Burma's economic relations with Thailand

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Description: "Drink giants Heineken, Carlsberg and ThaiBev are paying tens of millions of dollars in tax to the Myanmar military junta, Justice For Myanmar has revealed in an investigation of tax filings released by Distributed Denial of Secrets. The foreign companies are partnered with the family of the deceased crony Thein Tun, who controlled Myanma Golden Star Group with his son, Thant Zin Tun. Myanma Golden Star Group produces beer with Carlsberg and soft drinks with a subsidiary of LOTTE Corporation. Thein Tun’s daughter, Mar Mar Tun and son-in-law, Aung Moe Kyaw, are the local partners of Heineken and Thai Beverage (ThaiBev). ThaiBev controls Grand Royal Group. An analysis of available tax filings from October to December 2021 show that Heineken, Carlsberg and ThaiBev subsidiaries paid 49.9 billion kyat in Specific Goods Tax (SGT) alone to the military junta, equivalent to US$27.6 million based on average exchange rates from the Central Bank of Myanmar, which is illegally under junta control. SGT is a tax on the production and import of alcohol and other products that is applied to beer at a rate of 60% and a sliding scale for spirits, depending on the price level. ThaiBev, Heineken and Carlsberg companies also pay commercial tax and income tax to the junta, which totalled 12.6 billion kyat in the period, equivalent to US$7 million. Spread across a year, ThaiBev, Heineken and Carlsberg companies in Myanmar could be paying as much as 250 billion kyat or US$155 million in taxes to the junta, bankrolling its international crimes. LOTTE, which is not subject to SGT, pays smaller amounts of tax and is also responsible for lease payments to the Myanmar Army as part of its hotel subsidiary’s investment in a hotel development with POSCO International. Payments from these corporations aid the junta as it wages a campaign of terror against the people of Myanmar, increasingly relying on its air force to carry out indiscriminate attacks. On April 11, the junta launched an indiscriminate aerial attack against people gathered at an event in Pazigyi village, Sagaing, killing at least 168 people, weeks after the UN Human Rights Council passed a resolution that called on the Myanmar military to immediately cease all air strikes. An October 2022 air strike against a concert in Kachin State killed over 80 people. Large tax payments from the drink giants help the junta buy arms, fuel and equipment and pay soldiers, supporting ongoing war crimes and crimes against humanity. Justice For Myanmar calls on ThaiBev, Heineken, Carlsberg and LOTTE to follow the guidance of the National Unity Government and their international human rights responsibilities, and end payments to the military junta. Justice For Myanmar spokesperson Yadanar Maung says: "Heineken, Carlsberg and ThaiBev are paying the equivalent of tens of millions of dollars in taxes annually to the Myanmar military junta, which is a terrorist organisation that has been committing war crimes and crimes against humanity against the people of Myanmar with total impunity. "The illegal junta desperately needs revenue to sustain its campaign of murder and destruction, and these taxes from drink giants help fund the bombs, bullets and jet fuel the junta needs to attack the people. "Since there is a specific goods tax for beer and spirits, the junta gets a massive share of the revenues of Heineken, Carlsberg and ThaiBev in Myanmar. "These are funds that belong to the people of Myanmar and should be paid to the National Unity Government (NUG), which is the legitimate government. Instead, Heineken, Carlsberg, ThaiBev and LOTTE are ignoring NUG’s guidance and bankrolling the illegal junta, making themselves complicit in its international crimes and undermining democracy. "It is also concerning that the companies are partnered with the Thein Tun family, who have deep links to the Myanmar military, evidence of Heineken, Carlsberg, ThaiBev and LOTTE’s historic human rights due diligence failures in Myanmar. "We call on Heineken, Carlsberg, ThaiBev and LOTTE to fulfil their international obligations under the OECD Guidelines and UN Guiding Principles, and end their substantial payments to the military junta, which is a terrorist organisation."..."
Source/publisher: Justice For Myanmar
2023-04-19
Date of entry/update: 2023-04-19
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Description: "The Dawei Democracy Movement Strike Committee called on people to boycott Thai energy giant PTT in Launglon Township, Tanintharyi Region, on Wednesday. The committee said the boycott was a “fight without arms” as PTT Exploration and Production (PTTEP) and the Petroleum Authority of Thailand (PTT) were helping to fund Myanmar’s junta. It said PTT and PTTEP are working at Yadana, Yetagun, Zawtika and Shwe offshore gas fields with huge investments, giving large sums to the regime. “The junta is using this money to buy arms and fuel jet fighters and helicopters. It is murdering people every day with this income so we need to boycott its operations,” said a committee member. PTT pays the junta over US$500 million a year through its projects with the Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprises in three of the country’s four major gas fields, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW). HRW reported that the company paid $125 million in taxes in 2019 to the junta’s Ministry of Planning, Finance, and Industry, whose minister Win Shein was recently sanctioned by the US. In March 2022, PTTEP confirmed that it will be taking over from TotalEngergies’ operation of the Yadana gas field after the French major abandoned the project in protest at junta atrocities. Energy groups, including TotalEnergies, Chevron and Woodside, all announced their retreat from operations in Myanmar in January last year amid pressure from humanitarian groups. “We explained about the flow of millions of dollars into the hands of the junta so we have organized the people to join the boycott of PTTEP and all its products, including PTT lubricants,” said a strike committee member. The committee said it will continue the boycott until blood money stops flowing to the junta..."
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
2023-02-22
Date of entry/update: 2023-02-22
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Description: "1. Introduction “Myanmar has the potential to become Asia's rising star.” This quote came from the Asian Development Bank (ADB, 2012) that reported fast-growing economies and changing in Myanmar since the foreign direct investment (FDI) bringing a lot of money into an area of development. Dawei-Special Economic Zone (SEZ) is the most important one because it has considerably large-scale value of economic and this area is not only linkage of Southeast Asia but South China as well. My question is to examine how Myanmar’s developing institutions have democratized since Dawei- SEZ development in early 21st century. The paper argues that Myanmar has three new patterns of relations which are called institutional arrangements: governing-the market institution, democratic institution, and ethnic institution. The classical theorists of democratization debate modernization and development. On the one hand, Seymour Martin Lipset (1959, p. 75) argues that main condition of democracy is economic development, which he called modernization, that consists of urbanization, industrialization and mass media expansion. On the other hand, Samuel P. Huntington (1968, p. 5) argues that the primary problem of politics is the lag in the development of political institutions behind social and economic changes. The creation of a legitimate public order from political institutions is more important than economic development. Debate centers on the issue of whether democratization should come from either economic development or institutionalization. However, some scholars are still working to compromise theories on factors of democratization that economic development and political institutions are two independent variables having connection with democratization. This research is closer to Huntington than Lipset but institution was revised in more complexity by Marsh and Olsen (1989) work that “rediscover” institution to explain political life again. The paper uses the concept of new institutionalism. The meaning of institution is not only formal rule but it has informal rule also. Institution is the pattern of relation which consists of rule, norm and regulation around economic and political area. The new democracies, especially Myanmar, have to create institution to solve problems in the same way and every group of society accepts this institutional rules. The contribution of research tries to explain three new institutionalizations of Myanmar has arranged since Dawei-SEZ development. Larry Diamond (2012, p. 138) emphasized the transitional period of Myanmar have two types of contest: one is the substantive competition over power and policy outcomes that is minimum requirement of democracy and the other is the constitutional struggle to define rules and procedures to be the only game in town which determine winners and losers in the future. If Myanmar cannot establish one institutional relation in its political system, embedded democracy will not emerge that does not change persistence of political conflict. Analyzing the impact of Dawei-SEZ with in Myanmar institutionalization has two parts. First, the study begins with the new institutionalism concept that is historical institutionalism. Second, a critical juncture of institutional arrangement of Dawei-SEZ is illustrated that have shaped three patterns of relation: the governing-the market institution is the relational of union government and foreign business that government is steering investment. The democratic institution is the relation of National League for Democracy (NLD) and international civil society who move to the election, constitutional amendment and promoted political freedom. The ethnic institution is the interaction of politically ethnic group who is affected by economic development, especially Karen National Union (KNU) and Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA). These groups have capacity to create selfgovernment and autonomous administration that they want from substantially changing after Myanmar open to the world. This article was inspired from Robert H. Taylor (2001, p. 3) who noted that, “The economy is clearly linked to the other leading issues of the country at this time – the political role of the military; the future roles of the NLD and its leader, Daw Sang Suu Kyi; the future of the ethnic insurgencies following their recent ceasefires; … and Myanmar’s relations with its larger and more powerful neighbors.”..."
