Myanmar Business Today - Vol 2, Issue 22

June 5-11, 2014
Myanmar Business Today
mmbiztoday.com
mmbiztoday.com June 5-11, 2014| Vol 2, Issue 22MYANMAR’S FIRST BILINGUAL BUSINESS JOURNAL
Myanmar Summary
Contd. P 11...
Inside MBT
Gov’tReformsMyanmar
InvestmentCommission
Wai Linn Kyaw
T
he Myanmar In-
vestment Com-
mission (MIC) has
appointed the country’s
energy minister as its new
chairman and added a
vice chairman position in
addition to boosting the
total number of members
rising number of MIC
permit applications for
foreign investment in
Myanmar, a source with
close knowledge of the
matter told Myanmar
Business Today.
The Commission was re-
established with Minister
for Energy U Zayar Aung
as chairman, replacing U
Win Shein, minister for
Finance.
Minister for Hotels and
Tourism U Htay Aung
was appointed as the vice
Chairman of MIC, while
other members include
Deputy Minister for Fi-
nance Dr Maung Maung
Thein and Deputy Minis-
ter for National Planning
and Economic Develop-
ment Daw Lei Lei Thein.
The secretary position
tor General of the Direc-
torate of Investment and
Company Administration
U Aung Naing Oo.
So far during this year,
MIC has permitted near-
entrepreneurs, while 60
from foreigner investors
were given the go-ahead.
E-Visa to Be Introduced by
Htun Htun Minn
T
he Department of
Immigration and
Population (DIP)
under the Immigration
Ministry by this year will
Visa system which was
initiated in 2011, a top of-
The system will enable
a visa applicant to receive
Myanmar visa within
three days of submitting
application, thus saving
time and costs, U Maung
Maung Than, Director of
DIP said.
“This will not only bene-
but also tourists,” he said.
The director said the
technical aspect of the
while the service aspect
is yet to be taken care of
fully.
“We can start our ser-
vice before the end of this
year,” U Maung Maung
Than said.
E-Visa will be available
for the countries that do
not have a Myanmar Em-
bassy and for applicants
who live far from a My-
anmar consulate. Appli-
cants will get online noti-
visa, according to the DIP.
The Ministry of Hotel
and Tourism, Myanmar
Posts and Telecommu-
nications (MPT) and the
DIP are collaborating to
implement the E-Visa
system.
Currently, foreign ap-
plicants from countries
where there are no My-
anmar consulates have
to wait for about a week
to get their applications
approved, while visa fees
risdictions.
“Many countries have
boosted their tourism
sector by introducing this
kind of system. It is tak-
ing us a long time to im-
plement the system, but
once launched it will help
us double tourist arriv-
als very soon,” U Naung
Naung Han, secretary of
Myanmar Tourism Fed-
eration, told Myanmar
Business Today.
Myanmar has set a tar-
tourists in 2015, a near-
Minister for Tourism U
Htay Aung said earlier.
Tourist arrivals in My-
anmar hit 1 million for
increase of 200,000 com-
pared with 2011, amid
drastic reforms under-
taken by the semi-civilian
government that came to
power three year ago.
Myanmar Says to Grant For-
eign Banks Licences by End-
Getting A “Reasonable” Lunch:
Yangon’s Western Restaurant
Scene P-9
Yoma Boosts Myanmar Telco
Tower Stake to 25pc P-27
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June 5-11, 2014
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2LOCAL BIZ
MYANMAR’S FIRST BILINGUAL BUSINESS JOURNAL
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Business News in Brief
China washes its hands of illegal Chinese in
Myanmar
The Chinese government will not be responsible for
and will not provide any assistance to Chinese citizens
who have illegally entered Myanmar to work at gold
and other metal mines in Mandalay Division, local me-
dia reported Mandalay-based Chinese Consul General
Wang Yu as saying. Myanmar can take action against
illegal Chinese migrant workers in accordance with its
laws since China is taking strong action against illegal
foreigners in China, Wang Yu said.
Thanlwin hydropower project gets green sig-
nal
The Myanmar Minister of Electric Power has grant-
ed approval to local company Asia World and China’s
Hanergy Group Holding Ltd to develop a 1,400MW hy-
dropower plant along the Thanlwin River, local media
reported. The Upper Thanlwin (also seen as "Kunlong")
hydroelectric project would be a joint venture allowing
the companies to operate the plant for up to 40 years
under a build-operate-transfer plan, with all but about
10 percent of its output being sold to China. The Han-
ergy Group reportedly signed a memorandum of agree-
ment for the Upper Thanlwin project’s development
with the Myanmar government in 2010.
New town plans to be drawn for 56
Following instructions from President Thein Sein,
new town plans will be drawn for 56 cities across the
country with assistance from international organisa-
tions, local media reported Director Aye Aye Myint
of Construction Ministry as saying. Priority would be
given to cities with more than 100,000 population, Aye
Aye Myint said.
FDI from turmoil-hit regional countries may
move to Myanmar
Foreign Direct Investment projects from some re-
gional countries, which are experiencing political tur-
moil, are likely to move into Myanmar, leading local
businesspeople told local media. Lured by EU’s restora-
tion of GSP (Generalised System of Preferences) trad-
ing privileges on Myanmar, a number of garment facto-
ries have already moved to Myanmar, Chairman Myat
Thin Aung of Hlaingtharyar Special Industrial Estate,
western outskirts of Yangon, was quoted as saying.
Gov’t sells K2.1 trillion in treasury notes
The government has sold more than K2.1 trillion
($2.17 billion) worth of treasury notes as of February,
according to the Ministry of National Planning and
Economic Development. The Central Bank of Myanmar
(CBM) sold K559 billion worth of three-year treasury
three-year term is 9 percent and the interest rate for
Bank of Myanmar.
Companies from 11 countries to invest in Thil-
awa SEZ
A total of 45 foreign companies from 11 countries in-
tion letters to invest at the Thilawa Special Economic
Zone on the outskirts of commercial city Yangon, local
media reported citing Chairman Set Aung of the Thila-
wa SEZ Management Committee. Most of the interest-
ed companies are from Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore,
Thailand and Malaysia while the only company from
the entire project.
EU promotes police-public relations
The Myanmar Police Force (MPF) in cooperation with
European Union will promote the relations between po-
lice force and public in Myanmar, the EU said in a state-
ment. The MPF recently held an Open Day, which was
organised at the initiative of the Community Policing
project funded by the EU. The project has also provided
in order to roll out community policing to more areas
across the country. The police reform project includes
community policing, crowd management, improving
accountability and enhancing the role of civil society
and the media. The project will be completed in March
2015, the EU said.
Myanmar Summary
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June 5-11, 2014
mmbiztoday.com
3LOCAL BIZ
Myanmar Summary
Contd. P 11...
Myanmar Says to Grant Foreign Banks Licences by End-Sept
M
yanmar will grant for-
eign banks limited op-
erating licences by the
third quarter of this year, in a
bid by the country’s semi-civil-
ian government to attract for-
eign investment into an econo-
my just emerging from decades
of military rule.
mar, and seen by Reuters, shows
that as many as 10 foreign banks
will be allowed to set up one
branch each to provide restricted
services, including granting loans
to foreign corporates.
Jared Ferrie Lending to local companies
will require the foreign banks
to cooperate with local institu-
tions, the document shows.
Foreign banks with repre-
include Standard Chartered,
Thailand’s Siam Commercial
Bank , Singapore’s Oversea-
Chinese Banking Corp., the
Australia and New Zealand
Banking Group, the Korea Ex-
change Bank, and Japan’s Su-
mitomo Mitsui Banking Group.
“Licensees are expected to
contribute to the development
of the domestic banking sector,
notably but not exclusively by
participating in the interbank
market, by lending to domestic
ing activities of domestic corpo-
rates,” the document added.
A licensing panel will review
applications by July 6 and award
September, the document says.
will oversee the process.
Based on a recommendation
from the World Bank, a mini-
mum paid-in capital of $75 mil-
lion will be required by selected
foreign banks, the document
showed.
Domestic concerns
Myanmar’s banking sector
was crippled by decades of mis-
management under military
of the global economy due to
Western sanctions.
