Top Stories:
- U.S and Myanmar Up Military Engagement: The United States plans to begin military engagement with Myanmar later this month, ambassador Derek Mitchell said, as part of Washington’s efforts to encourage the Tatmadaw to transform into a professional security force with civilian oversight.
- Myanmar Flood leaves 3 Dead, Tens of Thousands Homless: Tens of thousands of people were sheltering in relief camps in eastern Myanmar after flash floods swept the region leaving three dead, state media said on Friday, warning of more heavy rain to come. Nearly 33,500 people have been moved to 79 camps in Karen State after monsoon floods that also caused three deaths and left another person missing, according to state newspaper the New Light of Myanmar. Some 245 schools have also been closed while landslides have damaged roads after rains began to pound the state on July 27, the reported added.
- Myanmar-China gas pipeline starts flowing: Gas has started flowing to energy-hungry China through a pipeline from Myanmar, a Chinese state oil company said Monday, in a major project that highlights their economic links even as political ties come under pressure. The 793-kilometer (492-mile) pipeline runs from Kyaukpyu on resource-rich Myanmar's west coast, close to the offshore Shwe gas fields, and across the country.
Defense and Security
U.S and Myanmar Up Military Engagement, MyanmarTimes, August 1
The United States plans to begin military engagement with Myanmar later this month, ambassador Derek Mitchell said, as part of Washington’s efforts to encourage the Tatmadaw to transform into a professional security force with civilian oversight. Speaking on August 1 in Yangon alongside US Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications Ben Rhodes, who was in Myanmar on a three-day visit, Mr. Mitchell said that initial military engagement would focus on humanitarian issues, officer professionalization and human rights.
India Offers Enhanced Military Assistance to Burma | Irrawaddy, July 30
India has agreed to help Burma build offshore-patrol vessels (OPVs) and will increase training of Burma’s military, following a visit by Burmese military officials to New Delhi on Monday, the Time of India reported. Citing the two nations’ close proximity and their shared land and maritime borders, India’s chief Admiral D.K. Joshi said the Indian Navy looked forward to taking the “existing excellent relations to the next level.” The training will reportedly include a doubling of the number of Burmese military officers trained by India, from the current 50 positions offered at present.
Burma and China To Build on Strategic Military Relations | Irrawaddy, July 25
Burma and China will likely enhance military ties, according to state media reports. Burma’s President Thein Sein met on Tuesday with Gen Fan Changlong, deputy chairman of the Chinese Central Military Commission (CMC), at his residence in Naypyidaw, according to a report by the state-run Myanmar Radio and Television (MRTV) network. Their conversation included a discussion about enhancing relations between the two countries’ armed forces and maintaining positive relations between governments, MRTV said. The Burmese president also told the Chinese military leader that his administration would continue to promote warming relations with other countries in the region and in the West, the broadcaster added.
Economics
Ford, GM And Other Car Makers Are Racing To Open Up In Myanmar | InternationaBusinessTimes, August 6
Since opening up to the outside world in 2011 Myanmar, seems to be the latest battle ground for industry giants in every sector, now it's the automakers' turn. While used cars currently make up 99 percent of the country's annual domestic sales, major automakers are staking out territory with an eye to future market share. Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. (TYO:7201) is the latest to launch a showroom and service department in Myanmar’s commercial center Yangon. The company began sales on Wednesday, according to the Myanmar Times. Nissan vehicles will be distributed in Myanmar through a publicly traded Malaysian firm, Tan Chong Motor Holdings, which will invest $2.5 million over three years to begin operations, and expects to sell 300 vehicles per year.
Looking East, Companies finally spy Myanmar | BusinessStandard, August 3
The strategically-located Myanmar, which shares its boundary with China, Thailand, Laos, and Bangladesh, could well become India's gateway to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Having woken up to this realization, several Indian Companies are lining up to enter the country and make their presence felt in every segment of its economy. The wakeup call has, however, come a little late in the day. China has already gained a strong foothold in Myanmar's economy and has been exploring the vast reserves of its natural resources. Out of Myanmar's total trade of over $18 billion, India accounted for only about 7.5 per cent in 2011-12 - falling short of China, Singapore, Thailand and Japan in terms of export to Myanmar. Though the export of Indian goods has witnessed a robust growth in recent years, "an analysis of India's share vis-à-vis Myanmar's global imports shows that there is tremendous scope to boost this," says D S Rawat, secretary general of Assocham.
