Myanmar Business Today - Vol 1, Issue 47

MYANMAR’S FIRST BILINGUAL BUSINESS JOURNALmmbiztoday.com December 26, 2013-January 1, 2014, | Vol 1, Issue 47

Myanmar Summary

Contd. P 6...

In April, the European Union permanently lifted all re-maining economic sanctions

against Myanmar as a reward for the ongoing reforms that have been taking place in the country since a quasi-civilian govern-ment came to power in 2011. This was followed by Myanmar being readmitted into the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) status, allowing Myanmar’s

free access to EU markets on their exports, while last month saw EU High Representative

Policy Catherine Ashton visit

Myanmar Taskforce.The signs are clear. The EU is

pleased with the reforms that continue to take place in a coun-

practically isolated from the in-ternational community. Another important step took place ear-lier this year when Roland Kobia

ever resident Ambassador in Myanmar. He came to Myanmar after having been previously EU Ambassador to Azerbaijan and having spent time in the Private

for Energy as well as seven years in EU delegations in Africa deal-

Oliver Slow

countries.“The message we want to

send is that we support the

since March 2011 and we think this is a historic opportunity for the international community to accompany the reforms and

needed,” Kobia told Myanmar Business Today in an exclusive interview last week. “At the

time, we saw that the reforms seemed to be genuine and we wanted to show that the EU

being made by the new govern-ment in its transition. Political and economic transitions are

welcome,” he said. Speaking of the EU’s overall

role within the country – which began in 1996 with funding pro-jects aimed at development and

has seen more than $500 million in total – Kobia said that the aim is to promote a number of values within the country, including democracy, human rights, rule of law, gender equality, judiciary independence and free market principles. Fundamentally, the EU wants to promote peace, stability and security as the foundations of the ‘New House

Contd. P 6...

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EU Here to Support Myanmar’s Transition: AmbassadorBloc identifi es key areas of engagement as education, rural development, government and capacity building, and peace, says Roland Kobia, EU Ambassador to Myanmar.

EU Ambassador to Myanmar Roland Kobia speaks during an exclusive interview with Myanmar Business Today.

Sherpa H

ossainy

December 26, 2013-January 1, 2014Myanmar Business Today

mmbiztoday.com

2LOCAL BIZ

Myanmar Summary

MYANMAR’S FIRST BILINGUAL BUSINESS JOURNAL

Board of EditorsEditor-in-Chief - Sherpa Hossainy

Deputy Editor - Oliver Slow

Reporters & WritersSherpa Hossainy, Oliver Slow,

Kyaw Min, Shein Thu Aung, Phyu Thit Lwin, Htet Aung,

Su Su, Aye Myat, Daisuke Lon, Yasumasa Hisada

Art & DesignZarni Min Naing (Circle)

DTPMay Su Hlaing

TranslatorsShein Thu Aung, Phyu Maung

AdvertisingTay Zar Zaw Win, Seint Seint Aye, Moe Hsann Pann

Advertising Hotline - 09 7323 6758

Managing DirectorPrasert Lekavanichkajorn

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PhoneEditor - 09 42110 8150

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Designer - 09 7310 5793

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No. 1A-3, Myintha 11th Street,

South Okkalapa Township, Yangon.

Tel: 951-850 0763,

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09421085511

Foreign Trade up 30 percentKyaw Min

Myanmar’s foreign trade posted a rise of $3.65

billion, or 29.7 percent,

over the same period in

to Ministry of Commerce data.

The total trade volume reached $15.92 billion during April to December

which maritime trade ac-counted for $13.28 billion and border trade $2.64 billion.

Exports through sea routes amounted to $5.59 billion while imports recorded $7.7 billion, the

data shows.Myanmar’s main export

items include rice, maize, peas and beans, sesame, rubber, marine products, teak, hard wood, natural gas, jade and garment while import items include dairy products, palm oil, pharmaceutical products, cement, ma-chinery, electronic equip-ment and plastics.

The government has set a total trade target of $25 billion, 80 percent of which are expected from overseas trade and the rest from border trade.

The main exporting destinations for Myanmar in that period were China, India, Thailand, Malay-sia, Vietnam, Singapore,

the UK, the US and the Philippines.

Myanmar has recently signed border trade agreements with India, Thailand, China and Bangladesh in a bid to boost trade.

Govt Calls on Private Sectors to Invest in Electricity

Phyu Thit Lwin

The Ministry of Elec-tric Power has in-

to produce electricity in any part of the country in a bid to tackle the crippling power shortage

statement said.

wants to build hydropow-

are invited to submit ap-plications to the Ministry of Electric Power, the release said.

This is the third time the Ministry of Electric Power has invited private sector for electricity genera-tion. Earlier in June and

September, the ministry invited the private sector to invest in the key sector.

To date, 23 companies have been granted per-mission to generate elec-tricity in 84 townships.

The ministry said inter-ested investors have to mention the details of the proposed project includ-ing the type of the power plant and the location where it will be set up.

The projects that will meet the required stand-ards of environmental and social assessments will be allowed, it added.

Myanmar currently produces overall 3,300 megawatts of electricity. However, production hits a snag during summer

as 70 percent of the production comes from hydropower.

Companies from Indonesia, Japan and South Korea have already shown interest in invest-

Myanmar.

Myanmar Summary

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3December 26, 2013-January 1, 2014

Myanmar Business Todaymmbiztoday.com


mmbiztoday.comLOCAL BIZ 4

JFE Forms Steel JV with Construction Ministry 10,000-tonne steel bridge fabrication plant to be built in Yangon

Japanese steel giant JFE Engineering Corp has established a joint venture

company with the Ministry of Construction in a bid to tap Myanmar’s booming infrastruc-ture construction market, the company said.

The new company, J&M Steel Solutions Co Ltd, has started the construction of a 16-acre new plant in Yangon, JFE said in a statement.

J&M plans to complete the construction of the steel struc-ture fabrication plant, with an annual capacity of 10,000 tonnes in Thaketa township, Yangon, by April 2014, to start its business related to steel bridge design, fabrication and construction, the company said.

In addition to steel bridges, the plant will be capable of making harbour and coastal structures and container cranes, JFE said. The company said it will intro-duce its high quality fabrication technologies to the plant.

The joint venture company will gradually expand the scope of its business to general transportation and logistics in-frastructure development, the Tokyo-based company said.

Several international con-struction companies have been wooing Myanmar to make headway into the Southeast Asian nation’s lucrative con-struction market as it emerges from decades-long isolation and military dictatorship, which left the country direly requiring construction of transportation infrastructure, such as roads and railways, as well as logistics infrastructure, including port terminals.

With J&M receiving orders for projects within Myanmar, the

Sherpa Hossainy

A man walks past a logo of JFE Holdings Inc outside its headquarters in Tokyo.

Toru

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ministry of construction aims to increase the ratio of domesti-cally fabricated steel structures from its current level of about 10 percent.

JFE said it will leverage the joint venture company not only to receive direct project orders, but also as a production base for the expansion of its over-seas steel structure business in Southeast Asia, Middle East and Africa.

engineering expertise to the en-

in addition to the country’s transportation and logistics infrastructure.

The establishment of the joint venture was agreed to between JFE Engineering and the Public Works department under the ministry in February. Proce-dures for the establishment

have since been carried out, and a business licence was granted in November.

The share capital of the JV company is ¥1.2 billion ($11.68 million), where JFE Engineer-ing Corp holds 60 percent stake while the Public Works depart-ment holds the rest.

The company will start with 80-90 employees (about 70 workers) and will increase its human resources up to 210

workers) by April 2014. JFE Engineering opened its

Yangon Branch in 1995 which provides technical support to national companies regard-ing the construction of large bridges. It has been accepting over 200 welding trainees at its Tsu Works since 2002.

It also started an internship training program for students

of the Yangon Technological University this year to train fu-ture infrastructure construction professionals.

JFE Holdings, the parent company of JFE Engineering, was formed in 2002 by the merger of NKK and Kawasaki Steel Corp. At the time, NKK Corp was Japan’s second largest steelmaker and Kawa-saki Steel was the third largest steelmaker.

JFE Holding’s main busi-ness is steel production. It also engages in engineering, ship building and real estate rede-velopment. JFE Holdings is the

world with revenue in excess of $30 billion. JFE Holdings has several subsidiaries including JFE Engineering, JFE Steel and JFE Shoji.

Myanmar Summary

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LOCAL BIZ 5December 26, 2013-January 1, 2014


Myanmar Summary

US Slaps Sanctions on Myanmar Firms over N Korea Arms Trade

Htet Aung

The US government on Tuesday last week imposed

sanctions on three com-panies and one person in Myanmar in its latest

arms trade between the Southeast Asian nation and North Korea.

The Department of Treasury blacklisted Asia Metal Company Ltd, Soe Min Htike Co Ltd, Excel-lence Mineral Manufac-turing Co Ltd as well as Lt Colonel Kyaw Nyunt

working with Myanmar’s Directorate of Defense In-dustries (DDI), a military entity on Washington’s sanctions blacklist since July 2012.

The move entails sanc-tions that bar American citizens from doing busi-ness with those targeted and freeze all of their as-sets under US jurisdiction.

“These actions continue

target those linked to DDI, which has been involved in purchasing military equipment and related material from North Ko-rea,” the Treasury said in a statement.

The Treasury said the move “does not generally target” the Myanmar gov-ernment, as it has agreed to follow through a UN Security Council resolu-tion banning the purchase of military goods from

say Myanmar has cur-tailed the trade, but not ended it.

“The revenues from these continuing military sales directly support North Korea’s illicit activi-ties,” said Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence David Cohen.

“We will continue to target this activity in Burma, and the region, as we work with our inter-national partners to shut down North Korea’s dan-gerous and destabilising weapons proliferation.”

Soe Min Htike was a procurement agent for the DDI, the Treasury said. It and Excellence Mineral worked with North Ko-

material for weapons programs.

Asia Metal constructed buildings and supplied construction materials on a DDI factory compound where the Treasury said about 30 North Koreans were working.

The department added Lt General Thein Htay, the chief of DDI, to its blacklist in July for his involvement in arms deal-ing with Pyongyang.

The military coopera-tion with North Korea was forged during Myanmar’s international isolation. The State Department has said that in late 2008,

visited Pyongyang, they signed a memorandum of understanding with North Korea on assistance to build medium range, liquid-fuelled ballistic missiles.

Washington has eased sanctions on Myanmar and sent back an ambas-sador in response to the reforms undertaken in the Asian nation in the past few years.

The US government imposed fresh sanctions on three companies and one person in Myanmar in its latest effort to choke off alleged arms trade between the Southeast Asian nation and North Korea.

Bobby Y

ip/Reuters

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From page 1...

of Myanmar’ that is being built”.During the EU-Myanmar

Taskforce, which took place in Yangon and Nay Pyi Taw on November 14 and 15, the EU

four priorities for its develop-ment aid to Myanmar for the next years: education, rural development, governance and capacity building, and peace. The EU also used the event to sign agreements with the Myan-mar government on Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), mining and tourism, as well as an EU-Myanmar Business Council and a European Cham-ber of Commerce in Myanmar.

How the international busi-ness community views Myanmar as a place to invest is important as the country continues its reforms, Kobia said.

“Companies from Europe see Myanmar as this big new terri-tory where there are great busi-ness opportunities, so they come here with a great desire to invest. Now, when people come here,

environment compared to Eu-

begin to see various problems that even the government itself recognises,” he said, referring to issues such as high land prices, access to electricity, lack of hu-man resources, the protection of investments and other problems

-nesses interested in beginning operations in Myanmar.

“I’m not a businessman, but I know there’s one thing that businesspeople don’t like, and that is uncertainty. You need to trust where you put your money, and you need to ensure that you will put the money in a basket that is stable, otherwise you fear you can lose that.”

One key area for Myanmar’s development is the Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) market, which makes up for an estimated 90 percent of all com-panies in the country. During the Task Force, the SMART Myan-mar (SMEs for Environmental, Accountability, Responsibility and Transparency) programme was launched, a $2-million pro-ject aimed at helping Myanmar SMEs to develop.

“In any country of the world, SMEs are the backbone of the economy. We want to help [Myan-mar] constitute a strong network of SMEs, therefore constituting a middle class, which in turn will help the country out of poverty.”

He added that the way to help SMEs is to set up a legal frame-

people an incentive to develop a sense of entrepreneurship.

“I’m not an expert in what happened before, but a Socialist economy isn’t the sort of envi-ronment where entrepreneur-

ship is encouraged. So one thing is the legal framework to make it easier for people to start a com-pany, you also need to provide know-how, transfers of technol-ogy and technical assistance. All these things the EU – and other donors, because we’re not the only ones doing this – can do to help create a good business environment.”

Another EU-led programme has seen €10 million ($13.5 mil-lion) pledged to a programme that will train 4,000 Myanmar

-licing and crowd management, another sign, Kobia says, that the EU is serious about its engagement with the country to

“In countries in transition, you need to show the population that politicians are not just talk-ing about changes. People want

the country – they want to feed their children better, they want to send them to better schools, they want less corruption and harassment and they want to see a police force that is there to help them.”

Critics of the programme have claimed that providing Myanmar with riot gear violates a longstanding EU arms em-bargo, but in an earlier press conference, Kobia countered, “the equipment the EU will be providing to the police is only purely defensive, nothing

Shortly following this interview, riots began at a football match in Yangon, when the Myanmar national team was knocked out of the Southeast Asian Games football competition after los-ing to Indonesia. Following the game, supporters began tearing

property and hurling rocks at police. The police’s response has come under some criticism, with

then later acting in a provocative manner – there are reports of

stones back at the rioters. In other incidents, most notably the wave of anti-Muslim attacks that have taken place in parts of the country in the past year, police have been criticised for standing aside as mobs attacked homes and razed entire villages. Kobia says that these sorts of in-cidents show the need for proper training of Myanmar’s police force, but it is work in progress and will take time to change mentalities, he said.

The EU and other govern-ments have been criticised in the past for rewarding the Myanmar government before genuine de-mocracy has reached the coun-try’s citizens. Political prisoners still languish in jails – earlier this year, Thein Sein promised that all would be released by the end of the year, although 41 still remain incarcerated – and ethnic groups are still reporting large-scale abuses, and while Kobia admits that problems remain, overall the country is making progress in this area.

“At the beginning, we believed in this country and we believe in the people; it has so far proven the right thing to do. But we re-main cautious and demanding…

the lifting of sanctions must come with progress, and the GSP is linked to certain benchmarks, with regards to democratisation, human rights and labour laws. So the EU remains vigilant and attentive.”

One area the EU continues to look very closely at is Rakhine state, most notably the plight of the Rohingya people, a Muslim minority group of which thou-

sands have been displaced by violence in the region. Denied citizenship by the government – who see them as illegal ‘Bengali’ immigrants from neighbouring Bangladesh – thousands of Rohingya are languishing in desolate internally displaced person (IDP) camps, unable to leave or to work.

With few options available, many women in the camps are turning to prostitution in order to provide for their families and with men unable to work, domestic violence is reportedly on the rise. It is an issue, Kobia says, that the government and all political and religious leaders must take seriously and deal with.