The European Union, Aus-
tralia and other countries have
lifted sanctions in response to
widespread political and eco-
nomic reforms initiated by the
reformist, semi-civilian govern-
ment that took over from a mili-
tary junta in March 2011.
who declined to be named due
to the sensitivity of the subject,
said foreign banks would help
spur economic development as
well as modernise the domestic
banking system.
foreign banks to give capacity
building to local banks,” the of-
The tender has triggered con-
cerns among domestic banks
and lawmakers, who say the
immature to deal with foreign
competition.
a “strong parliamentary com-
mittee” had already said it was
opposed to allowing foreign
banks to operate in Myanmar,
but added that the process was
unlikely to be derailed.
“Local banks are not to be
marginalised,” he said.
Last year, a group of parlia-
mentarians tried unsuccessfully
to intervene at the last moment
to prevent telecommunication
licences from being awarded to
Norway’s Telenor and Qatar’s
Ooredoo.
be allowed to operate in Myanmar later this year although initially they will only be allowed to have branches in certain areas
and offer a limited range of products, government and banking sources told Reuters.
WaiLinnKyaw
Rice Exports Up 26
Percent in April
M
yanmar earned $10.74
million from export-
ing 27,692 tonnes of
year, up 26 percent compared
to the same period a year ear-
lier, Ministry of Commerce data
shows.
During the period, 5,070
tonnes of rice were exported
through overseas routes, fetch-
ing $1.86 million, while over-
land (border) trade of 22,622
tonnes garnered $8.88 million.
tonnes of rice were exported
through overseas routes earn-
trade bagged $5.40 million
May Soe San from 12,182 tonnes.
Myanmar’s rice exports most-
ly take place overland with Chi-
na and Thailand, however the
government has been empha-
sising on increasing overseas
exports, which essentially com-
prise exporting high-grade and
value-added rice.
Muse border trade station
with China sees about 45,000
to 50,000 bags traded every
day, with local varities like Nwe
The Htet and Nga Seing being
the most popular, traders say.
Recently, there has been
strong demand for rice from
China’s Yunan province as ex-
ports from Vietnam dwindled,
Reuters
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June 5-11, 2014
mmbiztoday.com
LOCAL BIZ 4
Myanmar Summary
Myanmar Summary
Heliocentris Grabs Additional Multimillion
Dollar Myanmar Order
New order worth $2.7-4 million; covers turnkey power solutions for 75 new base stations
G
erman power solutions
provider Heliocentris
Energy Solutions AG
said it has received an addition-
al order in Myanmar following
its multimillion-dollar April
deal, which was the largest sin-
gle purchase order in the com-
pany’s history.
million ($2.72-4.08 million) in
revenues depending on exact
said, adding that the order will
months.
-
distributed power systems,
announced that it grabbed an
order to deliver and install 75
turnkey power solutions for the
rollout of the new mobile net-
work in Myanmar.
With this order, the 2014 or-
der book of Heliocentris has
reached €9.2 million ($12.51
million), almost double the
amount it recorded as full year
The power solutions comprise
Heliocentris’ proprietary “En-
ergy Manager System” and also
include diesel generators, bat-
teries, power electronics, cabi-
nets and peripheral material
from other power components
suppliers.
Ayad Abul-Ella, CEO of Helio-
centris, said: “Orders received
from Myanmar now total over
€5 million, which is particularly
encouraging as the rollout of
the mobile telecom infrastruc-
ture in this country has only
just begun.”
Telenor and Ooredoo, the
two principal operators in My-
Phyu Thit Lwin
Heliocentris
anmar, plan to erect around
18,000 mobile base stations in
the next three years, of which
about one fourth in 2014.
“The opportunity is therefore
huge for Heliocentris to achieve
substantial double-digit million
revenues in Myanmar over the
“With our recent order wins
the company is now also well
on track to achieve full year
revenues of over €20 million in
2014 as planned.”
Ayad said the follow-on order
standing with existing custom-
ers and was already evidenced
by repeat-purchases by du in
UAE and mcell in Mozambique.
Myanmar is one of the few
remaining telecommunications
frontiers, with only 10 percent
of its 60 million people holding
a mobile-phone subscription,
according to industry estimates.
That compares to penetration
rates of 70 percent in Cambo-
dia, 90 percent in Laos and over
100 percent in Thailand.
-
ments, the Myanmar govern-
ment plans to increase the per-
centage of
phone owners to 80 percent
by 2016.
In order to achieve this ambi-
tious goal, new mobile licences
were awarded to Telenor from
Norway and Qatar Telecom in
June of last year. Both opera-
tors will have to meet popula-
tion and geographical coverage
targets to ensure that the coun-
try’s large rural population is
covered.
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Myanmar’s April
$634m
M
yanmar’s total exports
in April amounted to
total imports during the month
came up to $1.18 billion, show-
Central Statistical Organisation
(CSO) shows.
During the period, foreign
trade totalled $1.72 billion, ac-
cording to CSO data.
Of the total export, overseas
million dollars while border
trade made up $108.14 million.
Of the total import, overseas
trade accounted for $1.04 bil-
lion and border trade made up
foreign trade totalled $24.96
billion, with export amounting
to $11.20 billion and import
Kyaw Min
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June 5-11, 2014
mmbiztoday.com
LOCAL BIZ 5
Myanmar Summary
Myanmar Summary
UPP Gets MIC Nod on
$46-m Power Plant
Incorporates Myanmar power subsidiary for its new
gas power plant project in Yangon (Ywama)
S
ingapore-listed conglomerate UPP Holdings Ltd
to its power generation subsidiary to carry on a power
plant project in the energy-starved Southeast Asian
country.
an investment of $46.511 million, approved by the My-
anmar Investment Commission (MIC), UPP said in a
The company and UPP Greentech Pte Ltd, a wholly
owned subsidiary of UPP, have invested the total sum,
comprising: initial capital injection of $75,000; addi-
tional capital injection of $46,000; and aggregate con-
UPP holds 1 percent stake in the company while UPP
Greentech holds the rest.
In August last year, UPP signed a turnkey agreement
with Myanmar-based MSP Tractors Pte Ltd and Myan
Shwe Pyi Tractors Ltd to build the power plant.
UPP started looking into potential businesses in My-
anmar since 2012 in a bid to diversify its portfolio into
Myanmar.
Aung Phyo
pifumyltajcpdkuf UPP tzGJUtpnf;BuD;onfjrefrmtpdk;&pGrf;tif
axmufyHhrItpDtpOfudk ta&SUawmiftm&SpGrf;tif&Sm;yg;aomEdkifiHrsm;
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rIpmcsKyfudk xkwfjyefcJhaMumif; od&onf/
jrefrm&if;ESD;jr§KyfESHrIaumfr&Sif(MIC)cGifhjyKcsuffjzifh UPP Power
(jrefrm) vDrdwufonf tar&duefa':vm 46 'or 511 oef;udk
&if;ESD;jr§KyfESHrnfjzpf aMumif;od&onf/
Myanmar Seeks to Establish Direct Air Links with Europe
T
he government is discuss-
ing with some European
countries to sign aviation
agreements which will pave the
way to establish direct air con-
nections between Europe and the
Htun Htun Minn recently-opened Southeast Asian
nation, a Directorate of Civil Avi-
“Now we are discussing with
Netherlands and France. Then
we will continue to discuss with
other countries,” U Nay Win,
Director of the DCA told Myan-
mar Business Today.
DCA will strive to improve
aviation safety, airport security
and other related services to
push those agreements.
Currently, there are no local
direct air links between Myan-
mar and any European country.
However, Myanmar has direct
air links with China, Japan,
South Korea, Thailand, Bangla-
desh and India, among others.
The Philippines also struck a
direct air link agreement with
Myanmar last month.
“Myanmar’s aviation industry
will develop once the depart-
ment signs the agreements.
Local airlines will be able to
expand their market and the
number of airlines will also
increase,” Daw Aye Mra Tha,
spokesperson of the state-run
carrier Myanmar Airways In-
ternational (MAI) said.
Currently, there are 24 foreign
airlines operating in Myanmar
and most of them are operating
from Thailand, Singapore and
Malaysia.