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Source/publisher: Weera Wongsatjachock
2016-00-00
Date of entry/update: 2021-07-11
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Description: "Abstract: This article explains cross-border uses of force against ethnic armed groups along Myanmar’s bloody borders with China and Thailand. I trace the history of Burma’s ethnic disputes, its state-society relations, and the “modernization” of its military doctrine to understand how its state-building enterprise can shape the use of force along a state’s frontier. I treat each of the border regions as distinct subcategories to highlight variation in the micro-dynamics as well as types and conditions under which the use of state-orchestrated violence occurs. First, I point to the role of greater state-building – extractive, coercive, etc. – and how it influences the use of force along border regions. Second, I explore the modernization of Burma’s military and evolution of its doctrine – this includes early efforts by the tatmadaw’s post-1988 shift toward a more conventional counterinsurgency strategy. An implication of my theory is that more peaceful relations between states perversely can create the conditions for more cross-border violence, as there are greater opportunities for states to either “pool” border security or outsource the use of force to proxies or paramilitary forces.....Introduction: The world’s longest civil war rages on in the frontiers of Myanmar between a government historically dominated by its military and several bands of ethnic rebels, many of them seeking self-rule.1 At the same time, a number of other insurgencies, including one against a Muslim minority, the Rohingya, continue along Myanmar’s other frontier regions. Even as Myanmar begins to democratize, there has been little to no let-up in the violence along its periphery. To understand Myanmar’s use of force against these groups, one must understand the complicated origins of its military rule, its fitful attempts at state-building and shifts in its threat environment, both internal and external. This article posits that the Myanmar’s approach to counterinsurgency and application of force is a function of two simultaneous processes: First, the state under military rule has carried out aggressive state-building along its frontier as a way to further consolidate its boundaries, alternating between the use of local paramilitary forces and its own armed forces to quell these border regions, while purposely not eradicating these groups given that the military benefits from some level of a threat to legitimize its control.2 Simultaneously, Myanmar’s military (or tatmadaw) seeks to profit from cross-border trade (timber, jade, opium, etc.), both licit and illicit (see Lintner, 1999; Meehan, 2011). As a result, it has vacillated between military coercion and political accommodation as a means of bringing order to its frontiers while also enhancing its economy, capacity and legitimacy. To this day, these areas, hilly, remote, rich in natural resources and ethnic hodgepodges, have proved difficult to control and bring into the political fold. Second, Myanmar’s civil-military relations have gone through a series of institutional crises and challenges to the regime’s authority. Together with shifts in its threat environment, this has spurred on a modernization of its military doctrine (Maung Aung Myoe, 2009, pp. 16–46). During the first years of postcolonial rule (1948–1958), Myanmar’s military posture was based largely on fear of external invasion from China (ibid., p.11). Over the next few decades (1958–1988), its doctrine congealed around the threat of the country’s internal insurgency and ethnic armed actors along the periphery. Following 1988, military doctrine focused almost exclusively on modernization, as external threats took on renewed attention and the armed forces shifted towards a more conventional warfare stance (ibid., p. 11). Interestingly, its use of force against ethnic armed groups, even across borders into neighbouring states, would become more routinized as the military modernized itself after Ne Win stepped down in 1988. Part of this modernization process was to consolidate its borders and reduce the threat these groups posed while simultaneously guarding its border against conventional threats. The tatmadaw would rely increasingly on local border patrols, some of them comprising ethnic armed factions it was previously fighting. It was a counterinsurgency policy that mixed co-optation with coercion. Myanmar’s military rules over a fragmented society. The tatmadaw itself is riven by elite divisions, yet still rules as a leviathan-like entity. It views itself as a ‘modernizing’ force, despite claims to the contrary.3 The case of Myanmar reveals how military rulers, insulated from public opinion, perceive of state and non-state threats along its periphery, and how this perception shapes its military doctrine, at a time of rapid state-building. Its use of force is manifested by the centre’s exertions of greater control—economic, political and cultural—over its upland periphery.4 Despite greater civilian control, the government still retains a strong praetorian composition, which explains its aggressive use of force along its frontier (Ben-Eliezer,1997). Externally, despite relatively peaceful relations with its neighbouring states, and despite greater civilian control, Myanmar has taken a largely offensive approach to counterinsurgency, one that mixes conciliatory gestures to co-opt armed actors with the application of brute military force. This article argues that the peripheral threat is necessary for the tatmadaw’s claims to institutional authority and legitimacy, as well as for the military to profit from the booming economy along the border. The implications of my argument are that the state should have little incentive in seeing these areas become completely pacified and so will continue to wage a border war that mixes conventional counterinsurgency with political accommodation. This article proceeds as follows: First, I examine the country’s historical background of ethnic war, looking at the postcolonial roots of the conflict. Then, I discuss its early attempts at state-building, placing Myanmar in the larger literature. Next, I situate my case study in the broader literature on civil-military relations and explore the historical evolution of its military, how its military doctrine has evolved, and specifically its use of cross-border force against rebels in Thailand and China. I conclude with a recap of my theory.....Background of Ethnic Conflict in Myanmar: Myanmar is strategically located in Southeast Asia, wedged between two more powerful state rivals, China and India.5 It is a nation hemmed in by a horseshoe of hill country, ethnically diverse, impoverished and constituting what James Scott has referred to as a ‘negative space’ (Scott, 2009). The highlands of Kachin state along the northern Chinese border provide insurgents with a natural canopy to evade being targeted (Tucker, 2000). Likewise, the jungles between Myanmar and Thailand, rich in lumber and lucrative teal, are some of the world’s thickest. As John Seabury Thomson noted in 1957, ‘[The] topography of the country and its isolation from trade routes tended to make the [Burmese] people look inward rather than outward […]’ (Thomson, 1957, p. 269). That shapes the country’s view of itself in the wider region as well as its own poorly defined borders and helps explain why the country currently faces no fewer than a dozen armed ethnic conflicts. Besides the ethnically dominant Burman, which constitutes over two-thirds of the population, the government officially recognizes 135 distinct ethnic groups. Virtually all of the ethnic groups can be carved up further into various subgroups. The categories still in use today were mostly derived by the British administrators and missionaries, who made perceptions-based differentiations mostly based on a group’s language and culture. As one British official noted in 1931, ‘[S]ome of the races or tribes in Burma change their language almost as often as they change their clothes’ (Smith, 1991, p. 34). Interpreting Myanmar’s history by delineating it into various political-ethnic groups is problematic, if only because of these groups’ complex identities and overlapping cultures.6 Myanmar retains some of the strictest citizenship laws, which in theory require proof of ancestry present in Myanmar before arrival of the British in 1824. This has typically been a ploy to discriminate against non-Buddhist minorities, like the Rohingya, a Muslim minority not considered citizens of Myanmar (Tang, 2013)..."