The EU can only guide the government in addressing the issue, Kobia says, and this can be done by encouraging them to be aware of the dangerous spillover of this issue and to consider how they are viewed internationally.

“It is also a question of reputa-tion. They must show that they are really serious about chang-ing the country. A country that will have the chairmanship of ASEAN, let’s not forget that there are Muslim countries in ASEAN. They must ensure

that they are really committed to dealing with a real problem that is not only a concern at a human rights level, but can also derail part of the transition. It can also have an impact on the business environment … it could

investment.”While some international

observers criticise Myanmar for inaction, Kobia says that he feels

that this is an issue that the gov-ernment is at least looking at.

“What I can see is there have been some attempts [to deal with it]. Thein Sein has been there, he’s met leaders from both [Muslim and Buddhist] sides and some Buddhist lead-ers have been arrested for their role in the violence. He made a political statement calling for peace, so this is all very good.

“But we remain concerned, as it was expressed by the EU and many others in the last UNGA resolution. The EU, the member states of the EU, the international community are all concerned about this issue and I believe that it is not in the interest of Myanmar to let this deteriorate further.”

From page 1...

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“I’m not a businessman, but I know there’s one thing that businesspeople don’t like, and that is

uncertainty. You need to trust where you put your money, and you need to ensure that you will put

the money in a basket that is stable, otherwise you fear you can lose that.”

EU Ambassador to Myanmar presents his credentials to President U Thein Sein.

EE

AS

7December 26, 2013-January 1, 2014LOCAL BIZ Myanmar Business Today

mmbiztoday.com

Myanmar Summary

Yoma Forms JV with Sumitomo to Distribute Hino Trucks in Myanmar

Kyaw Min

Singapore-listed Yoma Strategic Holdings has entered into a

proposed joint venture with Japan’s leading trad-ing house Sumitomo Corp to distribute and service Hino brand trucks and buses in Myanmar, Yoma said.

The proposed joint venture, subject to the approval of relevant authorities, is expected to be 60 percent owned by Sumitomo Corp, 20 percent by Elite Matrix, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Yoma Strategic, and 20 percent by First Myanmar Investment, a subsidiary of Serge Pun & Associates (Myanmar) (SPA).

Yoma Strategic said its involvement in this joint venture will serve to further broaden the company’s burgeoning automotive interests in Myanmar.

“This collaboration with Sumitomo Corp is but the latest in a long partner-ship history between Sumitomo Corp and the SPA group of companies,”

cant range of operations in Myanmar, said.

Hino Motors, a Toyota Motor Corp company, is the largest manufacturer of heavy- and medium-duty trucks in Japan, with sizeable market shares in

Southeast Asia and Aus-tralia. Worldwide sales of Hino-brand products amount to 130,000 vehi-cles annually. In Japan, Hino is widely preferred for heavy, medium and increasingly, light duty trucks.

Andrew Rickards, Yoma Strategic’s chief executive,

the prospects of its part-nership with Sumitomo Corp to distribute and service Hino brand trucks and buses in Myanmar.

“We have seen demand for robust trucks with good load capacity grow in tandem with the economy and with the continued improvements to infra-structure, we expect this momentum to sustain,” Rickards said.

Rickards said demand for long-distance coach services is also likely to increase, particularly for travel between major cities, as urbanisation continues and tourism

“Many major vehicle manufacturers are now eyeing the Myanmar market at the back of the vehicle demand growth spurt. We believe that this is a right step for us in

our automotive portfolio, in line with our longer term plans to become a

automotive industry in

Myanmar,” Rickards added.

Yoma’s business in-terests range from real

estate and agriculture to automotive and luxury tourism in Myanmar and China. Together with its partner, the SPA Group, the group said it’s taking a conglomerate approach

portfolio of businesses in Myanmar.

Listed in Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya and Fukuoka stock exchanges, Su-mitomo engages in a wide range of businesses that fall in industries includ-ing media, resources and transportation systems. Incorporated in 1919, it has an established presence in 116 locations including 65 overseas and 24 in Japan.

A Hino 300 series truck.

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Myanmar Summary

Myanmar, Cambodia Ink Visa Exemption Treaty

Myanmar and Cambodia have agreed on mu-tual visa exemption for

holders of ordinary passports.The agreement on the move

was signed by Deputy Foreign Minister U Tin Oo Lwin and Cambodian Ambassador to Myanmar Sieng Burvuthin in Nay Pyi Taw.

The signing was aimed at strengthening existing relations

procedures of citizens travelling between the two countries.

In February 2011, Myan-mar established air link with Cambodia with its Myanmar Airways international (MAI)

Siem Reap, an ancient city in Cambodia.

to reach Phnom Penh, capital of Cambodia, in November 2011.

The airline’s extension to Phnom Penh has created a long-term cooperation between Cambodia and Myanmar on tourist, culture, trade and in-

The direct air link between Myanmar and Cambodia was introduced after the 4th Ay-eyarwady Chaophraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strat-egy (ACMECS) Summit and 5th

CLMV Summit in November 2010 which was aimed at de-veloping tourist industry in the subregion.

The Philippines and Myanmar also signed a visa-free agree-ment during the state visit of

President U Thein Sein in the Philippines this month, while in October a visa exemption agree-ment for ordinary passport holders was signed by Vietnam and Myanmar. Myanmar and Laos signed a reciprocal 14-day visa exemption for ordinary passport holders in 2006.

In October, the Thai cabinet also approved a draft proposal to waive entry visa requirement for Thai and Myanmar citizens, making short-term visits by air.

During a parliamentary ses-sion this August, deputy minis-ter Tin Oo Lwin said Myanmar will try to sign visa exemptions with other ASEAN countries in

Myanmar signed an agree-ment with Cambodia, Indo-nesia, and Philippines in June during the World Economic Forum to develop a smart visa system for the development of tourism in the region.

Kyaw Min

Tourists ride an elephant past the ruins of Cambodia’s Bayon temple in Siem Reap.

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First Myanmar-Hosted ASEAN FM Meeting Set for

January

Tforeign ministers meet-ing of the Association

of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has been set for Janu-ary 17 next year in Myanmar’s Bagan in Mandalay region.

At the ASEAN FM meeting, Myanmar Foreign Minister U Wunna Maung Lwin will present the prioritised tasks to be undertaken by the regional

-

Foreign Ministry said.The ASEAN FM meeting

will help promote tourism and bring more foreign investment into the country, U Aung Htoo, director general of the depart-ment, said.

In 2011, ASEAN leaders at their summit approved Myan-mar to take the ASEAN chair in 2014, which was taken over by Myanmar from Brunei on October 10 at the 23rd ASEAN summit held in Bandar Seri Begawan.

During Myanmar’s one-year term of the ASEAN chairman-ship, more than 240 regional meetings are scheduled to be held in Nay Pyi Taw, Yangon, Mandalay and Bagan.

ASEAN adopted its Vi-sion-2020 in 1997 and is striv-

Kyaw Min ing to establish the ASEAN Community in 2015.

Myanmar became an ASEAN member in 1997.

ASEAN comprises ten mem-ber countries – Brunei Darus-salam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Phil-ippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Myanmar Summary

Myanmar Sees More Than 300,000 Visitors in

Seven Months

Myanmar saw a total of 318,543 tourists visiting the country in

Of the travellers, 107,750 came by air, data shows.

The number of tourist arrival is expected to increase at the end of this year as many foreign visitors are visiting Myanmar to attend the 27th Southeast Asian Games.

Myanmar targets 2 million tourist arrivals in 2013 and up to 3 million in 2014.

In 2012, the number of tourist arrival reached 1.02 million, an increase of 200,000 compared

-ing reforms in Myanmar.

Authorities also granted visa-

Kyaw Min on-arrival for visitors from 48 countries in a bid to lure more visitors.

Myanmar Summary

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Myanmar Summary

Contd. P 26...


Southeast Asia Opium Production Poverty pushing Myanmar opium output higher

Led by a 13 percent increase in Myan-mar opium cultiva-

tion to 57,800 hectares (from 51,000ha in 2012), opium poppy cultivation in Southeast Asia’s Gold-en Triangle of Myanmar, Laos and Thailand rose for the seventh consecu-tive year, according to a

Crime (UNODC) report released last week.

The UNODC report, Southeast Asia Opium Survey 2013 – Lao PDR, Myanmar, said despite

yields combined with a rise in cultivation saw Myanmar opium produc-tion increase 26 percent in 2013 to an estimated 870 tonnes – the highest since assessments by UNODC and the Myanmar govern-ment began in 2002.

While production of opium poppy – a key ingredient in the produc-tion of heroin and various other illegal drugs – ap-

in Laos and remains low in Thailand, the survey shows increased produc-tion in Myanmar has caused the entire region’s production levels to more than double since 2005.

In 2013, Lao PDR and Myanmar produced 893 tonnes of opium – 18 percent of global opium production – a 22 percent increase from 2012, and 2.7 times more than in 2005 when they produced 326 tonnes.

A 15-year plan developed by the Myanmar govern-ment in 1991 helped reduce production levels for most of the 1990s and early 2000s, but since 2006 production has steadily increased.

clear that we need to step

root causes of cultivation and promote alternatives to poppy growing,” said Jeremy Douglas, UNODC regional representative, Southeast Asia and the

“We need to act quickly. The Golden Triangle is the geographic centre

Shein Thu Aung

of the Greater Mekong Sub-region, and plans are well underway to expand transport and infrastruc-ture and lower trade bar-riers and border controls across the region. The organised criminal net-

Southeast Asia’s illicit drug trade are well posi-tioned to take advantage of regional integration,” Douglas said.

The resurgence in cul-tivation and production may be fuelled by a rise in demand for opiates in lo-cal and regional markets, says UNODC. In Myan-mar and Lao PDR, the use of heroin, opium and synthetic drugs remains high – and was “much higher” in poppy-growing villages.

Myanmar is Southeast Asia’s largest opium poppy-growing country and the world’s second largest after Afghanistan. Shan State remains the centre of Myanmar’s opi-um activities, accounting for 92 percent of opium poppy cultivation, with the rest located mainly in Kachin state. In Lao PDR, the UNODC survey

cultivation in the three

northern provinces of Phongsali, Xiangkhoang and Houaphan.

The increase raises concerns among develop-ment agencies and gov-ernments that not enough is being done to provide alternative employment options to poppy farm-ers and improve liveli-hoods in impoverished Myanmar.

Myanmar is the poorest in Southeast Asia accord-ing to the World Bank, and opium cultivation is a major source of income for many farming fami-lies, says the UNODC.

UNODC said surveys of farmers in Golden Triangle poppy-growing villages show that money from poppy cultivation is essential for villagers threatened with food insecurity and poverty.

“Our survey shows a strong link between poverty and poppy cultivation,” said Jason Eligh, UNODC Myanmar Country Manager.

“Opium farmers are not bad people, they are poor people. Money made from poppy cultivation is an essential part of

Contd. P 21...

MasterCard Adds $25,000 to Train Women Entrepreneurs in Rural Myanmar

MasterCard & Mercy Corps program sees an average 218pc increase in partici-pant knowledge of key business and fi nancial concepts

Kyaw Min

Dam

ir Sagolj/R

euters

American payment network giant MasterCard said

women entrepreneurs

funding to support busi-ness literacy initiatives in rural Myanmar.

The additional $25,000 in funding from Master-Card will go towards the expansion of the busi-ness literacy program with Mercy Corps called Business and Financial Literacy for Success.

The program educates small farmers and house-holds on basic business skills and money manage-ment practices.

MasterCard said the grant will allow Mercy Corps to provide the second phase of training, which will include in-depth and targeted busi-ness advisory services, mentoring and links to

women entrepreneurs in the delta region start or expand their businesses.

“This partnership be-tween MasterCard and Mercy Corps has already seen more than 1,200 farmers and entrepre-neurs, the latter of whom are mainly women, ben-

of the Mercy Corps train-ing,” Matthew Driver, Southeast Asia president, MasterCard, said.

Providing training in fundamental business skills such as book-keeping and budgeting, promotions and cus-tomer service directly

not only by helping them improve their business performance but also in achieving their goal of supporting their families and communities, he said.

program that launched

Contd. P 26... Contd. P 26...

Myanmar Summary

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Myanmar Summary

Japan, Myanmar Sign Investment PactTreaty to nurture business ties, improve protections: Officials

Japan and Myanmar have signed an investment treaty to nurture closer

business ties as the once se-cluded Southeast Asian country opens its fast-growing economy to more foreign businesses.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Myanmar President U Thein Sein signed the invest-ment treaty on the sidelines of a three-day special summit meet-ing in Tokyo between Japan and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Japanese businesses have been eager to invest in Myan-mar and have stepped up their activities here after Thein Sein’s reformist government came to power in 2011 after nearly 50 years of military rule.

Japan’s trade ministry said the agreement is intended to provide greater protections and a stable legal environment for investors.

Under the treaty, Japanese businesses operating in Myan-mar will be granted equal rights to local companies and Myan-mar companies doing business in Japan will receive the same treatment.

The treaty calls for Japanese investors to receive the same protections provided to other foreign investors under inter-national rules and prohibits the imposition of export, technol-ogy transfer or other require-ments in exchange for such investments. It is also intended to improve transparency, key for a country struggling with endemic corruption.

Kyaw Min

The Japanese government hopes to promote the business expansion of Japanese com-panies in Myanmar, a market closely watched for strong growth prospects thanks to progress in economic reform.

At a joint news confer-ence after the signing, Prime

Minister Shinzo Abe said the treaty demonstrates Japan’s determination to support

Myanmar.Myanmar President Thein

the treaty would expand invest-ment opportunities for Japan.

both countries, Japan will have concluded investment treaties or economic partnership agree-ments laying down investment rules with all 10 ASEAN mem-ber countries.

The Japan-Myanmar invest-ment treaty includes a so-called investor-state dispute settle-ment system, one of the focal points of the ongoing Trans-

negotiations.Attracting foreign investment

and lending is crucial for aiding the expansion of Myanmar’s resource-rich economy. My-

potential but is burdened with

also lacks a manufacturing base after decades of foreign sanc-tions and restrictive laws under military rule.

Japan is Myanmar’s largest aid donor. To help clear the way for the investment treaty, Tokyo agreed to forgive about $5.32 billion in debt owed by Myanmar and extended bridge loans to help clear the rest.

Abe has promised to help support Myanmar’s economic and political reforms with both public and private help, including fresh loans for infra-structure building and major development assistance that

will support Japanese business interests in the Southeast Asian nation.

Japan had close ties with Myanmar before the junta took power in 1988 and Tokyo suspended grants for major projects. Japan did not impose sanctions on Myanmar in 2003

Myanmar's President Thein Sein (L) and Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe shake hands at the start of their talks at the prime

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when the military regime put pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest, un-like the US and other Western countries, though it did scale back most business activities and cut government aid.

Japan’s investments in My-anmar still lag behind those of China and India, though that is fast changing. Trading compa-nies Mitsubishi Corp, Marubeni Corp and Sumitomo Corp are leading a project to develop the 2,400-hectare (5,900-acre) Thilawa Special Economic Zone, located near Yangon, Japan’s biggest investment in Myanmar so far.