Foreign tourist arrival has
jumped recently amid reforms
and the three international air-
gon, Mandalay and Nay Pyi Taw
capacity.
The government recently se-
lected a foreign consortium to
build a $12-billion new inter-
national airport in Bago region,
about 70 kilometres from Yan-
gon.
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&ef aqG;aEG;ae&jcif;jzpfaMumif; od&
onf/

June 5-11, 2014
mmbiztoday.com
LOCAL BIZ 6
Myanmar Summary
Trio Sign $3-m Public Private Partnership Agreement
T
he United States Agency
for International Devel-
opment (USAID), Chev-
ron/UNOCAL Myanmar and
Pact Myanmar have signed a
-
nership (PPP) agreement to im-
plement a development project
in Myanmar.
The three-year project is the
second phase of a program
known as SHINE (Sustainable
Health and Empowerment),
and is the latest in a 10-year
partnership between Washing-
ton-based NGO Pact and Chev-
ron/UNOCAL.
Pact’s Country Director Rich-
ard Harrison said the agree-
ment marks a major step
forward in a new model of de-
velopment, where the common
goal is integrated community
resilience.
He said aid organisations
now have the opportunity and
responsibility in Myanmar to
to better address the govern-
ment’s highest priorities and
reform process.
“We see this as a potential
paradigm shift based on lessons
as part of a deliberate and stra-
tegic shift in Myanmar where
private sector and civil society
May Soe San links no longer lag behind the
links between donors and civil
society,” Harrison said.
The new project aims to im-
prove the lives of 160,000
townships in central Myanmar
between 2014 and 2017, Pact
said.
Mariano Vela, president of
Chevron/UNOCAL Myanmar,
said: “As a long-term private
sector investor in Myanmar,
we see ourselves as part of the
solution for Myanmar’s future
development, and it is our hope
that projects such as this help
people to make their own eco-
nomic choices.
Over 10 years of support-
ing Pact in Myanmar, we have
directly improved the lives of
902,405 individual Myanmar
citizens in 181,000 households
townships, he added.
The program will focus on
women’s economic empower-
ment through the establishment
of Village Health and Develop-
ment Funds (VHDFs), which
will focus on maternal, new-
born and child health, tuber-
culosis, water and sanitation,
women in target communities.
One of the key outputs of the
SHINE program will be to dou-
ble, to 80 percent, the propor-
tion of pregnant women in tar-
get villages that give birth with
skilled birth attendants.
United States Ambassador
Derek Mitchell said Public Pri-
vate Partnerships are an inte-
gral part of the United States
Government strategy for im-
proving development outcomes
worldwide, and supporting the
reform process in Myanmar.
Pact also implements a
-
ernment-funded development
program called Shae Thot in
Myanmar. Besides USAID and
Chevron, Pact also gets funding
from Coca-cola for its Myanmar
programs.
SoeZeyaTun/Reuters
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ESifh Chevron/UNOCAL wdkY 10 ESpf
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DFDL Discusses Tax Issues
R
-
ducted a knowledge-sharing session with high level of-
“Central to the discussions were the tax issues faced by inter-
national clients in the current business environment in Myan-
mar,” said DFDL Partner Jack Sheehan.
The session, held in collaboration with DFDL’s alliance trans-
-
During the session, Sheehan, Tax Director Bernard Cobarru-
bias and Quantera Senior Partner Steven Carey shared experi-
-
ternational tax trends, double tax treaties and transfer pricing.
“As international investors increasingly enter Myanmar, the
IRD there was particularly keen to hear those issues as well
as cases and practical examples from other tax jurisdictions,”
Sheehan added.
-
gon and the capital Nay Pyi Taw.
Aung Phyo
Myanmar Summary
should not assume it is impossi-
ble to eat out for under K5,000,
instead if you look carefully it is
possible to eat out all over Yan-
gon. And I’m sure many readers
can name many restaurants I
have yet to encounter.
Although there is a surpris-
ingly wide range of good quality
restaurants in Yangon it is safe
to say the vast majority are rela-
tively expensive. Costs of opera-
tions are high in Yangon, land
rental is very expensive and
sourcing authenticate ingredi-
ents is problematic and pricy
prices. Additionally, many for-
eigners in Yangon are well paid
expatriate workers, with high
levels of disposable income.
This is dissimilar to neighbour-
ing Bangkok, which receives a
high number of lower income
tourists and subsequently has
a restaurant scene to facilitate.
Resultantly, as many restau-
rants cater to the higher end of
the economic spectrum there is
little necessity to charge cheap
prices, as demand will be high
regardless.
city undergoing a time of tran-
sition and is likely to change
in recent years as more tour-
ists, expats and returning locals
trickle into the country. As one
of my interviewees working in a
high-end European restaurant,
who wanted to remain anony-
mous, told me, “With the di-
chotomy in pricing and quality
between reasonable local and
Western food so vast, it seems
likely new restaurants will open
with Western menus and Bur-
mese prices.”
With these restaurants lo-
cated in a society that places
such esteem on Western cul-
ture, it seems likely these es-
anyone who’s been to the Pizza
Company or Manhattan Fish
-
pirational Burmese making up
the majority of the customers.
For now however, there is still
much progress to be made.
Jonathan Harvey is currently
interning at Consult Myanmar
in Yangon. The views expressed
here are the author’s own and
-
anmar Business Today’s edito-
rial policy.
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ajymjyMuonf/

June 5-11, 2014
mmbiztoday.com
7LOCAL BIZ
Myanmar Summary
Myanmar Summary
MyanmarSignsEnvironmental
PactwithSouthKorea
T
he Ministry of Environmental Conservation has
signed an environmental protection agreement
with the government of South Korea.
As Myanmar begins a phase of rapid economic devel-
opment, the impact on the environment and local ecosys-
tems grows due to pollution, deforestation and increasing
resource extraction.
“By signing the environmental conservation contract,
we can exchange environmental information and techni-
cal experiences,” said Nay Aye, director general of the De-
partment of Environmental Conservation and Forestry.
The two sides signed an agreement to carry out environ-
mental policies, prevent the degradation of bio-diversity
and climate change. The agreements also helps share in-
formation on how to control and supervise air pollution,
manage water quality control and underground water
supplies and conduct environmental research.
“As Myanmar faces rapid economic development, they
face increasing environmental pollution. To reduce pollu-
tion, we need conservation programmes and sound envi-
ronmental policies. We want to share the good ways to re-
duce the environmental impact,” said the chairman of the
Korea Environmental Industry & Technology Institute.
Aye Myat
Ooredoo to Launch Myanmar Services by September
Omobile SIM cards in My-
anmar sometime between
July and September this year, a
services in major urban areas
around Yangon, Mandalay and
Nay Pyi Taw in the third quarter
the population, Ross Cormack,
-
doo, told a press conference to
update on progress of the com-
pany ahead of its launch of its
services.
By the end of the year, services
will reach 60 percent of the pop-
percent of the country’s popula-
-
work coverage.
However, Cormack declined re-
veal the exact price of Ooredoo’s
still conducting a customer sur-
vey.
“The price of SIM cards, call
and internet service rates will be
announced later. There will be no
limits as to how many SIM cards
will be issued. Our main goal is
to provide better telecommuni-
Kyaw Min
cations and internet services to
Myanmar people,” he said.
licence to operate in Myanmar’s
industry, said it has established
data centres in Yangon and Man-
dalay and another one in Nay Pyi
Taw is near completion.
400 infrastructure towers and
deploy 1,200 kilometres of its
-
ers.
“So far we have built more than
100 towers, and we are going
to have more by the end of the
year,” Cormack said.
Ooredoo Mynmar formally got
its licence to operate of February
5 following its successful bidding
in a tightly-contested battle for
After formally receiving its li-
cence Ooredoo said in a state-
ment: “… the company remains
on track to meet its commitment
to deliver … mobile communica-
tion services for Myanmar’s peo-
ple in six months’ time.”
-
-
mack said: “From now on we
must work ... to launch after six
date. … We must keep our prom-
ises in delivering our services and
products to the people of Myan-
mar. Keeping the promises by
word of mouth isn’t enough.”
