Top Story of the Week: Government moves to contain anti-Muslim violence, Signs Ceasefire with Kachin
Top Stories:
- Save The Date: Myanmar Business Mission July 8-10.
- Anti-muslim violence, now spreading to Liasho, threatens to undermine the reform efforts of U Thein Sein and his government. Soldiers have now been sent out to patrol the streets as the government tries to stabilize the situation. Continue to monitor this situation.
- The Central Government and the Kachin Independence Organization have reached a ceasefire agreement, following a year and a half of discussion spearheaded on the government side by U Aung Min. The agreement paves the way for further discussion on the polticial status of the Kachin.
Defense and Security
Troops patrol Myanmar city after violence, Muslims hide | Reuters, May 30
Hundreds of Muslim families sheltered in a heavily guarded Buddhist monastery on Thursday after two days of violence in the northern Myanmar city of Lashio left Muslim properties in ruins and raised alarm over a widening religious conflict. About 1,200 Muslims were taken to Mansu Monastery after Buddhist mobs terrorized the city on Wednesday, a move that could signal the resolve of a government criticized for its slow response to previous religious violence. The unrest in Lashio, a city about 700 km (430 miles) from Myanmar's commercial capital of Yangon, shows how far anti-Muslim violence has spread in the Buddhist-dominated country as it emerges from decades of hardline military rule.
Buddhist mobs attack Muslim homes for second day in Myanmar; one dead | Reuters, May 29 Buddhist mobs armed with sticks and machetes burned Muslim homes on Wednesday for a second day in the northern Myanmar city of Lashio, contradicting claims in state media that soldiers and police had restored calm. A Reuters reporter saw scores of young men and boys on motorbikes and on foot marauding through the city of 130,000 people in a mountainous region about 700 km (430 miles) from the commercial capital Yangon. One person was killed and four were wounded in fighting that began at about 2 p.m., Ye Htut, spokesman for President Thein Sein, said in a Facebook post. Police fired their guns to disperse the crowd, he said. By early evening, Muslims shops and homes were still burning in one quarter, underlining the difficulty the president faces in containing mounting religious violence in an era of historic reforms since military rule ended in March 2011.
UN observes Myanmar peace talks with Kachin rebels | TheNews, May 29
The bloodshed in the northern state of Kachin bordering China has — along with sectarian unrest elsewhere in the country — overshadowed widely praised political changes as Myanmar emerges from decades of military rule. Representatives of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and President Thein Sein’s reformist government met Tuesday in the Kachin state capital Myitkyina for the first time since the conflict resumed, a government official told AFP on condition of anonymity
Myanmar's powerful Wa rebels seek a state of their own | Sunday Times, May 29
Myanmar's most heavily-armed and powerful rebel group has said it is looking to carve out a legitimate state, as experts say it is flexing its muscles amid tense relations with the government. The United Wa State Army, which commands an estimated 30,000 troops, holds sway over a remote mountainous area on the northeast border with China that is believed to be awash with drugs and has long been aloof from central Myanmar control. Shielded from the reach of the previous junta by its close links to Beijing and formidable military might, observers say the group is using political openings under a new government to push for greater official acknowledgement. The Wa self-administered region consists of six townships in the rugged borderlands of Shan state, but UWSA spokesman Tone Sann told AFP that the current arrangement was “not enough”.
Burma reaches ceasefire deal with ethnic Kachin rebels | BBC, May 30
The Burmese government and ethnic rebels from the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) have reached a seven-point ceasefire deal. The agreement, signed in the capital of Kachin state, Mitkyina, includes working towards a ceasefire and redeploying armed forces on both sides.Talks on the political status of Kachin would come at a later stage. Sporadic fighting has killed hundreds since a ceasefire between the army and the KIO broke down in 2011. Tens of thousands of civilians have been displaced by the violence, which reignited in June 2011 after a 17-year truce failed.
