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EPA
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NATIONAL: THAILAND’S TREATMENT OF MIGRANTS IN FOCUS ✪2
First INDEPENDENT English daily
www.elevenmyanmar.com
FRIDAY, May 8, 2015
INSIDE
ANALYSIS
NATIONAL
Cloud over Dawei project
A landmark signing agreement for the deep-sea port has been delayed for the third time
Another peace talks
scheduled in Yangon
✪4
BUSINESS
UOB plans to lend more
loans
✪5
A worker loads goods
at a jetty in Yangon.
Though the country
is in need of deepsea ports, the project
in Dawei faces
another delay.
Achara Deboonme
MYANMAR ELEVEN
THE future of the Dawei project becomes more shaky as the
signing agreement that would
kick start construction of the
Dawei deep-sea port in Myanmar
has been delayed for the third
time. The signing agreement was
delayed twice before; it was first
due to be signed in March, and
then in April.
The Thai and Myanmar governments, along with real estate
developer Italian-Thai
Development (ITD), postponed
the signing until early June. The
delay is reportedly due to administrative slowdowns in Nay Pyi
Taw, Pravee Kamolkancha, the
company’s marketing manager,
told DPA. The Thai government
and Italian-Thai Development are
ready to sign the agreement, he
said yesterday.
When completed, the Dawei
project would be the largest of its
kind in Southeast Asia. The
200-square-kilometre project
will include a deep-sea port and
special economic zone. With a
road link with Thailand, the project will be an integral part of the
East-West Corridor, which will
support the Asean transport network. ITD, the original conces-
sionaire of the development project, estimated that the entire
project would require an investment of over US$70 billion.
The delay deepens the uncertainties that have surrounded the
project for years. The big question is when the mega project
would eventually kicked start.
Winning the concession from
the junta government, ITD decided to give up its development
rights in 2013 following difficulties in finding partners. Taking
control of the project, the
Myanmar and Thai governments
have been successful in winning
Japan’s commitment to participate in the development, though
several key Japanese investors
are busy with another special
economic zone – Thilawa.
ITD and Rojana Industrial
Park were upbeat that the contract would be signed yesterday,
as the two Thai companies are
vying for the contract for the initial phase of development. The
phase will consist of a 27-squarekilometre industrial estate and a
138-km two-lane road between
the SEZ in Myanmar’s
Tanintharyi region and
Phunumron checkpoint in
Thailand’s Kanchanaburi, an initial township for the workers, a
liquefied natural gas terminal for
gas transport over long distances, a telecom landline, a power
plant, a small port, and a water
reservoir.
The delay raised a question if
the construction would commence this year as expected by
Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister
MR Pridiyathorn Devakula. He
estimated that first phase construction cost at around $1.7 billion. No contract was signed
though Thailand’s Neighbouring
Countries Economic
Development Cooperation
Agency (NEDA) is considering a
soft loan of about Bt4 billion
(approximately $121 million) to
Myanmar to finance the construction of the 138-kilometre
road from Dawei to
Kanchanaburi. The road is
expected to boost trade and
investment between Myanmar
and Thailand and between Asean
nations and Japan, On Tuesday,
NEDA director Newin Sinsiri said
that the road construction is
expected to commence next year.
There was speculation that
Myanmar might delay the project
intentionally out of some displeasure against Thailand. That
is unlikely, though. Bilateral trade
has been increasing in the past
years. Meanwhile, construction of
a second Thai-Myanmar
Friendship Bridge and a road
connecting the bridge to the
main highway in Thailand’s Mae
Sot is expected to commence in
October, according to Thailand’s
Deputy Transport Minister
Arkhom Termpittayaphaisith.
Another possible answer may
then lie with resistance of some
local residents. Land was confiscated for the project and local
residents are fearful of changes
to their livelihoods.
Anther possible answer also
centres on a crucial study to be
done by Japanese experts. Three
research projects were started in
October last year for completion
in March, according to the Dawei
SEZ Working Committee. The
research is aimed at pinpointing
ways Myanmar, Thailand and
Japan can cooperate in developing the stalled multi-billion dollar
project near the Thai border in
Tanintharyi Region, Myanmar
officials said. To date, there was
no update on the project.
Masato Abe, the economic
affairs officer at United Nations
Economic and Social
Commission for Asia and the
Pacific (ESCAP), said in his
recent article that Myanmar
should first focus on deep-sea
ports near Yangon, not in Dawei
which is nearly 700 km away.
EPA
ASEAN+
Nepal ends quake
mourning
✪7
LIFESTYLE
Shorter concert, better
quality
✪10
NATIONAL
2
MYANMAR ELEVEN, Friday, May 8, 2015
Thailand’s treatment of Myanmar
migrants in focus amid murder probe
island’s migrant worker community to come in for DNA testing.
“Migrant workers are readymade scapegoats because they
have no rights before the law,”
said Nakhon Chompuchat, the
WorkerRights Network, explains
that in Thailand there is a strong
negative perception of migrants
because they take the jobs and
positions that the rest of society
doesn’t want.
zens,” the public readily accepts
the official narrative when they
are accused of thefts and murders.
“In reality there is less crime
among migrant worker popula-
THE two Myanmar suspects,
barefoot and handcuffed, managed a smile as they were escorted by armed Thai police to
the provincial court house.
Thai police say that Zaw
Lin and Wai Phyo murdered two British tourists
on the resort island of Koh
Tao, pointing to their confession and circumstantial
evidence. The accused say
they were tortured into the
confession, claims backed
by the National Human
Rights Commission of
Thailand.
The questions over the
investigation have prompted an outcry from both the
Myanmar and British
embassies. But while public scrutiny of the case is
high, rights groups say
that many of Thailand’s 2
million Myanmar migrant
workers find themselves
scapegoated on a daily
basis, with no one to turn
to. Authorities are quick to
blame migrants for highprofile murders or rapes,
with the behaviour of “the
Burmese” cited as a social
ill bypoliticians. After the
bodies of David Miller, 24,
and Hannah Witheridge,
Suspected migrants line up after they were detained by police outside the southern Thai city of Hat Yai
23, were found badly beaten - she was allegedly also yesterday.
sexually assaulted – on the
beach in Koh Tao, a police
spokesman told news media outdefence lawyer for Zaw Lin and
“They are viewed negatively
tions in Thailand because they
lets that “a Thai could not possiWai Phyo. “Their lack of rights
by local communities and as a
have more to lose,” Hall said.
bly commit such a vicious
and money makes it very easy to
threat to national security by polWhile Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo
crime.”
target these groups.”
iticians,” Hall said.
remain in custody, their plight
Police immediately called
Andy Hall, the International
Because migrants are viewed
has sparked a very public conmore than 20 members of the
Affairs Advisor to the Migrant
and treated as “second-class citi- versation, as more Thais are
starting to question the prosecution’s story.
The recent discovery of a
mass graves of Rohingya refugees who died from abuse from
human traffickers has also
increased public awareness of, and sympathy
for, the plight of
migrants.
On the Koh Tao murder, a Facebook post
questioning the official
version of events has
received more than
10,000 likes. Hundreds
of users commented on
the post and the unfair
nature of the case. “I feel
bad that they dragged
these Burmese here, do
the police really expect
us to believe their version?” posted one user.
Another user wrote that
nationality should not
play any part in thejudicial process.”If there is
one positive that emerges from (this case), it’s
that Thai people are willing to look beyond the
official narrative,” said
Kaewmala, a prominent
author and social commentator who goes by
only one name.