Ooredoo’s Norwegian rival
Telenor, which has about 150
million subscribers in Asia, the
Nordics and central Europe, said
it would launch voice and data
service within eight months in
Myanmar and expects to cover
90 percent of the country’s popu-
Cormack said Ooredoo is work-
ing on connecting to the existing
mobile network of state-run My-
anmar Post and Telecommunica-
network can already connect to
Telenor’s network.
Regarding user data protec-
tion, Cormak said Ooredoo owns
its data centres and networks
and user information will be
safeguarded according to inter-
national law. “Even if the govern-
ment asks for user data, we will
not give them.”
Cormack placed a strong em-
phasisontheworkthatcontinues
in the recruitment, development
and training of its local Myanmar
-
working across all functions of
the business, Cormack said they
are the key ingredient to deliver-
ing ongoing success:
Whilst acknowledging that
some challenges had been faced
in terms of network rollout, Cor-
mack said plans to introduce its
service during the third quarter
remained intact.
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xdcdkufrsm; &Sdvmjcif;jzpfonf/
KyawMin

June 5-11, 2014
mmbiztoday.com
LOCAL BIZ 8
Myanmar Summary
Supri/Reuters
Manulife Makes Myanmar Return After 72-Year Break
M
anulife Financial Corp
(MFC) re-established
its presence in Myan-
-
dian insurer to tap the Southeast
Asian country’s burgeoning mid-
dle class.
The company, which operates
in 11 Asian markets including
Thailand and China, opened a
-
mar’s largest city Yangon recent-
ly, and plans to sell life insurance
products to the country of about
60 million people.
Manulife, Canada’s largest
life insurer entered Myanmar
known as Burma, and left in 1942
Wai Linn Kyaw as the World War II broke out.
“We’re convinced Myanmar is
on the threshold of a great op-
portunity,” Indren Naidoo, Man-
ulife’s regional executive, said in
a statement.
“Myanmar has a real oppor-
tunity here in terms of catching
up with the kind of growth and
development we’ve seen in other
parts of this region.”
Myanmar’s middle-income
earners are set to double by
2020, according to the Boston
Consulting Group, leaving more
disposable income for residents
to buy insurance products. It is
forecast to reach one of the high-
est growth rates in Asia, with a
GDP gain of 7.8 percent this year
and next, according to the Asian
Development Bank.
Myanmar’s government has
been shaping a more invest-
ment-friendly country by unify-
ing the exchange rate, creating
autonomy for the central bank,
reforming tax policy, pumping
funds into social and physical in-
frastructure, and developing the
of isolation and military rule.
Last year, Myanmar took the
-
ance sector by issuing 12 licences
to private domestic insurers. Be-
fore that, state-owned insurer
Myanma Insurance enjoyed a
monopoly for about 50 years.
The government has signalled
that foreign insurers and banks
would be allowed to start operat-
ing in Myanmar as early as 2015.
Major insurers such as Pruden-
tial, MetLife Inc, AIA Group Ltd,
ACE Group and Sumitomo Mit-
sui have also opened up repre-
“Myanmar was actually one
of Manulife’s earliest markets
light of its large, dynamic popu-
lation and the positive changes
in its economy, it can be a major
part of our future too,” Robert
Cook, president and chief ex-
ecutive of Manulife Asia, told the
Wall Street Journal.
Some estimates suggest that a
measly 0.5 percent of Myanmar’s
population have insurance cov-
likely a key hurdle for some con-
sumers, insurers are betting that
is likely to change over the com-
ing years given the country’s rel-
atively robust pace of economic
growth, its abundance natural re-
sources and a government pledge
to reduce poverty.
“Its economy is small now, but
it’s growing at 8 percent a year
its population is twice the size of
Canada,” Naidoo said.
Myanmar is also attractive to in-
surers because it has a young pop-
ulation with the median age being
28 versus 42 in Canada, he added.
“And there’s also a tremendous
energy among ordinary Burmese
familiestogetoninlife,andcatch
up with the growth in neighbor-
ing countries,” said Naidoo.
Toronto-based Manulife, which
manages $584 billion, had 2012
revenue of $27.6 billion and has
28,000 employees worldwide.
Mitsui to Start Auto Service Workshop Business
M
itsui & Co will start
an automobile service
workshop business in
Myanmar in collaboration with
SCG Trading Co a subsidiary
of Siam Cement Group, one of
the leading industrial groups in
Thailand.
Mitsui and SCGT established
the investment company SCGT
Automobile Co (SCA) in Bangkok
and SCA established a joint ven-
ture company Mingalar Motor
Co in Yangon with Oriental Apex
Car Sales & Services.
The new service shop will start
operations in September, accord-
ing to Mitsui.
There are about 400,000 regis-
tered vehicles in Myanmar. As its
vehicle market consists mainly
of used vehicles, the demand
for high quality after service has
Kyaw Min been increasing. Also, with the
population nearing 60 million,
liberalisation and rapid growth
in the new car sales market is ex-
pected in the near future.
Mitsui began conducting busi-
ness ahead of other companies
in Myanmar. It had the most in-
vestment projects in the country
among Japanese companies in
the 1990s.
The company, which resumed
exportation of rice from Myan-
mar two years ago, said it will
keep contributing to the coun-
try’s development through valu-
able business, including this new
automotive project.
Myanmar Summary
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OD;aqmifpufrIvkyfief;pkrsm;rS wpfckjzpf
onfh Siam Cement Group
ukrÜPDcGJwpfckjzpfonfh SCG Trading
Co ESifhyl;aygif;um um;jyKjyifa&;vkyfief;
tm; jrefrmEdkifiHwGif vkyfaqmifrnfjzpf
aMumif; od&onf/
Mitsui ESifh SCGT wdkYtaejzifh
&if;ESD;jr§KyfESHrIukrÜPD SCGTAutomobile
Co (SCA) tm; befaumufwGif
wnfaxmifcJhjyD; SCA taejzifh
&efukefNrdKU&Sd Oriental Apex Car Sales &
Services ESifh yl;aygif;um Mingalar
Motor Co tm; yl;aygif;wnfaxmifcJh
aMumif; od&Sd&onf/
tqdkygum;0efaqmifrIvkyfief;rsm;
tm; pufwifbmvwGif pwifrnfjzpf
aMumif; Mitsui rS ajymMum;xm;onf/
vuf&Sd jrefrmEdkifiHwGif w&m;0ifum;tpD;
a&aygif; 400ç000 &Sdonf/ tqdkyg
um;aps;uGufrSmrsm;aomtm;jzifh tokH;jyK
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wdk;wufvmonfESifhtrQ tqifhjrifhum;
rsm;tay:wGif 0,fvdktm;rsm; wdk;wuf
vsuf&SdaMumif; od&onf/
service workshop in Myanmar.
SherpaHossainy
jrefrmEdkifiH yxrqkH; uae'g tmrcH
vkyfief;wpfcktjzpf Manulife Financial
Corp (MFC) rS jrefrmEdkifiHwGif 'kwd,
tBudrfftjzpf jyefvnfzGJUpnf;cJhaMumif;
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pDpOfvsuf&SdaMumif; od&onf/
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tcg tv,ftvwf0ifaiG&Sdol ESpfq
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Group avhvmcsuft&od&jyD;
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tokH;csjcif;ESifh b@ma&;u@wGifwdk;
wufapjcif;wdkYudkvkyfaqmifcJhonf/

June 5-11, 2014
mmbiztoday.com
LOCAL BIZ 9
Myanmar Summary
Contd. P 6...
Contd. P 6...
w&kwfESifh xkdif;&eHUrsm;qkH&mwGifwnf&Sd
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Getting A “Reasonable” Lunch: Yangon’s
Western Restaurant Scene
L
ocated at the meeting
point between the deli-
China and Thailand and the
the diversity of the nation it-
self. Yangon is a cosmopolitan
metropolis, home to some six
million inhabitants and an ev-
er-expanding expatriate com-
munity. Theoretically it should
have a culinary scene to rival
that of her neighbours, yet lags
far behind cities like Bangkok
and Singapore in gastronomic
reputation.
Though Yangon’s local Bur-
mese cuisine can be excep-
tionally good, it is undeniably
more of an acquired taste than
that of neighbouring countries.