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“Under the treaty, Japanese businesses operating in Myanmar will

be granted equal rights to local companies and Myanmar companies doing business in Japan will receive

the same treatment.”


Myanmar Summary


STADA Expands its Business Activities into MyanmarSu Su

German pharmaceutical producer STADA Arz-neimittel AG’s products

are now available in Myanmar, making the company one of the

companies to take up activities in the Southeast Asian country.

The company said its local

STADA products, including both generics and branded, on the market via in-licensing.

will be expanded gradually, STADA said.

our strategy of continuous internationalisation while fo-cusing on high-growth emerg-ing markets in the process,”

the executive board of STADA Arzneimittel AG, said.

“Now that the country has opened up, the supply of medicines in the market with a population of 60 million shows substantial pent-up demand, particularly for high-quality, low-cost medicines.

“We intend to be present from the beginning. The licensing model and our experience in Asia have provided us good op-portunities in the future market

“STADA’s commitment is very forward-looking,” said Chris-tian-Ludwig Weber-Lortsch, ambassador of the Federal Re-public of Germany to Myanmar.

from the Burmese market open-ing up. German companies like STADA can penetrate a growing market with future prospects. The population, on the other

hand, gains access to a high-quality yet low-cost supply of medicines.”

The production of medicines for Myanmar will commence from the end of 2015 in a newly built production facility in Yan-

STADA said. To that end, Stada Myanmar

Joint Venture Co Ltd was founded; the STADA Group has no shareholding in this company.

The licence agreement, how-ever, gives STADA the option of taking over the company at a later date. Until then, the My-anmar market will be supplied with products from the Viet-namese production facilities of

the STADA Group.STADA Arzneimittel AG is a

publicly-listed company with headquarters in Bad Vilbel, Germany. The group is the only independent generics pro-ducer in Germany. Worldwide,

-ing companies in the generics industry and is represented in more than 30 countries with approximately 50 subsidiaries.

achieved group sales of €1.83 billion, adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of €367.5 million and adjusted net income of €147.9 million. As of December 31, 2012, STADA em-ployed 7,761 people worldwide.

The logo of the pharmaceutical company Stada Arzneimittel AG is pictured at its headquarters in Bad Vilbel near Frankfurt.

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Myanmar Summary

Myanmar: Year in Review 2013Michael Nesbitt

From the announcement of winners of the inaugural international telecoms

tender to the awarding of lucra-tive oil blocks, as well as the ongoing challenge for peace in the Kachin and Rakhine states, 2013 was not short of headlines for this once-isolated nation.

A year after the passing of the Foreign Investment Law, the role of Chinese investors has

funds from the West and other ASEAN members has increased.

An improved pictureThroughout 2013, the US

government eased sanctions, which has increased inter-

tap into the frontier market. South Korea and Japan further extended their reach to the country and will play a vital role in the evolution of the economy, with investment commitments across infrastructure, the de-velopment of special economic zones and the announcement, in June, by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to cancel debt amounting to $1.74 billion.

sector could hasten develop-ment and further boost foreign investment. The Central Bank of Myanmar (CBM) gained independence this year, while steps have been taken to adopt new exchange rate mechanisms, liberalise the insurance market and set up ATMs nationwide.

Another key development is the government’s commitment to establish the Yangon Stock Exchange (YSE). The exchange is being set up with the over-sight of Daiwa Securities Group, the Japanese government and Myanmar Economic Bank, and is expected to open in 2015 in line with the commencement of the ASEAN Economic Commu-

tor is maturing at a rapid rate, considering that the majority of transactions were previously handled in cash, many experts believe it will be a challenge to launch the YSE by 2015.

In June, U Htay Aung, the minister of hotels and tourism, unveiled the Tourism Master Plan (TMP), which set out a goal of boosting annual tourism receipts from $534 million in 2012 to $10.8 billion by 2020. In a year that saw property and hotel rates skyrocket, with aver-age expenditure on accommo-dation at $200-299 per night in Yangon, onlookers will be keen

plan will have on room rates and availability.

As part of the TMP, the tender for Hanthawaddy International Airport was awarded to a South Korean consortium in August, valued at $1.1 billion. Viewed as a critical step to boost tour-ism and trade – with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) estimating arrivals to reach 5 million by 2020 – the airport will be situated 80 kilometres (km) north of Yangon and have the capacity to host 12 million arrivals annually, with room to eventually expand to 30 million.

Meanwhile, foreign direct investment (FDI) rose to $2.7

(ended March 2013), up from $1.9 billion in 2011/12, accord-ing to the World Bank. Oil and gas revenues continue to drive the economy, with GDP growth of 6.5 percent for 2012/13.

Increased natural gas ex-ports from Shwe and Zawtika

2,000km Myanmar-China gas pipeline in October and the

blocks will come on-line in early 2014, means that the energy sector will continue to play a key role in driving projected GDP growth for the 2013/14

forecast at 6.8 percent.

While the retail and construc-tion sectors expanded with hotels, shopping malls and apartment buildings being erected throughout Yangon, Mandalay and Nay Pyi Taw, more can be expected from ag-riculture, telecoms, mining and manufacturing in 2014.

Prospects for economic growth are improving as mod-

new laws take shape. FDI in the mining sector has lagged due to red tape and transparency issues. However, government plans to implement the Extrac-tive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), as well as a new mining law due to be passed in March 2014, which means that foreign participation is set to rise steadily.

The road aheadAccess to quality health and

education remains a major challenge. Notwithstanding,

cantly in these sectors since the appointment of President U Thein Sein, though the major-ity of aid to the population – 70 percent of whom live in rural areas – is still provided by non-governmental organi-sations. Another issue is the

reached 7.33 percent in August due to high prices for food, gas and electricity, according to the Central Statistical Organisation for Myanmar.

Although the government has received international recogni-tion for taking measures to en-hance transparency, the coun-try still has a long road ahead in rooting out corruption. Ranking 157 out of 177 countries in the Transparency International’s “Corruption Perceptions Index 2013” – an improvement on its 2012 position of 172 – investor

with more commitment by the authorities in this area.

Looking ahead, the govern-ment and the CBM will need to keep a watchful eye on various indicators, and with upcoming state elections nearing, 2014 promises to be a key year.

Michael Nesbitt is Editorial Manager at Oxford Business Group.

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“While the retail and construction sectors expanded with hotels, shopping malls

and apartment buildings being erected throughout Yangon, Mandalay and

Nay Pyi Taw, more can be expected from agriculture, telecoms, mining and manufac-

turing in 2014.”

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REGIONAL BIZ 13December 26, 2013-January 1, 2014

Myanmar Summary


A man walks past a signboard of Mitsubishi UFJ bank at its branch in Tokyo.

Kim

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oon/Reuters

Bank of AyudhyaTaiga Uranaka

Mitsubishi UFJ Finan-cial Group (MUFG) said on Wednesday

last week that it has acquired a 72 percent stake in Thailand’s Bank of Ayudhya Pcl for 170.6 billion baht ($5.31 billion)

recently.MUFG, Japan’s largest lender

November 7 and December 13

to buy up to 75 percent of Bank of Ayudhya for as much as 560 billion yen ($5.44 billion).

The deal will mark the biggest acquisition by a Japanese bank in Southeast Asia.

MUFG is planning to merge its existing Thai operations with the domestic lender to comply with Thailand’s single presence policy on bank ownership. The acquisition and merger plan had surprised Japanese rivals, given that MUFG already had substan-

tial operations with Japanese businesses in the country.

MUFG has the biggest over-seas operations among Japan’s banks. In 2008, it bought out UnionBanCal Corp, the holding company for California-based UnionBank, and paid $9 billion for a 20 percent stake in Mor-gan Stanley.

In 2010, it acquired a $6.4 bil-

from Royal Bank of Scotland. Reuters

Kia Says to Produce Record 300,000 Cars

in Slovakia in 2013Robert Muller

South Korean Kia Motors’ will produce a record 300,000 cars at its plant

in Slovakia in 2013 as the fac-tory ran at full capacity for the

carmaker said on Wednesday last week.

The plant in the northern part of the country is one of the euro zone member's biggest export-ers. It mostly produces versions of the Cee’d small family car, the Kia Sportage SUV and Kia Venga mini car designed for European and Russian markets.

Slovakia’s automotive indus-try – which represents a big driver for the central European country’s economy – is based around assembly plants of Kia, Germany's Volkswagen, and French PSA Peugeot Citroen.

Kia, which launched its plant in Zilina in 2006, said in January it planned to produce 290,000 cars in Slovakia in 2013, just shy of its better-than-expected record 292,000 made a year earlier.

“Our production has risen continually over the past seven years,” Eek-Hee Lee, president and CEO of Kia Motors Slova-kia, said in a statement. “We will continue with this success in the next period.”

So far this year, 22 percent of output at the assembly plant was exported to Russia, with Britain as the next biggest for-eign market at 13 percent.

In July, Kia’s local company chief Lee said the launch of new models had helped the carmaker weather weakening sales in Europe that had hit most other producers. Reuters

Myanmar Summary

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mmbiztoday.comREGIONAL BIZ 14

Yasumasa Hisada

Australian locations have now all fallen out of the global top 30 most

expensive locations in the world for expatriates, the latest Cost of Living survey by ECA Inter-national revealed.

Sydney and Canberra, both in the top 20 a year ago, now rank 31st and 39th respectively. Melbourne has fallen 22 places to 45th position globally fol-lowed by Adelaide (46th), Perth (47th) and Brisbane (54th). Of the Australian locations Darwin has fallen the most places to 55th place down from last year’s 26th spot.

“Despite actual prices of goods in ECA International’s shop-ping basket for Australia rising at a faster rate this year overall,

dollar against most major cur-rencies means that Australian locations are becoming cheaper again relative to many other lo-cations around the world,” said Anna Michielsen, general man-ager, Australia, New Zealand &

Asian locations including Beijing (15), Shanghai (18), Seoul (21) and Hong Kong (28) are among those that now rank higher up the list of most expen-sive cities for expats.

To ensure that their employ-ees’ spending power is not compromised while on interna-tional assignment multinational companies will often include a cost of living allowance in their pay package. Living costs for

tion, availability of goods and exchange rates, all of which can

signee remuneration packages.

ECA carries out two Cost of Living surveys per year, com-paring a basket of like-for-like consumer goods and services commonly purchased by assign-ees in 440 locations worldwide.

Port Moresby has fallen 12 places in the ranking to 25th globally. Auckland, ranked 52nd, is the most expensive of the New Zealand cities.

While Tokyo still tops the list of the most expensive locations in Asia for expatriates, glob-ally it has fallen to 10th place on the back of a weaker Yen – a

when it was the most expensive city in the world for expatriate

do so for considerably less than in recent years, despite the

country being reversed earlier this year.

of ECA’s cost of living basket between Tokyo and Sydney fell from 31 percent to 12 percent over 12 months.

After Japan, some of the big-gest falls in living costs in Asia have been seen in Indonesia – also partly as a result of a weaker currency. While Jakarta has only fallen three places in the regional ranking to 27th, globally it has dropped 45 spots to 172nd place.

Beijing is now Asia’s second most expensive location after Tokyo, up from 5th position last year. Globally, the Chinese capital is the 15th most expen-sive location for expatriates. Shanghai previously in 25th position is now in the 18th posi-tion in the global results, and 4th in Asia.

“It’s important to remember

Prices of some sample items from ECA International’s basket of goods and services commonly purchased by expatriates, in AUD

Location Movie Quick Can of Dozen Beer at Bananas Fresh Coffee Petrol

ticket lunch soft drink eggs a bar (1kg) milk at bar (1L)

(50cl) (1L)

Sydney 18.36 31.02 2.65 5.08 8.28 4.41 2.24 4.33 1.66

Tokyo 20.21 16.46 1.75 5.87 10.73 6.11 2.9 5.07 1.88

Beijing 16.82 23.93 1.33 5.5 10.26 3.43 4.61 5.57 1.54

Hong Kong 11.6 20.06 1.34 7.17 10.16 1.78 3.94 5.22 2.47

Singapore 9.53 21.31 1.38 3.94 14.89 1.91 2.95 5.38 2.08

Rio de Janeiro 11.68 25.05 1.2 3.33 5.03 1.78 1.56 2.95 1.51

Manhattan 15.58 29.37 1.85 4.71 9.07 2.24 2.87 4.66 1.26

Central London 21.14 30.53 1.57 6.42 9.41 1.53 1.65 4.62 2.39

Paris 15.7 34.84 1.68 6.18 13.3 3.06 1.95 6.19 2.4

Dubai 10.79 24.59 0.72 4.59 13.79 1.77 1.71 5.3 0.53

Jakarta 5.69 17.15 1.1 3.01 8.05 1.94 2.23 3.32 1.08

Bangkok 6.96 17.16 0.75 3.05 8.37 2.08 1.75 4.26 1.47

that certain living costs, such as accommodation rental, utili-ties, car purchases and school fees are not included in our cost of living basket,” continued Michielsen.

“Because these costs are usu-ally addressed separately by an expatriate’s employer, we collect this data separately. But if we were to include such costs, Hong Kong and Tokyo would be higher in the ranking, while Beijing would be lower due to lower housing costs.”

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Myanmar Summary

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While Tokyo still tops the list of the most expensive locations in Asia for expatriates, globally it has fallen to 10th place on the

Reuters

Source : ECA International


Myanmar Summary


An investor looks at an electronic board showing stock information at a brokerage house in Shenyang, Liaoning province, China.

Reuters

India’s in 2014Clement Tan

Chinese shares may be poised to become an unlikely star of Asian

emerging markets in 2014, out-shining India, thanks to cheap valuations and optimism about reforms.

Investors have been under-weight China for years.

China-focused equity funds -

ber, when the ruling Communist Party announced plans for far-reaching economic and social reforms, and analysts said once the government starts following through on those plans it would

Foreigners have bought a net $18.8 billion worth of Indian shares this year, according to the market regulator’s data.

-lished for China, but data from fund tracker EPFR shows a net

year to December 11 for China-focused equity funds.

At 9.3 times forward 12-month earnings, the MSCI China is trading at a chunky discount to its 10-year median and at its widest gap to the MSCI Asia ex-

crisis.And the Chinese market is

trading at a 40 percent discount to MSCI India on a forward price-to-earnings basis, ac-cording to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S data.

In contrast, benchmark in-dexes in India have hit record highs and valuations are on par with 10-year averages.

Besides looking expensive, Indian shares could also be vulnerable to shocks that could

come from the US Federal Re-serve winding down its stimu-lus, current account problems, and a general election due by May next year.

At the very least, investors look unwilling to add more In-dian risk and will look to make fresh allocations next year in other markets, with China

“Overall, we believe Chinese equities are just too cheap to be ignored by investors in 2014,” said Desmond Tjiang, Greater China and Hong Kong equities portfolio manager at Pinebridge Investments in Hong Kong.

“Despite reforms and the broad economic slowdown, there are still a lot of industries

such as mass consumption, e-commerce and environment-related sectors that should continue to grow exponentially in the coming years.”

Beijing last month unveiled a bold reform plan, including pledging to free up markets, in a bid to put the world’s second-largest economy on a more stable footing.

