Thai Deputy PM off to Yangon for Dawei JCC meeting

The Nation

Thai Deputy Prime Minister Niwatthumrong Boonsongpaisan yesterday flew to Yangon to attend a meeting of the Thai-Myanmar Joint Coordinating Committee (JCC) with Myanmar and Japan over the Dawei development project.

As JCC president, Myanmar is hosting the tripartite talks in Yangon. This will be the first time Japan will be joining the talks after being invited to invest in the project. 

Japan was invited as an observer at the joint high-level meeting committee last June, said Arkhom Termpittayapaisith, secretary-general at the Office of the National Economic and Social Development Board. However, Arkhom said Japan had not decided whether to invest in the Dawei project because of the huge outlays required. 

The meeting will report progress in infrastructure projects such as road development, the deep-sea port, the industrial park, the township in the industrial park, and development of the electricity and water systems. 

Arkhom said Japan wanted to hear Thailand's opinion and also to know how committed Myanmar was to investing in this project. In general, government will have to invest in the mega-project, especially in infrastructure, to persuade investors to get on board and strengthen their confidence for the long term.

The meeting will also discuss progress in establishing a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) as investment legislation is approved by Myanmar's parliament. This would give investors clearer information on what privileges the government can offer.

Project management and the regulating role of the SPV will be considered. The SPV will be a company holding the Dawei project concession. It will define the direction of infrastructure investment - for example, whether a project will be solely the government's responsibility or will be a joint investment of the government and the private sector.

The talks will also focus on planned roadshows abroad to attract investors. Hiring of a consulting firm to evaluate Italian-Thai Development is under consideration. The firm has initially invested in the project to clear area for roads and port facilities. The meeting will also discuss moving the local community out of the area.

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Illegal exports/imports to land jail time in Myanmar

Illegal trade control team inspecting at Warden jetty during the training period (Photo - EMG)

The Myanmar government will apply prison sentences and seizure of goods to any illegal exports/imports.

In the past, illicit traders were merely charged a discretionary fine for their offence. They could later claim back their illegal goods by paying the fine.

However, dishonest exporters and importers will be punished harsher from September 16 onwards in accordance with the new Export-Import Law (2012), the Central Committee for Control of Illegal Trade (CCCIT) recently announced.

Under the new Export-Import Law, confiscation of goods and imprisonment of up to three years will apply if a person is convicted of exporting and importing restricted goods, failing to obtain licenses for those license-required goods, and breaching any license terms.

According to the law, those who either assist or engage in illicit activities will be punished to the same extent.

The CCCIT said they have completed the training period for enforcement of the new law.
Between August 12 and 31, they solved 17 cases in which consumer goods such as cosmetics, food, and construction materials—as well as restricted goods, including beer—were to be illegally imported.

The CCCIT was formed by the President’s Office in December 2012 with the mandate of curbing illegal practices in Myanmar’s border and overseas trades.

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Myanmar’s foreign investment hits US$43 billion

                        Lapataungdaung copper mine project (Photo-Hein Min Htet)
  

Total foreign investment in Myanmar hit US$43 billion in August, according to Myanmar Investment Commission (MIC).

Over 600 foreign businesses invested a total of $43.68 billion in twelve sectors as of August 31, MIC reported.

“Myanmar has foreign investments from 32 countries in four major sectors: energy, oil and gas, mining, and manufacturing,” said an official from MIC.

China is the biggest investor in Myanmar, followed by Thailand, Hong Kong, South Korea, Britain, Singapore, Malaysia, France, Vietnam, and India.

Thailand is the largest importer from Myanmar. As much as 41 percent of Myanmar’s total exports went to Thailand last year, while 15 percent went to India, 14 percent to China, seven percent to Japan, four percent to South Korea, two percent to Malaysia, and one percent each to Singapore and Bangladesh, respectively.