Street food is often not of the
same standard or cleanliness of
neighbouring Thailand. In fact,
local media reported this year
that one third of food samples
tested contained traces of dan-
gerous bacteria that can cause
food poisoning at the very least,
or even death if symptoms were
left untreated.
Having spoken with a number
of the cities expatriate commu-
nity, it was made clear that many
found local cuisine too oily, salty
or simply unpleasantly tasting.
Or as how one of my interviewees
colourfully put it, “Burmese food
doesn’t exactly taste bad, it just
looks like something that belongs
in the toilet, and can smell even
worse.”
This can be a problematic sce-
nario, especially for those resid-
ing in Yangon for an extended
period of time. Though one can
readily get a local meal for less
than K5,000, and in many cases
much less, it remains to be seen
what Western cuisine is attain-
able at these prices.
It is fair to say what is on of-
fer has a reputation for being
on the expensive side and often
of questionable quality and au-
thenticity. Much alike the cities
hospitality industry, there are
some very good high-end res-
taurants, though it remains to
those on a more modest budget.
This article aims to identify
the available options for those
Jonathan Harvey
wanting a change from the
ubiquitous local fare by identi-
fying if one can eat a Western-
style lunch (main course and
drink) for K5,000 in downtown
Yangon. “Western” is of course
a very broad term, generally
food from Europe and the US
and certainly not from the tri-
umvirate of bordering nations
that hold such dominance on
Yangon’s restaurant scene.
In compiling this report I
-
rants in Yangon in addition to
speaking with numerous expats
to provide a balanced picture of
the available Western culinary
scene available to Yangon’s ex-
pat population.
Many of the people I spoke
with complained of the dif-
-
formation. Aisha, a twenty two
year old teacher from London
revealed: “With the exception
of websites like Myanmore and
Yangonite that do a pretty good
job reviewing a number of res-
taurants, I have to rely on my
outdated Lonely Planet, or the
tripadvisor where results are all
too easy to manipulate.
access good English language
information on the vibrant culi-
Findings
After compiling my research
I was surprised to identify a
a lunch option accessible for
K5,000 or less.
misleading, as they suggest
that it is relatively easy to get a
Western lunch for this price. It
is not. Six of the eleven eater-
ies where this is possible were
sandwich or Panini and drink
but not a full meal, which were
generally more expensive.
Some townships are undoubt-
edly more expensive than oth-
ers; the south-central area
of Dagon is one of Yangon’s
largest and most expensive
townships. Seven of the eight
eateries sampled in this neigh-
bourhood were too expensive
to obtain a reasonable lunch,
although Fatman Steakhouse
was particularly good and sur-
rental costs and a wealthy expat
more expensive areas of Yan-
gon where cheap eating options
are sparse regardless of cuisine.
-
ern lunch in Yangon for K5,000
American-style fast food estab-
lishments might be your best
bet. Korean-owned Lotteria for
instance was cheaper than BBQ
Chicken (where meals start up-
wards of K5,000) yet was still
relatively expensive. If one or-
rice as opposed to French Fries
chicken burger meal from Lot-
teria costs more than K5,000.
Malaysian-owned Harley’s pro-
vides another option at similar
prices, and is set to open more
outlets this year.
The remaining options were:
-
taurant newly opened by a
British expat near Inya Lake.
Here one could eat relatively
good price; Sai’s Tacos, a Mexi-
but uninspiring Mexican fare in
small portions; and Ice Berry,
which has a few outlets dotted
around the city. Although not
strictly Western, Ice Berry pro-
vides very reasonably priced
quality. Some are pretty good
replication of authentic Italian
dishes (seafood creamy pasta
for instance) whilst other items
though cheap are sadly lacking
particular.
Pizza was a uniformly lavish
item often retailing for in ex-
cess of K10,000, though this
is not entirely surprising as
cheese can be so expensive. If
one sought something other
than “fast food” they would be
sorely disappointed, good qual-
ity Western food is a rarity in
restaurants in the city or the
hotels, would command simi-
lar prices to Europe with some
restaurants charging in excess
of K100,000 per head. Even at
more modest establishments
you would be lucky to eat a good
lunch for under K15,000.
As my knowledge of much of
downtown is restricted, one
“
As many restaurants cater
to the higher end of the
economic spectrum there
is little necessity to charge
cheap prices, as demand will be
high regardless.”

June 5-11, 2014
mmbiztoday.com
LOCAL BIZ 10
Myanmar Summary
OoredooMyanmar Launches
Start-Up Incubation Programme
IdeaBox to provide entrepreneurs with facilities, mentoring and start-up capital
O
oredoo Myanmar has
incubation programme
in a bid to enable the country’s
start-ups to kick start their ven-
The IdeaBox programme
seeks to identify start-up com-
panies with a business concept
-
month of incubation and accel-
mentoring and guidance, as
well as start-up capital of up to
$100,000.
Ross Cormack, CEO of Oore-
doo Myanmar, said: “Across
our markets, local entrepre-
neurs are developing innovative
ICT programmes and mobile
apps, but often do not have the
resources to bring these to mar-
ket or scale their solutions.”
He said the program will pro-
vide expertise, funding and
exposure to develop entrepre-
Phyu Thit Lwin
Toyo-Thai Plans $2.7-b Coal
Power Plant in Myanmar
T
hailand-based Toyo-
Thai Corp is in talks to
invest $2.7 billion in
power plant in Myanmar’s
southeastern Mon state.
The engineering procurement
and construction contractor ex-
third quarter, said vice presi-
Surattana Trinratana, accord-
ing to Thai media reports.
The work on the plant will
start as soon as possible after
the Myanmar government ap-
proves the project, he said.
The company recently signed
a deal for a project loan worth
$100 million from the Export-
Import Bank of Thailand to de-
velop a 120MW combined-cycle
gas-turbine project in Ahlone
township, Yangon. This project
from the Myanmar govern-
ment.
The Ahlone project’s con-
struction began in 2012 on a
total investment of $170 mil-
lion. Partially completed with a
capacity of 80MW, this project
is already providing electricity
to the township and is expect-
Aye Myat ed to contribute $10 million in
revenue to Toyo-Thai Power
this year. The remaining 40MW
capacity will come online next
year.
Toyo-Thai Corp is a joint ven-
Toyo Engineering Corp and
Thailand’s largest construction
company, Italian-Thai Devel-
opment.
neurialism at the grassroots
level.
“We aim to support local
developments, and to provide
inspiring role models of success
to encourage human growth
through innovation, with the
potential to impact millions of
lives across our markets.”
-
gramme recognises that time
and focus is often a barrier to
start-up success and will enable
young Myanmar entrepreneurs
to focus 100 percent of their
time and energy on their new
ventures.
IdeaBox aims to incubate am-
bitious companies with plans to
use technology and increased
mobile penetration to build
scale quickly and achieve $100
million valuations, it added.
All interested start-ups can
apply via www.ideabox.com.
-
cessful start-ups to be an-
nounced on June 27. Ooredoo
said.
Myanmar Summary
Myanmar Summary
Ooredoo jrefrm IdeaBox ESifh
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ajymMum;cJhonf/
Parliament Okays $520-m
Agri Loan Plan
M
yanmar’s parliament
has approved a plan to
borrow an agricultural
loan of K500 billion ($520 mil-
lion) from the central bank and
$20 million from the World
Bank for the Ministry of Educa-
tion.
However, the Parliament did
not approve a proposal from the
Ministry of Agriculture and Ir-
Aung Phyo
from the International Fund
for Agricultural Development
(IFAD) due to a controversy
over the proposed project sites,
Speaker Thura U Shwe Mann
told the Parliament.
While lawmakers agreed with
the proposal in principle, the
Speaker decided to shelve it due
to a lack of clarity over project
locations.
The parliament also passed
the 2014 writ petition bill and
decided to continue discussion
about the anti-terrorism bill on
10th session last Wednesday.
At the session of the Lower
House, discussions were made
on the Standardisation Bill
which will be put forward to the
parliament, while at the Upper
House session, Deputy Minister
of Electric Power U Aung Than
Oo answered questions on dis-
tribution of electric power.