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Source/publisher: 2018 SAGE Publications India via Journal of Asian Security and International Affairs
2018-00-00
Date of entry/update: 2021-06-24
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Description: "Connecting Myanmar with Asia for 26 years, Bangkok Bank has been a part of the Myanmar business community, connecting business and promoting trade flows and investment from ASEAN and beyond..."
Source/publisher: "Bangkok Post" (Thailand)
2021-01-04
Date of entry/update: 2021-01-07
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Description: "Bangladesh is interested in joining the India-Myanmar-Thailand (IMT) trilateral highway to enhance connectivity with Southeast Asia, which would open a new chapter in trans-border corridors in the Indo-Pacific region. Dhaka’s expressed interest to join IMT — at a time when Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar or BCIM has made scant progress — during prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s virtual summit with her counterpart Narendra Modi on Thursday. She sought India’s support to enable Bangladesh to join the initiative, according to the joint statement issued at the end of the summit. The IMT highways is aimed at opening land gate to ASEAN and boost trade and commerce. India has also proposed extending the highway to Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. India has undertaken two projects in Myanmar under the 1,360-km IMT project that starts from Moreh in India to Mae Sot in Thailand through Myanmar. These are construction of the 120-km Kalewa-Yagyi road sections to highway standard and upgrading of 69 bridges and approach roads on the Tamu-Kyigone-Kalewa road section of 150 km. Bangladesh also wants trucks with its goods to enter Bhutan and Nepal through India and Hasina sought cooperation from Modi in this regard at the summit in what would promote Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal (BBIN) road connectivity as part of sub-regional cooperation, ET has learnt. At the summit Bangladesh and India discussed ways of cooperation to expand transportation solutions within BBIN region, apart from cooperation in cross-border energy trade. To facilitate better connectivity and simplify movement of passengers and goods between both the countries, both leaders agreed to an early operationalization of the BBIN Motor Vehicles Agreement through expeditious signing of the Enabling MoU for Bangladesh, India and Nepal to commence the movement of goods and passengers, with provision for Bhutan to join at a later date..."
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Source/publisher: "The Economic Times" (India)
2020-12-18
Date of entry/update: 2021-01-03
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Description: "Myanmar’s trade with foreign countries through border gates reached over 8.6 billion U.S. dollars as of July 10 in present fiscal year (FY) 2019-2020 which started in October, according to figures released by the Commerce Ministry on Monday. During the period, the country's export via border gates earned over 5.8 billion U.S. dollars while its import shared over 2.7 billion U.S. dollars. According to the ministry’s figures, this fiscal year’s border trade increased by over 281 million U.S. dollars, compared to the same period of last fiscal year 2018-2019 when it recorded over 8.3 billion U.S. dollars. Muse topped the list of border checkpoints with the most trade value of 3.8 billion U.S. dollars, followed by Heekhee with 1.6 billion U.S. dollars, the ministry’s figures said. The country conducts border trade with neighboring China through Muse, Lweje, Kanpikete, Chinashwehaw and kengtung with Thailand via Tachilek, Myawady, Kawthoung, Myeik, Hteekhee, Mawtuang and Maese gates, with Bangladesh via Sittwe and Maungtaw and with India through Tamu and Reed border gates, respectively. Myanmar mainly exports agricultural products, animal products, marine products, minerals, forest products, manufacturing goods and others while capital goods, intermediate goods and consumer goods are imported to the country..."
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Source/publisher: "Xinhua" (China)
2020-07-20
Date of entry/update: 2020-07-20
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Sub-title: Artisans in Sagyin have carved out a living from marble for generations but some fear the dust that cloaks the village.
Description: "The fine white dust that shrouds much of his northern Myanmar village also covers sculptor Chin Win as he leans over a half-finished Buddha statue. "We are blessed to carve Buddha," he said at his stone workshop surrounded by the seven white hills that give Sagyin village its name, which means "marble" in Burmese. For generations, artisans in this part of Buddhist-majority Myanmar have carved out a living from the marble, fashioning mostly colossal Buddha statues to be sold in the nearby city of Mandalay or exported to neighbouring China and Thailand. Many of the several thousand villagers here earn a modest living from the marble mines, hauling the slabs down the hill, carving them into statues, or exporting them overseas. Burmese marble, which ranges from pure white to bluish grey, is prized for its hardness and texture. A 45-tonne slab can sell for $40,000. In Sagyin, specks of the stone are used for everything from brushing teeth to washing clothes. "We grew up breathing the dust," said Chin Win, 35, who has been carving statues since he was 11 years old. "We use it as toothpaste, for soap powder, lipstick." The stone used to be chiselled by hand. Now, much of the work is done with machines. "I was born in this village and for generations, this is what we have done: the men work on marble carving and the women work in the marble mines or polish the marble statues," said 25-year-old Mya Lay, in a house fashioned from dry bamboo sheets, with a floor made of marble chippings..."
Source/publisher: "Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
2020-07-07
Date of entry/update: 2020-07-07
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Description: "Thousands of Myanmar textile workers on the Thai-Myanmar border in Three Pagodas Pass, Karen State have been unable to go to work at factories in Thailand due to a dispute between the countries’ border authorities. “For the workers, they do not have monthly salaries, so how can they survive?” asked U Tin Myo Oo, a National League for Democracy regional lawmaker who represents Kyainseikgyi Township, where Three Pagodas Pass is located. “[Myanmar authorities] do not allow workers to cross the border at the moment. From the Myanmar side, they do not allow people to cross the border, as I heard,” he said. The Irrawaddy could not reach the Myanmar Border Committee in Three Pagodas Pass for comment. Local sources from the town told The Irrawaddy that the dispute began on Tuesday after a meeting between Thai border authorities and a Karen Border Guard Force (BGF). Thai authorities have objected to the fact that the Karen BGF allows some trade to pass through the border gates under their control, including reportedly at night. The border has been closed to trade since 2007 but border authorities from both sides allow locals to walk across to go to work for the day. Local traders are also allowed to cross, some driving their cars to transport food..."