Kaewmala added that
the nature of the case
has sparked a muchneeded conversation
about the Thai justice
system and its treatment
of minorities and the
poor. “I think people are really
starting to question the justice
system and how we treat minorities, which is a good thing even
though the circumstances are
unfortunate.”
AFP
DEUTSCHE PRESSE-AGENTUR
Bangkok
Laos-Myanmar bridge to open this week
VIENTIANE TIMES
Deputy Prime Minister
Somsavat Lengsavad has made
an inspection of the newly built
Laos-Myanmar Mekong
Friendship Bridge, which crosses the Mekong from Luang
Namtha province, ahead of the
official opening ceremony on
Saturday.
The committee in charge of
the project reported to
Somsavat that construction was
finished on time. The bridge was
finished several months ahead
of schedule after work began in
early 2013.
On April 9, high-ranking officials from Laos and Myanmar
will travel to the bridge to officially declare it open to traffic.
The opening ceremony will
begin at 9am on Saturday and
will be broadcast live by Lao
National Television’s channel 1.
The project is a joint investment by the Lao and Myanmar
governments, at a cost of
US$26 million.
The bridge is 691.6 metres
long, has traffic lanes 8.5
metres in width, and sidewalks
1.2 metres wide.
On the Lao side the bridge
links the Xiengkok river port
north of Huaykoum village in
Long district, Luang Namtha
province, with Xienglap village
in Shan state, Myanmar.
This is the first bridge linking
the two countries, and has been
built to boost trade, investment
and tourism between Laos and
Myanmar and other countries in
the region.
It is also hoped the bridge
will build connectivity and
understanding between the peoples of Laos and Myanmar. In
addition, the bridge is seen as a
new symbol of cooperation,
good relations and solidarity
between the peoples of the two
countries.
The bridge will link Laos’
National Road No. 17E and
Myanmar’s National Road No. 4.
It is also expected to benefit
neighbouring countries such as
Vietnam and China, and also
extend benefits to India and
Bangladesh.
Residents of Luang Namtha
province, on the Lao side of the
bridge, especially those in Long
and Sing districts, will directly
benefit from the provision of
services and border trade
between Myanmar, Vietnam,
China and Thailand.
Laos has four other bridges
across the Mekong, linking the
country with Thailand.
MYANMAR ELEVEN, Friday May 08, 2015
3
National
4
NEWS
DIGEST
MYANMAR ELEVEN, Friday, May 8, 2015
Peace talks planned in Yangon
Authorities in Myanmar’s secondlargest city are planning legal action
against 17 factories for polluting a
local lake, government officials said
Thursday.
The Mandalay City Development
Committee (MCDC), a government
municipal body, ordered the factories
to suspend operations on May 2 after
finding fish nearby that died from
water pollution. The factories are
located in an industrial zone near
Taungthaman Lake, some 10
kilometres south of Mandalay.
“They violated instructions on
wastewater management, so we
decided to suspend all operations of
the factories,” said Thet Naing Tun,
co-secretary of MCDC.
Taungthaman Lake is one of
Mandalay’s most famous tourist
destinations, home to the world’s
longest and oldest teakwood bridge,
which spans 1.2 kilometres across
the shallow lake. “Last year, almost
all of the 460,000 tourists to
Mandalay visited Taungthaman Lake
and U Bein Bridge, so it is very
important to maintain them well,”
said a senior regional government
official. “We are now planning a
lawsuit against these factories,
because such violations are
intolerable,” he said.
- DPA
No sign of charter
change bill
The Union Parliament Joint Bill
Committee has yet to receive the
constitutional amendments bill to be
discussed during the parliamentary
session that will resume on Monday,
committee secretary Saw Hla Tun
said Wednesday.
The Special Issues Assessment
Commission and the Union
Parliament’s Constitutional
Amendment Implementation
Committee as well as other
organisations involved in drafting the
bill continue to discuss possible
charter amendments, the secretary
said. “I cannot say exactly when it will
come to the committee before the
resumption of the next session,” Saw
Hla Tun said. Almost two weeks ago,
implementation committee secretary
Aye Mauk said the amendments were
90 per cent complete.
Ks 20 bn budget for
traffic control
The Traffic Control Centre will be
allotted a budget of Ks20 billion
(US$20 million) to remotely control
the 65 most-crowded traffic
intersections in Yangon, said Tin
Maung Kyi, head of the Roads and
Bridges Department of the Yangon
City Development Committee.
According to experts, the traffic
lights and management system of the
city are too outdated to handle the
city congestion. To sort the problem
out, the centre that can control all the
traffic lights in the city will be
established to manage the traffic
jams from one place. There are
altogether 175 traffic lights in Yangon
and 10 of them are currently
operating under the Control Centre,
which was initiated by the Japanese
aid. Tin Maung Kyi expressed hope
that the system will help ease the
congestion. Vehicles that violate the
traffic law will face strict measures
after the system is put in place.
Reuters
Mandalay mulls
lawsuit against
factories
Ethnic leaders attend a meeting of leaders of Myanmar’s ethnic armed groups at the UWSA headquarters in Panghsan on May 6.
MYANMAR ELEVEN
TALKS involving Myanmar’s
political parties, representatives
of armed ethnic groups and state
national affairs races ministers
are scheduled to take place
Saturday at the Inya Lake Hotel
in Yangon, sources say.
This followed a crucial meeting during May 1-3 hosted by the
United Wa State Party/United Wa
State Army (UWSA) in Panghsan,
Shan State, which is home to its
headquarters.
At the talks on Saturday, Aung
Min, Union Peacemaking Works
Committee (UPWC) vice-chairman, will explain the peace process and efforts to complete a
nationwide ceasefire deal
between the government and the
armed ethnic groups, the sources
say. The UPWC represents the
government in peace talks.
Leaders of the Karen National
Union (KNU) and the Restoration
Council of Shan State (RCSS)/
Shan State Army (SSA) will
attend the talks, the sources say.
Both the KNU and RCSS were
among armed ethnic groups
invited to a peace-building summit last weekend hosted by the
United Wa State Army in
Panghsang in Shan State.
“As far as I know, the invita-
tion by the KNU and the RCSS to
the talks is under the theme of
national reconciliation and peace
talks,” said Hla Maung Shwe
from Myanmar Peace Center, a
government-linked organisation
helping facilitate the peace process.
“It includes the KNU, the
RCSS and national races affairs
ministers. As far as I understand,
it will be a preparation for future
political talks.”
Ethnic group leaders are currently analysing a draft nationwide ceasefire accord that was
agreed upon earlier this year by
organisations representing the
government and armed ethnic
groups.
During May 1-3, leaders from
the 12 ethnic armies and the
Nationwide Ceasefire
Coordination Team (NCCT),
which speaks for the armed ethnic groups in ceasefire talks
gathered in Panghsan. They discussed the country’s current
political situation and peace
efforts, and the summit was held
as the ethnic leaders evaluate a
draft nationwide ceasefire deal.
Those in attendance at the
summit came to an understanding that the ongoing conflicts
that have plagued Myanmar for
more than six decades are the
result of political differences
between the various ethnic
groups and Myanmar’s govern-
ment and can be resolved
through political means.
Meanwhile, Wa’s demand for
an independent state received
support from some representatives of the ethnic armed forces
during the summit.