More than 50 bills will be
open for discussion during the
ongoing session.
Ooredoo’s upcoming telecoms network.
JeffRoberson/AP.
UAung/Xinhua

June 5-11, 2014
mmbiztoday.com
LOCAL BIZ 11
Myanmar Summary
Myanmar Summary
Myanmar Summary
Myanmar Summary
Sunlabob, Relitec Tie Up for
Myanmar Solar Projects
L
aos-based rural renew-
has forged a partnership
with local energy company Re-
litec for solar PV projects in My-
anmar, the company said.
“This partnership is an impor-
tant step for both Sunlabob and
Relitec to provide high-quality
renewable energy solutions to
Myanmar, a country greatly in
-
ergy,” said Sunlabob chief ex-
ecutive Andy Schroeter.
“Sunlabob’s experience im-
-
newable energy throughout the
developing world will comple-
ment Relitec’s on-the-ground
knowledge of the local Myan-
mar market.”
-
anmar’s population have access
to grid-connected electricity in
Aye Myat Myanmar while estimates sug-
gest only 4 percent of the rural
population has electricity.
“Myanmar is just seeing the
tip of the iceberg for solar en-
ergy’s potential,” said Than
Aye, Relitec’s managing direc-
tor. “We are excited to be well-
positioned to meet the upsurge
of solar activity.”
Relitec, which is based in Yan-
gon and specialises in engineer-
ing, installation and the opera-
tions and maintenance of solar
technology, has already tackled
Myanmar and will bring valua-
ble local knowledge to the table,
Sunlabob said.
Western Union Expands
Business in Myanmar
A
merican payment ser-
vices provider Western
Union has expanded its
remittance business in Myan-
mar through nine local banks,
the company said.
The announcement, which co-
incided with the company’s one-
year anniversary celebrations
in Myanmar early this month,
marked a sharp increase in the
number of agents from 100 in
key commercial towns to 460
across the country.
Western Union is one of the
companies to provide service in
Myanmar, paving the way for
formalised international money
transfers after sanctions were
eased in 2012.
Phyu Thit Lwin
just over 100 Agent locations in
the key commercial towns, the
Western Union money transfer
service is now available at over
460 Agent locations across My-
anmar, making it the largest
international money transfer
network in the country.
Chin State, a mountainous
-
cult-to-access states in Myan-
latest state to be covered with
Western Union’s international
service in collaboration with
Cooperative Bank.
The recent signing of Yoma
Bank as Western Union’s ninth
agent in Myanmar will add over
50 locations, linking consumers
with over 500,000 locations in
over 200 countries and territo-
ries, the money transfer com-
pany said.
Thida Myo Aung, deputy di-
rector general, Financial Insti-
tution Supervision Department,
Central Bank of Myanmar, said:
“Myanmar has made great
strides over the past two years.
Our own journey to prosperity
has been made possible thanks
to companies like Western Un-
ion.”
Last year, the Western Union
Company completed 242 mil-
lion consumer-to-consumer
transactions worldwide, mov-
ing $82 billion of principal be-
tween consumers, and 459 mil-
lion business payments.t
U Chan Thar Oo from Rice
Enterpreneurs’ Association of
Muse told Myanmar Business
Today.
“Rice exports via border trade
have always been our strong
point. But we have to expand
our international market and
for that we need to improve the
quality of our rice,” a high rank-
Commerce said.
Currently, Myanmar has only
a few rice mills that produce
high quality rice. Most rice mills
rice, which is a lower grade of
rice and not favoured for ex-
ports in the EU or Japan.
exported 684,698 tonnes of
rice, earning $274.86 million
where overseas trade account-
$106.79 million.
Myanmar received $2.21 bil-
lion in foreign investment in
with transport and communica-
tions sectors leading the pack
manufacturing, real estate, ho-
tel and tourism, and mining.
The total foreign investment
in Myanmar reached up to
$46.48 billion as of April. My-
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ShannonStapleton/Reuters
Reuters
anmar enacted a new Foreign
Investment Law in November
2012 and the MIC was formed
in 1994.

June 5-11, 2014
mmbiztoday.com
LOCAL BIZ 12
Myanmar Summary
ReformsinMyanmar:MakingTheNextAsianMiracleMyanmar’s reforms are lifting the economic outlook for one of Asia’s economic laggards as indicators show prospects for an economic boom
F
or decades, Myanmar was
the regional basket case
as irrational policies, iso-
wrought havoc on the economy
and society. At independence
in 1948, the outlook seemed
bright. The country had one of
the best education systems in
the region, it was integrated
with world markets through the
port of Rangoon, and possessed
ample natural resources and a
-
ministrative system. All of these
advantages were spoiled during
decades of authoritarian rule.
Resources degenerated over
-
ularly through declining quality
of education and infrastructure
-
ity.
Economic reforms in Myan-
mar were actually initiated be-
fore the country’s political re-
forms. And while many of the
early economic initiatives pri-
marily served to enrich cronies
-
sets, there were also important
policy shifts. Even before the
2010 elections, macroeconomic
policies had improved. A key
indicator of improved manage-
ment is the stabilisation of in-
achievement in a country where
spells of rapid price increases
used to be the norm.
Infrastructure developments
during military rule largely
served strategic purposes, and
wasteful investments expand-
ing railways to remote upland
areas have given no sustained
economic return. But there
were improvements in physical
infrastructure developments in
the decade before 2010 as focus
was shifted to improving the
links to markets in neighbour-
ing countries.
Administrative barriers to
both domestic and internation-
al trade remain, but abolition of
the restrictive trade regime and
in 2012 have produced impres-
sive export growth. Resource-
based commodities, primar-
ily natural gas and minerals,
are leading Myanmar’s trade
growth. The country’s loca-
tion between the expanding
economies of China, India and
mainland Southeast Asia not
only provide opportunities for
transit trade but are also ad-
vantageous for supplying these
resource-hungry markets with
commodities.
Anders Engvall
The rural economy is going
through a rapid transforma-
tion as exports of rice, beans
and other agricultural com-
modities expand. Rice exports
-
marily fuelled by cross-border
trade with China, and are set
for more rapid growth this year.
Rural development is not only
-
nities in agricultural exporting,
which had been prohibited for
decades, but also from impor-
tant policy shifts giving farmers
freedom to decide which crops
to grow. Rural credit remains
scarce but expansion of state
credit to farmers at favourable
rates has increased. Land law
reforms may provide additional
relief as farmland will be eligi-
ble as collateral, opening up for
increased private credit to the
agricultural sector.
It will be essential that policy-
makers focus on spreading the
population. Inclusive growth,
alleviating widespread pov-
erty and improved welfare, will
build support for economic
reforms and may also lay the
foundations for solving the
country’s long-running domes-
Essential investments in
healthcare and education will
only be possible if the govern-
ment is willing to commit a
substantial share of its rev-
enues from exports of gas, oil
and minerals to the social sec-
tor. This would be a dramatic
change from the past, when in-
come from extractive industries
was used to fund the bloated
armed forces, the construction
of the new capital, Nay Pyi Taw,
and other projects of limited so-
Remaining weaknesses in
macroeconomic management
are also a threat to long-term
developments. Sustained in-
export revenue and foreign aid
risk making the overvaluation
of the kyat permanent, and
should be managed carefully.
A short decline in the currency
provided important relief to
exporters. But there is no in-
dication that the authorities
will continue to bring down the
strong currency, due to fears of
that was common in the past.
The currency rate continues to
constrain the development of
manufacturing, and, while this
obstacle remains in place, ef-
forts to set up industrial zones
will be futile given Myanmar’s
cost disadvantages compared to
the main East Asian production
bases.
Still, the reforms in Myanmar
to date have led to a conver-
gence of growth rates in Myan-
mar to the East Asian average.
If remaining weaknesses are
addressed, there is scope for
further acceleration and that
would turn Myanmar into the
latest Asian economic miracle.
Anders Engvall is a research
appeared in the East Asia Fo-
in Asia”. East Asia Forum is a
platform for analysis and re-
search on politics, economics,
business, law, security, inter-
national relations and society
relevant to public policy, cen-
Based out of the Crawford
-
sity, the Forum is a joint initia-
tive of two academic research
-
reau of Economic Research
Bureau of Economic Research
“
Inclusive growth, alleviating
widespread poverty and im-
proved welfare, will build sup-
port for economic reforms and
may also lay the foundations for solv-
ing the country’s long-running domes-
tic conflicts.”
