Vietnam, Philippines heat up LNG demand in Southeast Asia

JAKARTA/MANILA -- Vietnam and the Philippines have begun importing liquefied natural gas, part of a wider trend in Southeast Asia that has turned the region into a major market as countries embrace the fuel as an alternative to coal.

On Monday, a ship carrying Vietnam's first imports of LNG docked at the Thi Vai LNG terminal in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau. The shipment consisted of 70,000 tonnes of Indonesian LNG purchased by state-run PetroVietnam Gas.