· India and Burma agreed to promote border trade in 2004 said the news from India. Chamber of Commerce and Industries between the two countries have signed bilateral agreements in February. Burma is going to reopen and upgrade the old Lido highway linking the two countries. Lido highway was constructed by the allied troops in the Second World War and it has potentials for trade and tourism. India’s northeastern state of Asam will be actively taking part in the promotion of trade between the two countries, said the news.
· U.K to provide yearly assistance of £5 million for Poverty Reduction Projects in Burma; announced Britain’s Department of International Development-DFID. The assistance will be given to grassroots projects for: 1/ To supply vaccines for prevention of communicable diseases among grassroots population, 2/ To supply grassroots people with production assistance for food sufficiency 3/ To help grassroots people to obtain quality primary education 4/To create better living standard for the Burmese people.
The assistance will be provided to grassroots people in remote border areas, said the announcement.
· MICTDC (Myanmar Information and Communication Technology Development Committee) will manufacture mobile phones in Burma, said an expert with the committee. In a recent computer show, MICTDC has introduced a Budget PC and the budget PC were selling very well, but MICTDC could not supply enough PC to the market demand.
· Bagan Cybertech is planning to introduce new telephone systems such as DSL Broadband and Dect Wireless Telephones in Burma. Dect wireless telephones will be available in Burma after Bagan Cybertech has finished negotiation with the government ministry.
· United Myanmar Airlines (UMA) has been scrapped, said an officer from Ministry of Transport. The US$ 15 million project was established last July between H.K based Sunshine Strategic Investment Holdings and Burma Ministry of Transport. Two Burmese private companies named Fortune International and Myanmar Smooth Travels Services were also involved in the deal.
· While toll collections on the highways were auction at the YCDC recently, the highest bidder paid kyats 900 million per year for the tool collection permit at the main tollgate near Rangoon. Toll collectors have bid for different tollgates with higher prices and highway truck drivers are worried that the toll costs will get very high. A toll gate attendant said the unreasonable bidding prices will make toll rates much higher than the government’s allowed rates.
· Thailand based budget airlines Bangkok Air and Asian Air are planning to fly to Burma soon, said an investor from Thailand. Thai PM Thaksin owns Asian Air.
· A new Tarchileik-Maisai friendship bridge will be opened in April, said an official from the eastern Burma border. The border gate will be upgraded to an international border gate, said the news from Thailand.
· Blood donors’ history will be recorded in code numbers, said an official from medical research department. The system will enable the blood bank to prevent communicable diseases through blood transfusion and also can prevent undue blood selling.
· The East-West Economic Corridor, the highway road linking Moulmein in southern Burma and Danan in Vietnam’s eastern coast, will help develop the economy of the region, said an ADB report. The East-West corridor will pass through Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Burma and will be linking the South China Sea and the Bay of Bengal.
· A group of Malaysian businessmen accompanied the Minister of Mines to the government’s Kyaukpatoe gold mine in central Burma in first week of March. It is highly possible that the gold mine will enter into joint venture with the Malaysian company, said an official from the gold mine.
· There have been regular demands for the chicken feeds in Burma even when there were bird flu scares in the country, said a feed manufacturer.
· Tokiwa Company from Japan signs agreement with the Ministry of Education for permission to sell Tokiwa pencils and colour pencils at the government schools in 2004-2005 school terms. Tokiwa has been producing pencils in Burma.
· Indian airforce had performed the first aerobatics show in Rangoon on March 6th. 9 Indian made Kiran MK II fighters jets from Indian airforce’s Suryakiran team performed about half hour in the show.
· The Rangoon’s most popular Yuzana shopping centre is facing declining business, said a shop owner there. Although there are still many people visiting the shopping centre, sales have been low, said the owner.
· Burma is planning to expand its iron ore productions by upgrading its current mines and processing plants. There are two iron mines in Burma, one in May Myo near Mandalay operate by the government and one in Shan State operate by the Military owned Myanmar Economic Corporation (MEC). Asia World Company will import new machinery for the plants from a Latin America country.
· Northern Burma Kachin State is one of the most important and is a precious natural environment for the world, said a report from Global Nature Watch Group in March. In the last three years 600,000 cu.meters of timbers worth US$ 150 million have been illegally exported to China, said the report.
· The Ministry of Forestry has been granting more logging concessions to the private companies and also asking the logging companies to do the reforestation works. The forestry ministry has been granting concessions to 5 major companies, a few local companies and the 17 cease-fire groups. The teaks are auction in Rangoon for export and the private companies receive 45% of the sales and the forestry ministry takes 55%. Starting from this year, the ministry is demanding the private companies to replant trees in their concession areas, said an executive from a logging company. Burmese teak takes 90% of the world’s market share and due to increased production, teak prices in the world market is likely to drop below US$ 700 per ton, said a timber exporter.
· Government issued kyats 100 millions loans to Mythun (domesticated wild ox) breeders in Chin State in western Burma. Mythuns are meat cows that breed well in Chin State and currently there are over 34,000 Mythuns in the whole Chin State.
· U.K based Orient-Express company, which also operates Road to Mandalay river cruises, bought shares of 5 hotels in Rangoon including the Pansea hotel from H.K based Hosia Company. Road to Mandalay is planning to expand into another hotel business, said a source closed to the company.