Myanmar imported mainly from China, as usual, in 2012. A total of 37 percent of Myanmar’s imports came from China, while 20 percent came from Thailand, nine percent each came from Singapore and South Korea, eight percent from Japan, four percent from Malaysia, three percent each from India and Germany, one percent from Vietnam, and five percent from other countries.

The International Monetary Fund expects the GDP (gross domestic product) of Myanmar to increase to 5.5 percent in 2013 and 6.2 percent in 2014. The consumer price inflation is also forecast to increase to 7.3 percent in 2013 and 6.6 percent in 2014, respectively.

Myanmar’s total trade volume in 2012 was $25.16 billion. The trade deficit reached $5.76 billion because total exports stood at $9.69 billion and total imports were $15.46 billion.

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ျပည္သူ႕ လႊတ္ေတာ္ ဥကၠ႒ သူရ ဦးေရႊမန္း စီးပြားေရး လုပ္ငန္းရွင္မ်ားအား ေတြ...

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UK mulls switch to plastic bank notes

               Australia uses tear-resistant polymer bank notes. Photograph: William West/AFP/Getty

The Bank of England is considering introducing plastic bank notes and will release details of its plans later on Tuesday.
Notes made of polymer, a plastic-like material, are thought to be more durable than notes printed on cotton paper, as they are currently in Britain.
Such shinier, non-tear notes are already used in a number of countries, including Canada, the home country of the new Bank of England governor, Mark Carney.
According to the Bank of Canada, they last at least 2.5 times longer than paper notes, "reducing processing and replacement costs and environmental impact".
This will be the second time bank notes have grabbed headlines for Carney since he arrived in July. During his first week in the job he sought to quell a growing row over the lack of female historical figures on British bank notes and later confirmed that the author Jane Austen would appear on £10 notes.
Carney, who introduced the polymer notes during his tenure at the Bank of Canada, has objected to them being called "plastic". In an interview with Britain's Channel 4 at the Austen note launch this year, he said: "We introduced polymer notes in Canada … There's no decision on that. In keeping with transparency and consultation, if we were to consider moving to polymer notes, which have some advantages, if we were to consider that, we would have a public consultation and announce that in due course."

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BEC-Tero plans to build TV studios in Yangon

Watchiranont Thongtep

The Nation

Under its plan to make Myanmar its second television-production base, Thailand's BEC-Tero Entertainment aims to build its own studios in Yangon to respond to increasing demand for TV programmes from broadcasters in that country.

Pongpunt Wongnongteoi, strategic planning director at the company, said that in the remaining months of the year, BEC-Tero would invest in new TV studios, though the cost has not been disclosed. These studios will help its joint venture Forever BEC-Tero co-produce drama programmes and talk shows for Channel 7 in Myanmar. 

Forever BEC-Tero is a JV with Myanmar broadcaster Forever Group, the operator of free-to-air Channel 7 and MRTV-4. The group also runs a number of radio stations and about 70 pay-TV channels, including 10 digital channels and seven high-definition ones.

Pongpant explained that because of the limited capacity at Channel 7's studios in Yangon for production of new TV programmes, the construction of new studios was seen as the solution. The company is looking for the best location for these new facilities. 

He said the company had received requests from the Myanmar broadcaster for more programmes for its TV stations, almost double the current production. 

Under this partnership, BEC-Tero, which is a sister company of Bangkok Entertainment Company, the operator of Thai TV Channel 3, aims to share its expertise in TV and radio production or even event-organising skills with teams in Myanmar.

BEC-Tero aims to use Myanmar as the second base for its entertainment and sports business in the region once the ASEAN Economic Community arrives in two years.

