The Quincea?era Collection announced recent successful trunk show events at two authorized retailers. Quincea?era dresses from the spring 2013 collection were on display in Illinois at Three J Formalwear and Ducky’s Formal Wear. A number of the collection’s top-selling styles were featured at the trunk shows, including Quincea?era Collection style 26719. With elegant embroidery and a full, cascading ruffled skirt in metallic organza fabric, this Quincea?era dress is available in pink, gold,

Inside a gleaming white-and-blue garment factory in Cambodia stand rows of second-hand Singers — weathered sewing machines transported from a plant in China that closed last year. The Hong Kong-headquartered Top Form, which has 700 workers at the plant, is one of many businesses that have moved to Cambodia, mostly from China, in the past year or so to take advantage of its lower wages, which are roughly a third of those in China. Double-digit wage increases in China and a shortage of labo

The Cabinet yesterday approved 16 measures aimed at helping owners of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) affected by the Bt300 daily minimum wage, said Finance Minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong. Key among the measures is an increase in the profit ceiling for tax exemption, from Bt150,000 to Bt300,000 per annum, which will benefit around 210,000 SMEs at a cost to state revenue of Bt2.8 billion, said Kittiratt. Another key policy, which proposed reducing SMEs' withholding tax from 3 to 2 per

To achieve the 10 percent export growth target set for the current year, Philippine handicraft industry is eagerly eyeing expansion to some of the emerging markets like Peru, Brazil, Uruguay and some African countries, where they can meet good demand, Philippine Chamber of Handicraft Industries (PCHI) President Dennis Orlina said, GMA News reported. According to Mr. Orlina, there is also good scope for expansion in Russia. Italy and Germany, which have largely escaped the effects of the E

Propylene prices were stable to higher on firm naphtha amid thin trade due to year-end holidays in Asian markets. US propylene producers nominated increases of up to 23% for January, seeking to capitalise on a surge in spot prices in the last few weeks of 2012. The increase came on the heels of unplanned cracker outages last month and the unexpected shutdown of an on-purpose propylene facility in Texas. Acrylonitrile markets market softened as offers fluctuated in a narrow range due to subdued

Asian viscose staple fibre markets saw producers lifting their offers, with some even pushing up offers for the second time in the week. They were reluctant to sell at low prices and were positive about the market, keeping prices firm. Downstream players replenished goods successively after the holiday of New Year. Viscose filament yarn price discussions were mixed as news of low prices was widespread in the market. Offers remained unchanged and the discussion range was flexible. Viscose produ

Workers make clothes at a garment factory outside Hanoi in October 2012. An increase in the minimum wage took effect in Vietnam on Tuesday, Jan. 01, 2013. Photograph: Reuters A new decree that increases the minimum wage of workers in Vietnam will not necessarily lead to companies relocating to Cambodia, according to officials. “The Vietnam government has issued [a] decree, which takes effect from January 1, to adjust the minimum wages paid to workers by enterprises... farms, households,

A worker piles up jute yarn rolls at a factory. Manufacturers of jute products have cut export prices to cope with sluggish demand in the global market.Photo: STARSuman Saha Jute product manufacturers have slashed down the export price to counter the sluggish demand in the global market. The average price of jute products fell by 7.92 percent year-on-year to $1.03 per kilogram in the July-October period of 2012. Bangladesh, which exports jute and jute products to 118 countries, has bee

The Dow Chemical Company (NYS: DOW) today announced that the Company's St. Charles Olefins 2 Plant near Hahnville, La. began producing on-spec ethylene on December 25, 2012, meeting previously announced targets to re-start the plant by year-end 2012. "The start-up of our St. Charles ethylene plant represents the first major milestone within our U.S. Gulf Coast investment strategy," said Brian Ames, president, Dow Olefins, Aromatics and Alternatives. "This action further reduces the company's pu