Myanmar Firms Feel Pinch From Abroad | WSJ, August 1
The world's biggest consumer companies are flocking to Myanmar, filling the once-pariah nation and its backward economy with goods previously unavailable to its 60 million people. But not everyone is happy. Some of the country's biggest conglomerates—plugging away at the cash-strapped market for decades and fighting hard to grow despite crippling Western sanctions—are now finding themselves drowned out by foreign competitors including CocaCola Co. of the U.S. and Canon Inc. of Japan.
Indonesia eyes Myanmar’s fertilizer’s market | JakartaPost, July 31
Indonesia is looking to penetrate the Myanmar fertilizer market, which has millions of hectares of paddy fields with “low yields and a lack of fertilizing efforts”, a senior official says. Deputy Agriculture Minister Rusman Heriawan said the ministry had encouraged local fertilizer manufacturers to expand to the neighboring country’s market. “Indonesia’s agriculture-related industry has rapidly advanced, and it’s time for us to look for a better market out there. Our neighboring country Myanmar has a promising market as they have millions of hectares of rice fields and good quality water for irrigation, with low yields due to poor fertilization,” he said on Monday.
Wanbao to double investment on Copper Mine | Mizzima, July 30
Despite an amended agreement allocating the company a lower percentage of mining profits, Wanbao’s general manager in Myanmar Geng Yi said that the Chinese firm will double its investment on the project to a sum of up to US$997 million. “We have invested $600 million to date,” he said, “and we will up to $997 million.” He said that expenses incurred due to specifications in the reviewed contract have dictated that the company must increase its investment. The controversial Latpadaung copper mine project is backed by Wanbao alongside Myanmar Economic Holding Ltd.
Heineken Beer to be produced in Myanmar by 2014 | Eleven, July 28
Heineken beer-maker APB Alliance Brewery Company said its first beer factory in Myanmar will be able to start operation by the end of next year. Myanmar’s Directorate of Investment and Company Administration approved establishment of APB Alliance Brewery on July 25. It is a joint venture between Asia Pacific Breweries Ltd (APB) and its local partner Alliance Brewery Co Ltd (ABC). Netherlands-based Heineken announced its entry to Myanmar in May 13. Now, its APB holds 57 percent stake in the US$60 million worth joint venture. Heineken beer factory will be located in Hmawbi Township in Yangon Region and it is expected to be operational towards the end of 2014.
Tender will open for investment in Da Wei Special Economic Zone | MRTV4, July 28
(Translated:) The Ministry of Industry Department called a media press conference on July 27th 2013, to announce details of the Da Wei Special Economic Zone (SEZ). At the press conference, officials from the Ministry of Industry Department presented projects about the Da Wei SEZ. The department also stated that potential and interested investors are welcome to invest in the SEZ. At this time, tenders will open for investment in the Da Wei SEZ. In order to open tenders for investors, the Ministry of Industry Department will form respective and special organizations from inside Myanmar and Thailand. In addition to this, the department will also form special companies which will work together with other organizations stated before. After forming the special organizations, domestic investors can also participate with investments. However Da Wei SEZ Management Committee will select the candidates, depending on the type of investment operations and the amount of capital. Moreover, the special companies stated above will be registered in Thailand in order to transform public corporations to launch shares in the market. By putting shares in the market, more capital will flow in to Da Wei project. Da Wei SEZ Management Committee and special organizations will administer and run the project to open tenders for companies and investors.
Exim Seeks Clout in Myanmar as China Pours Cash: Corporate India | Bloomberg, July 26
Myanmar, called Asia’s “next economic frontier” by the International Monetary Fund, is the new battleground for Indian companies seeking to wrest business from Chinese firms. Export-Import Bank of India, the state-controlled trade financing institution, has pledged $800 million in Myanmar, which includes funds to upgrade the Yangon-Mandalay railway and a plant for Tata Motors Ltd. (TTMT) to assemble vehicles in the Southeast Asian nation, Executive Director David Rasquinha said. China, which has beaten Indian companies in the race to invest in energy assets from Kazakhstan to Venezuela, has agreed to lend more than $2.4 billion in Myanmar.
Energy
Myanmar-China gas pipeline starts flowing | ArabNews, July 29
Gas has started flowing to energy-hungry China through a pipeline from Myanmar, a Chinese state oil company said Monday, in a major project that highlights their economic links even as political ties come under pressure. The 793-kilometer (492-mile) pipeline runs from Kyaukpyu on resource-rich Myanmar's west coast, close to the offshore Shwe gas fields, and across the country. It enters southwest China at Ruili, near areas where heavy clashes between the rebel Kachin Independence Army and the Myanmar military were reported earlier this year. The controversial project is the fruit of Beijing's long allegiance with the military junta that ruled Myanmar for decades, a bond that is weakening as the reforming government opens up to the West.