The plan sparked a rally in Chi-

Chinese market in Hong Kong gain more than 10 percent in four

Some brokers, such as CLSA, said the rally lacked conviction due to an absence of institu-tional investors. But while some may still be wary of a market

that has been in a funk since 2007, there are signs things could be turning around.

In a November 21 report, Goldman Sachs said funds fo-cused on global emerging mar-kets and Asia were underweight China by 290 and 582 basis points respectively, suggesting a return to equal weighting alone would trigger a powerful rally.

“India may have more upside potential in the short term because markets may rally into the elections due in May, but China represents better value in the middle term,” said Angelo Corbetta, Pioneer Investments’ London-based head of Asian equities. Reuters

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mmbiztoday.comREGIONAL BIZ 16

Myanmar Summary

China Needs Western Help for Nuclear Export Ambitions

China seen better at building reactors than making profit

David Stanway

China’s investment in Brit-ain’s £16 billion Hinkley

foray into Europe’s nuclear power market and a marker of its global ambitions, but its

them.China General Nuclear Power

Group (CGN) and China Na-tional Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) plan to take a com-bined 30-40 percent stake in a consortium led by French utility EDF to build French-designed EPR reactors in southwest England.

China has the world’s largest nuclear building programme at home and hopes to leverage this into a nuclear export industry.

While China has already built reactors for its ally Pakistan,

project in a developed country, and Beijing hopes the UK cre-dentials will help promote its two nuclear giants on the global stage.

But industry analysts say gaps in the Chinese supply chain, fears of political interference and inexperience in the eco-nomics of nuclear power mean

alone.“They are very ambitious, but

whether they will be welcomed overseas is another question,” said Li Ning, a nuclear power specialist and dean of the School of Energy Research at China’s

Xiamen University.In Britain, for example, po-

litical discussions behind closed doors about Chinese nuclear in-volvement concluded the public would not accept Chinese com-panies owning majority stakes in new plants and that initial participation should be capped at 49 percent, a source familiar with the discussions said.

China’s massive domestic nuclear new-build programme is one of the few bright spots in the global nuclear industry following the 2011 Fukushima disaster, which prompted sev-eral countries including Japan,

“They have no clue about interna-tional business. They have abso-

lutely no clue how to make profit in nuclear.”

Germany, Switzerland, Italy and Belgium to close or phase out their nuclear programmes.

After a post-Fukushima suspension lasting a year and a half, Beijing restarted its programme late in 2012 and aims to bring capacity up from 12.57 gigawatts now to 58 GW by the end of 2020. Nearly 30 GW of new capacity is under construction in China, more than 40 percent of the world’s total new-build.

China’s regulators have long

build an entire industrial chain with global reach.

After Fukushima, “history has given China an opportunity to overtake the world’s nuclear energy and nuclear technology powers”, Zhang Guobao, Chi-

and a tireless advocate of nu-clear energy, told a September meeting of nuclear scientists, according to state media.

China plans to bid for projects in Argentina and Turkey.

But its domestic experience won’t necessarily translate well overseas, said Arnaud Lefevre, head of French nuclear consul-tancy Dynatom International, which has been involved in the nuclear business in China.

“All the business of nu-clear power plants in China is controlled by state-owned enterprises which are set up to produce power plants, not

“They have no clue about in-ternational business. They have absolutely no clue how to make

Li of Xiamen University said

any immediate economic ra-tionale for their involvement in Hinkley Point, but they would look at it as a marketing tool.

market for China to work in, and it could help in other re-gions,” he said.

French, US partnersCNNC and CGN will both be

involved in Hinkley Point, but

getting the two sides to collabo-

to join forces on a single Chi-nese reactor design have so far been fruitless.

“The government intention-ally put them in competition for markets, so obviously there will be a certain amount of hostility between the two sides,” said Li, adding that on international markets this might put China at a disadvantage.

CGN is the longtime partner of EDF, which is helping it build two Areva-designed EPR reactors in southern China, and specialists were surprised to see CNNC pop up as a partner in Hinkley Point.

CNNC has teamed up with US-based Westinghouse, owned by Japan’s Toshiba, which will see

-tor model go into operation in China next year.

Even if they succeed in win-ning bids for new reactors,

secure supplies of nuclear fuel. While CNNC has its own sup-plies and processing capacity, CGN will still have to collabo-rate with the French.

“Everybody sells nuclear power plants with 20 years of fuel included in the contract,” said Lefevre. “CGN cannot do this.”

Li said all this meant that China was unlikely to risk go-ing it alone in the foreseeable future.

“You may vie for the leader-

ship of a consortium, but in the end, to get it completed, you need the supply chain of a global consortium,” he said. Reuters

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An environmental safety monitor carries out contamination checks in the charge hall inside EDF Energy's Hinkley Point B nuclear power station in Bridgwater, southwest England.

Suzanne P

lunkett/Reuters


Myanmar Summary


A man makes a phone call while standing near a Reserve Bank of India RBI crest at the RBI headquarters in Mumbai, India.

Reu

ters

India Cbank Surprises by Keeping Interest Rates on Hold

Suvashree Dey Choudhury

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) unexpectedly kept the country’s policy inter-

est rate on hold on Wednesday last week, despite calling cur-

the prospect of easing retail prices and its concerns about the weak domestic economy.

The RBI had been widely expected to raise the repo rate, after lifting the country’s main lending rate by 25 basis points each at its previous reviews in September and October. It instead opted to keep the coun-

try’s main lending rate at 7.75 percent.

Benchmark 10-year bond yield dropped 12 basis points to 8.78 percent from levels before the decision, while the NSE share index gained more than 1 percent. The Indian rupee strengthened.

However, the central bank warned it would remain vigilant

be ready to act even in between policy reviews should headline

expected, albeit noting it would do so in a “calibrated” manner.

The RBI added it would also

gauge the impact from any decision by the US Federal Reserve to start withdrawing its monetary stimulus. The US central bank concludes its policy meeting later in the day.

“The policy decision is a close

high,” said the RBI in its policy statement.

“However, given the wide bands of uncertainty surround-

-tion from its high current levels, and given the weak state of the economy, the inadvisability of overly reactive policy action, as well as the long lags with which

monetary policy works, there is merit in waiting for more data to reduce uncertainty.”

The most recent data showed consumer prices posted their biggest annual rise on record in November – 11.24 percent –

14-month high last month.

driven by higher vegetable pric-es that hurt the country’s poor the most, and are thus posing another headache to the embat-tled Congress party, which is facing general elections due by May, and was drubbed in recent state polls.

Still, analysts have said the surge in prices of vegetables such as onions are largely im-pacted by India’s lack of reliable ways to transport the produce and by traders suspected of hoarding supplies to raise prices, limiting the impact of monetary policy.

For businesses and investors in Asia’s third-largest economy, the priority had been a recovery in growth, which would help India again attract investment

-cit that surged to a record high

Wholesalers have also been saying vegetable prices have eased this month, providing

-tion, though analysts warned prices could again spike.

“I think it is just postponement of action, because the policy clearly says they (the RBI) may take action any time, even in the interim between two poli-cies, if the situation warrants,” said Rupa Rege Nitsure, chief economist of Bank of Baroda in Mumbai. Reuters

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mmbiztoday.comINTERNATIONAL BIZ 18

People participate in the so-called "Last demonstration with illegal marijuana" on their way to the Congress building in Montevideo.

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Uruguay Becomes First Country to

Malena Castaldi and Felipe Llambias

Uruguay became the

the growing, sale and smoking of marijuana recently, a pioneering social experiment that will be closely watched by other nations debating drug liberalisation.

A government-sponsored bill approved by 16-13 votes in the Senate provides for regulation of the cultivation, distribution and consumption of marijuana and is aimed at wresting the business from criminals in the small South American nation.

Backers of the law, some smoking joints, gathered near Congress holding green bal-

-age to Bob Marley and a sign saying: “Cultivating freedom, Uruguay grows.”

Cannabis consumers will be able to buy a maximum of 40 grams (1.4 ounces) each month from licensed pharmacies as long as they are Uruguayan residents over the age of 18 and registered on a government database that will monitor their monthly purchases.

When the law is implemented in 120 days, Uruguayans will be able to grow six marijuana plants in their homes a year, or as much as 480 grams (about 17 ounces), and form smoking clubs of 15 to 45 members that can grow up to 99 plants per year.

Registered drug users should be able to start buying mari-juana over the counter from licensed pharmacies in April.

“We begin a new experience in April. It involves a big cultural change that focuses on public

-lansky, told Reuters.

Uruguay’s attempt to quell -

lowed closely in Latin America where the legalisation of some narcotics is being increasingly seen by regional leaders as a possible way to end the violence spawned by the cocaine trade.

Rich countries debating legal-isation of pot are also watching the bill, which philanthropist George Soros has supported as an “experiment” that could pro-vide an alternative to the failed US-led policies of the long “war on drugs.”

The bill gives authorities 120

days to set up a drug control board that will regulate cultiva-

monitor consumption.The use of marijuana is legal

in Uruguay, a country of 3.3 million that is one of the most liberal in Latin America, but cultivation and sale of the drug are not.

Other countries have decrimi-nalised marijuana possession and the Netherlands allows its

-

legalise the whole chain from growing the plant to buying and selling its leaves.

Several countries such as Canada, the Netherlands and Israel have legal programs for growing medical cannabis but do not allow cultivation of marijuana for recreational use.

Last year, the US states of Col-orado and Washington passed ballot initiatives that legalise and regulate the recreational

Myanmar Summary

use of marijuana.Uruguay’s leftist president,

Jose Mujica, defends his initia-tive as a bid to regulate and tax a market that already exists but is run by criminals.

“We’ve given this market as a

that is more destructive socially than the drug itself, because it rots the whole of society,” the 78-year-old former guer-

agency Telam.Uruguay is one of the safest

Latin American countries with little of the drug violence or other violence seen in countries such as Colombia and Mexico.

Yet one-third of Uruguay’s prison inmates are serving time on charges related to narcot-

Uruguay into a transit route for Paraguayan marijuana and Bolivian cocaine.

If it works, the legislation is expected to fuel momentum for wider legalisation of marijuana elsewhere, including the United States and in Europe. Decrimi-nalisation of all drug possession by Portugal in 2001 is held up as a success for reducing drug violence while not increasing drug use.

“This development in Uru-

said Ethan Nadelmann, founder of the Drug Policy Alliance, a leading sponsor of drug policy reform partially funded by Soros through his Open Society Foundation.

“Uruguay is presenting an innovative model for cannabis that will better protect public health and public safety than does the prohibitionist ap-proach,” Nadelmann said.

Reuters

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“We’ve given this market as a gift to the drug traffickers and

that is more destructive socially than the drug itself, because it

rots the whole of society.”

INTERNATIONAL BIZ 19December 26, 2013-January 1, 2014

Myanmar Summary

Myanmar Summary

Contd. P 20...


Australia Govt Staring At Debt ‘Mountain’ as Economy Slows

Budget defi cit blows out to A$47b for 2013/14; Revenues drained by sluggish growth, fading mining boom

Wayne Cole and Lincoln Feast

Just three months in power, Australia’s Liberal National government has

abandoned all thought of re-turning to a budget surplus and

decade without spending cuts, heralding sober times ahead for the resource-rich country.

As subpar economic growth and a cooling mining boom carve a hole in government

warned that Australia had to

economic mountain”.“Returning the budget to

sustainable surpluses will not be achieved by piecemeal savings here and there. It will require a sustained and funda-mental structural overhaul of expenditure,” said Hockey as he announced the country’s third-

The Coalition government now expects a shortfall of A$47 billion ($42 billion) for the year through June 2014, up from a previous forecast of A$30.1 billion made only four months ago.

The gap would narrow only slowly to A33.89 billion in 2014/15, A$24 billion the year after and still be at A$17.7 bil-lion in 2016/17.

“It highlights the scale of the funding challenge ahead,” said Su-Lin Ong, a senior economist at RBC Capital Markets.

“It’s not a debt path you would want to remain on, so there’s going to have to be a tough conversation on what amount of austerity lies ahead.”

The scope for drastic spending cuts or tax increases is limited by the sluggish economy, which grew 2.3 percent in the year to September.

Hockey forecast growth of 2.5 percent in both 2013/14 and 2014/15, short of the 3.25-3.5 percent pace considered “normal” in a country that has

years.The Reserve Bank of Australia

has done what it can to support growth by cutting interest rates to a historic low of 2.5 percent, but has appeared reluctant to ease any further for fear of stoking a speculative bubble in house prices.

Some of the deterioration in the budget bottom line is due to steps taken by the new govern-ment, in particular a plan to gift A$8.8 billion to the RBA to help rebuild its reserves.

It has also scrapped revenue-raising plans including fringe

high pension incomes. Reuters

A mine worker lays out safety cones in front of giant mining trucks at the Fortescue Solomon iron ore mine located in the Sheila Valley, around 400 km (249 miles) south of Port Hedland, in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.

David G

ray/Reuters

Glaxosmithkline to Stop Paying Doctors to Promote DrugsEnding sales reps’ targets globally following US move; Comes amid criticism of aggressive industry sales tactics

Ben Hirschler

GlaxoSmithKline will stop paying doctors to promote its products at

events and remove individual sales targets for its marketing

dustry looking to recover from scandals over improper sales

practices.It also said last week it would

stop payments to healthcare professionals for attending medical conferences.

The initiative represents a bid by Britain’s biggest drugmaker to get ahead of its critics by

of interest that could put com-mercial interests ahead of the best outcome for patients.

It comes amid a major bribery investigation in China, where police have accused GlaxoS-mithKline (GSK) of funnelling up to 3 billion yuan ($494 million) to travel agencies to facilitate bribes to boost its drug sales.

However, the company said the measures were not directly related to its Chinese problems and were rather part of a broad

The entire drugs industry has

marketing tactics in recent

years and the GSK action is likely to put pressure on other companies to consider similar steps.

In the United States, the industry’s biggest market by far, many companies have run

sales tactics and GSK reached a record $3-billion settlement with the US government last year over charges that it pro-vided misleading information on certain drugs.

have taken some steps to clean up their marketing practices. AstraZeneca said in 2011 it was scrapping payments for doctors to attend international congresses but others, until now, have not followed suit and GSK’s actions go further.

“We recognise that we have an important role to play in providing doctors with infor-

Contd. P 20...

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Reu

ters


mmbiztoday.comINVESTMENT & FINANCE 20

Myanmar Summary

David Mayes

This is not the most excit-ing topic in the world but if you get it wrong when it

comes to liquidity you can really

like to make sure you under-

stated liquidity and the actual liquidity of a fund’s underlying

lies in the valuation method used.

Many funds trade exclusively in liquid securities such as shares on a major stock ex-change, or futures contracts. When things don’t go so well, and investors start to want to redeem some or all of their investments, it is quite easy for these funds to go dump their holdings on the open market to raise the cash required to meet such redemptions.

Generally the funds which trade in very liquid securities have a “mark to market” valua-tion method. This is easy to do because of the large number of transactions, and thus the last sale is generally a good proxy of the price the fund could achieve if it needed to liquidate its hold-ings. Slippage is the technical

they would actually get, since their own selling pressure would cause the market to move against them. Generally slip-page is relatively small even for a large fund if the markets are very liquid.