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Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
2020-02-28
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-29
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Sub-title: Border trade between Thailand and Myanmar is set to increase this year thanks to the second Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge and the implementation of Cross Border Transport Facilitation Agreement (CBTA).
Description: "The second Thai- Myanmar Friendship bridge connecting Myawady in Myanmar and Mae Sot in Thailand opened in October of 2019. Meanwhile, the CBTA, which also came into effect last year, authorises goods vehicles from each country to cross the border and stay for 30 days. Trade volume between Myanmar and Thailand in fiscal year2018-19 hit a total of US$5.4 billion (K7.7 trillion) in total, Ministry of Commerce statistics show. According to the ministry, Myanmar’s exports to Thailand reached US$3.2 billion while imports hit US$2.1 billion. Among three trade points along the border between Myanmar and Thailand, Myawady-Mae Sot route is the most important, carrying around 70 percent of trade between the countries. “With the new bridge and that transportation agreement, the trade outlook is good for both countries. In Myanmar, most of goods mainly imported from Thailand are raw materials for manufacturing, and construction material. So, the transportation route is important for two countries’ economies and businesses,” Myanmar International Freight Forwarders Association chair U Aung Khin Myint, told The Myanmar Times..."
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Source/publisher: "Myanmar Times" (Myanmar)
2020-02-14
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-15
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Description: "Border trade between Myanmar and its neighboring Thailand reached over 1.15 billion U.S. dollars in first quarter of the present fiscal year (FY) 2019-2020 which started in October, according to figures released from the Commerce Ministry on Sunday. From Oct. 1 to Dec. 31, 2019, the country earned over 773 million U.S. dollars from export to Thailand, while its import amounted over 382 million U.S. dollars. This fiscal year's figures decreased by nearly 100 million U.S. dollars, compared to the same period of the last fiscal year 2018-2019. Myanmar conducts trade with the Southeast Asian neighbor through seven border gates -- Tachileik, Myawady, Kawthoung, Myeik, Hteekhee, Mawtaung and Maese, respectively. During the first four months of this FY, the Hteekhee border gate registered the highest border trade value of over 555 million U. S. dollars, while the Maese border gate saw the smallest trade value of 1.5 million U.S. dollars. The country's agricultural and fishery products are exported to Thailand, while cosmetics, food products and machinery and raw industrial goods such as cement and fertilizers are imported..."
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Source/publisher: "Xinhua" (China)
2020-02-09
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-10
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Sub-title: Amata aims to woo foreign manufacturers with modern industrial zone in Yangon
Description: "Thai industrial estate developer Amata Corp. plans to build an industrial complex with an investment of $1 billion in Yangon, Myanmar's biggest city. The complex will provide important industrial infrastructure in a nation with few global-standard industrial zones suitable for foreign companies. Amata recently signed a land lease agreement and joint venture agreement with the Myanmar Ministry of Construction in the country's capital of Naypyitaw, securing the right to use 800 hectares of land in the northeastern part of Yangon for 70 years. Amata's investment will include construction of 600 megawatt power plant. "Myanmar is a gateway to the Indian Ocean for the GMS (Greater Mekong Sub-region). That is why we've chosen Myanmar," Vikrom Kromadit, chairman and CEO of Amata, said during an interview with the Nikkei Asian Review after a ceremony to mark the signing. Amata estimates that tenant companies' long-term investments in the new industrial zone will eventually reach $3.7 billion. As a GMS country along with Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and China, Myanmar once drew strong attention from foreign companies as a frontier market with room for substantial economic growth, but the presence of manufacturers there has not increased as sharply as expected..."
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Date of entry/update: 2020-02-03
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Topic: Border Guard Force, Chang Beer, beer, Emerald Brewery, Fraser & Neave, Myanmar Brewery, smuggling, black market, Myawaddy, Kayin StateThaiBev,Thailand, taxation, informal economy, trade
Sub-title: Months after Emerald Brewery began producing Chang in Yangon, large quantities of the Thai beer are still being smuggled openly across the border at Myawaddy in a racket dominated by the Kayin Border Guard Force.
Topic: Border Guard Force, Chang Beer, beer, Emerald Brewery, Fraser & Neave, Myanmar Brewery, smuggling, black market, Myawaddy, Kayin StateThaiBev,Thailand, taxation, informal economy, trade
Description: "THE YOUNG woman in the tight black and dark green dress approaches a table of men drinking beer. “Did you know Chang Beer is now made in Myanmar?” she asks. Behind her, a small sign in the restaurant advertises that Chang is “officially served” and that it’s “Time for a Change”. These are fairly standard promotional techniques for a consumer goods company that has just entered a new market. But the examples also reflect the slightly unusual nature of the market entry challenge for Emerald Brewery, which began producing Chang Beer at a factory north of Yangon in late September. It assumes most customers already know Chang: what it wants them to know is that it’s now made legally in Myanmar. Emerald Brewery is a US$70 million joint venture between Singapore’s Fraser & Neave Limited and two local partners, and it brews Chang under licence from its strategic partner, Thai Beverage Public Company Limited. The brewery venture marks Fraser & Neave’s return to Myanmar after a four-year absence. The company was previously the military’s joint venture partner in Myanmar Brewery Limited, but was forced by an arbitration court to sell its stake back to the military in 2015. Chang enters a crowded but rapidly growing beer market that remains dominated by military-owned Myanmar Brewery, with around a 55 percent market share. But unlike the other players, it may have to fend off competition from, well… itself..."
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Source/publisher: "Frontier Myanmar" (Myanmar)
2020-01-18
Date of entry/update: 2020-01-18
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Sub-title: Local subsidiary viewed as best model
Description: "Siam Commercial Bank is seeking approval from the Central Bank of Myanmar (CBM) to upgrade SCB's representative office to operate under a bank subsidiary licence in the neighbouring country. The subsidiary model would offer SCB greater opportunities to do banking business in Myanmar, said chief executive Arthid Nanthawitthaya. Among the three options that the CBM has offered to foreign banks, a subsidiary licence is the most suitable model for SCB, Mr Arthid said. In the event that SCB gains a subsidiary licence in Myanmar, the bank must inject fresh funds to upgrade its representative office to a subsidiary bank as required by CBM regulations, he said. The CBM permits foreign banks to operate business in Myanmar under three licence types: subsidiary, foreign bank branch and equity holding in a local bank..."
Source/publisher: "Bangkok Post" (Thailand)
2020-01-16
Date of entry/update: 2020-01-16
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Description: "A new cooperation deal between the Myanmar government and private energy company, MPRL E&P, will bring good news for Thailand's power generation sector, Myanmar's Ministry of Electricity and Energy said in a statement on Monday. The statement was issued after MPRL E&P, a Myanmar-based independent energy company, successfully concluded negotiations with Yangon on two key agreements on fiscal terms and the sharing of output from the A-6 offshore gas bloc in Myanmar. MPRL E&P is the only independent energy exploration company in Myanmar which actively explores both onshore and offshore wells in the country. In the statement, MPRL E&P said the talks resulted in a number of improvements in negotiating terms, which will be crucial to the economic viability of the gas exploration project, which is located in deep waters off the Myanmar coast..."
