· The Sittway port, which was destroyed by the recent storm in western Burma, will be rebuilt by Aryone Oo (Dawn) Construction Group. The company was also awarded a contract to build a cement factory in central Burma.
· Htoo Trading Company will invest US$ 300 million in southeastern Burma’s coastal region for palm oil plantation and production projects. Htoo trading and a cease-fire group from Shan State have recently toured the region by helicopters to conduct feasibility studies.
· JICA (Japan International Co-operation Agency) has provided aid worth US$ 1 million for leprosy control projects in Burma since 2000, said a statement from JICA.
· Smuggled construction iron bars seized in Rangoon Port, said a custom officer. The iron bars were imported without import license, or imported in excess of the licensed quantity, said the custom officer.
· ASEAN Tourism Forum 2006 will be held in Rangoon. 1000 delegates from ASEAN travel industry plan to attend the forum, said an official from Burma’s Travel Entrepreneurs Association.
· Land plots are on sale in Rangoon prime location by Maung Weik and Family Company. The land plots are located in the prestigious 7 miles area on Rangoon’s Prome Road. The selling prices are kyats 55000 (approx: US$58) per square feet (about US$ 2.3 mil per acre) on the main road, and kyats 35000 ($37) per square feet (about US$ 1.5 mil per acre) in inner roads.
· A new road passing through Kyine Tong Town in eastern Burma’s Shan State, linking China’s Jinghong Town in Yunan Province and Thailand’s Mae Hong Song province, opened in July. The road is use for transporting Thailand’s vegetables and fruits to China.
· 4 big companies in Burma received offers from authorities to export rice. Burmese junta generals are urging the big companies to enter into big scale agriculture projects with incentives to export the agriculture produces from the big farms.
· Pagan archaeological town earned US$ 1.8 million from hotels’ income alone in 2003-04, according to the information from ministry of hotel & tourism. There are 82 hotels, motels and inns in Pagan. Thiri Pyitsaya Sakura hotel alone fetched US$ 859,399 in 2003-04, said the information. A total of 77,191 foreign tourists visited Pagan last year, said the information.
· Air Bagan, a new joint venture airline between the ministry of transport and the big Htoo trading company, will also fly to Bangkok said the travel industry sources. Air Bagan will start flying its domestic flights in August.
· Phuket Air will resume its flights to Bagan in October. The airline started flying the route since last year tourist season and stopped its regular flights in April.
· Many express mails are lost with Burma’s postal service, complain the regular users of the postal service. Burma postal service, which offers express mail service to 98 post offices throughout Burma, has increased its rates starting from April.
· Shop rentals have decreased significantly at the Bayint Naung wholesale market in Rangoon. Many traders have left the market due to slow businesses, said a real estate broker who specialises in the market. A veteran trader at the market said businesses at the wholesale market mainly depend on macro economic environments and trade policies of the government.
· Rice merchants are selling rice with door to door system in Rangoon due to slow business in wholesale market. Some big merchants are turning to door to door system and retail sales, said rice market sources.
· Some 15 government’s colleges and universities will introduce tourism courses next year, said a university teacher.
· Burma’s tourism entrepreneur association has increased its executive committee members, to be able to expand their activities in business promotion.
· The popular Junction 8 supermarket in Rangoon’s 8 miles junction will be moved to a new location. The 12 stories shopping centre building, (which is near the Rangoon’s military headquarters and residence of the junta leader) is facing uncertainties. The upper floors were seized by the military recently and tenants were ordered to move out because they can see junta leader Than Shwe’s house from a distance.
· Forest fires have destroyed many areas of Kalein Aung forest reserve (near Yadana gas pipeline) in southeast Burma’s coastal region. The forest reserve is an elephant sanctuary and many illegal poachers from Thailand often sneak into the reserve to catch the wild elephants. An elephant fetches about US$ 3000 in Thailand, said the locals.
· Burma building another Rangoon-Mandalay highway road, crossing the central mountain ranges.
· Burma’s ministry of energy is planning to build a polyethylene plastic resin plant in Burma. Burma is annually importing over US$ 100 million worth of plastic resins and there are also illegal imports by border trade. Plastic resins are Burma’s 8th largest import item.
· Burma and Thailand agreed to co-operate in agriculture projects worth US$ 24 million, along the Thai-Burma border areas. Corn, pulses and beans and castor plants will be planted in the projects.
· Burmese Tha-nat-ka (traditional make-up derive from a scented tree) becoming popular in Thailand. A body massage, using Burmese Thanatka, costs about bahts 1500 (approx: US$ 37), said a popular beauty parlour in Bangkok.
· Subsidised fuel rations for highway cargo trucks were reduced, said highway truck drivers. The fuel rations were reduced to 10 gallons from previous 15 gallons for a trip to Mandalay. The government rations were not enough for the whole trip and cargo trucks have to depend on the free market fuel. A cargo truck needs about 100 gallons to 150 gallons per trip to Mandalay, said a driver. Government subsidised rate is kyats 700 per gallon, while the free market selling rate is about kyats 1400.
· Burmese government’s Burma Five Star Shipping Line suspends its coastal passenger services during this monsoon season because the company’s coastal passenger ships could not withstand bad weather.
· South Korea’s Hyundai has recently made feasibility studies in Burma for possible business ventures. South Korea’s Daewoo and Samsung have a strong presence in the country.