Mark-to-model on the other hand, requires a much more complicated estimation of the net asset value, or what the shares of the fund are actually worth. Property funds tend to be mark-to-model out of neces-sity, since there is no exchange for buying and selling proper-ties. In practice the models can be somewhat misleading some-

of interest involved. Obviously, the more favourable the model used, the better the returns look and the easier it is to market the

fund.This is where you can get

caught in a trap if you aren’t careful. Most mark-to-model funds promise unrealistic liquidity terms. They may trade monthly and if all is going well you can redeem and be paid out in a month. However, and this a big however, if it all goes wrong it can very quickly turn into a situation where you wait years for your money back.

As there have been several

erty funds recently, there has been a small backlash against mark-to-model funds in the international advice industry. Many advisors are selling out of them en masse and this actually makes the problem worse, as some funds end up suspended out of nothing other than fear.

My advice is to simply man-age the liquidity based on the underlying holdings as opposed to avoiding mark-to-model funds altogether, since they can provide a much needed

correlation to traditional asset classes.

In recent times where when things go bad, traditional asset classes have become more and more correlated and this is a

to deal with. Simply make sure the vast bulk of your portfolio is in funds which trade in liquid underlying assets. I would keep it to a maximum of 20 percent of your portfolio. This way, if all of the mark-to-model funds you hold get tied up simultaneously, you ought to have no reason to worry about having liquidity troubles.

David Mayes MBA provides wealth management ser-vices to expatriates throughout Southeast Asia, focusing on UK pension transfers. He can be reached at [email protected]. Faramond UK is regulated by the FCA and provides advice on taxation and pensions.

mation about our medicines, but this must be done clearly, transparently and without any

est,” Chief Executive Andrew Witty said in a statement.

The decision to stop payments to doctors for speaking about medicines during meetings with other prescribers marks a big shift for a global industry that has always relied heavily on the

ing products.GSK said it aimed to imple-

ment this move and a related

measure to end paying for doc-tors to attend medical confer-ences by the start of 2016.

The change in payments to its sales representatives will be implemented faster, following a successful test-run in the United States, where payments have been decoupled from the number of prescriptions gener-ated since 2011.

The policy of ending indi-vidual sales targets will now be rolled out globally. GSK said it planned to implement the new compensation system in all countries by early 2015.

GSK will still pay fees to

From page 19...

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qefYusifonfh tajymif;tvJudk jzpfay: aponf/a,bk,stm;jzifh aps;uGufrsm; taejzifh aiGtvG,fwulpD;qif;EdkifcJh rnfqdkvQif aiGaMu;yrmPrsm;jym;aomf vnf; Slippage onf oufa&muf rIenf;yg;vdrfhrnfjzpfonf/ “Mark to Model” onf ydkrdk½IyfaxG;aom &S,f,mwefzdk; cefYrSef;wGufcsufrIrsm;yg0ifjcif; odkYr[kwf &S,f,mrsm;\ trSefwu,f wefzdk;yg0ifonf/tdrfNcHajrvkyfief;ydkif;

doctors carrying out company-sponsored clinical research, advisory activities and market research, which it said were es-sential in providing insights on

Reuters

qdkif&mwGif ta&mif;t0,fjyKvkyfí &efyHk aiGjr§ifhwifrIrsm;taejzifh ydkrdkowdxm; &rnfjzpfNyD; tdrfNcHajr0,f,la&mif;csrIrsm;twGuf pawmhtdyfcsdef;vnf; r&Sd ovdk wefzdk;EIef;xm;rSmvnf; aps;EIef; tcsuftvuftwdtusajymEd kif&e f cufcJonf/

vufawGUwGif,ckenf;rsm;tae jzifhtwd k ;E Ie f ;r sm ;y g0i fvmr I jyóem aMumifhwpfcgwpf&HwGifvrf;vGJoGm;Edkif onf/yd krd kaumif;rGeftav;omaom enf;pepftm;toHk;jyKvQifyd krd kaumif; rGefonfh tjrwftpGef;udk &&SdEdkifrnfjzpfonf/&if;ESD;jr§KyfESHolrsm;taejzif h*½kw pdkufraqmif& GufcJhvQif “Mark to model” yHkpHrsm;rSm vufawGUrus onfh tajctaersm;&SdaeNyD; vkyfief; ta&mif;t0,fudpötm;vHk; tqifajycJhvQif wpfvtwGif; ukefoG,frIjyKEdkif ovdk a&mif;csrItwGufvnf; wpfv twGif; jyefvnf&&S dum vkyfief;tm; tzwfq,frI jyKvkyfEdkifrnfjzpfaomfvnf; vkyfief;ta&mif;t0,fudpörSm;,Gif;cJ h vQif ESpfESif hcsDí rdrdaiGtm; &&Sd&eftwGuf apmifhpm;&rnfh tajctaeodkY a&muf&Sd oGm;vdrfhrnfjzpfonf/

aq;0g;vkyfief;rsm;taejzifh rMumao;rDESpfrsm;twGif; tvGefvIyf&Sm;wuf<u aom aps;uGufydkif;qdkif&m enf;AsL[m rsm;aMumifh tar&duefwGif tygt0if ukrÜPDtrsm;tjym;taejzifh a0zef jypfwifrIrsm;ESifh awGUBuHKcJh&NyD;aemuf aq;0g;rsm;tm; a&mif;cs&mwGif csOf; uyftoHk;jyKaom enf;pepfrsm;aMumifh

a':vmbDvD,HESifhcs Dí 'PfaMu;ay; aqmif&rIrsm;udkvnf; jyKvkyfcJh&onf/

uGufydkif;qdkif&m aqmif&GufrIrsm;udk ydkrdkoefY&Sif;vm&eftwGuf BudK;yrf;vmcJhMu onf/ rdrdwdkYtaejzifh q&m0efrsm;tm; rdrdwdkY\ aq;0g;ESifhywfoufí owif; tcsuftvufESifhtwl axmufyHhay;rI rsm;onf vGefpGmrS ta&;ygaom tcef; u@wpf&yfjzpfonfudk od&Sdaomfvnf; tqdkygtcsuftm; &Sif;vif;NyD; yGifhvif; jrifomrI&SdpGm aqmif&GufoGm;&rnfjzpf um jyóemwpfpHkwpf&m rjzpfyGm;atmifaqmif&GufoGm;&rnf[k trIaqmifcsKyf jzpfol Andrew Witty u ajymMum;

cJhonf/ aq;0g;rsm;\tcsuftvufrsm;udk

ajymMum;&eftwGufq&m0efrsm;tm;aiGaMu;ay;aqmif&rIrsm;udk&yfqdkif;cJhonfhqHk;jzwfcsufrSmtjcm;aq;0g;rSm,lolrsm;ESif hawGUqHkaqG;aEG;csdefwGifqHk;jzwfcsufcsc J h jci f ; jzp fonf/aq;0g;vkyfief;rsm;taejzifhaq;0g;rsm;tm;ta&mif; jr Si f hwif&eftwGufaq;0g;uRrf;usifolrsm;tay:wGiftvGefrS Dcd kaecJh&NyD; ,cktcguRrf;usifolrsm;tm;aq;0g;rsm;ta&mif;jrSifhwif&eftwGufay;aqmif&rIrsm;ud k&y fwef Yc J honf htwGuftajymif;tvJBuD;wpf&yfjzpfxGef;vmcJhNyDjzpfonf/

Property funds tend to be mark to model out of necessity, since there is no exchange for buying and selling properties.

Neil H

all/Reuters

INVESTMENT & FINANCE 21December 26, 2013-January 1, 2014

Myanmar Summary

Myanmar Summary


Singapore’s UPP Greentech Terminates JV

with Myanmar Partner

Singapore-listed conglomerate UPP Greentech said it is terminating its joint venture agreement that it struck with its Myanmar partner in July.

In a disclosure to the Singapore Exchange, the board of di-rectors of UPP Holdings Ltd announced that UPP Greentech Pte Ltd and Myan Shwe Pyi Ltd (MSPL) have entered into an agreement to terminate their joint venture agreement (JVA) by mutual agreement.

However, the company will still incorporate the JV vehicle.“Notwithstanding the termination of the JVA, pursuant to the

agreement, UPP Greentech and MSPL, have agreed to proceed with the ongoing incorporation of UPP-MSP, which would be the joint venture vehicle for any future investment of the parties

In July, UPP Greentech, a subsidiary of UPP Holdings Ltd, inked a joint venture agreement with MSPL to establish a com-pany called Kanaung Engineering Ltd.

Under the agreement, UPP Greentech was supposed to own 67 percent stake in Kanaung, with the remaining 33 percent held by MSPL.

Kanaung Engineering’s main operations were expected to involve the blasting and drilling of rocks and/or breaking down blasted rock materials into aggregates to support key infrastruc-ture projects in Myanmar.

The JV company will have had a total issued and paid up capi-tal of $20,895,523 (S$26.52 million).

UPP said the total issued and paid-up share capital of UPP-MSP will be maintained at its current level of $50,000 comprising 50,000 ordinary shares of $1 each as required by

increased to $12 million divided into 12 million shares of $1.00 each as contemplated in the JVA.

The total issued and paid-up capital of UPP-MSP is held in the following proportions: MSPL, 12,500 shares representing 25 percent of the share capital of UPP-MSP; and UPP Greentech, 37,500 shares representing 75 percent of the share capital of UPP-MSP.

UPP Greentech has two board seats, whereas MSPL has one board seat on UPP-MSP.

UPP said the termination of the JVA and the incorporation of UPP-MSP are not expected to have any material impact on the consolidated net tangible assets per share and earnings per share of the company and its subsidiaries, for the current

Kyaw Min

family income. In poppy grow-

households are in debt and food insecure than in non-poppy growing villages.

“Villagers threatened with food insecurity and poverty need sustainable economic al-ternatives or they will continue, out of desperation, to grow opium as a cash crop,” Eligh said.

Plans are also underway to link infrastructure and transporta-tion routes between countries, highlighting the urgent need to crackdown on opium cultiva-tion, says the UNODC, since

From page 9...advantage of easier integration to access growing markets.

The UNODC is working to develop alternative livelihood options to help farmers switch to cultivating other crops, said Douglas. “But these programs have been of limited size to date

scaled up.”Eligh told WSJ that in the

absence of alternative employ-ment and viable economic plans to help develop impoverished poppy growing areas, “then indications are that [opium production] may continue to rise.”

From page 9...

Chinese Businesses Should Invest in Factories: UMFCCI

Phyu Thit Lwin

Chinese investors should set up factories in My-anmar rather than only

buying raw materials from the recently-opened Southeast Asian countries, a top Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and In-

“Chinese entrepreneurs should not only buy raw materials but also come and build factories in Myanmar to

and export them to other coun-tries,” Aye Lwin, joint secretary of UMFCCI, said.

Compared with other coun-tries China is by far the largest trade partner of Myanmar. Bi-lateral trade between Myanmar and China amounted to $5.6

months of 2013, up 25.4 per-cent compared with that of the same period of 2012, according to the Ministry of Commerce statistics.

Myanmar businesspeople said China should readjust its high

goods from Myanmar. China imposes low taxes on raw ma-terials but imposes punishing

Myanmar.In this regard, fair trade terms

and tax reduction is necessary, U Aye Lwin said.

“If Myanmar exports raw ma-

terials such as mineral, gems,

China gives tax exemption. But

ed, there is a very high tax. So, there is a very little chance for

to China. “Local entrepreneurs now

even export bean as raw mate-rial and we are losing many chances to enhance our trade,” he said.

Ren Shao, assistant director of the Department of Foreign Trade and Economic Coop-eration of Guangdong Province, said she would report this to the Chinese government.

Aye Lwin was speaking at a business meeting between Myanmar and Chinese en-trepreneurs, co-organised by the UMFCCI and the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) of Guangdong Province.

The 22-member delegation of the CCPIT (Guangdong) arrived in Myanmar to explore business opportunities in December 11. The Chinese entrepreneurs said they aim to make joint ventures in wood manufacturing, shoe making, advertising and media, among others in Myanmar.

A total investment of $75 mil-lion is planned, they said.

China is the largest foreign investor in Myanmar among the 33 foreign countries, with 51 businesses investing about $14

billion in Myanmar.Currently, Japan, South Ko-

rea, the US and other European countries are eyeing Myanmar for investments according to international standards, so Chi-nese businessmen should come and invest like other countries for long-term, sustainable businesses, Myanmar entrepre-neurs said.

pifumylwGif pm&if;oGif;xm;onfh pD;yGm;a&;tiftm;pkBuD;jzpfonfh UPP Greentech onf ZlvdkifvwGif jrefrm EdkifiHrS jynfwGif;vkyfief;wpfckESifh tusKd;wl yl;aygif;cJhNyD; ,cktcg tusKd;wl yl;aygif;rIudk tqHk;owf&eftwGuf aqmif&GufaeaMumif; tqdkygukrÜPDrS ajymMum; cJhonf/

UPP Holdings Ltd rS bkwftzGJU0ifvlBuD;rsm;u UPP Greentech Pte Ltd ESifh Myan Shwe Pyi Ltd (MSPL) wdkYonf tusKd;wlzufpyf oabmwlnDcsuftm; ESpfOD;ESpfzuf oabmwlnDrIjzifh tqHk;owf&ef taetxm;odkY a&muf&SdvmcJhNyDjzpfaMumif; xkwfjyefajymMum;cJhonf/tusKd;wlzuf pyfoabmwlnDcsuftm; tqHk;owf&eftwGuf oabmwlnDcJhMuaomfvnf; UPP Greentech ESif h MSPL wdkYonf UPP-MSP yl;aygif;aqmif&GufqJvkyfief;rsm;udk qufvufvkyfaqmif&eftwGuf oabmwlnDcJhMuaMumif; UPP rS ajymMum;cJhonf/

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wefcsdef 870 wef&SdrnfjzpfNyD; UNODC rS avhvmqef;ppfrIrsm;wGif tjrifhqHk; taetxm;wpf&yfvnf;jzpfaMumif; od&onf/

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Source: UNODC


mmbiztoday.comINVESTMENT & FINANCE 22

Myanmar Summary

Myanmar’s Electricity Crisis: Hope on the Horizon?

Angelo Georgiou

Could we be see-ing an end to the electricity crisis in

Myanmar? It seems so. Cyprus-based Andreas

Theodorou Group of

Soe, minister for energy, and Zayar Aung, minister for electricity, an invest-ment of $25 billion for the development of nation-wide green, sustainable energy in Myanmar.

We are entering the year 2014 and 70 percent of Myanmar’s vast popula-tion still does not have access to sustainable electricity supply. Logic tells us that if all citizens of Myanmar had access to sustainable and clean electricity supply, it will provide a higher quality of life and higher chances of a better economic state. Electricity can ensure clean water supply, help improve agriculture, industry, health and edu-cational services; overall it would help increase life chances and greatly increase the quality of life for Myanmar citizens who would then be able to better plan a sustainable future for themselves.