The Chinese-speaking Wa
Special Region 2 is located in
Northern Shan State and uses
the Chinese currency renminbi. It
has a population estimated at
more than half a million. The
region, which is run by the
UWSA, declared independence
from what was then called
Burma and now Myanmar in
April 1989, but the country’s
national government has never
recognized the demand.
President calls for election unity
MYANMAR ELEVEN
President Thein Sein is urging
citizens to work together for a
successful general election this
year through a radio speech
delivered on May 4, adding that
the election is a turning point for
Myanmar’s democratic transition.
“The 2015 general election is
very important for democratic
reform.
Political groups and people
should all join forces for the successful completion of the election. I am determined to work for
successful democratic reform.
And I promise to put every effort
into achieving it,” the president
said.
Thein Sein said political
groups and people had greater
expectations as the election
came near to according with
international standards, pointing
out that political stability was the
most important factor.
“People should work together
in unity, patience and thoughtfulness for the future political stability and successful completion
of the election,” he concluded.
Social development programmes in Chin State
Ei Thinzar Kyaw
MYANMAR ELEVEN
A five-year project for the
children-based social welfare
development programme will
be launched in Chin State starting from 2016, according to
UNICEF.
The project will be jointly
handled by the UNICEF,
Myanmar Institute for
Integrated Development
(MTTD) as well as the Danish
government and will involve
improving the health of the children and their mothers.
The UNICEF statement gave
no detail on how much fund will
be spent on the project.
The Chin State needs to promote health care services.
Moreover, there is a need to
employ more doctors, nurses
and medical staff.
In Yangon, some civic organi-
sations yesterday held discussions on how to implement the
children-based social welfare
development programmes in
Chin State.
Likewise, the Three
Millennium Development Goal
Fund (3MDG) is also helping to
improve the socio-economic
lives of the people in Chin State
by providing health care services and education.
The 3MDG, with a fund of
US$25 million, has been providing health care services
including education since the
beginning of 2013.
In Chin State, 3MDG is now
carrying out not only the programmes of education, health
and combating of diseases but
also health system development tasks which cover nine
townships with 500,000 local
people.
KYAT EXCHANGE
Buy
Sell
BUSINESS
UOB extends 1st foreign
bank loan in Myanmar
US $
1090
1096
Euro ¤
1187
1215
Singpore $
805
826
Source: KBZ Bank
MYANMAR ELEVEN, Friday, May 8, 2015
UOB
Khine Kyaw
MYANMAR ELEVEN
UOB offers an onshore loan to a French-Myanmar joint venture for the refurbishment of a Yangon
hotel.
organised more than 10 knowledge-sharing seminars in
Yangon, Singapore, China and
Thailand for Myanmar bankers,
regulators and the local business
community, covering a broad
range of topics including project
finance and risk management.
Loh added that UOB would
support local banks’ cross-border trade activities through its
global network, as well as other
products. At present, local banks
do not have direct links with foreign banks for letter of credit
(L/C), and UOB is poised to help.
The loan to Rangoon Excelsior
was announced on May 6, two
days after the branch was
opened. UOB is the fourth
among nine international banks
awarded banking licences on
October 2014 to open a branch
office in Myanmar.
Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ
(BTMU), Oversea-Chinese
Banking Corp (OCBC) and
Sumitomo opened their branches
in the last week of April. Others
including Bangkok Bank are
expected to open their branches
later. The Central Bank of
Myanmar requires all nine banks
to open branches within a year
after the licences were awarded.
The Yangon branch strengthened the bank’s Southeast Asian
network, which now covers eight
countries. The branch will offer
the bank’s regional and global
clients access to onshore and
cross-border banking services to
help them invest and expand in
industries supporting Myanmar’s
economic growth.
These services include corporate loans, trade and project
financing as well as cash management solutions.
Ian Wong, managing director
and head of Strategy and
International Management of
UOB Group, said the strongest
interest in Myanmar comes from
clients in Hong Kong, Singapore
and Thailand. This is in line with
the findings of the UOB Asian
Enterprise Report 2014, which
shows that businesses from
Hong Kong are the keenest to
expand into Myanmar (31 per
cent), followed by those in
Thailand (28 per cent), mainland
China (26 per cent), and
Singapore (21 per cent).
In addition to helping to drive
business and economic growth in
Myanmar, UOB is also investing
in developing local talent. The
majority of employees at the
UOB Yangon branch are
Myanmar nationals who received
extensive training at UOB’s headquarters in Singapore in preparation for the branch opening.
The bank launched a
University Scholarship
Programme in August last year in
cooperation with Yangon
University and Yangon University
of Economics, to help broaden
the banking and finance talent
pool. According to Loh, the programme is committed to providing bachelors degree scholarships worth $189,000 to 45 students. The UOB Branch now
employs 18 people.
“We are extending the number
as we grow. Our staff are fresh
graduates from various universities, as well as from other industries. We sent them to Singapore
to receive extensive training for
the job here,” Loh said.
Dollar appreciation continues
A Nge Htwe
MYANMAR ELEVEN
The US dollar continues its
appreciation against Myanmar
kyat, with the selling rate surpassing 1,100, according to
market sources.
On April 28, when the official
exchange rate was 1,075 per
dollar, dealers quoted the selling rate at 1,090. On the following day when the official rate
went up to 1,078, the selling
rate accordingly rose to 1,093.
As the official rate edged up to
1,080 since May 5, the selling
rate is now 1,105.
“The way I see it, those who
have extra cash lying around
exchanged kyat for dollars is
one of the reasons (for the rate
hike),” economist Myint Thaung
said.
“Another reason is the
increase in the usage of dollars
in the service Industry. The
other reason is that the dollar is
becoming more and more reliable as a currency. These can be
EMG
UNITED Overseas Bank Group
(UOB) plans to grant more
onshore loans in the first month
after its branch opening in
Yangon, following the offering of
its first onshore financing to
Rangoon Excelsior Co Ltd – the
first of its kind by a foreign bank
in decades. Rangoon Excelsior, a
French-Myanmar joint venture, is
seeking funds to turn a colonial
building in Yangon into a five-storey hotel, which will cater to
international tourists. The loan
amount was not revealed.
“Rangoon Excelsior will
receive the first onshore loan
that we will be offering. There are
many discussions in the pipeline,” said Country Manager
Harry Loh at a press conference.
UOB expects to provide several more onshore loans to its
regional and multinational clients, mainly in four sectors –
energy, hospitality, infrastructure/construction and manufacturing. According to UOB’s Asian
Enterprise Survey 2014, these
industries are the ones in which
foreign investors can make the
greatest impact amid Myanmar’s
rapid development and urbanisation.
Loh said the strategy is based
on MGI’s projection that the four
sectors are expected to contribute 70 per cent ($154 billion) to
Myanmar’s GDP in 2030, which
is projected to be $220.6 billion.
According to MGI, the manufacturing sector has been the fastest-growing industry and is
expected to contribute $69.4 billion to the country’s GDP by
2030, up from $9.8 billion in
2010. Infrastructure projects are
expected to contribute $48.8 billion by 2030, up from $10.5 billion in 2010. The contribution
from the energy and hospitality
sectors is expected to be $21.7
billion and $14.1 billion by 2030,
against $8 billion and $600 million in 2010, respectively.
He added that the bank would
focus on providing corporate
loans, trade and project financing and cash management solutions to clients hoping to expand
into Myanmar.
Cooperation with local banks
is also a focus, as is human
resource development, Loh said.