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wdk;wufapvsuf&Sdonf/
Infrastructure developments during military rule largely served strategic purposes, and wasteful investments expanding rail
ways to remote upland areas have given no sustained economic return. But now Myanmar is seeing improvements in physical
infrastructure developments.
OliverSlow/Files

June 5-11, 2014
mmbiztoday.com
REGIONAL BIZ 13
If Thailand’s political trouble persists, it risks losing market share to countries such as Malaysia, the
Myanmar Summary
Myanmar Summary
Myanmar Summary
SemenIndonesiaEyes
AcquisitioninBangladesh
I
ndonesia’s largest cement
maker, PT Semen Indone-
sia, plans to acquire a ce-
ment company in Bangladesh,
said CEO Dwi Soetjipto.
The acquisition target owns
factories with 600,000 tonnes
and 1 million tonnes annual
production capacities, he said.
The two companies are in
deal by the end of this year or
by early 2015, Filipino media
reported.
it had agreed to buy a minor-
ity stake in a cement maker
this year in Bangladesh’s neigh-
bouring Myanmar.
“At the moment we can only
enter with minority control, so
ownership,” Soetjipto told re-
porters in Jakarta.
Wai Linn Kyaw Soetjipto said the stake is
declined to name the Myan-
mar company involved in the
deal, but said it has an annual
production capacity of up to 1.5
million metric tonnes.
CorruptionCrackdown
T
he deputy director of
China’s National Energy
Association (NEA), who
was under investigation for tak-
ing bribes, has been sacked as a
crackdown on the power body
widens, state media reported.
Xu Yongsheng was placed
under investigation two weeks
ago, one of a series of probes
into the energy sector.
agency reported on its micro-
blog account that Xu had been
Wang Jun, head of the NEA’s
renewable energy department,
Hao Weiping, director of the
nuclear power department, and
Wei Pengyuan, deputy director
of the coal department, are un-
der investigation, Xinhua has
said.
Aung Phyo President Xi Jinping has tar-
geted the energy sector as part
of a wider campaign to weed out
pervasive graft that began when
However, the anti-corruption
drive has also enabled Xi to
weed out powerful opponents
-
cials.
The ruling Communist Party’s
anti-graft watchdog said earlier
this month it was conducting
inspections at Power Construc-
tion Corp and state-controlled
power equipment maker China
XD Group.
In March, the chairman and
the president of Three Gorges
Corp., the company that built
the $59-billion project for the
world’s biggest hydro-power
scheme, stepped down. They
have not been accused of any
wrongdoing.
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CoupCrisisCouldCostThailandItsMedicalTourismCrown
WoohaeCho/Bloomberg
T
hailand is in danger of
losing its crown as the
world’s top destination
for medical tourism if foreign-
ers looking for low-cost, qual-
political unrest, especially at
a time of growing competition
from Asian rivals.
The army seized power in a
coup on May 22 after failing to
prod bitter political rivals into a
compromise to end six months
of turmoil, prompting several
governments to warn their citi-
zens to think again before trav-
elling to Thailand.
Tourism accounts for 10 per-
cent of the Thai economy and,
of the 26.5 million people who
visited last year, about 2.5 mil-
lion came for medical reasons,
including spa and healthcare
from the Department of Export
Promotion.
About a third of those medi-
cal tourists come from the Mid-
dle East, another quarter from
Southeast Asia and nearly 15
percent from Europe.
Top-end Bangkok hospital
Bumrungrad attracts a lot of
patients from the Middle East
Medical Group and Healthway
Medical Corp in Singapore. It
saw a 12 percent drop in foreign
and an 18 percent fall in outpa-
tients.
“News of violence that leads to
Khettiya Jittapong
adverse travel advisories or per-
ceptions of personal safety risks
can cause some medical tour-
ists to postpone their trips for
treatment, hoping that condi-
tions will soon improve,” Ken-
neth Mays, senior director at
Bumrungrad, said in an email
to Reuters before the coup.
-
lion in revenue from medical
growth of 15 percent a year over
the past decade.
That is clearly in danger, with
arrivals at Bangkok’s interna-
tional airport down 15 percent
“Hospitals in Bangkok are
particularly hard hit, as that’s
the epicentre of the unrest,
while those in Phuket and oth-
er destinations are reporting
downturns of 20-40 percent,”
said Josef Woodman, CEO of
Patients Beyond Borders, a
consumers information about
medical travel.
It estimates Thailand, with
health costs 50-75 percent low-
er than the United States, for
-
making it the world’s top desti-
nation.
Bangkok Dusit, the country’s
largest hospital group, has seen
-
cent in patients from the Mid-
dle East this year and 7 percent
fewer patients from the United
States, although
it has wel-
comed 10 per-
cent more from
percent more
from neighbour-
ing Myanmar,
where health-
care is underde-
veloped.
If trouble per-
sists, Thailand
risks losing
market share to
countries such
as Malaysia, the
Philippines and
India.
The Philip-
pines and South
Korea are al-
ready seeing
more medical tourists from
China, Russia and the Middle
East in particular.
Kim Kyung-joo of South Ko-
rea Tourism Organisation’s
Medical Tourism Department
-
land’s instability, noting that
many Chinese tourists came for
plastic surgery such as facelifts
and nose jobs.
Manila also thinks it is win-
ning custom from Bangkok.
“There is a spike in surgery for
orthopaedics because of what’s
happening in Thailand,” Phlip-
pine Tourism Secretary Ramon
Jimenez told Reuters, adding
the travellers included Filipino-
Americans coming home.
Manila wants to promote
niche markets in orthopaedics,
eye surgery, dentistry and can-
cer care, Jimenez said.
The Kuala Lumpur Sports
Medicine Center has seen an
increase in foreign patients in
the past four months but Eric
-
er, played down the impact of
Thailand’s unrest, attributing it
rather to promotions and good
treatment.
Singapore, with some of the
best diagnostics and care in the
world, is also a threat to Thai-
land, said Woodman at Patients
Beyond Borders, even if costs
have risen for some years.
Reuters
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onf Oa&myrSjzpfonf/

June 5-11, 2014
mmbiztoday.com
REGIONAL BIZ 14
Myanmar Summary
After SAARC, Modi Must Look East
A
new government in In-
dia, led by Prime Minis-
ter Narendra Modi, bol-
stered by a majority in the Lok
Sabha, will be in a position to
take bold initiatives in the do-
main of foreign policy. An early
signal of this is the invitation
to South Asian Association for
Regional Cooperation (SAARC)
leaders to attend the swearing
in ceremony.
It is an adroit move with a
strong potential to pay future
dividends in India’s neighbour-
hood policy. It is also, perhaps,
Prime Minister Modi from a
charismatic provincial leader to
a global statesman.
Prime Minister Modi will look
ited several Asian countries as
chief minister of Gujarat. This
will give greater heft to India’s
Look East Policy (LEP) which
was India’s response to a uni-
polar world, marked by the end
of the Cold War and the demise
of the USSR.
The impetus for reworking
India’s foreign policy emerged
from the economic reforms and
globalization of the Indian econ-
omy. The expanding potential
for India’s trade and investment
with the dynamic Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASE-
AN) region, as well as the pes-
simistic outlook for regional in-
tegration of South Asia through
SAARC, were added incentives
for the LEP. In a sense it was
harking back to India’s histori-
cal links with Southeast Asia via
maritime routes. A major share
of global maritime trade goes
Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty
through the Strait of Malacca.
Rampant piracy has been con-
trolled and the India Navy has
played an important role in this
arena. India’s strategic interest
in the Indian Ocean is to keep
trade and commerce open, safe
and inclusive.
South China Sea is worrying for
all countries, with China laying
claim to disputed islands and
virtually the whole of South
China Sea as its territorial wa-
ters will pose a challenge to
the LEP. India is encouraging
all claimants to the disputed
islands to maintain peace and
Convention on the Law of the
Sea (UNCLOS) and ASEAN’s
Code of Conduct. The need
to balance China’s rapid rise,
by inviting and facilitating a
stronger engagement of India
and others with the region, was
a strong motivation for ASE-
AN’s reciprocating positively to
India’s LEP.