Economics
Too many chits for kyat | Economist, May 30
NO ONE has bothered to count how many people live in Myanmar since 1983 (when it was still Burma). No surprise then that no one has any clear idea how many people left the country during its 50 years under military rule. The men in green certainly did a savage job of mismanaging the economy though, and an untold number of their countrymen fled for want of opportunities at home. In 2009 the International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimated that 10% of Myanmar’s population, then estimated to be 50m to 55m people, were living abroad. So, if some 5m Burmese are earning their livelihoods abroad, how is it that last year only $566m (or 1.1% of GDP) worth of remittances ended up in the coffers of the Central Bank of Myanmar?
Burma’s ‘Vital’ Stock Exchange Plans Proceeding on Schedule | Irrawaddy, May 29
Burma remains on track to establish a stock exchange in the commercial hub of Rangoon by the end of 2015, Burma’s Central Bank Deputy Governor Maung Maung Win said on Wednesday. The official told a gathering of local and international would-be investors in Rangoon on Wednesday morning that the proposed Yangon Stock is needed to boost Burma’s economic growth. At present, local businesses must depend on bank loans for financing in what remains the only country in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) without a stock exchange. “The SEC [Securities and Exchange Law] is vital to the economic development of our country,” the deputy governor said, adding that the law, which was sent back to Burma’s Parliament in March by President Thein Sein, is expected to be discussed in Parliament over the summer with a view to it being passed before autumn.
Myanmar’s jade earning fell 85 percent in 2 years | Eleven, May 29
Myanmar earned about 85 percent less at US$326 million from jade export in the fiscal year 2012-13 compared to the record of US$2.2 billion it hit in 2010-11, according to the reports from the Ministry of Commerce.This is the second year jade earning plummeted in Myanmar. In 2010-11, it set a new record at US$2.2 billion. The earning however plunged 65 percent to US$786 million in 2011-12, and again halved to US$326 million in 2012-13. Jade production fell 2 to 3 times over the years because of the fighting in Kachin State of Northern Myanmar as fights occurred between the military and the armed ethnic forces there during the year, jade exporters said.
Myanmar May Attract $100 Billion in FDI by 2030, McKinsey Says | Bloomberg, May 29
Myanmar may attract as much as $100 billion in foreign direct investment over the next two decades if it spends enough to achieve its economic growth potential, McKinsey Global Institute said in a report today. The former military regime’s gross domestic product could more than quadruple to $200 billion with an 8 percent annual growth rate, according to McKinsey, almost double the pace from 1990 to 2010. That may help lure $170 billion in capital inflows, it said, with FDI accounting for $100 billion -- more than twice as much as it attracted in the previous two decades. “Myanmar is unique in terms of a country being isolated for many decades and opening up, trying to make changes very fast,” Heang Chhor, a McKinsey & Co. director in Southeast Asia, said by phone. “The $170 billion would come only if Myanmar keeps its credibility and support with the international stakeholders, investors in particular.”
GE calls for US support in Myanmar investments | Myanmar Times, May 29
A senior official from General Electric has warned that US businesses could lose out to their global rivals unless Congress allows US government agencies that support business development to operate in Myanmar. Stuart Dean, GE’s chief executive officer for Southeast Asia, told The Myanmar Times last month that while the business environment is “very pro-US”, firms from Europe and Japan will be better placed to capitalise on opportunities in Myanmar unless changes to US policy are enacted soon.While trade sanctions have garnered most of the headlines, Mr Dean said it is the absence of US agencies – the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), Export-Import Bank of the United States and Trade and Development Agency – that is hindering trade.
WEF to lift Myanmar's profile | Eleven, May 29
The World Economic Forum on East Asia 2013 is setting a new record for participation, with more than 1,000 senior leaders from more than 50 countries having confirmed their attendance, reflecting the immense interest of the international community in recent developments in the host country, Myanmar. "That is a clear indication of the tremendous interest for leaders from all walks of life to contribute to discussions that will shape how Myanmar's opening to the world and ongoing reform process can be based on equitable, inclusive and sustainable growth," wrote Sushant Palakurthi Rao, Asia head of WEF, in reply to questions from The Nation.