Financial Services
Myanmar allows forex trade between local banks | TheStar, August 6
Myanmar has introduced interbank currency trading, a senior central bank official said, the latest reform to the financial sector, which follows the managed float of the kyat currency from April 2012. Foreign banks are not allowed to operate in Myanmar and the local banking system is rudimentary, so the interbank market is likely to be tiny initially. “We have allowed local private banks to trade in foreign currency among themselves effective Monday, taking a major step forward in financial reforms,” the central bank official toldReuters. “They now can compete on equal terms with each other with compete transparency,” he added, asking for anonymity since he was speaking to the media without authorisation.
Foreign Affairs
Why Myanmar–North Korea relations have persisted in an era of reform | EastAsiaForum, August 2
Since assuming power in 2011, the pseudo-civilian government of President Sein has begun to fundamentally transform Myanmar’s foreign relations by re-engaging with the West. In 2012, as part of the government’s attempt to strengthen ties with Washington, and to dispel any lingering concerns over Myanmar’s nuclear ambitions, Sein announced that relations with Pyongyang would come to an end. But there are two recent developments which have called this announcement into question.
McConnell Outlines Priorities for Myanmar’s Constitution | RollCall, August 1
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell quietly weighed in on one of his long-standing priorities Thursday — the country of Myanmar. The Kentucky Republican has long taken an interest in the Southeast Asian country, being among the leading voices against the repressive military junta that first took power in the late 1980s. Recent pro-democratic reforms led McConnell to announce in May that he wouldn’t push to continue U.S. sanctions against the Myanmar government. McConnell’s a former chairman of the Appropriations subcommittee responsible for the State Department’s budget. On Thursday, McConnell inserted a detailed statement in the Congressional Record outlining four priorities for an overhaul of the country’s constitution, including establishing civilian control of military forces.
Thailand: Taking the pulse on Burmese refugee repatriation | AsiaCorrespondent, July 29
A recent pilot survey of thousands of Burmese refugees in Thailand could play a key role in gauging possible large-scale repatriation. “The whole idea is to get a sense of refugee sentiment about their future beyond living in the camps,” Vivian Tan, regional spokesperson for the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), told IRIN in Bangkok. According to The Border Consortium (TBC), an umbrella group of NGOs working along the 1,800km Thailand-Burma border, there are close to 130,000 refugees from various ethnic groups in nine Thai government-run camps in the area, many of whom have been in the country for decades.
West Pushed on Conditional Trade to End Burma Rights Abuses | Irrawaddy, July 26
International human rights groups are putting pressure on Western governments to re-apply conditions for trade and investment with Burma in an effort to make President Thein Sein’s government deal properly with continuing abuses in the country. “Let’s ensure that they talk human lives before they talk dollar signs,” urged an online petition by the global advocacy group Avaaz ahead of Thein Sein’s visit to France and England last week. Meanwhile, in its latest report on Burma made available to The Irrawaddy, the business risks analysis company Maplecroft warns potential investors that the “near-total absence of judicial independence and a weak rule of law foster a culture of impunity in [Burma]” that poses a serious threat to business.
Information and Communications Technology (ICT)
Internet Connection in Myanmar Down to Crawling Speed | Eleven, August 5
Myanmar's notoriously slow internet connection has been reduced to a snail's pace since July 22 affecting businesses that are beginning to rely on the new information and communication services available via the world wide web. Officials claimed the bad connection was due to a problem with the underwater fibre optic cable. "Our business depends on the internet. Our kind of business can’t do anything if the connection is slow. Our income is reduced to a third. If the connection is bad like that, it will make our business lost. If that will be continued like that, other related business will be suffered too," said Yan Naung Soe, Managing Director of Myanmar Soft-Gate. Students who are engaged in virtual learning courses, as well as casual surfers and online gamers also face problems with slower connections.
Infrastructure
As Myanmar Opens Up, Forests Face New Risks | DW, August 6
With the lifting of economic sanctions, Myanmar is opening its doors to big agribusinesses in palm oil and rubber. It’s good for the economy, but not for the country's natural resources, especially its forests. Branches heavy with dark green leaves and wooden tendrils hang across a winding path beaten flat by the stomping feet of elephants training for a life of logging . Now just learning the trade, the animals carry tourists on their backs through the deep jungle, trundling over undergrowth and through bubbling streams before being released at night to wander the area with their free cousins. But it is a jungle that is in danger.
Myanmar to develop upcoming Hanthawaddy airport as aviation hub | ChannelNewsAsia, July 29
Myanmar wants to build a fourth airport and develop it as an aviation hub for international travel -- the upcoming Hanthawaddy International Airport will be located in the Bago Region, north of Yangon. Town planners also want to build a vibrant city around this new airport to turn it into a commercial hub. Four players, including Singapore's Yongnam Holdings consortium and Korea's Incheon Airport group, have submitted their bids for the project. The other two are France's Vinci Airport and Japan's Taisei Corporation. The winning bidder will be announced before the end of July.