“We are working very closely
with the central bank and local
banks…All local banks are our
friends. We will collaborate with
local banks through knowledge
sharing.
In the past two years, we had
conducted more than 10 seminars and trainings for local bankers not only in Yangon but also in
China, Thailand and Singapore,”
he said.
After establishing a Foreign
Direct Investment Advisory Unit
in Myanmar in 2013, UOB has
5
One of authorised currency exchange counters in Yangon
the reasons for the recent rise
of the dollar. There can be many
other reasons that we do not
know about.”
Since the start of the year,
the dollar has appreciated by
5.37 per cent against kyat,
based on the official exchange
rate that strengthened from
1,025 on January 1 to 1,080 on
May 7.
At the end of 2011 and the
beginning of 2012, the exchange
rate was 824 per dollar. It hit
845 in November 2012. The rate
was 976 in November 2013.
Last October, the greenback
first rose above 1,000 against
kyaat.
As of May 6 when the official
rate was 1,080 per dollar,
authorised dealers sold a US
dollar for 1,107 and quoted the
buying rate at 1,098. The buying
and selling rates for Singapore
dollar and euro were 815/828
and 1,199/1,235, respectively.
The stronger dollar is a challenge to Myanmar, which relies
heavily on imports. According to
the Commerce Ministry’s data,
Myanmar is likely to suffer a
record trade deficit of $5 billion
for fiscal year 2014-15 which
ended on March 31.
“Inflation could rise in line
with the dollar appreciation,”
economist Soe Thein said.
“Right now there are no official
announcements from the government or the central bank
regarding this issue. Outside
sources only know from looking
at the rough data.”
Business
6
MYANMAR ELEVEN, Friday, May 8, 2015
SIM sales soar as Myanmar
races to catch up in telecoms
A woman shows a sim card from Ooredoo after buying it from a shop in Yangon.
Huge swathes of the country
were not covered by the patchy
network of state-owned Myanmar
Posts and Telecommunications
(MPT). SIM cards, which sold for
thousands of dollars when they
were first introduced, fetched
Telenor shares at record high
after Myanmar success
REUTERS
Oslo
Mobile phone group Telenor
raised its 2015 guidance on
Wednesday as key units beat
forecasts and its roll-out in
Myanmar proved unexpectedly
smooth, sending its shares to
an all-time high.
Norway’s Telenor, which has
over 190 million subscribers
across Europe and Asia, said a
third of its customers were now
active internet users, proving
that efforts to convert voice
traffic to more lucrative data
were paying off.
Revenues rose and margins
improved at its struggling Thai
unit, dtac as average revenue
per user jumped 21 per cent
from a year earlier. In
Myanmar, one of the world’s
poorest nations, Telenor made
an unexpected operating profit
and predicted rapid growth
after starting operations just
last year, suggesting the economy was more dynamic than
anticipated.
“This is something that we
haven’t seen before,” Chief
Executive Jon Fredrik Baksaas
said. “The Myanmar economy
has had more money in circulation than we had originally
expected.” “We will now
increase the speed of our rollout and ramp up (capital
expenditure),” Baksaas said.
The firm picked up 6.4 million customers since its launch
and its average revenue per
user was more than four times
bigger than in India or
Pakistan.
Shares in state-controlled
Telenor, which have been performing in line with the sector,
jumped as much as 5 per cent
to a record high on Wednesday.
A big outperformer during
Europe’s economic struggles, it
has lost some of its shine due
to tough competition in places
such as Denmark, India and
Thailand, and its valuation was
broadly in line with the average
of its peers before
Wednesday’s rally.
Still, over three years, the
stock is up 75 per cent, well
ahead of a 53 per cent rise by
the European telecoms index .
“This is a solid report, good
all the way,” Christer Roth, an
analyst at DNB Markets said.
“The biggest positive surprises
are from Myanmar and
Pakistan ... I’m a bit uncertain
to what degree we can expect
Myanmar to stay at these levels.” Telenor’s quarterly adjusted EBITDA rose 17 per cent to
10.6 billion crowns (US$1.4 billion), beating expectations for
9.97 billion crowns.
It now sees revenues growing by 5 to 7 per cent this year,
above a previous guidance for
“mid-single digit” growth.
around $200 as recently as
April2013 - far out of reach of the
average citizen.
That started to change after a
semi-civilian government took
power in March 2011 and initiated sweeping reforms, including
granting two licences to foreign
telecoms operators.
Qatar’s Ooredoo launched its
service last August followed by
Telenor a month later, while MPT
has partnered withJapan’s KDDI
Corp. All three operators have
been building telecoms towers,
increasing the range of
Myanmar’s network and allowing
more SIM cards into the market,
bringing the price down to about
$2. And Myanmar’s 51.4 million
people are buying them en
masse.
There are now at least 18.1
million SIM cards in active use,
according to the operators, not
including cards that have been
sold but are not used regularly.
MPT told Reuters last week it
had 8.4 million customers, while
Ooredoo said in its quarterly
report on April 29 that it had 3.3
million. Ooredoo Myanmar CEO
Ross Cormack said on
Wednesday demand had “met, if
not exceeded, our expectations”,
adding most customers were
using the Internet, with 80 percent of those using smartphones.
Telenor has 6.4 million customers in Myanmar, it said on
Wednesday.
It launched with 70 towers
and has been adding 200 a
month. Its network now covers
more than half the population,
TorOddland, a regional vice-president, told Reuters.
Under the terms of their
15-year licence, foreign operators
are required to provide voice services across three-quarters of the
country within five years and
data services across half.
Germany pledges SME aid
A press conference at Inya Lake Hotel, Yangon.
A Nge Htwe
Nilar
MYANMAR ELEVEN
The German Agency for
International Cooperation (GIZ)
will support the development of
small- and medium-sized enterprises along with three Myanmar
banks – the Small and Mediumsized Industrial Development
(SMIDB), Kanbawza and Yoma,
Parliament’s Banks and
Monetary Development
Committee has announced.
Bernd Kuzmits from
Germany’s Ministry for Economic
Cooperation and Development
said: “Myanmar’s SMEs cannot
afford to extend their businesses
as they face many difficulties
securing loans. As a result, those
SMEs cannot create more jobs.
They miss opportunities.
Myanmar is implementing a project in cooperation with the government of Germany to cover
losses in the fiscal sector. This
move aims to ensure stability
and sustainable development.
SMEs are in urgent need of financial assistance.
“As a first step, we are providing financial assistance for SMEs
through three local banks. As
second step, necessary assistance is being provided for the
upgrade of the associations
which offer banking courses, like
Yangon Institute of Economics
and Myanmar Banks Association.
As a third step, efforts are being
EMG
MYANMAR, long one of the
world’s least connected nations
in terms of telecommunications,
is now racing to catch up, providing a boost to the foreign mobile
companies allowed into the
country last year.
The number of mobile phone
SIM cards in the Southeast Asian
country of 51 million people has
shot up to more than 18 million
from around one million just
three years ago, according to
data compiled by Reuters.
That has surprised some of
the foreign entrants, who expected more modest growth in one of
the world’s poorest nations.
“The Myanmar economy has
had more money in circulation
than we had originally expected,”
said Telenor Chief Executive Jon
Fredrik Baksaas on Wednesday,
after the Norwegian mobile firm
posted an unexpected profit in
Myanmar. “We will now increase
the speed of our roll-out.”
Myanmar was ruled for 49
years by the military, which
placed strict controls over communications and built little infrastructure. In a 2012 report, telecoms equipment firm Ericsson
said only about one million people in Myanmar had access to
mobile phones.