Myanmar tourism to go upmarket? | Channel New Asia, May 27
Players in the tourism industry believe Myanmar should concentrate on developing the luxury market for the sector.They say the country will be able to cash in on this segment as it gradually opens up to the international community.Picturesque landscape and unspoilt attractions greet visitors as they explore Myanmar but the country's tourism sector remains undeveloped as it has kept its doors closed for decades.That has sparked curiosity and excitement among many in the hospitality industry.Marc Dardenne, CEO of Patina Hotels & Resorts, said: "It is virgin land for the tourism business so everything is to be made here. It is a country with such rich cultural heritage. It is really a destination that is untapped, especially our brand, Patina Hotels and Resorts, which is an ultra-luxury hotel brand, is looking for specific experiences and I think Myanmar somehow ticks all those boxes.
Energy
In Central Burma, a Lawless Rush for Oil | Irrawaddy, May 29
Oil fields abandoned by Burma’s state-owned oil company in Magway Division have turned into a lawless arena for local drillers and smugglers looking for a profit—with knife fights settling scores between rival drillers, company officials and local residents say.The Dahatpin oil fields, on a highway about 20 miles outside Minhla Township, was once controlled by the Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE) in a joint venture, but has recently become a magnet for illegal drillers and crude oil sellers. “There were two oil fields under our supervision, but now the joint venture is gone and we’re not working there anymore. It’s being explored illegally,” the company’s deputy engineer in the Minhla Township told The Irrawaddy.
PLN to assist Myanmar in cutting power losses | TheJakartaPost, May 29
Indonesia’s state-owned electricity firm PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) announced on Tuesday that it would assist Myanmar’s Ministry of Electric Power to cut energy losses in the former pariah nation. PLN-Myanmar cooperation director, Harry Hartoyo, said in a statement that the rate of power losses or the loss of produced electricity in Myanmar was still high at around 26 percent. The Jakarta-based utility firm, he said, aimed to push down the losses’ rate to less than 20 percent in the next two years. “PLN, through its special team, will make Yangon our pilot project to cut down the losses. The assistance will be in the form of a feasibility study, sharing our experience and knowledge, training, and establishing a strategy to improve the efficiency in power distribution,” the executive said.
Pipelines to make Myanmar trade hub | Bangkok Post, May 27
Myanmar is on track to becoming Asia's newest crossroads with the completion of two overland pipelines to China, expected this month. By May 31, the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) is scheduled to finish two 800-kilometre pipelines from Kyaukphyu, in Myanmar's Rakhine state, to Ruili on the Chinese border. By mid-year, natural gas should start flowing through one pipeline from the Shwe Gas reserves in the Bay of Bengal, and by the end of the year a parallel oil pipeline is expected to be operational. The project is estimated to have cost US$2.5 billion."China is on the cusp of realising a long-held dream of cutting out the problem of transporting oil through the Strait of Malacca," said Sean Turnell, an economist at Australia's Macquarie University.
Financial Services
MasterCard’s ATM Acceptance in Myanmar Increases Ahead of World Economic Forum | 4-Traders, May 29
One of the largest banks in Myanmar, Kanbawza Bank Limited (KBZ Bank), will now be accepting MasterCard payments cards at ATMs throughout the country, following a succession of similar achievements which MasterCard has announced over the past 8 months, less than a year since entering the Myanmar market. KBZ Bank has the largest branch network in Myanmar and operates 55 ATMs across the country in states such as Yangon, Mandalay and Shan* at convenient locations such as supermarkets, airports, restaurants, hotels and shopping centers. With KBZ Bank ATM acceptance, this brings to 140 the number of active ATM's in Myanmar that accept MasterCard and Maestro/Cirrus cards.
