Dear readers, - Myanmar Eleven E

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EPA
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NATIONAL: NAY PYI TAW AWAITS JAPANESE PENGUINS ✪3
First INDEPENDENT English daily
www.elevenmyanmar.com
WEDNESDAY, February 11, 2015
Dear readers,
Chaotic Union Day
Myanmar Eleven has
celebrated the first
anniversary and we
are thankful for your
overwhelming
supports.
However, starting
from this week, we
need to reduce the
number of our copies
from 5 days to 3
(Monday, Wednesday
and Friday). Despite
this change, we are
striving to remain as
your best source of
news from Myanmar.
Ahead of Union Day, conflicts with some ethnic groups continue and worry neighbours like China
MYANMAR ELEVEN
Workers at Thiriminglar
fruit, vegetable and
flower wholesale market
in Yangon carry on with
normal life, though
some parts of the
country is battered by
conflicts.
INSIDE
NATIONAL
REUTERS
Some armed ethnic groups
may not appear at the ceremony
to mark Union Day tomorrow,
amid continuing military conflicts in some parts of the country.
According to transborder
news, Rimond Htoo, the general
secretary of Karenni National
Progressive Party (KNPP), said
the Union government has initiated a peace talk but there has
been no progress. As the peace
talk is merely a political game,
KNPP may not join a talk in Nay
Pyi Taw tomorrow, he said. The
website also quoted Shan State
Army leader Yod Suk as saying
that a representative would join
the talk. “We will ask if they are
willing to compromise. If not, we
won’t sign the pact. Several parties expect this talk to flop given
continuing conflicts.”
Early this year, the government’s Union Peacemaking
Working Committee (UPWC) and
the Nationwide Ceasefire
Coordination Team (NCCT), a
coalition of 16 armed ethnic
groups, expect the nation-wide
ceasefire agreement to be signed
on Union Day. Later, the armed
ethnic groups instead proposed
the signing of a federal union
pact, to guarantee autonomy of
each state. They said this pact
would lead the way to the nationwide ceasefire agreement.
Conflicts in the past six decades have forced people away
from home. According to the
United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees,
while violence in Rakhine State
in 2012 forced around 140,000
people to flee their homes, more
than 100,000 in Kachin and
Shan states have been displaced.
They are living in camps in both
government-controlled areas as
well as borders.
Fighting has continued in
Kachin and Shan states.
According to Reuters, on
Monday, the fighting flared up in
the Kokang region of northeast
Govt urged to suspend controversial mine project
MYANMAR ELEVEN
Rights activists called for an
investigation by Canadian, UK
and Chinese authorities into a
mining project in Myanmar that
has been accused of abusing
the rights of local residents.
Amnesty International said
in a report released yesterday
that Canadian and Chinese
mining interests have profited
from, and in some cases colluded with the Myanmar authorities in serious human rights
abuses and illegal activity
around the Monywa copper
mine complex, which includes
the notorious Letpadaungtuang
mine. It called for the immediate suspension of the
Letpaduangtuang mine.
“Myanmar offers the perfect
storm of a rich natural resource
base, a weak legal system and
an economy dominated by military and special interests,” said
Meghna Abraham, Amnesty
International’s Corporate
Crimes Researcher. “The
Monywa project is a cautionary
tale on investment in Myanmar,
where corporate projects are
too often marked by abuses
and communities are ripped
apart in the pursuit of profit.”
Canada-based Ivanhoe
Mines and China-based
Wanbao are at the centre of
attention. While Ivanhoe may
have breached Canada and UK
economic sanctions to win the
deal from the junta government, Wanbao should be investigated for its role in clashes
with local residents.
Ivanhoe was part of the joint
venture winning the Monywa
project in 1996. Wanbao took
control of the project in 2010,
three years after Ivanhoe’s
divestment.
Amnesty International report
showed that thousands of people forcibly evicted in the
1990s, in violation of international law, to make way for the
investment. Thousands more
people forcibly evicted since
2011 to make way for the
Letpadaungtuang mine.
It urged the Myanmar
authorities to provide adequate
compensation and resettlement
to people who were forcibly
evicted and to reform its legal
framework to better protect
rights of mine-affected communities.
Myanmar’s Shan State between
rebels from a group called the
Myanmar National Democratic
Alliance Army (MNDAA) and the
army.
China’s foreign ministry
spokeswoman Hua Chunying told
a daily news briefing yesterday
that renewed fighting forced
civilians to cross the border to
seek refuge in China.
“From yesterday (Monday)
until today (Tuesday), some
Myanmar border residents,
because of safety considerations,
entered China. They have been
looked after,” she said without
giving numbers.
