Cambodia’s exports to ASEAN member countries totaled $1.172 billion in the first quarter, three months of this year, according to the Ministry of Commerce’s data shown Friday (29/04). From January to March this year, Cambodia’s top two export destinations were Vietnam and Thailand, the data said, adding that the Kingdom shipped $759 million worth of products to Vietnam and $318 million to Thailand.           Meanwhile, the country’s imports from ASEAN member countries were valued at $3.168 billion, a 26 percent decrease compared to the same period last year, 2021. The bilateral trade between Cambodia and ASEAN member countries has thus amounted to $4.340 million, a year-on-year decrease of 18 percent. Chea Vannak – AKP Published 11/05/2022 By Ashley Jones

          Global food prices hit a record high in February, climbing 24% higher than where they were at the same period a year previous, following a 4% month-on-month rise. The European Central Bank has already updated its inflation forecast for the year, now expecting inflation for 2022 to reach 5.1%. It flagged that energy prices are expected to remain high and that other commodities including food and metals “might also be severely affected by the conflict given the role of Russia and Ukraine in global supplies of these commodities.           There are many components to increasing food prices, such as energy, and labor costs, the cost for the machinery, the cost for the transport, the cost for the branding, the packaging of the products. Furthermore, food prices are set internationally and with Ukraine and Russia both pulling their exports for now this will continue to have an impact. How long the impact will be will depend on the length of the war and the state of the infrastructure once the dust settles.

European Union member states agreed, dated April 8, to ban the provision of high-value crypto-asset services to Russia as part of a fifth measure of sanctions imposed in response to the Ukraine war. According to a statement made by the Council of the EU, which represents national governments within the union, the measures have the implications of  a prohibition on deposits to crypto wallets. Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank, recently warned that crypto was being used to avoid sanctions, despite the lack of evidence. In an FAQ posted on April 4, the committee said crypto was already included in existing asset freezes, and on March 9, broadened the definition of “transferable securities” to include virtual assets. Published 12/04/2022 By Ashley Jones

On March 14, 2022, the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee (ECON) decided to reject the use of “proof of work” regarding the mining of cryptocurrencies on the European Commission’s proposal regarding the Markets in Crypto-assets (MiCA) that well known as Bitcoin and Ethereum. In addition, MiCA was voted in order to conduct a “Proposed Regulation”. Additionally, One of the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee (ECON) mentioned that Proof-of-Work mining may be considered by some to be potentially environmentally damaging, using a large amount of energy rather than using it for public uses. Additional amendments have been made to limit proof-of-work usage, which uses tremendous amounts of energy. Simultaneously, Stefan Berger, one of the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee (ECON), took issue with another the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee (ECON) that he didn’t believe that MiCA would be able to be assisted in technology together with energy use since the main objective  of MiCA aimed only at Crypto-assets. On March 23, 2022,  the European Parliament published the text of a report adopted on March 14, 2022, which the draft Proposed

Ever since last year’s deposition of the civilian government by the military, Myanmar’s economy has been suffering. There were cash shortages, sharp increases in the prices of consumer goods, and a rapidly descending value of the Myanmar Kyat (MMK). Myanmar’s military administration is moving to intensify its control over movements of foreign currency due to the effect of Western sanctions, particularly those from the U.S. The declaration, dated April 3 and published in state media on April 4, was announced that the Central Bank of Myanmar (CBM) ordered banks and other holders of foreign currency exchange earned by locals in Myanmar to deposit in accounts at licensed banks and exchange for kyats within one working day. It added that “failure to comply with this notice will result in legal action under the Foreign Exchange Management Law.” There were concerns of speculators about being able to access their deposited savings and how much could be withdrawn. Some speculators said “If we can’t withdraw, everything we earn will be stuck in the bank,” said some speculators. Moreover, there has yet to be