· There are fuel (petrol & diesel) surplus with free market traders, and the prices are dropping. Fuel prices went up as high as kyats 1800 per gallon in end April, and the prices in the second week of July are only kyats 1100 per gallon. The fuel surplus is due to lesser demands from the generator users because there are regular electricity supplies in Rangoon.
· Japan has granted US$ 3.2 million to Burma for reforestation projects in central Burma.
· Spanish tourist arrivals this year dropped to 200 from previous 2000 Spanish tourists average arrivals per year. Possibly due to the Euro 2004 and some tour companies have switched to other tourist destinations such as Laos and Cambodia, said a tour operator. An experienced tour operator said Burma should improves its tourism services and use effective marketing techniques.
· Burma to train more dental technicians said a professor at the dental institute. Currently, there are about 1500 dental surgeons in Burma but very few dental technicians, said the professor.
· A Japanese cultural troupe, with about 1000 members, will visit Burma in November, said a tour company which organises the package.
· Burma’s travel entrepreneurs association has drawn up a business plan to improve the tourism industry in Burma. The association is trying to upgrade the country’s transport facilities by upgrading tour coaches and tourist taxis. There are tour coaches shortages in the tour seasons.
· Second hand car prices have risen in Rangoon since July, due to the buyers from other states and divisions. The authorities are starting to take strong actions on the illegally imported cars in the states and divisions and car buyers are turning to buy the licensed cars.
· Foreign cargo ships arrivals have dropped in Rangoon port, due to increased import taxes, said the stevedores at Rangoon port.
· The authorities have issued new regulations to the calendar publishers. The new regulations restricted the government departments from distributing their departments’ calendars to the public. Some departments forcibly sell their departments’ calendars, to the people who have to deal with their departments.
· Fewer contestants at Burmese beauty contests due to high costs of clothing and make-ups. The winning prices do not cover the expenses, said a judge at a beauty contest. In a recent popular contest, there were only three contestants, and the first price was kyats 50,000 (about US$ 50).
· Australia stops issuing visa to Burmese seamen. Burmese seamen can not join ships in Australian ports.
· Rangoon should have better drainage system and the open drains should be covered, said a civil engineer. During heavy rains, many Rangoon roads are flooded and there are the dangers, for the pedestrians, of falling into uncovered drain holes and drain trenches. In May, a young boy was drowned in proper Rangoon after he fell into a drain trench and swept away by the waters.
· Burma’s Birdwatchers Association provides basic bird watching training in Hlawga Park near Rangoon starting from July. The three days course attracts many nature enthusiasts.
· Burma exports yearly about 100 crocodiles to Japan, Cambodia, Taiwan and England said an officer at the crocodile farm in Rangoon. The crocodiles were exported for their skins. Crocodiles fetch about US$ 60 per inch on their circumference. Rangoon crocodile farm breeds and maintains about 1000 crocodiles. (Article on Rangoon’s crocodile farm hinted that the farm is facing difficulties in feeding the crocodiles. Not enough food for the farm’s crocodile. Expecting donors for crocodile food.)
· Working experience with NGOs can help in getting admission into foreign universities, said the article about foreign studies.
· Article about Burma’s participation in Universal Salt Iodization move sponsored by UNICEF.
· Article about Rangoon’s traffic jams. Not enough cars parking lots in Rangoon.
· Article about real estate market and construction business in Rangoon. Dwindling real estate prices and increasing construction materials costs drove many construction companies out of the business.
· Article about Burma-China economic co-operation. A Chinese company signed agreement with a Burmese company, to invest in Burma on ‘yam’ contract cultivation. The three years project worth US$ 19.28 million will give jobs to 18000 farm labourers.
· Article on sales of university students’ uniforms. Brisk business.
· Article about weak bamboo exports from Burma due to technical weakness. Burma’s bamboo exports in 2003 is only US$ 1.11 million and that is too small for a country with rich bamboo forests, said the article.
· Articles about women in Burmese economy. (Cover story)
· Articles about women in Burma’s Information & Communication Technology. (More women computer graduates in Burma than men. About 74% of computer graduates in Burma are women.)
· Article about women vocalists and musicians in Burma.
· Article about woman executives in Burmese companies and businesses.
· Article about Rangoon’s consumers goods market. Slow business, with some imported goods prices up due to import tax hike. It is usual for businesses to get slower in monsoon in Burma, but this year is the worst, said the traders at the wholesale market.
· Article reviewing Burma’s tourism industry. There are still many works to be done to develop tourism industry in Burma, said the article.
· Article about Rangoon’s Bayint Naung wholesale market (agriculture products) and cargo transports in Burma. Very slow and quiet business. Few jobs for the labourers in the market. Very few cargo. Declining cargo transport charges but increasing toll fees and other expenses along the highway roads. Groaning truck drivers.
· Article discussing foreign direct investments and Burma’s economic policies. (As usual, the article discussed about the requirement for changes in Burma’s economic policies.)
· Article about Rangoon City’s urban management & development plans in the future. (After the completion of the state constitution, when Rangoon will become a separate and independent city from the other states and divisions!)
· Interview with Dr. Daw Nu Nu Yin, professor at the Rangoon’s Economics Institute, on women rights and equality in Burma. There are developments on women rights in Burma. More single women in Burma. The professor disagrees with the version of women are still second after men in Burma.
Product news, price lists and other articles not related to Burmese economy.