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South Korea to construct natural gas and waste-fired power plant

                                
                             
                                 The project site to build the plant in Yangon (Photo - EMG)

A South Korean company plans to invest between US$500 million to US$700 million to construct 500 Mega watts gas-fired and waste-fired power plant, according to company sources.
The state-owned Korea Western Power Corporation will implement the project in cooperation with Myanmar’s Hexa Group of Companies. The plant will be located in Yangon and is the first foreign investment in the electricity generating sector in line with the Foreign Investment Law.
"Our company will work together with the Korean company as a local partner. We have already signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Ministry of Electrical Power. We will start implement the project once we finished the deal. Now we are levelling the ground with sand and making ground testing. We will construct the project in 50 acres land plot next to Tharkayta power plant owned by the ministry," said Dr. Sone Han, Chairman of Hexa Group of Companies.
The project is mainly intended to provide electricity to Thilawa Special Economic Zone. Currently the company is in negotiation with the Ministry of Electrical Power and doing its own environmental impact assessment for the project, according to Mr. Lim Soung Tai, Managing Director of the Korean company.
Korea Western Power Corporation is owned by the South Korean government. Myanmar Investment Commission has already allowed Toyo-Thai Corporation Public Company to use Build-Operate-Transfer system to build a natural gas-fired and waste-fired power plant in Yangon in January 2013.

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Myanmar Business and Development Week - Unleashing Myanmar’s Potential

Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) will spearhead a series of workshops and talks designed to further strengthen the capacity of Myanmar’s private sector and equip the Government of Myanmar with the tools and knowledge to create a supportive business environment.
The so-called Myanmar Business and Development Week will take place Sept 23-27 in Yangon in partnership with ESCAP Business Advisory Council (EBAC) and the United Nations Trade and Productive Capacity Cluster and in association with Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI).
“Over the course of five days we will deal with the crucial task of equipping all our participants with the necessary tools to promote, learn and also question diverse issues in creating an enabling and successful business environment”, said
Marc Proksch, Chief of the Business and Development Section in Trade and Investment Division, ESCAP.
Participants will have the opportunity to attend more than 20 specialised lectures and technical sessions. Following the themes “Creating Value at Home and Abroad” and “Enhancing Competitiveness”, the sessions will cover topics including “FDI Policies and Strategies for Inclusive and Sustainable Development”, “Global Value Chains and Enterprise Clusters”, “Designing Supply Chains for Success”, “Women Entrepreneurship in Agro-business”, “Development of a National Export Strategy” and “Social Media for Business.”
Myanmar is seen to have a huge potential. It is rich in natural resources with a young workforce and is geographically close to Asia’s most dynamic trading economies. But Myanmar, like other Least Developed Countries (LDCs), has not been as successful in effectively integrating into the regional and global economy despite membership of the WTO and ASEAN. It has weak trade and investment linkages with ASEAN and other neighbouring countries, such as China and India.
This is in part due to its past isolation; as Myanmar undergoes reforms it is offering opportunities for trade- and investment-led inclusive growth. “We all have witnessed Myanmar embarking on a major set of reforms manifested mainly through increased international trade and foreign investment”, said Proksch. Yet, Myanmar needs to prepare for the ASEAN Economic Community in 2015.
Increasing integration can bring numerous benefits starting with better employment opportunities and greater household purchasing power. Broader linkages with trading partners can facilitate economic diversification, enhancing resilience to external shocks. Recognising a pressing need to assist LDCs with better integration into global and regional trade and value chains, ESCAP has developed a specially designed programme of capacity building to support LDCs.
Business and Development Week is supported by Japanese and Korean governments and will take place at Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI), No.29, Min Ye Kyawswa Road, Lanmadaw Township, Yangon.
Among the speakers are Chote Sophonpanich, EBAC Vice Chairman and Executive Chairman of Green Spot Thailand Co, and Chairman of Krungdhep Sophon Pcl, Mr. U Win Aung, President of UMFCCI,
Mr. Ashok Nigam UN Resident Coordinator/Humanitarian Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative; H.E. Mikio Numata Ambassador of Japan to The Union of Myanmar.
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For further information, please contact:
Ms. Francyne Harrigan, Chief, Strategic Communications and Advocacy Section, ESCAP
T: (66) 2 288 1864 / M: (66) 81 835 8677 / E: harriganf@un.org

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