· Kyats 100 million worth of contraband Johnnie Walker black label whiskey bottles seized in February from Burma Five Star Shipping Line’s Mandalay vessel. Due to the seizure, Johnnie Walker prices has rose significantly in Rangoon. About 25% of Johnnie Walkers whiskey available in Burma are counterfeit.
· Htoo trading company has received OGL (Open General License) from the government to import duty free goods to be sold at its duty free shops.
· The biggest art gallery in Burma expects to collect 10,000 paintings, said the founder. The ‘Colour of Myanmar Art Centre’ in Pegu was opened with 3500 paintings in 2002.
· The tastes of some popular soft drinks in Burma have changed, said consumers. Due to imported raw materials situations, the manufacturers might have changed the quality of the soft drinks, said market observers. There are three companies manufacturing soft drinks in Burma.
· Over 117000 pearls worth over Euro 6 million have been extracted by Japan based Myanmar Tasaki company in Burma. The company is in joint venture with the Ministry of Mines. There are three foreign and two locals companies producing pearls in Burma in joint venture with the government.
· Daewoo expects yearly profits of US$ 86 million from the gas fields in Rakkine State in western Burma, starting from 2009.
· The use of telephones has increased in Mandalay due to the installations of the EPABX system, said a businessman from Mandalay.
· The price of Burmese copper has increased at the international market from US$1000 per ton last year to US$ 2500 this year, said a Ministry of Mines officer. Canada based Myanmar Ivanhoe is extracting 80 tons of copper per day and monthly production is 2500 tons. An Ivanhoe spokesman said Ivanhoe has planned to extract 32000 tons of copper in 2004.
· A third border trading point with India will be opened in 2004, said officials. The trading post will connect Kachin State in northern Burma and India’s Utapradesh State.
· India is increasingly importing fishes from Burma through border trade, said a border trader from Chin State in northwestern Burma.
· More Burmese businessmen have increased their business activities in Malaysia, said business circle news. More businessmen from Burma are investing in Malaysia and settling down there said the news.
· The sales of gold bars have been stable because there are investors in gold bars, said a popular gold shop owner. Although the price of gold has been dropping since February, there are not much buying of gold jewellery but there are steady purchase of gold bars for investment, said the shop owner.
· In case of emergency, Burma has reserved fishes in the water dams and they are sufficient to provide the protein requirement of the country, said an official. Government has been putting baby fishes in the water dams and prohibits fishing in the water dams in the normal situations, said the official.
· More English-speaking police are required for the tourism police units, said a senior police officer. Tourism police stations will be opened in the tourist destinations around Burma and the requirements for the English-speaking policemen will be fulfil by recruiting from the foreign language institute graduates, said the officer.
· YCDC has designated 2004 as ‘Year of Roads’ and is building more roads in the suburban areas and repairing the current roads, said a YCDC official. The move came after the Mayor changed in Rangoon, said the official.
· Rice exporters from Rangoon are surveying Mandalay rice market, said a rice trader in Mandalay. There are large quantities of rice are being stored by the rice exporters and they are finding ways to sell out their rice stocks in Mandalay market, said the trader. Mandalay is the centre for border trade with China and India and rice exporters are finding ways to export (smuggle) rice through border trade to China and India, said the trader.
· More Foreign hospitals are entering Burma market. There are more Thai and Singapore hospitals are opening their agent offices in Rangoon, due to more wealthy Burmese patients going to foreign hospitals for treatment for cancer, heart, liver, and brain and nerves diseases.
· Trade between India and Burma to reach US$ 1 billion in 2006, said an Indian trade official. Currently, Burma enjoys trade surplus of over US$ 200 million per year since 2001-02.
· Portable generators from China are selling well in Burma, said the market sources. The small portable generators are cheap, but the quality in not guaranteed and there are some complaints from the customers, said a dealer. Due to the current electricity shortages in Burma, thousands of cheap portable Chinese generators have been sold within a few weeks, said a dealer.
· Globalisation and Burma (Main article) claimed that Burma could now enjoy globalisation through the Internet. The article gave examples of some Burmese students who received scholarships from foreign universities through the Internet. The article also wrote about a Burmese scholar working with a Singapore company from Burma through the Internet. The article dismissed allegations that the Internet in Burma is limited.
· Replacing forest fuel resources with natural gas. The article wrote about replacing the use of charcoal and firewood for cooking with natural gas, to protect the degrading forests in Burma. The article compares the expenses for using charcoal and natural gas of an average family, and pointed out that about 1 million families in Rangoon are burning about 800,000 trees a day for cooking.
· Hybrid seeds import and agriculture practices in Burma. Burmese farmers have slowly turned to imported hybrid seeds, said the article. Seed production in Burma is insignificant. The usage of agriculture inputs such as seeds, fertilizers and insecticides are increasing yearly in Burma, the article wrote.
· Article discussing about one of the Burmese government’s four economic objectives; to invite technical know-how and investments from abroad for the development of the economy. The article discussed types of foreign investments in Burma and how to attract FDI by making policy and technical adjustments in Burma.
· Article about developing household pets market in Burma. (Dogs, cats, birds and fishes)
· Article about health and beauty care centres in Rangoon.
· Buyers guide.
Others articles not related to business or economics. (About social & arts)