Source/publisher: "Bangkok Post" (Thailand)
2019-12-17
Date of entry/update: 2020-01-14
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Sub-title: In a January 9 statement, the Dawei SEZ Management Committee said changes have been made to the contractual arrangements with Italian-Thai Development Company Ltd (ITD) for the development of initial industrial estate in Tanintharyi Region.
Description: "According to contract amendment, ITD and other investors must compensate and resettle villagers affected by industrial zone project. It must also adhere to international standards on the environment. The Thai government has agreed to provide a loan for the construction of a two-lane highway which will connect Dawei SEZ to the Myanmar-Thailand border, paving the way for further construction to take place. Further details are being discussed to amend the land lease contract as well as development of a liquefied natural gas and power plant project, the statement said..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Myanmar Times" (Myanmar)
2020-01-10
Date of entry/update: 2020-01-11
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Sub-title: Two private banks, Ayeyarwady Bank (AYA Bank) in Myanmar and Thailand’s Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to collaborate in the development of cross border payments and fund transfer services between the two countries.
Description: "This cements an October 2019 agreement between the Central Bank of Myanmar and the Bank of Thailand to promote the official use of the Myanmar kyat and Thai baht when trading at the border. The Central Banks also inked a second MOU to promote financial innovation and services for payments through collaboration between the two countries. “We hope to start the work within the year,” U Hpone Thet Oo, vice president of Financial Institutions and Corporate Banking for AYA Bank, told Myanmar Times. Even though trading at the Thai-Myanmar border is already conducted in kyat and baht, payments that are processed through the banks are conducted in US dollars, resulting in leakages through foreign exchange losses. “Through this MOU, we can bring more of the payments through the formal channel and make the process more convenient,’’ Mr Kamalkant Agarwal, Advisor to the CEO, SCB Bank..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Myanmar Times"
2020-01-09
Date of entry/update: 2020-01-09
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "Thai businesses are ramping up ties with their Myanmar counterparts in five main areas — agriculture, border trade, energy, industrial development and tourism — to tap into vast investment opportunities in the neighbouring country. Panitarn Pavarolavidya, chairman of Thai-Myanmar Business Council, said the council‘s first meeting held in Yangon on Feb 3 focused on the proposed five sectors and set up a joint panel to look at potential obstacles and how to overcome them. For instance, Mr Panitarn said the Thai businesses have proposed that Myanmar establish a central organisation to oversee agricultural prices, which fluctuate widely. He said more port and rail development is needed in Myanmar to facilitate logistics and boost exports and imports. Part of this process involves amending logistics laws and setting up one-stop services to facilitate border trade. Thailand also proposed Myanmar use the baht as currency for border trade in addition to the US dollar, euro and Singapore dollar, in order to boost border trade..."
Source/publisher: "Wellston Journal" (USA)
2019-12-15
Date of entry/update: 2019-12-16
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "Thailand's cross-border trade dropped 1.94% year-on-year in the first 10 months of this year, with the strong baht, global economic slowdown, continued trade war and an overall volatile foreign exchange listed as the key threats. On Thursday, the Commerce Ministry's Foreign Trade Department reported the country's overall cross-border trade, including transit trade, amounted to 1.12 trillion baht for the year to October. Transit trade consists of businesses involved in the passage of goods through more than one country. Of the total figures, exports from Thailand accounted for 627 billion baht, down 2.05% from the same period last year, while imports were worth 498 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of 129 billion..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Bangkok Post" (Thailand)
2019-11-29
Date of entry/update: 2019-11-30
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Description: "Prime Minister Narendra Modi Saturday said that the India-Myanmar-Thailand connectivity will boost development in the entire Southeast Asian region. Addressing the Indian diaspora at 'Sawasdee PM Modi' event in Bangkok, Thailand, the prime minister said that his government wants to bring both nations closer by transforming India's northeast region into a gateway to Southeast Asia. "Once the India-Myanmar-Thailand trilateral highway is opened, there will be seamless connectivity between both our countries. I am glad that all of you will have a chance to be part of this story," he said at the event held to interact with Indian diaspora.ASEAN leaders meet under US-China trade war tensions "India and Thailand are connected through emotions," quoted PM Modi at the Nimibutr Stadium in Bangkok, who is on an official trip to Thailand to attend the 16th ASEAN-India summit on Sunday. "History has united us and has developed our relations," he added..."
Source/publisher: "Business Today" (India)
2019-11-04
Date of entry/update: 2019-11-28
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Topic: Cross-border,transport,Thailand,Myanmar
Topic: Cross-border,transport,Thailand,Myanmar
Description: "Thailand and Myanmar signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cross-border transport during a recent Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) conference, Deputy Transport Minister Thaworn Senneam said on Wednesday. The signing took place at the 23rd GMS meeting in Phnom Penh on Monday. The MoU is part of the Cross-Border Transport Agreement (CBTA), a treaty on improving cross-border transportation and logisitics. This MoU will apply to cross border trade between Mae Sot district in Tak and Myawaddy in Myanmar. It involves both nations improving immigration checkpoint and logistic clearances at the crossing..."
Source/publisher: "Bangkok Post" (Thailand)
2019-11-20
Date of entry/update: 2019-11-21
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "The National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC) will ask the cabinet to adopt its guidelines on infrastructure development on Tuesday, as the government seeks to start working on the long-awaited link that will connect the Dawei Special Economic Zone in Myanmar with Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC). A source said the NESDC wants ministers concerned to stick with the guidelines when approving budgets and projects which will link Myanmar, Thailand's Central Plains and EEC on the Eastern seaboard. According to the source, the NESDC's guidelines were meant to "set the tone" for the infrastructure projects, with the ultimate aim of turning the three regions into a hub for border trade, agricultural production, environmentally-friendly industries and eco-tourism..."
Source/publisher: "Bangkok Post" (Thailand)
2019-11-11
Date of entry/update: 2019-11-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: " Myanmar has approved eight more projects in five sectors in a latest scrutiny of submitted foreign investment projects, according to the Myanmar Investment Commission on Sunday. The investment projects worth a total of 232.21 million U.S. dollars were granted at Saturday's meeting of the commission in Yangon. These projects are in the sectors of manufacturing, real estate, service, livestock and fishery which will create over 1,700 job opportunities. According to the commission's statistics, by the end of October, Myanmar received the investment mainly from Singapore, China and Thailand in three top sectors with oil and gas accounting for 27.29 percent, power sector 25.77 percent and manufacturing sector 14.04 percent. In October, the commission had given green light to eight investment projects from home and abroad which were worth a total of 384.48 million U.S. dollars. Those projects, scattered in real estate, education service, agriculture and manufacturing sectors, were designed to create 33,279 local employment opportunities..."
Source/publisher: "Xinhua" (China)
2019-11-17
Date of entry/update: 2019-11-17
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Sub-title: Businesses from China, Thailand, Korea and Japan, including those from the power and logistics sectors, have said they are keen to invest in the Dawei Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Tanintharyi, which is near the Thai border.