The core of India-Southeast/
East Asia relationship is the
India-ASEAN equation. Beyond
ASEAN, the East Asia Summit
(EAS) has emerged as the larger
institution, with ASEAN as its
driver and hub. It includes not
only ASEAN member states but
also China, Japan, South Ko-
rea, India, Australia and New
Zealand, Russia and the USA.
Besides, India is a member of
Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM)
and is also interested in joining
eration (APEC).
Trade and investment, two
important pillars of the LEP,
have registered steady growth.
India’s trade with ASEAN has
gone up from $2.9 billion in
Free Trade Agreement (FTA)
in goods in 2010. The aim is to
Free Trade Area (FTA) is to be
established. It will be one of the
world’s largest markets of 1.8
billion consumers with a com-
bined GDP of $2.8 trillion.
Physical connectivity remains
a very important aspect of the
LEP. The India-Myanmar-
Thailand Trilateral Highway is
would establish seamless ter-
ritorial connectivity. India is a
party to the ambitious Trans-
Asian Railway project. Myan-
mar is not yet linked by railway
to India or Thailand. A 180km
segment from Assam to Moreh
via Imphal is under construc-
tion. The security dimension
infrastructure projects in the
northeast. While the Moreh-
Tamu-Kalemyo Road has been
completed, other projects like
the India-Myanmar-Thailand
trilateral highway, Kaladan
multi modal project, Tamanthi
hydroelectric project etc are
facing delays due to political,
The other major infrastructure
project is the industrial corri-
dor linking the Myanmar port
of Dawei with Thailand. India
must take a deeper interest in
this project that has attracted
Japanese and South Korean
companies.
The LEP has domestic impli-
cations on the development of
India’s northeast region and
the Indian economy in general.
Though the immediate focus
was on Southeast Asia, spe-
the scope of LEP has come to
encompass a much wider and
inter-linked region. Some of the
platforms India has chosen to
tries because of India’s huge economic interest in the region.
GettyImages
Japan Consumer Spending, Factory
Output Skid After Sales Tax Hike
useinpursuanceofitsLookEast
Policy, such as BIMSTEC (that
brings together select Southeast
and South Asian countries) and
the Mekong-Ganga Coopera-
tion (MGC), linking India with
a number of ASEAN countries,
would point to that intended
broader geographical space.
tacted at southasiamonitor1@
gmail.com. This is an abridged
version of the original article in
TomohiroOhsumi/Bloomberg
J
apan’s household spend-
ing in April fell at the fast-
est rate in three years in
a sign that consumption could
be slow to recover from an in-
crease in the nationwide sales
tax, raising questions over the
pace of economic recovery.
Industrial production fell
more than expected in April as
companies cut output to avoid a
pile up in inventories in the lull
after the sales tax hike took ef-
fect.
ing will quickly recover as the
labour market remains tight,
but the bigger-than-expected
spending drop in April and a
Tetsushi Kajimoto and
Stanley White
slowdown in factory activity
could raise the stakes for mon-
etary policy.
“Spending will recover from
May, but sales of durable goods
look weak and this could be
a drag on overall spending,”
said Hidenobu Tokuda, senior
economist at Mizuho Research
Institute.
to let the spending in its stimu-
lus package run its course. The
BOJ doesn’t need to move now,
but it needs to keep an eye on
the situation.”
Japanese household spending
fell 4.6 percent in April from a
year ago, more than the median
annual decline. That marked
the fastest annual decline since
March 2011, when an excep-
tionally powerful earthquake
triggered a nuclear disaster.
Compared to the previous
month, spending tumbled by
cline expected by economists.
Government data published
household spending fell further
after the April 1 sales tax hike
sales tax in was imposed in
1989, and when it raised the tax
to 5 percent in 1997.
In both 1989 and 1997 spend-
tax was imposed and then in-
creased.
Nationwide consumer prices
in April, excluding the April 1
in the Bank of Japan’s battle to
Reuters
Myanmar Summary
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June 5-11, 2014
mmbiztoday.com
REGIONAL BIZ 15
Myanmar Summary
Thai Military Rulers Appoint Advisers; Economy in Doldrums
Appointed advisers include former generals close to palace; factory output slumped for 13th month in April
T
hailand’s junta has ap-
pointed as advisers two
retired generals with pal-
ace connections, putting power-
towards former Prime Minister
the ascendant in the country’s
long-running power struggle.
Hoping to show things are
getting back to normal, the mil-
itary has also relaxed a night-
time curfew brought in after it
seized power in a May 22 coup,
and is expected to speed up ef-
forts to get the economy moving
again after months of debilitat-
ing political protests.
Data showed factory output
drop in a row.
Figures later in the day are
forecast to show imports tum-
bled 18.2 percent that month.
Exports may have risen margin-
ally, but that will not be enough
domestic economy.
The team of advisers an-
nounced in a brief statement
included a former defence min-
ister, General Prawit Wong-
suwan, and former army chief
General Anupong Paochinda.
in Thailand’s military establish-
ment and have close ties to coup
leader General Prayuth Chan-
ocha. All three are staunch
monarchists and helped oust
Thaksin, who remains at the
heart of the political crisis, in a
2006 coup.
A Reuters report in December
revealed that Prawit and An-
upong had secretly backed the
anti-government protests that
undermined the government
of Thaksin’s sister, Yingluck
Shinawatra. She was removed
by a court on May 7 for abuse
Pracha Hariraksapitak
of power and the coup ousted
remaining ministers two weeks
later.
Also among the advisers is
Pridiyathorn Devakula, over-
seeing the economy. A former
minister in an interim govern-
ment after the 2006 coup when
strict capital controls were in-
troduced to hold down the baht,
causing the stock market to
plunge 15 percent in one day.
Thailand’s gross domestic
product shrank 2.1 percent in
anti-government protests fre-
quently shut down ministries,
The military has moved quick-
ly to tackle economic problems,
notably preparing payments for
hundreds of thousands of rice
farmers that the ousted govern-
ment was unable to make.
But General Prayuth has not
set any timetable for elections,
saying broad reforms are need-
That may further complicate
relations with foreign govern-
ments that have called for a
speedy return to democracy,
an end to censorship and the
release of politicians, protest
leaders, journalists and others
detained.
“We’re going to have to con-
tinue to calibrate how we’ll
work with the government and
military when they don’t show
any pathway back to civilian
Reuters in Washington. “We’re
very concerned and there will
be an impact on our relation-
ship.”
Clampdown
Scores of politicians and ac-
tivists have been detained as
-
sistance to its takeover.
There have been daily, peace-
ful protests against the coup in
Bangkok with crowds calling
for elections and confronting
troops, although the number
of protesters had dwindled
to about 200 on May 27 from
about 1,000 on May 25.
A seven-hour curfew the army
imposed after the coup from
10pm each night from May 28
was shortened to four hours
starting from midnight.
Thaksin has not commented
on the coup except to say he was
saddened and hoped the mili-
tary would treat everyone fair-
ly. Yingluck has been released
from detention but remains un-
and aides say.
Soldiers detained a former
education minister, Chaturon
Chaisang, after he had emerged
from hiding to denounce the
coup, saying it would only
-
ple in detention were not being
treated badly.
Years of political turmoil have
polarised Thailand.
The Shinawatras’ strength
is in the north and northeast,
populous, mostly rural regions
that have won them every elec-
tion since 2001. Some Thaksin
loyalists had vowed to resist a
coup and the army and police
are hunting for weapons.
Many Bangkok voters support
the establishment and approve
of the coup if it means ending
he is corrupt and disrespect-
ful to the monarchy. He denies
that.
Most Thais express stead-
fast loyalty to 86-year-old King
Bhumibol Adulyadej.
“This is a good coup,” said
Chanchai Thonprasertvej, 54,
a doctor at a small pro-coup
gathering at Bangkok’s Democ-
racy Monument. “The army can
protect the land and the king.
It will protect my country from
Thaksin.” Reuters
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