Burma’s Tourist Arrivals are Fastest-Growing in Southeast Asia | Irrawaddy, July 29
Burma’s tourism sector saw the highest relative growth in Southeast Asia, with the number of foreign arrivals spiking 52 percent last year, according to a report by the UN World Tourism Organization. Despite the surging growth, Burma remains one of the region’s least-visited countries, attracting just over 1 million visitors in 2012. Southeast Asia’s tourism growth topped all Asian subregions, with arrivals rising 9 percent in 2012. Asia and the Pacific region as a whole received 234 million visitors last year, generating $324 billion in revenue and representing 30 percent of the tourism sector globally.
National Affairs
Old Problems Resurface on Myanmar’s Road to Freedom | NationalMultimedia, August 6
The country's security agencies cling to repressive habits even as the government tries to effect meaningful reforms. It might not be as bad as it used to be, but old habits die hard. That's the story of Myanmar's intelligence work. Back in the days when security tsar General Khin Nyunt was running the show, overseeing an enormous security and intelligence apparatus, Myanmar's spies and security operatives were notorious. Talking about them sent a chill down the spine, especially for those who had been arrested and interrogated. During Khin Nyunt's time in office, Myanmar was one of the most isolated nations in the world, an international pariah condemned and sanctioned for multiple rights abuses. Much of the credit for that was given to the intelligence apparatus he oversaw.
Myanmar: Ethno-Resource conflict in Rakhine State? | ForeignPolicyJournal, August 5
The Rohingya issue is seen less as a clash between religions and more of an ethnic and economic problem within Myanmar’s rapidly developing economy, according to a Times of India report. The report also quotes an investment consultant that there is competition for land and resources after the country opened its economy. He adds that the fundamental cause of tension in Rakhine is largely economic. How have economic factors contributing to conflict in Rakhine state evolved? What impact does international aid have on the conflict? Can the conflict be bracketed as merely economic?
Myanmar Student Rebels in Ceasefire | BangkokPost, August 5
Myanmar student rebels on Monday signed a ceasefire with the government, days before the 25th anniversary of the 1988 student-led uprising in the country. More than 40 members of the outlawed All Burma Students' Democratic Front (ABSDF) attended the peace talks with the government in Yangon. "We believe this is not the time to be fighting each other," said Myo Win, vice chairman of ABSDF. "Without a ceasefire, the political problems cannot be solved and we want to focus on the current political problems." He said the ABSDF will join Thursday's commemoration in Yangon of the so-called 8888 Uprising, a series of marches and protests that began Aug 8, 1988, when students took to the streets in the former capital against the iron-fisted military rule of General Ne Win.
Myanmar Charter Reforms Key To Free Elections in 2015: White House | RFA, August 1
A top adviser to U.S. President Barak Obama emphasized Thursday that reforming Myanmar's military-written constitution is critical to having free and fair elections in 2015. White House Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes said that constitutional reform would allow the people of Myanmar to elect whoever they liked and protect human rights, which under the previous military junta were among the worst in the world. Rhodes was speaking to reporters in Yangon after meetings with civil society and government officials and business leaders. His statement came as opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi called for greater political commitment to amend the constitution, which was formulated by the previous military junta in 2008 and prevents the Nobel laureate from becoming president.
Thein Sein Orders Myanmar’s Second Major Cabinet Reshuffle | RFA, July 26
Myanmar President Thein Sein has announced his second major cabinet reshuffle since taking power two years ago from the former military junta, reassigning four ministers, dropping two deputy ministers and naming scholars as among 10 new deputy minister appointments. The announcement by the President’s Office, made late Thursday, marks the first significant shakeup since Thein Sein approved nine new cabinet posts in August last year. Observers cautiously welcomed the changes, calling on the scholars appointed as deputy ministers to positions once held by the military particularly to speak out to make government policy more effective.
Burma Legal Advisers Help Land Grab Victims | VOANews, July 26
Burma’s political and economic opening has enticed scores of foreign investors and spurred a real estate boom. But many Burmese feel they are not getting a fair deal when big business buys up land for development. Now roving legal advisers are traveling the countryside, advising citizens on how to assert their rights. Land values are soaring in parts of Burma, even in ethnic states, where fighting has left thousands homeless. The government hopes foreign investment will lift the fortunes of millions, but many feel they are already being left out of the profits. Few people have legal land deeds and the former military-backed government confiscated huge tracts of land years ago.