Living Colour Magazine, April 2005

Business News

·          Marine product purchase orders from Thailand and Singapore have been low due to the tsunami, which caused consumers scare in those countries, said a Burmese marine product exporter.

·          Burmese nationals will be given priority in privatisation of government factories under the ministry of industry 1, said an announcement from the privatisation commission. The ministry of industry has been privatising some of its old factories, including a towel factory, flour mills, a garment factory , a textile factory, a soya bean sauce and vinegar factory, biscuits factories, ice factories and tile factories. The original owners of the factories will be given first priority in the bidding for the factories.

·          Burma and Bangladesh plan to expand border trade next year, after the highway road linking the two countries has completed, said the news from Bangladesh.

·          Burma and China extend the agreement on co-operation in livestock breeding and fisheries until 2007, said the Burmese ministry of livestock breeding and fisheries.

·          Rangoon residents will get additional water supplies of 135 million gallons per day in the future, when the Ngamoeyeik dam near Rangoon is completed, said an announcement from YCDC.  Current water supply is 85 million gallons per day and that is not sufficient for current Rangoon’s population of 8.5 million people, the announcement said.

·          UNICEF has spent US$ 800,000 per year between 2001 and 2005 for Water and Environmental Sanitation Programme in Burma, said an officer from UNICEF.  During 2004 alone, the UNICEF has provided 120,000 flies free latrines and has helped upgrade 165,000 latrines in the whole country, said the officer. The UNICEF also has planned to provide personnel hygiene care programmes in the schools in 27 selected townships in Burma. Each school will receive kyats 50,000 (approx: US$50) to be able to implement the programme, said the officer.

·          The UNHCR and Burma Red Cross Society have agreed to implement humanitarian assistance programme for some of the villages in eastern Burma Karen State.  The UNHCR and Burma Red Cross have been jointly providing humanitarian assistance such as relocation for returnees from Bangladesh, settlements for the returnees, providing assistance to the victims of natural disasters and providing skill training to the returnees in western Burma Rakkhine State.

·          Burma’s First Automotive Factory, a joint venture between Japan’s Suzuki & SPA of Burma, will produce 100 pick-up trucks this year.  The pickup’s factory price is kyats 20 million and they are being traded with kyats 27 million on the open market.

·          All the cargo trucks using petrol will have to convert into CNG using trucks by 31^st March, said an announcement by the ministry of energy. The cost for the conversion is about kyats 1 million per car (approx: US$1,000).

·          Illegal fishing using dynamites have increased after the tsunami in Myeik archipelago where there are tourist attractions, said the marine businessmen in the area.

Business articles

·          Asian oil companies are preparing to enter Burma’s energy sector with force, said the article. Production sharing contracts were signed between Burma and China National Offshore Oil Company, to explore and extract oil and natural gas from Burma’s inland and offshore oil & gas fields.  The CNOOC Myanmar has formed a consortium with China Huanqiu Contracting and Engineering Corp and Singapore’s Golden Aaron Pte., Ltd. The managing director the Singapore registered Golden Aaron Pte., Ltd is Tun Myint Naing (Stephen Law) of Asia World Co., from Burma.  China government owned China National Petroleum Corp has also signed contract with Burma since 10 years ago to repair Burma’s inland oil and gas fields.  India’s ONGC and GAIL are also making investment jointly with Korea’s Daewoo to extract natural gas from Burma. Thailand’s PTTEP holds stakes in Burma’s Yadana & Yetagon gas fields and 25% of total gas consumptions come from Burma. Burma receives over US$ 1000 million annually in gas sales to Thailand. Malaysia’s PETRONUS is also a major stakeholder in the Yetagon gas field, said the article.

·          Handicrafts and souvenirs sales in Burma delta’s capital Pathein have dropped due to the decline in tourist arrivals, caused by the tsunami, said the article about the economy of Burma’s delta region. Rice and salt productions in the region have also declined last year and the overall economy of the delta region has been stagnant, said the article.

·          Chinese made biscuits and cookies imported by border trade from China are selling very well in Burma markets, surpassing Thai’s biscuits and cookies market shares. Even the local made biscuits and cookies are unable to compete in price with the Chinese ones, said the article about cookies and biscuits imported from China.

·          ILO still maintain an office in Rangoon and an ILO liaison officer is in Rangoon to facilitate the complaints on forced labour practices, said the director general of Burma’s labour department in the news conference held in Rangoon on March 15. The Burmese official explained that Burmese government is taking actions to stop forced labour in the country and criticised the western countries for giving pressures on Burma.

·          SNLD leader Khun Tun Oo is allowed to hire his own lawyer and he has been charged with state owned enterprise law, foreign exchange law, and also with organisational law and also with sedition charges, said the police chief Khin Yee.

·          Articles about Hip Hop music which is gaining popularity among the youths in Burma.

·          Article about marketing industry in Burma, which still lack experienced and skilled staff.

·          Article about Chat Room culture and Burmese youths Online.

·          Article about printed media in Burma, the purchasing power is far less than the country’s requirement, the article said.

·          Article about tourism market in Burma.

·          Article about international trade and Burma. Burma’s trade policies and practices should be reviewed, the article said.

·          Technical article about agriculture development and the role of technologies. (Mostly technical)

·          Interview with Attorney General Office’s director U Kyaw Sein on the “Intellectual Property Law”.

·          Market guide and commodity prices.

·          Other articles not related to Burma’s economy.