not apply to small and family-owned businesses with less than 10 employees.

Over the past several months, the Lao government has been introducing a number of measures aimed at promoting foreign investment, including implementing Notification No. 2633/Cabinet/MOIC to abolish minimum registered capital requirements for certain foreign investors, and enacting the new Law on Investment Promotion No. 14/NA (LIP) to facilitate investments among both domestic and international private investors.   

The Medical Facility Act B.E. 2541 (1998) (also known as the Sanatorium Act) was recently amended by the Medical Facility Act (No. 4) B.E. 2559 (2016) which introduced a number of changes to Thailand’s regulation of private medical facilities, e.g. private clinics and hospitals, including those performing plastic surgery. Some of the most notable changes lie in the amended Section 38, which concerns advertisements. Previously, an advertisement for a medical facility was regulated post-publication and did not require any prior approval.

Food regulations issued by the Indonesia National Agency of Drug and Food Control (NADFC) are known to be dynamic and prone to change, and the regulations concerning food registration were amended again in late 2017 through the issuance of the Head of NADFC Regulation No. 27 of 2017, which came into force on January 8, 2018.Clarification and Codification of Current Practice

As a rapidly developing country, there is an ever-growing demand for electricity in Cambodia. Unfortunately, electricity in Cambodia is still relatively costly in comparison to its regional neighbors, which affects the competitiveness of companies operating in the country. However, many companies have noticed that Cambodia’s climate is well-suited for solar energy and are moving toward the use of solar energy to satisfy their demand for sustainable electricity at lower prices.