Myanmar allows private insurers for first time since 1963 | The Nation, May 26
Yangon - Myanmar has given permission to five private insurance companies to operate starting in June, ending a five-decade state monopoly, officials said Sunday. "We hope this will make market stronger," deputy finance minister Maung Maung Thein said. The five companies were chosen from 12 applicants who submitted license bids in September. The government will hold off on allowing foreign investors to enter the insurance market until at least 2015, the deputy minister said. "We need to give these local companies a chance to gain some experience in this business and then we will allow foreign investors to do insurance," he said. Myanmar had nationalized more than 70 insurance companies under its socialist policies in 1963. Only the government-owned Myanma Insurance Enterprise has been doing insurance business since then. Opening the sector to private competition is the latest of several economic reforms of the government of President Thein Sein since 2011
Foreign Relations
Myanmar’s reforms bring int’l praise, but questions remain | TheJakartaPost, May 30
The political and economic opening fostered by the former military junta in Myanmar has gained praise from Tokyo to Brussels, with the world readying itself for a new chapter in relations with the Southeast Asian country. Tokyo immediately extended its first loan in 26 years and canceled the remainder of Myanmar’s debt. The loan agreement of ¥51 billion (US$504 million) was signed in Naypyitaw on Sunday during Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit to Myanmar — the first Japanese leader to visit in 36 years.
China's Envoy Tacks With Winds Of Change In Myanmar | Forbes, May 28
Chinese envoys to Myanmar (Burma) used to have it easy. The military junta that handed over power in April 2011 counted on Beijing for political support and reciprocated with over $20 billion worth of investment opportunities in Myanmar’s rich natural resources. While Western powers shunned the regime for its right abuses and imposed economic sanctions, Chinese envoys enjoyed unparalleled access to the top brass. Now that the winds of change have blown and the junta is no more, replaced by a civilian administration eager to court the West, China faces a far trickier task in managing relations with Myanmar. Its valuable investments in gas pipelines and hydro-power dams have become a lightning rod for critics emboldened by parliamentary democracy and an end to press censorship.
Chelsea Clinton in Myanmar for clean water project | Politico, May 28
Chelsea Clinton is carrying out some of her father's globe-trotting work in a country where her mother blazed a diplomatic trail — Myanmar. She represented former President Bill Clinton's Clinton Global Initiative at a Monday ceremony bringing Procter & Gamble's Children's Safe Drinking Water initiative to the Southeast Asian nation. The program provides water purification packets to areas with unsafe water supplies. The project's organizers say access to safe drinking water is poor in rural Myanmar due to pollution.
Japan's Abe ends Myanmar visit with aid, debt write-off | Reuters, May 26
Japan on Sunday endorsed Myanmar's reform program by writing off nearly $2 billion in debt and extending new aid, some of which will help support an industrial zone being developed by Japanese firms near the commercial capital, Yangon. As foreign businesses move into Myanmar after years of economic sanctions, Tokyo wants to ensure Japanese firms gain privileged access. Analysts also say Japan wants to counterbalance the growing economic and military might of China, Myanmar's neighbor. Japan agreed a year ago to forgive 176.1 billion yen ($1.74 billion) in arrears owed to it by Myanmar's government and, at the end of a three-day visit by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, it said Myanmar had met the necessary conditions, including a series of political and economic reforms. "Since both governments acknowledged the continuation of Myanmar's reform efforts, the government of Japan has decided to clear the said overdue charges," the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
As Myanmar Reforms, Indonesia Offers Some Lessons | NPR, May 23
As Myanmar's leaders push a series of political and economic changes, they are also having to deal with recent strife between the majority Buddhists and minority Muslims, or Rohingya. Many countries making the transition from authoritarian rule to democracy have faced similar ethnic and sectarian conflicts, from Iraq to the former Yugoslavia. But for Myanmar, perhaps the most compelling case study is also the closest. Fifteen years ago this week, a deepening economic crisis and weeks of political unrest in Indonesia forced military dictator Suharto to resign after 30 years in power. In the months and years that followed, sectarian and ethnic violence raged across the Muslim-majority Indonesian archipelago. Race riots against ethnic Chinese erupted in Jakarta. Ethnic Dayaks fought with Madurese settlers on the island of Borneo. And Muslim jihadis battled Christians in the Maluku Islands. Some feared the country would disintegrate.
Information and Communications Technology
Print Media Thrives In Myanmar Where Internet Is Limited | NPR, May 29
Although print media is often seen as past its prime in the U.S. and Europe, in many Asian countries such as China and India newspapers are thriving and expanding. One example is Myanmar, also known as Burma, where only 1 percent of the people have access to the Internet, and private daily newspapers are rushing into print after decades of being banned.