Reuters
REUTERS
Yangon
made to exercise international
fiscal standards. Finally, we will
help support the emergence of
better laws and procedures for
the fiscal sector. Germany is
cooperating with the Banks and
Monetary Development
Committee to implement this,”
he added.
Thomas Foerch from the GIZ
said: “There was transparency in
selecting the three Myanmar
banks. They were picked because
they met banking management
standards.”
The GIZ is providing technical
assistances to boost SME development with the project that is
due to run until the end of 2016,
when other banks will be added
to the programme.
ASEAN+
7
MYANMAR ELEVEN, Friday, May 8, 2015
Prayers and ritual baths
as quake mourning ends
AGENCIES
Kathmandu
DRESSED all in white and with
their heads shaved, survivors of
a Nepalese earthquake that killed
more than 7,800 people ended
13 days of mourning Thursday as
the broken capital began picking
up the pieces.
As authorities released figures
showing nearly 300,000 homes
were destroyed by the quake
nationwide, mourners gathered
around a Hindu temple in
Kathmandu for a series of ceremonies that would conclude at
dusk. Groups of mourners
dressed in white, the men with
their heads shaved and women
with uncombed hair, drew religious symbols in the sand before
building small fires at the famous
Pashupatinath complex on the
banks of the Bagmati river.
In a corner of the temple complex, where hundreds of cremations have been performed in the
past fortnight, Hindu priests
recited chants and threw petals
over offerings of rice and other
foods. The mourners took ritual
baths in the river, offering
prayers for their departed loved
ones and making donations of
bedding, mats, umbrellas, clothing and fruit for temple workers.
“The loss is unbearable. We
can only pray they find a home in
heaven,” said Chuda Bhakta
Shrestha, who lost his 61-yearold wife, 32-year-old daughter
and granddaughter, aged four,
when their Kathmandu home
crumbled.
“We have to find a way to continue our lives and find the courage to start anew... There is no
alternative other than to carry
on,” said the 61-year-old.
In its latest update, the
National Emergency Operation
Centre (NEOC) put the death toll
at 7,760 and the number of
injured at 16,432. More than 100
were also killed in India and
China. Body parts are strewn on
the slopes of a mountain in
Nepal, and up to 300 people,
many of them foreigners, are
believed buried there by an avalanche setoff by last month’s devastating earthquake, an official
said on Thursday.
Rescuers pulled out six bodies
from the Langtang village area,
60 km (40 miles) north of
Kathmandu, on Wednesday but
operations were being hampered
by bad weather, said Gautam
Rimal, assistant district administrator in the area.
About 100 bodies were recovered in the area on Saturday and
Sunday and Rimal had previously
said about 120 more were buried
there.
But on Thursday he said the
number could be as high as 300,
including 110 foreigners. “There
are body parts, broken limbsand
pieces of flesh scattered in the
area,” he said.
Kashi Sharma, an officer at
the NEOC, said that 288,798
houses were completely
destroyed in the quake while a
further 254,112 houses had been
partially damaged.
The cost of reconstruction in
one of Asia’s poorest countries
could run to US$5 billion,
according to estimates, setting
the economy back years, just as
it was emerging from a decadelong civil war.
An initial survey this week of
more than 15,000 buildings conducted by 2,400 volunteer engineers, sporting yellow hard hats
and fluorescent orange safety
vests, concluded that a fifth were
damaged “beyond repair”.
“About 20 per cent of homes
and other buildings were totally
damaged. Not collapsed completely but beyond repair due to
weakened structure and foundations,” Dhruba Thapa, president
of the Nepal Engineers’
Association, which is heading the
surveys, told AFP.
Two trafficking victims returned to Laos
VIENTIANE TIMES
At least two people have returned to
Vientiane province after being sold for
sexual services in Thailand.
Officials from the Social Welfare
Office on Wednesday repatriated the
young trafficking victims, who were aged
17 and 18, to their home district in
Vientiane province. They were rescued
by Thai officials before being sent home,
Head of the Labour Social Welfare Office
in Vientiane, Khen Simalavong, said.
“The trafficking network persuaded
these girls to go to Thailand with the
promise of good and comfortable jobs
but in fact they turned out to be sex
services,” he said.
Since earlier this year, about nine
vulnerable people including the two just
repatriated, who were trafficked to
Thailand to work in the flesh trade, have
returned home to Laos.
Villagers in Vientiane province still
rely largely on agriculture and a number
of young people from farming families
have been naive in terms of risks after
receiving seemingly promising offers of
employment only to be deceived by the
trafficking networks.
According to Khen, the worst aspect
of the situation is that young people
travel without legitimate passports,
which is clearly unlawful.
However, they were fortunate enough
to be rescued by Thai officials who
provided them with training before
sending them back to Laos.
Officials expressed concern about
ongoing issues and the networks that try
to lure people to cross the border with
the promise of good and easy jobs.
Travelling without a passport is one
of the main issues that have not yet been
addressed. From 2001 to November
2014, some 2,217 Lao victims of human
trafficking have been rescued from Thai
facilities and repatriated. Between 75-80
per cent of this group are under 18 years
old and 95 per cent are female,
according to the Ministry of Labour and
Social Welfare. Women particularly run
the risk of falling into the sex trade if
they go abroad illegally.
Speaking on condition of anonymity,
officials said the situation in regards to
human trafficking is becoming more
dangerous as trafficking networks are
now approaching families in remote
areas quite openly.
As these people are not highly
educated and are unaware of the
dangers, they are easily convinced by
persuasive offers of employment.
REUTERS
EPA
A Russian woman
cries at the destroyed
Durbar Square while
she pays tribute to
those who died in the
earthquake.
Singapore
teen pleads
not guilty
A Singapore teenager
pleaded not guilty on
Thursday to charges of
spreading obscene images
and offending a religious
group, but was not required
to enter a plea on a harassment charge for comments
he made about late former
premier Lee Kuan Yew.
Amos Yee, 16, appeared
shackled in the Singapore
State Courts after his arrest
in March for comments he
made on social media about
Lee, the founding father of
modern Singapore, and
Christians soon after Lee’s
death at 91.
Yee’s case has reignited
concerns about censorship
and social controls in the
Asian financial hub and has
drawn criticism from human
rights activists.
The packed court included his parents, a youth
counsellor who has offered
to stand bail for him, and
Roy Ngerng, another
Singapore blogger who is
involved in a separate defamation case with Lee’s son,
current Prime Minister Lee
Hsien Loong.
Yee could face up to three
years in jail on the charge of
wounding the religious or
racial feelings of another
person. He has been held on
remand since bail was set
last week at
S$30,000($22,610).
He has also been charged
under the recently enacted
Protection from Harassment
Act over a much-viewed
Youtube video in which he
celebrated the death of Lee,
who died in March and was
cremated after a state funeral. However, the prosecution
chose not to proceed with
the latter charge until after
the first two had been dealt
with. It can either decide to
proceed later or drop the
charge entirely, lawyers said.
“If they (go ahead), we
will cross that bridge when
we get there,” Alfred
Dodwell, one of Yee’s lawyers, said of the harassment
charge, which carries a fine
of up to S$5,000($3,770).
Yee’s case has stirred
heated debate among
Singaporeans about freedom of speech and education. Lee was slapped outside court last week as he
made his way in for a preliminary hearing, and a
49-year-old man was later
arrested.