Description: "Investor interest in Dawei, which has yet to be developed, has been on the rise since Myanmar and Thailand agreed to speed up development of the SEZ during the 9th Myanmar – Thailand Joint Coordinating Committee meeting last month. “Power companies from China, steel firms from Thailand and logistics firms from South Korea have said they want to make site visits as they are interested to invest,” said U Myint San, vice chair of Dawei SEZ Management Committee. Although official invitations have yet to be sent out, China’s V Power, which will import liquefied natural gas (LNG) into the country next year, has voiced interest in the SEZ, as has China National Technical Import and Export Corp (CNTIC), which is also interested in selling LNG to Myanmar and its neighbours. “CNTIC has had discussions with the government on supplying LNG which can be converted into energy due to the electricity shortage in Myanmar. They plan to transport the LNG to Myanmar using gas tankers and set up base in Dawei SEZ,” U Myint San said. The other Chinese energy and power firms are Power China International Group, China Tianchen Engineering Corporation and TBEA Xi’an Electric Technology Co. Korean logistics firm Hyundai Glovis is keen to offer logistics and transportation services to the SEZ, linking it to Bangkok via land and to Thilawa SEZ in Yangon via and land and sea, it said. Meanwhile, Thai firms are interested in steel production at the SEZ. “Given that steel requirements in both Thailand and Myanmar are high, they want to build steel mills in Myanmar,” said U Myint San..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Myanmar Times" (Myanmar)
2019-11-06
Date of entry/update: 2019-11-06
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "A NEW bridge for heavy commercial vehicles connecting Myanmar and Thailand look set to boost trade links between the two countries. The "No 2 Friendship Bridge" that connects Myawady in Kayin State and Mae Sot in Thailand was opened on Oct 30 with hopes to better facilitate trade activities between the two nations according to The Myanmar Times. In an announcement by the Transportation and Communication ministry about the opening, it also told the first "Friendship Bridge" in the vicinity will continue to be used by regular vehicles. The 270-metre bridge, with an approach road measuring 3.6km on the Myanmar side and 17.5km on the Thai side, costed nearly 200 billion kyat (RM545 million). To mark the launch of the new bridge, three trucks from each side of the border were driven across in a simple event attended by State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha. The Myanmar Highway Freight Transportation Services Association secretary U Aung Moe said the new bridge will help lessen illegal trade and improve the transportation of goods between the two countries. With the bridge now open, trucks from Thailand can now reach Yangon’s Thilawa port and trucks from Myanmar can reach Laem Chabang Port in Bangkok, Thailand. The distance between the two ports stretches about 1,000km. "There are currently about 100 drivers in Myanmar who hold border-crossing licences valid for a year in Myanmar," U Aung Moe said. Myanmar Container Trucks Association executive member U Myo Htut Aung said the new bridge will effectively hasten the transportation of goods compared to before. “In the past, despite having permits for trade in Thailand, we had to drive along restricted routes and were not allowed to cross into Thailand and goods had to be transferred to other trucks at the border..."
Source/publisher: "New Straits Times" (Malaysia)
2019-11-05
Date of entry/update: 2019-11-06
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "The state-run Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) is planning to talk with power authorities in Cambodia and Myanmar to trade electricity from Thailand at a combined capacity of 500 megawatts. Patana Sangsriroujana, deputy governor for policy and planning, said Egat has been ordered by Energy Minister Sontirat Sontijirawong to talk with the two governments about future power trading. "The sales to Cambodia will happen quicker than Myanmar because some transmission lines have been developed in Cambodia," said Mr Patana. "Myanmar requires new investment for power infrastructure." He said the electricity trade to both countries should begin by 2023. The energy ministers of the three countries need to agree on a contract. Mr Patana said the Laos government is also interested in trading power to Cambodia and Myanmar under its Battery of Asia policy..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Bangkok Post" (Thailand)
2019-11-05
Date of entry/update: 2019-11-05
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Sub-title: The necessary infrastructure is being set up to link Dawei Special Economic Zone (SEZ) to the national grid, which will enable the area to enjoy access to electricity within the next 2-3 years, said U Soe Myint, deputy permanent secretary for the Ministry
Description: "Backed up loans from the Asia Development Bank (ADB), the ministry is expected to provide up to 300 megawatts of power to the SEZ, said U Myint San, vice chair of Dawei SEZ Management Committee. Dawei SEZ will be able to enjoy electricity after the grid is extended from Mawlamyine to Ye and Dawei by 2021-22 under the first phase of the project, said U Soe Myint. Eventually, the entire region of Tanintharyi will enjoy access to electricity. Currently, the whole of Tanintharyi including Dawei, is not connected to the grid and locals have to buy electricity from private providers at high prices. Electricity rates vary from K200 to K500 per unit, depending on location. At those levels, investors are unlikely to set up operations at the Dawei SEZ, prompting the government to take action, U Myint San said. The Dawei SEZ project has actually been in the works since the previous government’s administration but delayed due to the lack of suitable infrastructure as well as social and environmental issues relating to the location of the SEZ..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Myanmar Times" (Myanmar)
2019-11-04
Date of entry/update: 2019-11-04
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "Myanmar and Thailand have opened the second friendship bridge that crosses Thaungyin River to boost their border trade, according to the Ministry of Construction on Thursday. The Myanmar-Thai Friendship Bridge-2, built with the help of Thailand, links Myawady in Myanmar's southeastern Kayin state with Mae Sot in Thailand's Tak province. The bridge is 760 meters long and 17.2 meters wide with two traffic lanes and border control facilities and traffic change-over. The inaugural ceremony was held at a temporary pandal erected on the bridge on Wednesday where Myanmar Minister of Construction U Han Zaw emphasized the bilateral relations of the two neighboring countries, cooperation in trade and investment, tourism and labor sectors. According to statistics of the Commerce Ministry, bilateral border trade between Myanmar and Thailand reached over 2.28 billion U.S. dollars as of May 3 in the present fiscal year 2018-19 which ended in September..."