Currently, the majority of Myanmar citizens are economically crippled and cannot adequately plan their future due to the lack or no access to uninterrupted electric-ity supply. The future and progress of Myanmar is largely dependent upon clean and green uninterrupted sustain-able electricity supply to every single citizen of the country. Imagine 42-45 million more Myanmar citizens with access to electricity and it will be easy to picture the incred-ible overnight positive progress of the nation.

Myanmar is a growing nation – with proud and highly-educated, skilled people, whose future is held back and/or stumped due to the lack of industry growth and opportuni-ties which is due to lack of sustainable national electricity supply.

Ambassador C Vassili of ICPT International Hu-

man Rights Council, who is from Cyprus, realised the great need for green energy investment in areas of waste to energy, which further reduces the ongoing hazardous waste issues, bio-mass, solar, wind, gas turbine power stations and hy-dropower in Myanmar. He entered into talks with the ambassador of Myanmar to the UK to discuss how such projects

that all its citizens could

nationwide sustainable electricity supply.

Theodorou Group of Companies also entered

investment of $25 billion in green energy develop-ment in Myanmar. The proposal made to Zayar Aung and Khin Maung Soe has been welcomed and is expected to lead

Myanmar and its citizens.Let us look at the

Theodorou Group of Companies investment.

venture partnership with Myanmar companies, which the latter will

create local employment and revenue. Energy development subcon-tracts will also be aimed at Myanmar companies through this venture, and it will create thousands of long term jobs for Myan-mar citizens.

The venture will provide electricity access to all

Myanmar citizens of which some 42-45 million of its citizens do not cur-rently have access to main

green electricity supply.This investment will

place Myanmar in a posi-tion where it will not need to seek to buy electricity from other countries. In turn, it will help improve and create new home in-dustries, improve exports, create new agriculture and clean water supplies, attract foreign invest-ment, help improve and create new educational

and health facilities, and bring Myanmar many years ahead of its energy roadmap.

More importantly it will give Myanmar its national pride and greatly improve the quality of life of its citizens and better allow them the means to cre-ate a brighter future for themselves and genera-tions to come.

The Andreas Theodorou Group of Companies have already shown their sin-cerity and commitment to the investment via a signed and memorandum

A Cyprus-based company has offered to invest $25 billion in Myanmar's electricity sector to provide nationwide green, sustainable energy.

Oliver S

low

of understanding which now awaits the signing by the Ministry of Electric-ity to progress matters

-laboration between the Andreas Theodorou & TBEA Sunoasis and the ministry will bring Myan-mar and its citizens into the light. This would be the greatest gift Myanmar has ever provided to its people.

Angelo Georgiou is the Chief of International

-national Human Rights Council. Views and opin-ions expressed here are the author’s own.

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INVESTMENT & FINANCE 23December 26, 2013-January 1, 2014

Myanmar Summary


Myanmar Summary

Thailand’s PTT aims to list power unit on Bangkok bourse in mid-2014

Thailand’s biggest energy

to sell about 25-30 per-cent of an electricity generation company in an initial public

funds for regional expansion.

Surong Bulakul, told report-ers at a news conference that the strategy is part of state-controlled PTT’s drive to triple Global Power Synergy Co’s (GPSC) generating capacity to 6,000 megawatts in 2020 from

2,000 MW. Surong gave no details about the value of the listing, expected on the Bang-kok stock exchange.

GPSC aims to invest in de-veloping its power business at home, as well as expanding into Laos, Indonesia and Myanmar.

The business, a joint venture between PTT and its subsidiar-ies Thai Oil Pcl and PTT Global Chemical Pcl, is expected to contribute about 5-10 percent of PTT’s group revenue in the next 10 years, Surong said.

PTT has also planned to dilute its 36 percent holding in Star

in a separate IPO sometime next year. SPRC, 64-percent owned by oil giant Chevron Corp, operates

-ery in eastern Rayong province.

The energy giant previously scaled back spending plans for this year due to lower-than-expected economic growth, and said it wanted to sell non-core assets, like its palm oil business in Indonesia. Reuters

Contd. P 26...

Japan to Provide Fresh

Japan pledged to provide another ¥63 billion ($610.53 million) loans to

Myanmar recently, mainly to fund the Southeast Asian coun-try’s infrastructure projects.

With Japanese Prime Minis-ter Shinzo Abe having promised aid of ¥91 billion in loans to Myanmar in May, the total aid of Japan under his government is now more than ¥150 billion.

“We will continue to provide support, both at the public and private level, for infrastructure building initiatives and work toward Myanmar’s develop-ment,” Abe said at a joint press conference after meeting with Myanmar’s President Thein Sein, who came to Japan to attend the regional summit between Japan and the Associa-tion of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The loans are designed to help build infrastructure for the Thilawa Special Economic Zone in the suburbs of Yangon, Myan-mar’s largest city, and upgrade a railway network in Myanmar, among other projects.

Abe also pledged Japan’s support for Myanmar’s health and medical sectors, and postal system. He told Thein Sein dur-ing their meeting that he wants to “cooperate closely” with the president next year to “achieve major progress in developing the ASEAN region.”

Myanmar will hold the ASEAN

in 2014. Japan and Myanmar will mark the 60th anniversary next year of the establishment of diplomatic ties.

Su Su Tensions between China and Japan have mounted this year in the East China Sea over dis-puted islands. Beijing’s decision last month to declare an air de-

area has added to the fraught atmosphere.

Abe, since coming to power a year ago, has promoted Japan as an ally for Asian countries that also are wary of Beijing’s growing regional clout.

These include Myanmar, a resource-rich nation that has long been in China’s sphere of

rulers have given way to a nominally civilian administra-tion and opened the country to other foreign investors.

The Japanese prime minister said Japan would make an

-anmar and Thailand to develop the Dawei industrial zone in southern Myanmar.

Myanmar and Thailand are planning to develop a 6,000-acre project in Dawei, a south-ern port town close to the Thai border, and have sought to per-suade Japan to join. The project envisages building crude oil storage facilities and a pipeline across the border, greatly reducing the cost of shipping oil to Thailand. But the plan, which was being backed by a Thai company, has stalled due to lack of capital.

Abe’s support for the develop-ment, although lacking details, is the strongest sign yet that Ja-pan could join the consortium.

Japan’s more activist role in Myanmar is likely to be viewed

Myanmar Summary

Contd. P 26...

MIGA Welcomes Myanmar as a New

MemberShein Thu Aung

The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), the political risk insurance and credit enhancement arm of the World Bank Group, announced that My-

become MIGA’s 180th member.Myanmar’s membership in MIGA means that direct for-

eign investment into the country is eligible for the agency’s investment guarantees.

MIGA’s guarantees protect investments against the risks of transfer restriction, expropriation, breach of contract,

disturbance.Investors from Myanmar going into MIGA’s other devel-

oping member countries may also receive coverage for their investments.

“We’re very happy to welcome Myanmar as a MIGA mem-ber at a critical time in the country’s history,” said Keiko Honda, MIGA’s executive vice president.

“We are eager to support investments in sectors such as energy, telecom, and agribusiness. Investments that create jobs and provide critical infrastructure will help Myanmar

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Fligghhtss ffroom Yanggon (RGNN) to Bangkok ((BKK) Fligghhtss ffroom Banggkok (BKKK) to Yaangon (RGN)Flight No. DDayss From To ETD ETA Operated by: Flight No. DDayss From To ETD ETA Operated by:PG 706 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RGN BKK 7:15 9:30 Bangkok Airways DD4230 1 3 5 7 DMK RGN 06:30 07:55 NOK AirlinesDD4231 1 3 5 7 RGN DMK 8:00 9:45 NOK Airlines 8M336 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 BKK RGN 6:40 7:25 MAIFD2752 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RGN DMK 8:30 10:15 Thai AirAsia FD2751 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 DMK RGN 7:15 8:00 Thai AirAsia8M335 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RGN BKK 8:40 10:25 MAI TG303 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 BKK RGN 8:00 8:45 Thai AirwaysTG304 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RGN BKK 9:50 11:45 Thai Airways PG701 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 BKK RGN 8:50 9:40 Bangkok AirwaysPG702 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RGN BKK 10:45 12:40 Bangkok Airways FD2755 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 DMK RGN 11:35 12:20 Thai AirAsiaY5-237 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RGN BKK 18:05 19:50 Golden Myanmar Airlines PG707 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 BKK RGN 13:40 14:30 Bangkok AirwaysTG302 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RGN BKK 14:45 16:40 Thai Airways Y5-238 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 BKK RGN 21:10 21:55 Golden Myanmar AirlinesPG703 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RGN BKK 15:20 17:15 Bangkok Airways FD2753 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 DMK RGN 16:35 17:20 Thai AirAsia8M331 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RGN BKK 16:30 18:15 MAI PG703 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 BKK RGN 16:45 17:35 Bangkok AirwaysFD2754 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RGN DMK 17:50 19:35 Thai AirAsia TG305 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 BKK RGN 17:55 18:40 Thai AirwaysPG704 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RGN BKK 18:25 20:20 Bangkok Airways 8M332 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 BKK RGN 19:20 20:05 MAITG306 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RGN BKK 19:40 21:35 Thai Airways PG705 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 BKK RGN 20:00 21:15 Bangkok Airways

FFligghhtss ffroomm Yangoon (RGN)) to Chiaang Maii (CNX) FFligghhtss ffroomm Chiangg Mai (CCNX) to YYangon (RGN)W9-9607 4 7 RGN CNX 14:50 16:20 Air Bagan W9-9608 4 7 CNX RGN 17:20 17:50 Air Bagan

Flligghtss ffroom Yanggon (RGNN) to Sinngapore (SIN) Flligghtss ffroom Singaapore (SIN) to Yangon ((RGN) Y5-233 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RGN SIN 10:10 14:40 Golden Myanmar Airlines Y5-234 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 SIN RGN 15:35 17:05 Golden Myanmar AirlinesMI509 1 6 RGN SIN 0:25 5;00 SilkAir SQ998 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 SIN RGN 7:55 9:20 Singapore Airline8M231 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RGN SIN 8:30 13:00 MAI 8M6231/3K585 1 3 4 5 6 SIN RGN 9:10 10:40 Jetstar AsiaSQ997 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RGN SIN 10:25 14:45 Singapore Airline 8M232 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 SIN RGN 14:10 15:40 MAI

8M6232/3K586 1 3 4 5 6 RGN SIN 11:30 16:05 Jetstar Asia MI518 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 SIN RGN 14:20 15:45 SilkAir8M233 5 6 7 RGN SIN 13:45 18:15 MAI 8M235 5 6 7 SIN RGN 19:15 20:45 MAITR2827 1 6 7 RGN SIN 15:10 19:35 TigerAir TR2826 1 6 7 SIN RGN 13:00 14:30 TigerAirTR2827 2 3 4 5 RGN SIN 17:10 21:35 TigerAir TR2826 2 3 4 5 SIN RGN 15:00 16:30 TigerAirMI517 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RGN SIN 16:40 21:15 SilkAir MI520 5 7 SIN RGN 22:10 23:35 SilkAir

FFliightts frromm Yangonn (RGN) tto Kualaa Lumpuur (KUL) Fligghtts frroomm Kuala LLumpur (KUL)too Yangonn (RGN)AK1427 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RGN KUL 8:30 12:50 AirAsia AK1426 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 KUL RGN 6:55 8:00 AirAsia8M501 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RGN KUL 8:55 12:55 MAI MH740 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 KUL RGN 10:05 11:15 Malaysia AirlinesMH741 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RGN KUL 12:15 16:30 Malaysia Airlines 8M502 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 KUL RGN 14:00 15:00 MAI

Fligghtts frrom Yanngon (RGGN) to HHanoi (HHAN) Fligghtts frrom Hannoi (HANN) to Yanngon (RRGN) VN956 1 3 5 6 7 RGN HAN 19:10 21:30 Vietnam Airlines VN957 1 3 5 6 7 HAN RGN 16:35 18:10 Vietnam Airlines

Flligghhtss ffroomm Yangon (RGN) to Ho CChi Minhh (SGN) Flligghhtss ffroomm Ho Chii Minh (SSGN) to Yangonn (RGN) VN942 2 4 7 RGN SGN 14:25 17:10 Vietnam Airlines VN943 2 4 7 SGN RGN 11:40 13:25 Vietnam Airlines

Flligghtss ffrom Yanngon (RGGN) to TTaipei (TTPE) Flligghtss ffrom Taipei (TPEE) to Yanngon (RGN)CI7916 1 2 3 4 5 6 RGN TPE 10:50 16:10 China Airline CI7915 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 TPE RGN 7:15 10:05 China AirlineBR288 2 5 6 RGN TPE 11:35 17:20 EVA Air BR287 2 5 6 TPE RGN 7:30 10:35 EVA Air

Flligghhtss ffroom Yanggon (RGNN) to Kunming(KMG) Flligghhtss ffroom Kunmming(KMMG) to Yangon ((RGN)CA906 2 3 4 6 7 RGN KMG 14:15 17:35 Air China CA905 2 3 4 6 7 KMG RGN 12:40 13:15 Air China

MU2032 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RGN KMG 14:40 17:55 China Eastern MU2031 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 KMG RGN 13:30 14:00 China EasternMU2012 3 6 RGN KMG 12:20 18:10 China Eastern (via NNG) MU2011 3 6 KMG RGN 8:25 11:30 China Eastern (via NNG)

Flligghtss from Yanngon (RGGN) to BBeijing (BJS) Flligghtss from Beijjing (BJSS) to Yanngon (RRGN)CA906 2 3 4 6 7 RGN BJS 14:15 21:55 Air China (via KMG) CA905 2 3 4 6 7 BJS RGN 8:05 13:15 Air China (via KMG)

Fligghhtss ffroom Yanggon (RGNN) to Naanning (NNG) Fligghhtss ffroom Nannning (NNNG) to Yaangon ((RGN)Flight No. DDayss From To ETD ETA Operated by: Flight No. DDayss From To ETD ETA Operated by:MU2012 3 6 RGN NNG 12:20 16:25 China Eastern MU2011 3 6 NNG RGN 10:15 11:30 China Eastern

FFligghhtss ffroomm Yangoon (RGN)) to Honng Kong (HKG) HHonngg KKoong (HKG) Flights from Yaangon ((RGN) KA251 1 2 4 6 RGN HKG 1:10 5:35 Dragon Air KA250 1 3 5 7 HKG RGN 21:50 23:45 Dragon Air

Flligghhtss ffroomm Yangon (RGN) to Guanng Zhouu (CAN) Flligghhtss ffroomm Guang Zhou (CCAN) to Yangonn (RGN) 8M711 2 4 7 RGN CAN 8:40 13:15 MAI CZ3055 3 6 CAN RGN 8:40 10:30 China Southern AirlinesCZ3056 3 6 RGN CAN 11:20 15:50 China Southern Airline 8M712 2 4 7 CAN RGN 14:15 15:45 MAICZ3056 1 5 RGN CAN 17:40 22:15 China Southern Airline CZ3055 1 5 CAN RGN 14:45 16:35 China Southern Airlines

FFlighhts ffroom Yanggon (RGN) to Koolkata (CCCU) FFlighhts ffroom Kolkkata (CCUU) to Yaangon (RRGN) Flight No. DDayss From To ETD ETA Operated by: Flight No. DDayss From To ETD ETA Operated by:

AI228 5 RGN CCU 18:45 19:45 Air India AI227 1 5 CCU RGN 10:35 13:20 Air IndiaAI234 1 5 RGN CCU 13:40 16:55 Air India (via GAY) AI233 5 CCU RGN 13:30 18:00 Air India (via GAY)

Fligghhtss ffrom Yanngon (RGGN) to GGaya (GAAY) Fligghhtss ffrom Gayya (GAY) to Yanngon (RGGN) 8M 601 1 3 5 6 RGN GAY 10:30 11:50 MAI 8M 602 1 3 5 6 GAY RGN 12:50 16:00 MAIAI234 1 5 RGN GAY 13:40 15:00 Air India AI233 5 GAY RGN 15:00 18:00 Air India

Fligghtts frrom Yanngon (RGGN) to TTokyo (NNRT) FFliightts frrom Tokkyo (NRTT) to Yaangon (RRGN)NH914 1 3 6 RGN NRT 22:00 06:40+1 ALL NIPPON Airways NH913 1 3 6 NRT RGN 11:10 17:05 ALL NIPPON Airways

FFligghhtss ffrom Yanngon (RGGN) to SSeoul (ICCN) FFligghhtss ffrom Seooul (ICN)) to Yanngon (RGGN)KE472 1 3 5 7 RGN ICN 0:05 8:00 Korean Air KE471 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 ICN RGN 18:40 22:55 Korean Air

OZ7463 4 7 RGN ICN 0:50 8:50 Asiana OZ4753 3 6 ICN RGN 19:30 23:40 Asiana

Flligghtss ffrom Yanngon (RGGN) to DDoha (DOOH) Flightts frrom Dohha (DOH) to Yangon (RRGN)QR619 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RGN DOH 8:00 11:45 Qatar Airways QR618 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 DOH RGN 21:05 06:29+1 Qatar Airways

Flligghhtss ffroomm Yangon (RGN) to Nay Pyi Taww (NYT) Flligghhtss ffroomm Nay Pyyi Taw (NNYT) to Yangonn (RGN)Flight No. DDayss From To ETD ETA Operated by: Flight No. DDayss From To ETD ETA Operated by:FMI-A1 1 2 3 4 5 RGN NYT 7:30 8:30 FMI Air Charter FMI-A2 1 2 3 4 5 NYT RGN 8:50 9:50 FMI Air CharterFMI-B1 1 2 3 4 5 RGN NYT 13:00 14:00 FMI Air Charter FMI-B2 1 2 3 4 5 NYT RGN 14:20 15:20 FMI Air CharterFMI-C1 1 2 3 4 5 RGN NYT 16:30 17:30 FMI Air Charter FMI-C2 1 2 3 4 5 NYT RGN 18:00 19:00 FMI Air CharterFMI-A1 6 RGN NYT 8:00 9:00 FMI Air Charter FMI-A2 6 NYT RGN 10:00 11:00 FMI Air CharterFMI-A1 7 RGN NYT 15:30 16:30 FMI Air Charter FMI-A2 7 NYT RGN 17:00 18:00 FMI Air Charter6T211 1 7 RGN NYT 15:30 16:25 Air Mandalay 6T212 1 7 NYT RGN 16:45 17:40 Air Mandalay

FFliightts frrom Yangoon (RGN) to Manndalay ((MDY) FFliightts frrom Manddalay (MDDY) to YYangon (RGN)Y5-234 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RGN MDY 6:15 7:30 Golden Myanmar Airlines Y5-233 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 MDY RGN 8:10 9:25 Golden Myanmar AirlinesYH 909 2 4 6 7 RGN MDY 6:30 8:10 Yangon Airways YH 910 1 3 MDY RGN 7:40 10:30 Yangon AirwaysYH 917 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RGN MDY 6:10 8:30 Yangon Airways YH 918 1 2 3 4 6 7 MDY RGN 8:30 10:25 Yangon AirwaysYH 727 1 5 RGN MDY 11:15 13:25 Yangon Airways YH 728 1 5 MDY RGN 9:10 11:05 Yangon AirwaysYH 731 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RGN MDY 15:00 17:10 Yangon Airways YH 732 1 2 3 4 5 6 MDY RGN 17:10 19:15 Yangon AirwaysW9 501 1 2 3 4 RGN MDY 6:00 7:25 Air Bagan W9 502 1 2 3 4 MDY RGN 16:10 18:15 Air BaganK7 222 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RGN MDY 6:30 8:40 Air KBZ K7 223 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 MDY RGN 9:00 11:05 Air KBZYJ 201 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RGN MDY 11:30 12:55 Asian Wings YJ 202 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 MDY RGN 16:00 17:25 Asian Wings

Days - (1) Monday (2) TTueesdaay (33) WWeddnessdaay (4) Thursdayy (5) Friday (6) SSaturday (7) Suunday Days - (1) Monday (2) TTueesdaay (33) WWeddnessdaay (4) Thursdayy (5) Friday (6) SSaturday (7) Suunday

PROPERTY & REAL ESTATE 25December 26, 2013-January 1, 2014

Myanmar Summary

Myanmar Summary


People look out from their apartments in an older part of Yangon. Affordable apartments and hostels for people coming to Yangon from different parts of Myanmar are getting increasingly rare amid surging rentals.

Soaring Rentals Hurt Yangon-bound Workers and Students

Dam

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agol

j/Reu

ters

Workers and stu-dents coming to Yangon from all

spiralling rental prices in the commercial hub of the country, sources say.

Yangon has always been a pull for workers around

-

other parts of the country due to a centralised economy and lack of job opportunities. The same goes for students who aspire for higher educa-

very few, or no, quality educational institutions around the country except for Yangon.

However, the inbound population, which surged to a greater height fol-lowing sweeping reforms which started taking place in 2011, is now strug-

apartments and hostels because of surging rental prices.

“My salary is K70,000 per month. In 2011, hostel fees were increased from K15,000 to K20,000, and last year it went up to K25,000. Some had to

Phyu Thit Lwin even pay K30,000,” Ma Eaint Chit, a tenant at a hostel in Kamayut town-ship, said.

“If the hostel rental is almost half of your salary

-port your family anymore. Rather I have to ask for help from my family now,” she added.

To compound the prob-lems, tenants have to rent an apartment or hostel for at least six months up to one year and the whole rent has to be paid in advance – on top of which there is a fee equal to one month’s rent that has to be paid to the broker. Tenants say when a new contract is signed the rental also goes up almost without exception.

Before 1990 in Yangon, tenants only had to pay a deposit agreed before-hand between the house owner and the renter, and the rental was later paid per month. However, the new system of pay-ing the full one-year or six-month rental became commonplace afterwards.

Apartment and hostel rental charges have been on the up for the last two and a half years in Yangon and in some other major cities in Myanmar, and

experts say this trend is unlikely to cease in the near future as the

migrants soars.

Realtors Call for

Estate Taxes Htet Aung

The authorities should collect real estate taxes according to the estates’ respective locations in Yangon, realtors say.

Yangon’s real estate agents said real estate tax rate in

in downtown. “Real estate market has been on the rise and at the

end of 2013 the business remains brisk. Urban real estate markets or real estates in downtown Yangon sell more than those in the suburbs. So, the purchase tax in the outskirts should be less than the downtown estates,” said U Aung Moe, director of a Yangon-based real estate agency.

In October, the authorities put a cap on land prices in Yangon to rein in on the overheated property market.

“This year, we have seen many changes regarding laws and regulations. But still the market is soaring. In this situation, real estate purchasers in Yangon city should

Yangon,” said Daw Yu Maw, another real estate agent from Yangon.

“The tax should be collected based on the location of the estates. Then people will think about buying lands after carefully considering the tax rate,” she added.

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Myanmar Summary

From page 9...

PROPERTY & REAL ESTATE

in Beijing as part of attempts by the US to contain China in the region, analysts say.

The US and Japan have been among the most vocal op-ponents of China’s air defense zone in the East China Sea.

“It is clear that the Chinese view Japan in Myanmar as linked to the US policy of containment against it in the region,” David I Steinberg, a specialist on Myan-mar at Georgetown University in Washington, told the Wall Street Journal.

Japan’s push is part of a wider strategy in Southeast Asia, where it has pledged $20 billion in aid and development

engaged in closer military ties with governments.

China still remains by far the largest investor in Myanmar, with which it shares a border. The country has invested or pledged $14.2 billion in the country, a third of all foreign investment. That compares with $292 million from Japan.

Still, Japanese investors

year ended April, up tenfold from the year before that. Chi-nese investors pledged $407 million, down from $12 billion invested in the preceding four years.

China denies that it sees Ja-pan’s growing role in Myanmar as a threat.

Yang Houlan, China’s am-bassador to Myanmar, said in an interview that “all foreign

From page 23... investments could and should be a blessing for Myanmar.” He added: “Just because they are in, it doesn’t mean we are out.”

For years, Chinese companies made huge investments in Myanmar’s rare gems industry and in infrastructure. A $2.54 billion oil-and-gas pipeline that traverses Myanmar to China, and was funded and built by Beijing, opened earlier this month.

But there have been signs of strain in economic ties between the two nations. In 2011, Myan-mar cancelled plans for China to build a $3.6 billion dam in Myitsone, citing environmental concerns. Other resource pro-jects have met protests.

John Lee, a visiting fellow and China expert at the Singapore-based Institute for Southeast Asian Studies, told WSJ that China’s frustrations in Myan-mar might open the door for Japan.

But China is unlikely to pull out of such a strategic area, Lee said. “If China wants to contin-ue to pour politically-motivated money into Myanmar, then

to get a foothold.”

From page 23...

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (C) smiles with Myanmar's President Thein Sein (L) and Philippine President Benigno Aquino (R) as they leave the stage during a gala dinner of the ASEAN-Japan Commemorative Summit meeting hosted by Abe, in Tokyo.

Toshifumi K

itamura/P

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Thai Tycoon Delays $780m Property Fund IPO Over Political Troubles

Khettiya Jittapong

The Thai real estate group controlled by billionaire Charoen Sirivadhanab-

hakdi has delayed a plan to raise at least 25 billion baht ($780 million) from selling a property fund to the public, fund manager Krung Thai Asset Management (KTAM) said.

Investment Fund will be post-

2014 from the end of this year, mainly due to regulatory pro-cesses and unfavourable market conditions brought about by Thailand’s political troubles.

Last week Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra called a snap election for February 2. She remains caretaker prime minister but protesters want her to go now, with political reforms pushed through before any election.

“The current political situa-

tion has a psychological impact on investor interest especially retailers,” Chavinda Hanra-tanakool, senior executive vice president for property funds at KTAM, told reporters.

year, all problems should be resolved,” she said, adding the fund manager has already

change Commission.The size of the fund was re-

duced from an initial 32 billion baht, and assets to be trans-ferred to the fund will include 12 hotels in Bangkok and major tourist cities such as Phuket, Chiang Mai and Samui.

Earlier this month, Thailand’s largest shopping mall develop-

postponed its plans to raise 8.86 billion baht through selling units of its property fund due to political violence in Bangkok.

Reuters

in March this year educated small farmers, small business owners and entrepreneurs (80 percent of them women) across 30 villages on basic business skills and money management practices.

The program saw an average increase of 218 percent in par-ticipant knowledge of key busi-

The curriculum for the program was adapted from Mercy Corps’ existing courses currently in use in other Asian countries. The training included

eracy topics including market-ing, market assessment skills,

management, book keeping and basic accounting.

In phase two, the program will focus on business plan develop-ment with the goal of increasing economic returns for these en-trepreneur and farmers. It will involve targeted coaching, in-depth small group training and advisory services, and connect these women entrepreneurs

guidance on all areas which are critical to business growth and

success, MasterCard said.“The Delta is one of Myan-

mar’s most fertile agricultural regions, but small-holder farm-ers and their families face tremendous challenges due to climate variability, salt water intrusion and poor access to markets, information and agri-cultural technology,” said Nilan Fernando, Myanmar country director for Mercy Corps.

“The entrepreneurs in this program are highly motivated to start and grow their own businesses because the added income improves the health and well-being of their families, and increases the productivity and resilience of communities across the region.”

From page 9...

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IT & TELECOM 27December 26, 2013-January 1, 2014

Myanmar Summary

Myanmar Summary


Govt Mulls Tech Innovation Centre to Promote IP Rights

Move expected to help grow intellectual property rights landscape

Su Su

Myanmar is planning to set up a technology and innovation sup-

port centre (TISC) to strengthen its intellectual property sector, a minister said.

The centre will be developed in cooperation with the World Intellectual Property Organiza-tion (WIPO).

Ba Shwe, deputy minister, Ministry of Science and Tech-nology, said ensuring intel-lectual property rights will play a crucial role in the economic development of the country.

The TISC will help innovators and researchers in developing countries to promote informa-tion technology-related works, create, protect and manage intellectual property rights, the minister said.

The initiative involves techni-

from related ministries and

representatives from non-governmental organisations.

Myanmar has been embracing new regulatory changes re-cently as it gradually liberalises its economy. This includes its telecoms sector which it has opened up for foreign telcos. In June, Ooredo and Telenor beat out more than 10 other shortlisted telcos to win two telecommunications licences.

Earlier in November, a law pro-tecting intellectual property was drafted following discussions with local and international ex-perts on copyright, trademarks and industrial design.

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Telenor Selects Singaporean Firm as Infrastructure Vendor

Apollo Towers to build and manage telecommunications infrastructure in preparation for mobile network rollout

Htet Aung

Telenor Myanmar has selected Singapore-based t e l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n s

infrastructure provider Apollo

to build and manage telecom towers across Myanmar, the Norwegian telecoms giant said.

Telenor said the appointment

supports its plan of “rapidly rolling out a modern mobile communications network in the country.”

“Establishing telecom towers

step in the rollout of that net-work and in Telenor Myanmar’s goal of delivering high quality and accessible mobile commu-nications services to people

throughout Myanmar,” Telenor said in a statement.

Telenor said it will launch “in-

communications products and services” in Myanmar “within eight months of securing an operating license” from the My-anmar government, and said it expects the licensing process to

“We are pleased to be work-ing with Apollo Towers as we enter this exciting phase in the advancement of Myanmar’s telecommunications industry,” Petter Furberg, chief executive

-bination of industry experience and expertise will meet the requirements of Telenor’s busi-ness plan and ensure the suc-cessful rollout of our advanced mobile network,” Furberg added.

The partnership between Telenor Myanmar and Apollo Towers provides the platform for future multi-tenancy on towers which will accelerate

telecommunications infrastruc-ture in Myanmar, Telenor said.

Francois Lorelli, chief execu-tive of Apollo Towers, said: “We are delighted to ... participate in this revolutionary transforma-tion of the telecommunications landscape in Myanmar. We relish the challenges and the opportunities it presents and are committed to providing world-class infrastructure on time for Telenor.”

Telenor said as part of its com-mitment to contribute to the local economy, Apollo Towers will be working with a number of Myanmar-based companies in the infrastructure build-out across the country, providing opportunities for local busi-nesses and promoting a more vibrant business environment in Myanmar.