Some of Yee’s supporters
waited outside the court
from early morning. “I’m a
Christian. I’m not offended,”
said 65-year-old John Loh.
“Even if I was, I’d forgive
him.”
ASEAN+
8
Pacquiao faces
lawsuits for
undisclosed injury
Philippine boxer Manny Pacquiao
underwent surgery to his left
shoulder Wednesday in Los Angeles,
days after losing the welterweight
championship to US fighter Floyd
Mayweather Jr.
Pacquiao injured his shoulder
around three weeks before the fight
but chose go ahead, only announcing
the injury at the last minute. Class
action lawsuits were piling up against
Pacquiao and his promoters for his
failure to disclose his injury before
people bought tickets for the fight
and pay-per-view telecast, ESPN
reported. Five lawsuits were filed on
Tuesday claiming that Pacquiao’s
injury significantly affected his fight
since he was not on top form. All the
suits ask for more than 5 million
dollars in damages. Other fans have
complained they lost on bets for
Pacquiao that they say they would
not have made had they known
about his condition.
- DPA
Thai ‘racist’ opts for
voluntary deportation
The Thai national who incurred
the ire of netizens for calling Filipinos
“pignoys,” “low-class slaves” and
“wriggling cockroaches” on social
media has opted for voluntary
deportation.
Prasertsri Kosin, who was also
fired on Monday from his job at
Cognizant Technology Solutions
Philippines Inc., a business process
outsourcing company in Taguig City,
went to the Bureau of Immigration
(BI) yesterday. This was after the
bureau issued a deportation charge
against him for “undesirability” over
his racist remarks on Facebook.
“The subject national, upon
receiving the charge sheet from our
legal division, surrendered himself to
the bureau and opted for voluntary
deportation. He was supposedly
terminated by his employer and has
been receiving threats. He is now
quarantined in our warden facility as
we procure the necessary orders and
clearances to implement the
deportation,” Immigration
Commissioner Fred Mison said on
his Facebook account.
Tan said Kosin also wrote a letter
of apology to Filipinos.
- PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER
Indonesian court
postpones death row
Frenchman’s appeal
An Indonesian court Thursday
postponed the start of an appeal by a
Frenchman on death row to next
week, indicating the country’s slowmoving justice system could delay
his execution for some time yet.
Serge Atlaoui, 51, had been due
to face the firing squad with seven
other foreign drug convicts last week
but was removed from the list after
authorities agreed to let an
outstanding legal appeal run its
course. In the appeal, Atlaoui, a
welder, is challenging President Joko
Widodo’s decision to reject his
request for clemency, claiming the
Indonesian leader did not properly
consider his case.
A plea for presidential clemency
is typically a death row convict’s final
chance to avoid the firing squad.
- AFP
Hanoi residential areas face
shortage of playgrounds
VIET NAM NEWS
Hanoi
THERE are few parks and
playgrounds in Ha Noi as people
use the space for other purposes,
Chairman of Viet Nam Urban
Planning and Development
Association Tran Ngoc Chinh
said.
At a conference held on the
issue yesterday in Ha Noi, Chinh
said it was a pity that residents,
particularly children, did not
have space to play, entertain or
chat with neighbours in residential areas, as these spaces were
being used for parking, business
or other purposes.
Old buildings in the capital
city, built in 1970s, such as Kim
Lien, Trung Tu, Giang Vo and
Nguyen Cong Tru buildings, had
yards sandwiched between
apartment buildings, he said.
These yards were usually
large and full of flowers and
shady trees, as the idea was to
provide space to children to play,
young people to exercise and the
elderly to have tea and chat,
Chinh said.
“That public space is now
reduced, destroyed or replaced
by houses, walls, stores and food
stalls, besides parking areas,” he
said.
He said inadequate management caused the reduction in
public space and shortage of
playgrounds for children.
For instance, about 17,000
residents in Trung Phung Ward,
Dong Da District, share a playground of just 30sq.m.
Playgrounds in residential
areas were reportedly downgraded and termed unhygienic, as it
became unsafe for people, particularly children, to do recreational activities there, he said.
A researcher in a non-governmental organisation
HealthBridge, Nguyen Thi Hien
Viet Nam News
GLOBAL
BRIEFS
MYANMAR ELEVEN, Friday, May 8, 2015
Part of the play ground in Van Chuong Apartment Building in Dong Da District were occupied for
parking and business.
said there were 67 parks, flower
gardens and sport grounds with
a total area of more than 365ha
in the inner areas of Ha Noi,
accounting for 1.92 per cent of
the citys total land area.
Each resident in the citys
inner area now has an average
2.08 sq.m of park/ flower garden, expected to increase to 2.43
sq.m by 2030, Hien said, citing
the city’s planning for trees,
parks, flower gardens and lakes
in Ha Noi by 2030, towards
2050. She said parks and flower
gardens in residential areas were
not planned, designed, invested
and managed well.
The city faced a shortage of
land funds, she said, adding public facilities had to compete with
each other or compete with private projects, in which the public
land-use right was auctioned to
the private sector.
Director of Architecture
Institute- Viet Nam Association
of Architects La Thi Kim Ngan
said for a long time, the city concentrated on developing houses,
without paying adequate attention to public facilities such as
playgrounds or flower gardens.
“The major causes are illmanaged population growth,
economic difficulties and poor
urban management,” she said.
The shortage of public space
forces children to hunch in front
of computer screens to play
games, ignoring outdoor social
activities, and gives adults less
chance for social communication
and recreational activities.
No new Indonesian maids to Mid-East
THE STRAITS TIMES
Indonesia will stop sending
new domestic workers to 21
Middle Eastern countries, a
move expected to take effect in
three months, government officials said.
It will also impose restrictions on the type of Indonesian
foreign workers who can work in
Asia-Pacific countries, including
Singapore, they added.
The manpower ministry’s
director-general for labour
placement and protection,
Reyna Usman, told The Straits
Times that Indonesia wants to
set up a joint working group
with each Asia-Pacific country
to find out the type of household task that needs to be performed and set competency
standards before deciding how
manpower can be supplied.
“It will no longer be ‘maid’,
but cook, driver, babysitter, car-
egiver or housekeeper, and they
will be trained for specific
tasks,” she said, adding that
details are still being discussed.
She was speaking from
Singapore, where she was meeting Indonesian embassy officials to assess manpower
issues there.
On Monday, manpower minister Hanif Dhakiri told reporters
that his ministry has signed a
decree to stop sending new
domestic workers to the Middle
East as part of a roadmap to
end the supply of domestic
workers by 2020.
It is a permanent move but
those already working in the
affected countries can continue
to do so. Some 4,700 domestic
workers preparing to leave for
the Middle East will be the last
batch, the minister said.
The move widens an earlier
ban in 2011, when Indonesia
barred its women from working
in Saudi Arabia after an
Indonesian maid was beheaded
for killing her employer who had
abused her.
It is part of president Joko
Widodo’s declared goal of stopping Indonesian women from
working as maids overseas in
five years’ time due to what he
saw as the lack of protection for
them.
He also said performing
“menial tasks” for low wages
lowers Indonesia’s dignity.
Jakarta has long been concerned about the treatment of
Indonesian domestic workers in
the Middle East.
The execution of two maids
Siti Zainab and Karni Medi
Tarsim for murder by Saudi
authorities last month angered
Jakarta, which said it had not
been informed beforehand.