Source/publisher: "Xinhua" (China)
2019-10-31
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-31
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "Thailand and Myanmar expect to have cars travelling on three routes between both countries this September, in a move set to bolster the regional economy. Each country will be granted 100 licences for their transport operators, who can drive hundreds of kilometres into the inner areas of the countries, including to Yangon and a port near the Thilawa Special Economic Zone in Myanmar, and Bangkok and Laem Chabang port in Chon Buri, Land Transport Department chief Phiraphon Thawonsuphacharoen said on Friday. "We're selecting and examining operators' qualifications," he said, referring to a process required by the Greater Mekong Subregion Cross-Border Transport Agreement. The routes, which start from Myawaddy-Mae Sot border checkpoint are aimed at supporting international tourism and logistics, Mr Phiraphon said..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Bangkok Post" (Thailand)
2019-06-01
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-31
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "Thailand is counting on a new bridge connecting with Myanmar to increase border trade between the two countries. Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob said after opening the second Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge that the new link between Mae Sot district and Myanmar's Myawaddy will increase border trade to 100 billion baht per year from the current level of 78 billion baht. Mr Saksayam and Myanmar Construction Minister Han Zaw chaired the ceremony at the border between their countries. The new bridge has been built to ease traffic jams at the old bridge. The Mae Sot checkpoint is a major gateway for border trade between Thailand and Myanmar. Border trade between the countries accounted for 190 billion baht in the 2018 fiscal year, 78 billion of them through Mae Sot district..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Bangkok Post" (Thailand)
2019-10-30
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-30
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Sub-title: U Kyaw Kyaw Maung, governor of the Central Bank of Myanmar (CBM) and his Thai counterpart Veerathai Santiprabhob, have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to promote the use of the Myanmar kyat and Thai baht for trading at the border, according to
Description: "The governors also inked a second MOU to promote financial innovation and services for payments through collaboration between the two countries, according to the statement. The agreements were signed at the IMF-World Bank meeting in the US on October 18. However, as the MOUs were “unplanned” and took place after negotiations on both sides, further details will be ironed out later, said Daw Myint Myint Kyi, Director General of the CBM. Even though trading at the Thai-Myanmar border is mostly conducted in kyat and baht, payments through banks are conducted in US dollars, said U Hnin Oo, vice chair of the Myanmar Fisheries Federation. “At present, when we make a payment with a bank, we have to exchange to dollars first. Under the agreement, we will be able to narrow any exchange rate losses made,” he said. Of the four countries that share borders with Myanmar, Thailand is thesecond largest trading partner. Trade volumes at the Thai-Myanmar border, including Tachileik, Myawaddy, Kawthoung, Myeik, Htee Khee and Maw Taung during fiscal 2018-19 amounted to US$3.8 billion, according to government data..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Myanmar Times" (Myanmar)
2019-10-23
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-24
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "TOA-Chugoku Paints (TCP) has earmarked 500 million baht to construct its first overseas paint factory in Myanmar, expecting to capture demand from megaprojects. The new factory will produce two paint products -- heavy-duty coating and marine paint -- with a monthly capacity of 300 tonnes. The project will be located in Thilawa Special Economic Zone on an area of 12 rai. It is scheduled to begin operations in April 2020. TCP set up a new local unit in Myanmar, Chugoku-TOA Paints Myanmar, to operate the factory. Chugoku Marine Paints (CMP) from Japan holds a 51% stake in the Thilawa company, while TOA Venture Holding (TOAVH) from Thailand owns the remainder..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Bangkok Post" (Thailand)
2019-10-22
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-22
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Sub-title: Thai property developer Ananda Development Public Co Ltd wants to expand into Myanmar and is now looking for suitable partners in the country, its officials told Myanmar journalists in Bangkok on October 9.
Description: "The company will focus on urban projects in Myanmar and is now exploring the various avenues through which it can invest in the country. Chanond Ruangkritya, chief executive of Ananda Development, said the company’s strategy of raising living standards through the development of urban and high-quality housing projects that are linked to key transport systems would be an attractive value proposition for potential partners and investors in Myanmar. Ananda Development also wants to draw more Myanmar investors to the Thai property market. “Bangkok is one of the most attractive cities in Asia for foreign investors and one of the reasons is its successful urban living system, which can be achieved only if it has efficient transportation for residents to live and to work,” Chanond said. He added that the company’s condominium projects are linked to the Bangkok Mass Transit System, which is attractive to foreign buyers, including those from Myanmar. According to local agents, de,amd for foreign property from Myanmar investors is currently highest in Singapore, followed by Thailand. That is because Thailand is a viable option for education and healthcare and is also easily accessible for Myanmar residents. In addition, local investors are now able to apply for bank loans to purchase Thai properties, which raises their value, the agents said..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Myanmar Times" (Myanmar)
2019-10-16
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-16
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "The second Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge across the Moei River in Tak's Mae Sot district will be officially opened on Oct 30, according to a press release from the Highways Department. The opening ceremony will be co-chaired by Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob and Myanmar's Minister of Construction Han Zaw. The Thai ambassador to Yangon and the Myanmar ambassador to Bangkok as well as other high-level officials of the two countries will also attend the ceremony. After the official opening, vehicles will cross the bridge from the Thai side of the river to the Myanmar side in a dry run. The Thai and Myanmar ministers will then proceed to open the second border checkpoint at Ban Wang Takhian Tai in tambon Tha Sai Luat of Mae Sot district..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Bangkok Post" (Thailand)
2019-10-14
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-14
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "Deputy Minister Dr. Tun Naing of Union Ministry of Electricity and Energy said that his government was trying hard to get electrification which was one of the infrastructure requirements for the success and development of the Dawei Special Economic Zone (SEZ) which has been delayed for various reasons. Dr. Tun Naing who is also the chairman of Dawei SEZ Management Committee said that his Electricity and Energy Ministry was working to build a national power grid transmission line with a Asia Development Bank (ADB) loan in Tanintharyi Region which is the sole region of the country which has not yet been connected with national power grid. “We have a Dawei SEZ electrification plan from this Mawlamyine-Yay-Dawei national power grid line after building this transmission line,” he added. The Deputy Minister was speaking at a joint press conference held at the Park Royal Hotel in Nay Pyi Taw October 3 after holding the 9th ministerial-level Myanmar-Thai meeting for the success of the project in the initial phase of the Dawei SEZ project. In this ministerial level meeting, the two countries agreed on seven points and the two countries will jointly implement the initial phase of this Dawei SEZ project..."
Source/publisher: "Mizzima" (Myanmar)
2019-10-05
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-10
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Sub-title: Myanmar and Thailand will speed up development of a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) and deep sea port at Dawei in Tanintharyi Region, officials said during the 9th Myanmar – Thailand Joint Coordinating Committee meeting last week.