Mobile telecommunication companies to assist Myanmar’s GDP increase | Eleven, May 27
Myanmar will have a boost in GDP within three years after telecommunication companies receive their license to operate, according to the survey of Ericsson Communication. “Most users in South East Asia are interested to use mobile phones for communication and internet surfing. According to the analysis of globalization broadband, if the mobile density is increased to 10 per cent, we found out that 1 per cent of GDP is increased. If they use internet, the GDP will increase to 0.3 per cent,” Arun Bansal, the Head of South East Asia and Oceania of Ericsson said.
Manufacturing
Myanmar to start garment export to US in June | Eleven, May 27
Garment factories in Myanmar are preparing to make their first shipments to US next month, according to Myanmar Garment Entrepreneurs Association. “Now, some garment factories here will export to US in coming June. Some are ready and some are still preparing. After President [Thein Sein’s] trip to US, we have received more enquires from US buyers,” Khine Khine Nwe, Secretary of Myanmar Garment Entrepreneurs Association, said. She said most garment orders at the factories are currently from Japan and Korea, and Japanese buyers are taking market surveys now and then.
National Affairs
Suu Kyi to handle rule of law, internal peace first in amending Constitution | Eleven, May 29
Myanmar's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Monday said rule of law and internal peace should be given priority in amending the military-drafted 2008 Constitution. She made the remarks during the first meeting of the National League for Democracy’s central executive committee in Yangon on Monday. "I believe that we need to aim for rule of law and peace, equal rights, mutual respects, and mutual understandings among ethnic people when we start amending the Constitution," said Suu Kyi. According to Suu Kyi, some members of the central executive committee and other representatives have pointed out the need to be amended in the Constitution.
Myanmar urges calm after religious unrest | HeraldSun, May 29
MYANMAR'S government has called for calm after mobs burned down a Muslim orphanage, a mosque and shops during a new eruption of religious violence in the east of the country. The situation was "under control" after an overnight curfew was imposed in Lashio town in Shan State, according to police, which said the unrest was triggered by an attack on a local Buddhist woman by a Muslim man.There were no other reports of injuries in the violence - the latest in a series of outbreaks of unrest that pose a major challenge to the country's reformist government following the end of decades of military rule.
Myanmar accused of bias in population control policy | LAT, May 28
A watchdog group Tuesday called on Myanmar's government to immediately revoke a population-control policy that blocks members of the minority Rohingya Muslim community from having more than two children, saying the newly revived measure is discriminatory, violates human rights and endangers women's health. The Rohingya, who account for about 1 million of Myanmar's 60 million people, are deeply unpopular among the Buddhist majority, who do not consider them citizens even though many Rohingya families have lived in the country for generations.
Myanmar: Official Report On Rakhine State Conflict Flawed | Scoop, May 27
Following the communal violence that wracked the western parts of Myanmar near the border of Bangladesh in 2012, the country's president established a commission of inquiry comprising of retired public servants, religious figures, politicians, academics and members of civil society. The commission handed down its findings on 22 April 2013. Despite high expectations, the 119-page report is gravely flawed. Although it contains a few useful recommendations and observations, to which the Special Rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar alluded in a press release of 1 May 2013, the commission's positive contributions are outweighed by a range of omissions and misrepresentations and by an us-versus-them mentality that pervades the document.
Myanmar's Suu Kyi condemns two-child policy | Aljazeera, May 27
The policy, put forth by a district government on Monday, dates back to 1994, but does not appear to have been enforced until recent weeks. It does not apply to Buddhists and comes amid accusations of ethnic cleansing. "They shouldn't discriminate. This is against human rights," said Suu Kyi, adding that the policy is also illegal. The central government has not made any statement about the two-child policy since Rakhine state authorities quietly enacted the measure a week ago.An estimated 800,000 Rohingya live in Rakhine state in the west of Myanmar, and are considered illegal immigrants from Bangladesh by the Buddhist-majority in the country.