As many as 2.3 million
Indonesians are working
abroad, mostly in Malaysia. Of
this number, 1.2 million are illegal workers. Previous attempts
to curb Indonesians from going
overseas as domestic workers
had not worked.
Reyna told The Straits Times
the ministry is serious this time.
“This is president (Joko) and he
has said no more talk, but work,
work, work,” she said, referring
to the leader’s motto.
Migrant worker activists have
urged caution.
“The ban is drastic. We do
not hear of any consultation
done with NGOs that look into
the welfare of domestic workers... or whether there have
been preparations for them to
work elsewhere,” said executive
director of Migrant Care Anis
Hidayah.
“These workers bring in a lot
of money for the country and
their choice of where to work is
their basic human right.”
MYANMAR ELEVEN, Friday, May 8, 2015
9
ASEAN+
Thailand, VN aim to boost growth
through weaker currencies
AFP, THE NATION
VIETNAM’S central bank said
Thursday it would devalue the
dong currency for the second
time this year in a bid to boost
exports and drive the economy
forward.
The State Bank of Vietnam
(SBV) will devalue the reference
rate by one per cent to 21,673
Vietnamese dong per dollar to
“cope with adverse impacts of
international markets”, it said in
a statement.
The dong was last devalued by
one per cent in January.
The second devaluation of the
dong in five months follows the
“evolution of national and international financial markets”, the
SBV statement said.
The new measure came into
force Thursday.
In December SBV governor
Nguyen Van Binh said that the
regulator will not weaken the
dong by more than two per cent
in 2015.
The dong devaluation will help
keep Vietnam’s thriving exports including smartphones and other
electronics manufactured by
Korean giant Samsung in its
Vietnamese factories - competitive with regional rivals.
Rising exports helped Vietnam
to achieve its highest GDP
growth in three years in 2014
with the economy growing an
estimated 5.98 per cent, while
inflation slowed to 4.09 per cent,
official figures showed.
But the exports boom has yet
to spill over into the domestic
economy, which remains sluggish in part due to lingering
problems in the banking sector
and the dominance of inefficient
state-owned enterprises.
Vietnam’s central bank cut
policy interest rates last year to
spur lending and help businesses. The government is targeting
growth of 6.2 per cent this year.
The weaker baht is also
expected to boost the Thai economy. The Thai government has
expressed its optimism that the
export target this year would be
achieved thanks to the recent
depreciation in the Thai baht as
well as a slight improvement the
euro zone economy.
Government Spokesperson Dr
Yongyuth Mayalarp told reporters
that the Bank of Thailand’s
recent measures are positive to
the export sector, as this should
boost the competitiveness and
ensure that the Commerce
Ministry’s 1.2 per cent export target would be achieved.
He also noted that the
European Commission’s upward
revision in the European Union
economic growth projection in
2015 from 1.7 per cent to 1.8 per
cent should also boost demand
for Thai exports.
Nine per cent of Thai exports
is destined to the bloc. The baht
lost more than 1 per cent to
33.43 per dollar on Thursday, its
weakest since January 2010.
Last week, the central bank
made a surprise cut to the policy
rate. It also eased capital account
restrictions to facilitate crossborder capital flows.
Bank of Thailand Governor
Prasarn Trairatvorakul on
Thursday attributed the weakening to several factors, including
the rate cut, the easing of the
capital account restrictions as
well as the improvement in some
US economic indicators.
He is convinced that the weakening baht would support
Thailand’s economic recovery,
citing that the first-quarter
growth was slower than expected
due mainly to export contraction.
Yet, he insisted that no more
measures are planned to further
weaken the Thai baht against US
dollar.
EPA
Thai visitors
inspect
smartphones at
the Thailand
Mobile Expo 2015
Showcase in
Bangkok. Over 97
million mobile
phones are
subscribed for 67
million people in
Thailand.
Tough turnaround for Malaysia Airlines
THE STAR
Malaysia Airlines’ (MAS) new
chief executive officer (CEO),
Christoph Mueller, in his first
message to 20,000 employees
has warned of massive cost cuts,
as the chilling truth is that the
airline’s cost has been 20 per
cent above that of its competitors.
He also pointed out that this
year would be more challenging
than anticipated. The strong US
dollar has hurt its operations,
and as a result, MAS has not fully
benefited from the lower jet fuel
prices.
For now, demand for the airline’s services in key markets is
still sluggish despite MAS offering high discounts on its ticket
prices.
He also said that MAS’ payroll
cost was too high.
“We cannot turn the airline
around by fixing the revenue side
alone. The contrary is the case.
The reason for our precarious situation is mainly our uncompetitive cost levels. We share this
problem with almost all legacy
carriers around the world, and
new low-cost carriers are attacking us,’’ he said in the three-page
email dated May 5 to all employ-
ees, a copy of which was
obtained by StarBiz.
In order to grow, Mueller
pointed out that “sometimes we
have to retreat and regroup
before growing again. That is the
ultimate target, we want to grow
again in the last phase of the
restructuring”.
Mueller took over as managing director/group CEO on May 1
from Ahmad Jauhari Yahya. He
will engineer the migration of the
current MAS to the new company, MAS Bhd, which will take
over the airline’s operations on
Sept 1.
Just five days into the job,
Mueller quickly engaged with the
airline’s employees. He had earlier met up with MAS’ powerful
unions.
Job uncertainty is a major
concern within the airline, as
employees are eager to find out if
they will still have jobs after June
1. They also want to know what
the new terms and conditions are
going to be if they are rehired for
the new MAS, and for those not
hired, they want to know the
quantum of compensation they
will get.
Mueller did provide clues on
the many issues in his email
minus the exact details.
GLOBAL
BRIEFS
Indonesia considers
rejoining Opec
Indonesia is considering rejoining
the Organizationof Petroleum
Exporting Countries (Opec), its
energy minister said Thursday. The
country was Southeast Asia’s only
member of Opec but left in2008 after
it stopped being a net exporter of oil.
“We’re considering being active
again at Opec because after we left,
we are no longer responsive to
market dynamics,” Energy and
Mineral Resources Minister Sudirman
Said said. Sudirman said Indonesia
would attend Opec meetings as an
observer this year. It was not clear
what type of membership it was
considering in the longer term.
Indonesia exports some crude oil,
but still imports enough refined
petroleum products to make it a net
importer. It is a net exporter of
natural gas.
- DPA
Investment soars in
Vientiane
Local and foreign investments for
Laos’ capital city worth more than
9.72 trillion kip in 154 projects were
approved by the Vientiane Planning
and Investment Department in the
first six months of the 2014-15 fiscal
year.
“The figure of 9.72 trillion kip
almost fulfils the department’s
investment target for the year of 12
trillion kip,” the agency said in its
report.
The 154 projects consist of
general investment projects worth
around 9.54 trillion kip, while five
others involve land concessions on
48.3 hectares worth 180.24 billion
kip. The general investment projects
are in the fields of trade and services,
while the land concessions were
awarded for real estate development
and shopping centres.
The 48.3 hectares of land were
conceded to three local companies,
one Lao-Chinese company, and one
French company.
One of the most recent property
developments is the Vientiane Centre
at Nongchanh in Sisattanak district,
which opened in March with an
investment of about 600 billion kip
(US$75 million).
Another major development is
That Luang Square, which opened
last month in Xaysettha district. It
cost more than 98.4 billion kip
(US$12.3 million) and was backed by
local investors.