“Telenor is here for the long run and we are committed

support the modernisation of Myanmar’s telecommunica-tions sector through investing in building state-of-the-art telecom infrastructure which is vital for innovation in other key industries, and will drive the country’s socioeconomic development,” Furberg said.

Sanjiv Ahuja, founder and chairman of Apollo Towers, said: “I warmly welcome the opportunity to partner with Telenor on this exciting project

deep sector knowledge and in-ternational experience that we can bring to bear will result in a successful project for all parties and will lay the foundation for Apollo Towers to become a ma-jor provider of shared telecom-munications infrastructure facilities in Myanmar.”

Telenor Group has mobile operations in 12 markets in

the Nordic region, Central and Eastern Europe and in Asia, employing about 34,000 peo-ple. It has 161 million mobile subscriptions worldwide, with revenues of NOK 102 billion ($16.6 billion) as of Q3 2013.

Apollo Towers provides construction, management and leasing of telecommunications tower infrastructure to mobile operators. Apollo Towers Pvt Ltd Singapore is a subsidiary of Tillman Global Holdings LLC, a Delaware LLC wholly owned by Sanjiv Ahuja.

A woman talking on a mobile phone in Yangon, Myanmar.

U A

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Xin

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mmbiztoday.com

28IT & TELECOM

Myanmar Summary

Facebook to Sell Video Ads

Reed Albergotti, Ben Fritz and Suzanne Vranica

Facebook Inc will begin selling video advertisements, accord-ing to people familiar with the matter.

The ads, which will play automatically in users’ news feeds may help Facebook capture a share of the $66.4 billion advertisers are expected to spend on US television this year.

ads in the early days.The ads will play automatically in users’ feeds, the people familiar

with the matter said, regardless of whether users click on them.How long they will be is unknown. In August, The Wall Street

on both smartphones and the Web.Many advertisers had hoped Facebook would begin selling ads

in time for the holiday shopping season but Facebook delayed a launch fearing ads could annoy users.

Some advertisers produced videos early in the year, anticipating a summer rollout, and were frustrated when Facebook pushed back the launch. Other advertisers worried ads might alienate users.

Facebook founder and Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg took a personal interest in the video ads and delayed their introduction in part because of engineering problems that made them slow to load. In August, the Journal reported Facebook software engineers improved the back-end technology to speed up ads.

It isn’t clear how much Facebook will charge advertisers but it is likely to be expensive. Executives told The Wall Street Journal in August Facebook planned to charge $2 million a day to let advertis-ers reach the full Facebook audience of adults aged 18 to 54.

“We expect video to be more expensive,” said Dan Slagen, senior vice president of marketing for Nanigans, a digital-marketing soft-ware company. “But we’re going to see advertisers willing to pay,” he said on Monday.

this time of year advertisers can have excess money to spend. Traditionally, Facebook hasn’t been a go-to place for that money and video ads will make it a more attractive destination, advertising industry experts said. WSJ

Myanmar SummaryFacebook Inc onfAD'D,d kaMumfjimrsm;tm;pwifa&mif;csoGm;rnfjzpfaMumif;

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Chinese Technology Smuggler Sentenced to Three Years

Robert Boczkiewicz and John Shiffman

AChinese citizen con-victed of trying to smug-gle American-made

radiation-hardened microchips from California to China was sentenced Wednesday last week to three years in US prison.

Philip Chaohui He, the target of a US Homeland Security sting, was arrested in late 2011 at a port near Los Angeles as he approached a Chinese freighter. In his car trunk, agents found 200 radiation-hardened mi-crochips hidden inside a tub of baby formula.

government to obtain the spe-cialised, American-made mi-crochips, which are critical for operating satellites and ballistic missiles, as well as protecting military hardware from solar and nuclear radiation.

“I love my adopted country with all my heart,” He said in court last Wednesday. “The last thing I would do would be to harm this country. I’m sorry beyond words.”

Senior US District Court Judge Wiley Y Daniel issued a sentence that was about a year less than prosecutors sought

and a year more than He’s lawyer requested. The judge said that although He “bent over backwards to avoid getting caught,” he had otherwise led a productive life and had been a “model prisoner.”

He was charged in Denver be-cause he ordered the microchips from a nearby manufacturer,

Colorado. In custody since De-cember 2011, He pleaded guilty in September to smuggling and conspiracy to violate the Arms Export Control Act.

believe the microchips were purchased on behalf of the state-run Chinese space pro-gram. He has said he believed they were for commercial, not government use. His motive was monetary, not political, he said.

Born in China, He moved to the United States in the mid-1990s. In April 2011, while working as an engineer for the California state transportation agency, He used his side business to order 312 radiation-hardened micro-

It is legal to buy such sensitive technology for domestic use, but illegal to export it without US government approval. Aero-

order suspicious and alerted Homeland Security agents, who initiated a sting.

check for the full cost of the 312 microchips – $549,654 – un-dercover agents delivered them to He’s small company in Oak-land. Although He was arrested carrying 200 microchips, 112 remain missing. US authorities believe those were successfully smuggled to China. Reuters

United Nations Calls For End to Excessive Electronic Spying

Aye Myat

The UN General Assembly on Wednesday last week called for an end to exces-

sive electronic surveillance and expressed concern at the harm such scrutiny, including spying in foreign states and the mass collection of personal data, may have on human rights.

The call was included in a resolution drafted by Germany and Brazil which the 193-mem-ber General Assembly adopted by consensus, Reuters reported.

The United States, Britain, Australia, Canada and New Zealand – known as the Five Eyes surveillance alliance – supported the resolution after language that had initially sug-gested foreign spying could be a human rights violation was weakened to appease them.

The resolution does not name

after former US National Secu-rity Agency contractor Edward Snowden released details this year of a global spying program

by the NSA, sparking interna-tional outrage.

General Assembly resolu-tions are non-binding, unlike resolutions of the 15-nation Security Council. But assembly resolutions that enjoy broad international support can carry

weight.After the resolution was

adopted last month by the General Assembly’s Third Com-mittee, which deals with hu-man rights issues, US delegate Elizabeth Cousens told the

that privacy rights and the right to freedom of expression must be respected both online and

Cousens said it was impera-tive that human rights and civil society activists be able to use the Internet freely and without fear of reprisal to protect “dig-

and hold governments, includ-ing mine, accountable.”

The resolution notes “that while concerns about public

security may justify the gather-ing and protection of certain sensitive information, States must ensure full compliance with their obligations under in-ternational human rights law.”

Myanmar Summary

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AUTOMOBILE 29December 26, 2013-January 1, 2014

Myanmar Summary


Mitsubishi Opens Mandalay Service Centre

Japanese automaker Mitsubishi has opened a second after-sales service

centre in Mandalay in a bid to grab a sizeable share of Myan-mar’s burgeoning automobile market.

Mitsubishi Motors Corp

Htet Aung (MMC), Mitsubishi Corp (MC), and their local partners Yoma Strategic Holdings Ltd (YSH) and First Myanmar Investment Co Ltd (FMI) have been working on building a service structure for inspection, maintenance, and repair of Mitsubishi-branded vehicles in Myanmar, following Myanmar’s recent

deregulation of automobile importation.

Many Mitsubishi-branded vehicles are already common-place in Myanmar, distributed mainly through the country’s used car market.

Mitsubishi said by establish-ing the second after-sales ser-vice centre, following the one established in Yangon this May, services for almost 80 percent of Mitsubishi-branded vehicles currently on the road in Myan-mar will be covered.

The company said expanding the after-sales service structure using MMC know-how will contribute to strengthening MMC’s brand image prior to commencement of its new car sales.

As part of initiatives towards the Myanmar market, MMC announced its intention in October to start new car sales in Myanmar.

Mitsubishi said MMC, MC, YSH and FMI are under discus-

sions regarding establishment of a joint venture for new vehicle sales and after-sales service in preparation for an expected rapid development and growth of the economy as well as the automobile market in Myanmar.

The companies are discussing additional possibilities for mu-tual cooperation in Myanmar in the future, including local production, Mitsubishi said.

A BMW 7 Series car.

PA

C

BMW to Sponsor ASEAN Summit 2014

Up to 95 BMW premium limousines will service delegates

German auto giant BMW, jointly with its local part-ner Prestige Automo-

biles, announced that it will be sponsoring the ASEAN Summit

The ASEAN Summit will take place in Myanmar as a two-part event in May and November next year.

7 Series, the BMW 5 Series Executive Sedan and the pre-mium BMW X5 Sports Activ-ity Vehicle will be deployed to

and delegates attending the event, Prestige Automobiles, BMW’s authorised importer in Myanmar, said.

“As a local company, we want to support all the initiatives for the development of Myanmar. After our parent company Oc-tagon International Services co-sponsored the 27th SEA Games by providing transport service, it is an honour to partner the ASEAN Summit chaired by Myanmar,” said Chan Mya, managing director of Prestige Automobiles.

sponsorship for the summit is a part of the company’s corporate social responsibility policy. “By

Aye Myat we want to contribute to the successful organising of this summit and make the nation proud.”

distributor of BMW in Myan-mar … We will do our utmost to deliver a full BMW brand expe-rience to all world leaders and delegates. We will ensure they

nations safely, promptly, and in the best possible condition.

Neil Fiorentinos, managing director of BMW Group Asia, said: “We are very pleased to be sponsoring the ASEAN Summit for the third consecutive year. As the world’s leading premium automotive brand, we con-stantly strive to maintain our focus on excellence, innovation as well as design, and this is evi-dent in every BMW limousine. This is what makes BMW a be-

event like the ASEAN Summit.”

on sales and delivered after the meetings, Prestige Automobiles said.

“Chaired by Myanmar for the

is a symbol of the new dynamic the country has entered into.

customers the unique opportu-nity to own the prestigious cars seated by the leaders on the occasion. Our customers can be proud to take part in this his-

torical event,” Chan Mya said.Prestige Automobiles Co

Ltd (PAC) is a subsidiary of Octagon International Services Co Ltd (OIS), which distributes leading brands for machinery and vehicles. OIS also imports premium passenger buses as well as heavy machineries such as construction and mining equipment, cranes and vehicles.

Incorporated in 2005, OIS currently has a workforce of over 600 personnel.

Myanmar Summary

Men walk in front of Mitsubishi Motors Corp's headquarters in Tokyo.

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mmbiztoday.comCLASSIFIEDS 30

SOCIAL SCENES 31December 26, 2013-January 1, 2014


Troy Griffiths, deputy managing director of Savills, speaks at the launch. Phyu Thit Lwin Savills delegates at the event. Phyu Thit Lwin

Troy Griffiths gives a crest to Daw Soe Sint Win (R). Phyu Thit LwinRichard M Emerson, country manager of Savills Myanmar, pose for a photo. Phyu Thit Lwin Thailand Optimist team celebrates after clinching the gold medal.

Myanmar Yachting Federation

Coca-Cola Press Conference

Coca-Cola delegates at the press conference. Kyaw Min

Coca-Cola Myanmar’s Managing Director Rehan Khan at the press event. Kyaw Min

A Coca-Cola delegate at the event. Kyaw Min

7 Days in Myanmar Book Launch Ceremony

A delegate speaks at the event. Phyu Thit Lwin

Veteran journalist Denis Gray who wrote an article for the book. Phyu Thit LwinMelissa Teo and Didier Miller, publisher of the book. Phyu Thit Lwin

A panel of delegates at the book launch. Phyu Thit Lwin

Delegates pose for a photo at the launch. Phyu Thit Lwin Myanmar Beer promotion at the event. Phyu Thit Lwin

Savills’ Myanmar Office Opening Ceremony

A Savills representative speaks at the press conference. Phyu Thit Lwin Savills representatives at the event. Phyu Thit Lwin

Optimist Team Class @ 27th SEA Games Sailing Competition

Optimist Team Class. Myanmar Yachting Federation

Thailand and Singapore Optimist teams. Myanmar Yachting Federation


mmbiztoday.com

32ENTERTAINMENT

Before Myanmar became one of the world’s most attractive tourist destinations, many visitors in the country stuck to the tried and tested ‘Big Four’ places – the lively former capital of Yangon, the calm serenity of Inle Lake, the history and Bud-dhist culture of Mandalay and the vast, temple-clad plains of Bagan.Even today, as Myanmar at-tracts upwards of 1 million foreign tourists a year, alter-native destinations are little known about. But look closely and they are there. There is the

lush, abundant Karen state, the mountainous temples of Kachin and the ‘Buddhist Disneyland’ that is Bago. Little known also are Myanmar’s beach destinations.Sitting on the country’s western shore, near to the attractive Bay of Bengal, and just a few hours’ drive from Yangon, lies Ngwe Saung a small, simple, but strik-ing beach destination.Translated as ‘Silver Beech’,

Su Su Ngwe Saung’s beach is 15 kilo-metres long, with white pristine sand and faultless turquoise water. During rainy season the sea gets choppy, making it a dif-

times of the year, the warm water is the perfect temperature to relax in. As you relax there, coconut palm trees swaying in the wind, looking at the almost empty beach, you quickly real-ise that there are few places like this elsewhere in the world.There are few activity options at the beach, but that hardly mat-ters in such a pristine, beautiful place. Along the beach’s north-ern end two quaint pagodas

Aureum Palace Resort & Spa: A Place to Stay on a Weekend Getaway in Ngwe Saung

sit atop some rocks, while the southern end is dominated by “Lovers’ Island” a forest-dense, beautiful island that lies a few hundred metres from the shore. When the tide is down, visitors can walk to the tranquil spot. Other options include snorke-ling, and traveling around by motorbike, but the real reason you are here is to relax in such a tranquil, beautiful spot.Accommodation options are

reasonably limited too – in 2013, Ngwe Saung had 16 hotels operating 714 rooms. However, one standout place to stay is the Aureum Palace Resort & Spa, Ngwe Saung. The Aureum Palace brand operates out of a range of destinations around the country including Bagan, Ngapali, Pyin Oo Lwin and Nay Pyi Taw, and its high

with the impressive reputation that the brand has built around the country.The luxury resort at Ngwe Saung is the largest property in the area, with two-thousand feet of beachfronts, which include luxurious, spacious cottages up

Activities at the hotel include vast facilities which include an extensive spa facility, a beachside swimming pool, two restaurants, two bars, as well as access to a nearby golf

course and a variety of leisure activities.The hotel can also provide activities for guests, including

ling trips, elephant camp visits and cooking lessons, which also include a visit to a local market.Established seven years ago, Aureum Palace Resort & Spa Ngwe Saung houses 97 rooms, one presidential suite with a

complexes with separate swim-ming pools and a beachside boat bar, 55 spacious bungalows and 36 deluxe rooms. The Aureum Palace Hotel chain started in Bagan in 2005 and Ngapali, Ngwe Saung and Pyin Oo Lwin in 2006, Nay Pyi Taw in 2007 and Inle in 2011, and it has more projects in the pipeline.

The beachfront.

Aureum

The swimming pool at the Aureum Palace Resort & Spa at Ngwe Saung.

Aur

eum

Aureum

Sunset at Ngwe Saung from the resort.

Myanmar Business Today - Vol 1, Issue 47

Business

Transcript of Myanmar Business Today - Vol 1, Issue 47