Description: "Basic infrastructure such as roads connecting the SEZ to Thailand and necessities like electricity will be prioritised and carried out simultaneously with as little delay in between as possible, said U Tun Naing, Deputy Minister for Ministry of Electricity and Energy and chair of the Dawei Special Economic Zone Management Committee. Myanmar will accept a loan from Thailand at reduced interest rates to build the two-lane Dawei-Htee Khee road, which is expected to link the SEZ to Thailand and boost trade and tourism between the two countries. Construction on the 138-kilometre road, which is being carried out by Italian-Thai Development Company Ltd (ITD), began in 2018, after the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation approved the environmental and social impact assessment. In July this year, the World Wildlife Fund warned that Myanmar’s rainforests and at least nine globally-threatened species in Tanintharyi would face significant risks if the Dawei-Htee Khee road project continues without a comprehensive biodiversity protection plan..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Myanmar Times" (Myanmar)
2019-10-07
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-07
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Sub-title: B462bn Chinese megaproject across the border in Myanmar threatens to eclipse economic development and progress in Mae Sot
Description: "Border towns are often labelled as remote villages without modern infrastructure or amenities. However, recent economic policies such as the development of special economic zones and foreign investment have led to the urbanisation of these rural areas. A clear example of this can be seen in Mae Sot district in Tak province, located opposite to the Shwe Kokko forest area in the Myawaddy region of Myanmar. This border enclave region is controlled by a local ethnic Karen warlord, Chit Tu, who has made peace with Myanmar's military and converted his armed units into an officially recognised Border Guard Force (BGF). Three years ago, Jilin Yatai International Holding Group, a major investor from China, invested $US15 billion (462.6 billion baht) in a project which would see the construction of a residential, commercial and industrial hub on more than 5,085 rai of land in Shwe Kokko, located by a river in Myanmar, just over 20km away from Mae Sot district..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Bangkok Post" (Thailand)
2019-06-23
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-06
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Topic: Dawei, Dawei Special Economic Zone, Dr. Tun Naing, Japan, Myanmar, Neighboring Countries Economic Development Cooperation Agency, SEZ, Tanintharyi Region, Thailand, Wildlife
Topic: Dawei, Dawei Special Economic Zone, Dr. Tun Naing, Japan, Myanmar, Neighboring Countries Economic Development Cooperation Agency, SEZ, Tanintharyi Region, Thailand, Wildlife
Description: " Myanmar and Thailand have published their nine-point agreement to push through the implementation of the long-delayed US$8-billion (12.23-trillion-kyat) Dawei Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in southern Myanmar’s Tanintharyi Region, which is set to be Southeast Asia’s largest industrial complex. After a bilateral ministerial meeting in Naypyitaw, a statement was issued to reaffirm the construction at the Dawei SEZ of the initial and final phases of the project at the same time. It was also agreed to hold further meetings between one of Myanmar’s vice presidents and a Thai deputy prime minister. The agreement included plans for a two-lane highway to the Htee Kee border through Myittar to enable the site’s construction. Both sides decided to invite third-party investment for the final implementation of the SEZ and to supply the electricity. The next meeting is due to be held in Thailand. Myanmar’s deputy minister for electricity and energy, Dr. Tun Naing, said the meeting had made progress and the ground construction work was now expected to begin in 2020. Italian-Thai Development PCL (ITD) was initially granted a 75-year concession to develop and attract investment in 2008 with completion due in 2015..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
2019-10-04
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-05
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "TAK: Bilateral border trade between Thailand and Myanmar is expected to flourish after the second Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge becomes fully operational, starting from Oct 30. Niyom Wairatpanich, vice-chairman of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, said the bridge is vital to boost border trade between the two countries, increasing trade flow and logistics services through Mae Sot. Thailand's border trade with Myanmar totalled 193 billion baht last year, up 4.9% from a year before. Border trade through Mae Sot amounted to 80 billion baht in 2018. Thailand's overall border trade with all four neighbours rose 4% last year to 1.12 trillion baht, with exports making up 651 billion baht, down 0.5%, and imports worth 474 billion, up 11%. Malaysia was the biggest partner for border trade, with two-way border trade amounting to 572 billion baht, up 1.3%, followed by Laos (214 billion baht, up 3.2%) and Cambodia (146 billion baht, up 16.4%). For the first eight months, Thailand-Myanmar trade accounted for 18.3% of total border trade volume, totalling 55.0 billion baht, a 4.27% decrease..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Bangkok Post" (Thailand)
2019-10-04
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-04
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Topic: Tanintharyi River, Karen, Karen National Union, International Finance Corporation, Myanmar, Environment
Topic: Tanintharyi River, Karen, Karen National Union, International Finance Corporation, Myanmar, Environment
Description: "The lack of transparency surrounding plans to construct dams on the Tanintharyi River in southern Myanmar, and the impact it will have on the livelihoods of the Karen – the area’s indigenous people – is set to add more tension to an area already filled with strife. While there are 18 Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) for dams on the Tanintharyi River – one of southern Myanmar’s largest free-flowing waterways – local communities have received no information on their location, size or status according to a report by three civil society groups last week; Candle Light Youth Group, Southern Youth and Tarkapaw Youth Group. The report titled ‘Blocking a Bloodline: Indigenous Communities along the Tanintharyi River Fear the Impact of Large-Scale Dams’ also notes that 32,008 people from 76 villages living directly along the river depend on it as a vital source of food, water, transportation and cultural expression – all of which are at risk due to plans to build a 1,040 megawatt (MW) hydropower project by Thai-owned Greater Mekong Sub-region Power Public Co Ltd (GMS)..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "The ASEAN Post"
2019-08-15
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Sub-title: Thailand and Myanmar have long had business and economic ties, with the Thais even establishing a trade and business centre in Yangon. Last year, trade volumes between the two countries reached US$7.5 billion, representing a year-on-year increase of 7 per
Description: "Moving forward, Thanawut Naigowit, who was appointed as Thai Economic Counsellor and Director of the Thai Business Centre in Yangon last month, has plans to increase trade between Thailand and Myanmar to US$10billion over the next few years. This comes at a time when Myanmar is attempting to raise export volumes to Thailand at the Myawady border. “Myanmar businessmen need to find the right business partners from Thailand. Most of Myanmar people know about products made in Thailand but Thai people need to know more about Myanmar products first before exports can improve,” Mr Thanawat told the Myanmar Times in a recent interview. During the interview, Mr Thanawat also discussed the role of the Thai Business Centre as well as drawing more Thai investments into Myanmar: What suggestions do you have for Myanmar traders? The Thai Business Centre is under Thailand’s government and Ministry of Commerce. We are able to check whether companies actually exist or do businesses. So, please come to us to inquire whether these companies are real or not before buying things from them. So far, only two or three Myanmar businesses have lodged reports at the centre during the term of the previous counsellor and since I took over. The cases involved fraudulent businesses, non-payment for goods delivered, and non-delivery of goods paid for..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Myanmar Times"
2019-09-11
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-12
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Description: "It's been almost one year since Thailand's government set out to regulate their investment projects in other countries to comply with the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGP). The Cabinet Resolution was released on 16 May 2016 and pertains to extra-territorial obligations/business and human rights of Thai transboundary investments in Southeast Asia. Recently, the Thai National Human Rights Commission traveled to observe one of Thailand’s international investment projects in Myanmar's Tanintharyi Region, including a tin mine and a Special Economic Zone..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "EarthRights International"
2017-05-15
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-16
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Description: "YANGON — Plans to build dams on the Tanintharyi River would affect about 32,000 people in communities that have never been adequately consulted, according to a report by three Karen civil society groups that calls for a halt to the projects. The report says there are 18 memorandums of understanding to build dams on the river, but “local communities have received no information on their location, size or status”. It calls on the Tanintharyi regional government to provide full information to affected communities and civil society about the planned dams, which it says could also have a catastrophic impact on aquatic ecosystems and vast pristine forests, and pose a threat to the peace process. The report, Blocking a bloodline: Indigenous communities along the Tanintharyi River fear the impact of large scale dams, compiled by the Candle Light Youth Group, Southern Youth and Tarkapaw Youth Group, was released in Yangon on August 9 to mark the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples. The waterway, one of southern Myanmar’s largest free-flowing rivers, forms at the confluence of the Ban and Kamoethway rivers in Tanintharyi’s Dawei District and flows along the Tanintharyi Valley before emptying into the Andaman Sea at Myeik. The river is the bloodline of 32,008 people from 6,118 households, who live in 76 villages along its banks and depend on it as a vital source of food, water and transportation, the report says..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Frontier Myanmar"
2019-08-09
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-12
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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