- VIENTIANE TIMES
Tigerair’s turnaround
efforts bring results
Tigerair has made some good
progress on an aggressive turnaround plan launched a year ago to
stem mounting losses.
The budget carrier is not out of
the woods yet, but losses have
narrowed markedly as it continues to
ground planes, cut unprofitable
routes and focus on boosting
services so it can charge travellers
higher fares.
Tigerair’s net loss for the three
months to March 31 plummeted to
S$18.8 million (US$14.14 million)
from S$95.5 million a year earlier,
the airline reported yesterday.
The total loss for the year to
March 31 was S$264.2 million,
compared with the previous year’s
S$223 million.
- THE STRAITS TIMES
LIFESTYLE
10
MYANMAR ELEVEN, Friday, May 8, 2015
Shorter concert, better quality
We want to create a new opportunity for people in
the music industry. We can hold a concert for 500
people in Yangon as well as in Myingyan. A concert
should have its expected duration just like a puppet
show or a movie screening. We want to create a
new culture, a new lifestyle. I want others to help us
make it happen.
Lin Lin Khaing
MYANMAR ELEVEN
Rock group Iron Cross will stage four monthly
solo concerts by each of the group’s four rockers:
Lay Phyu, A Nge, Myo Gyi, and Y Wine. The 90-minute concerts aim to set the standard for other concerts that mostly last more than two hours. The
“Live 90” concert series will kick off with a performance by Lay Phyu on May 15 at Myanmar Event
Park, which will be televised live. The rocker sat
down recently with Myanmar Eleven to discuss the
merits of the 90-minute format and live broadcasting.
Will all concerts be held in Yangon only?
For the first series, yes. After that, we’re thinking
about staging concerts in somewhere else as well.
While Myo Gyi is performing in Yangon, A Nge may
be performing in Pyin Oo Lwin, for example. It’s my
attempt [to improve] our music industry. When this
happens, we will be able to fulfill the need for copyright [protection]. Our country has much potential
to generate income with our artistic skills. Among
the entertainment sectors, the music [industry]
doesn’t need much to reach the international level.
The only obstacle is language. This is not difficult
for those kids who have been learning English since
kindergarten. We need to prepare [them] for the
international trends.
Tell us about the concert series.
The concert is a joint collaboration between Iron
Cross and Family Entertainment. My concert takes
place this month, followed by the one by A Nge in
June, Myo Gyi in July, and Y Wine in August. After
this concert series, we’re planning another series
from September to December. We have high expectations regarding this series.
We’re not really the first band adopting this
90-minute concert format. It’s not our principle
either. The format has been in use in other countries where concerts last between 60 and 90 minutes. In Myanmar, concerts go on and on for three
and a half to four hours. It has become like a tradition now. We don’t want the fans that are coming to
our ‘one man show’ to have any misunderstandings.
Our concert will run for 90 minutes as stated in our
concert title. I want to encourage other artists to
adopt this practice.
To put it simply, you can perform for 60 minutes
under this format if you have only released one
album. You can have two songs by artists you
respect and invite a friend to perform with you as a
guest. I want this platform in place. Our group has
made a lot of investment. The concerts will be
broadcast live on 4HD and 5 Special channels. We
plan to broadcast the second series nationwide on
free to air channels in September.
Why does the new format matter?
A major advantage is that if an artist is performing at Sanchaung, fans can go and watch another
artist performing in Insein later. There are 1,000
tickets to my solo concert. Given the fame of Iron
Cross, we could sell at least 3,000 or 4,000 tickets
for each concert. There may be fans who have
come to our concerts for several times. It’s difficult
to stage a big concert these days. In the past, we
even had to seek permission from the Deputy
Commander. Now we have to apply for permission
from the regional chief after the civil government
took office. Not many concerts receive permission.
No live broadcasting ever in the past. Why
now?
I want this format to take off in this country.
When a concert’s format is more compact, the
music quality could reach a level that we have
never seen before. Many people asked why Iron
Cross [concerts] never went live on TV. Well, we
weren’t ready [back then]. Now we are able to
broadcast our concerts on TV with high quality by
cooperating with some experts. We have been discussing this format for two years now, with lots of
preparations to make. We plan to award Ks
200,000 (US$200) to each composer for this
broadcast. The set list covers 16 songs.
In what ways is this solo concert different from
your previous ones?
It’s much different in terms of duration. We normally performed for three and a half hours. But
with the new format, it’s down to only 90 minutes
this time. We have both regular fans who have been
to our concerts many times and those have seen us
once in concert. We will try to make sure our concert series is worth attending. We will perform our
best with 16 songs.
Will Iron Cross stage concerts regularly?
Yes. As usual, we will perform during major festivals like Thingyan and New Year. We will focus on
our ‘smaller’ concerts so that this format will over
time be adopted by fellow singers. I.C (Iron Cross)
will carry on in both ways, though: long big concerts and 90-miinute concerts.
Lay Phyu
Myanmar artists help survivors of Nepal quake Hip-hop, R&B artists
Sone Thin Par and other artists come together to donate their money to the
Nepal-Myanmar Friendship Association to help survivors in quake-hit
Nepal.
MYANMAR ELEVEN
Artist Sone Thin Par and Dream Lover band
made a donation of Ks1.6 million (US$1,600) to
the Nepal-Myanmar Friendship Association to
help survivors of Nepal’s devastating
earthquake. The sum was raised during the
artist’s solo concert held last Saturday in
Yangon. “During my solo concert, Ko A Nge and
his wife, Pauk Si (Aye Wutt Yee Thaung) and
Sweet Wutt Yee Thaung, and Ma Kabyar [Bwe
Hmuu] showcased their benevolence. [Nepal] is
our neighbouring country so we want to help
the victims who are suffering as a result of the
earthquake. As we have received this money for
our artistic work and other fellow artists, we’ve
decided to donate the sum for this cause,” said
Sone Thin Par.
“It feels great to have been given the chance
to participate in this donation scheme. I want to
pray for all the earthquake victims to be free
from danger and suffering,” she added.
“In our country, the Nepal-Myanmar
Friendship Association has carried out activities
in the past. We’re arranging this programme so
that we can help as much as we can. We will
arrange for other artists and donors from
across the country to participate in this
donation programme,” said composer Win Min
Htwe, who’s well connected with the NepalMyanmar Friendship Association.
To make a donation to the Nepal-Myanmar
Friendship Association, contact composers Win
Min Htwe at 095185545, Min Chit Thu at
095145679, and Maung Win at 0943122540.
Donations can be made via KBZ Bank’s account
number 1541-220001374.
on tour in the US
MYANMAR ELEVEN
Local hip-hop and R&B artists will perform a
concert titled “7 Stars Date Date Kyel Night” in
San Francisco this Saturday as part of their
concert tour in the United States that covers
three cities.
The concert features renowned hip-hop artists: Sai Sai Kham Leng, Bunny Phyoe, Nanda
Sai, Mi Sandi, Thiri Swe, and Snare. This is Sai
Sai Kham Leng’s first time to perform in the US.
“The main reason for organising this concert
is we want to bring along Sai Sai on our US
tour. So we decided to arrange a concert with
him. Now there are seven young artists beside
Sai Sai.
We plan to stage a concert every Saturday,”
said Soe Naing Tun, also known as Eikyarkway,
from Shwesin Entertainment.
The concert will start at 5.30 pm and tickets
range between US$45 and US$55. There are
plans to sell VIP tickets. Myanmar food will be
sold in the afternoon prior to the concert.