Hua said China would pay
close attention to how the situation developed, believing that
Myanmar would work hard for
this.
“We hope that relevant parties in northern Myanmar can
resolve their differences via continuing to uphold peaceful talks
and prevent the clashes from
escalating and affecting border
stability, especially from affecting security and order on the
Chinese side.”
Fighting between the rebels
and the army in 2009 pushed
tens of thousands of refugees
into southwestern China, angering the government in Beijing.
Myanmar has only 150
tigers left
✪2
BUSINESS
China to help build rice
mills
✪5
ASEAN+
Anwar jailed for 5 years
after losing appeal
✪7
NATIONAL
2
MYANMAR ELEVEN, Wednesday, February 11, 2015
WB’s financing to improve
maternal, infant health
onto the United Nations’ ‘Scaling
Up Nutrition’ (SUN) movement.
Under the plan, the government
aimed to tackle malnutrition
among children, one of the country’s biggest development challenges. Unicef showed that
Myanmar has the third highest
malnutrition rate across
Southeast Asia after Cambodia
and East Timor.
With the funding from World
Bank, communities will receive
grants for health services at the
local level and support for
implementing inclusive planning, resource management,
improved local oversight and
community engagement. For
rural health centres, the grants
might allow basic health staff,
like midwives, to make more
frequent visits to the homes of
MYANMAR ELEVEN
MORE than 4 million pregnant
women and young children will
benefit from the World Bank’s
financing, granted to support the
country’s universal health coverage scheme.
The new agreement was
signed with the government on
February 5, to bring improved
maternal, newborn and child
healthcare to millions of mothers
and their young children. The
Essential Health Services Access
Project will provide US$100 million in funding for increased and
improved coverage of critical
health services across
Myanmar’s 330 townships.
It followed the government’s
decision on May 2013 to join
other 45 countries in signing
pregnant women, infants, and
young children to provide needed care, ensure timely immunisations, and to give families
nutrition and hygiene education.
“We are pleased to be able to
invest in quality health services
for all people in Myanmar. Better
health services will improve the
quality of life for mothers and
their young children, and, ultimately, will help bring us closer
to achieving the ambitious goal
of universal health coverage,”
said Thein Thein Htay, deputy
health minister.
The project is supported with
credit from the International
Development Association (IDA),
the World Bank Group’s fund for
the world’s poorest countries.
This support for Myanmar’s
move toward universal health
coverage is part of the World
Bank Group’s US$2 billion multi-year development package
announced by World Bank
Group President Jim Yong Kim
during his visit to Myanmar in
early 2014.
“The World Bank Group
warmly welcomes Myanmar’s
goal and programmes to
achieve universal health coverage, and we are pleased to offer
our strong support for this project,” said Ulrich Zachau, World
Bank Country Director for
Southeast Asia. “Good maternal, newborn and child healthcare is critical for Myanmar.
This project will help bring
more and better essential
health services to Myanmar
mothers and children.”
Myanmar has only 150 tigers left
Hsan Htoo Aung
MYANMAR ELEVEN
A Bengal tiger seen in
Thamanthi Wildlife
Sanctuary in Myanmar.
The Ministry of
Environmental
Conservation and Forestry
is carrying out tiger conservation tasks as only
about 150 tigers are left in
the country, according to
forestry officials.
There are nine tiger
species around the world.
Among them, three tiger
species are now disappearing. In Myanmar,
there are two species
namely Bengal and
Indochina.
“To observe the cat
species including tiger,
closed-circuit cameras
were installed throughout
the Thamanthi Wildlife
Sanctuary starting from
January 6 to 10. Due to
the result, 37 mammal
species, 181 bird species,
25 turtle species, four fish
species and 25 butterfly
species have been found
in the wildlife sanctuary,” said
an official from the Ministry of
Environmental Conservation
and Forestry.
In Myanmar, tiger conservation tasks are being carried
out in Hugaung Valley in
Kachin State, Thamanthi
Wildlife Sanctuary in Sagaing
Region and Taninthari Natural
Forest Reserve.
Among the tiger conservation areas, Hugaung valley is
the world’s largest tiger conservation region that has 6,708
square mile area.
To increase the number of
tigers, Myanmar is now participating in Global Tiger
Reproductive Program and it
expects to increase its tiger
population to 120 by 2022.
The ministry is also launching a crackdown on illegal tiger
smuggling and implementing
tough regulations to control
the decreasing tiger population in cooperation with the
Wildlife and Floral
International Trade Convention
and other international organisations.
33 Myanmar
trainees
leave jobs,
claim refugee
status
THE YOMIURI SHIMBUN
Japan
Thirty-three technical trainees
from Myanmar disappeared from
job sites in Ibaraki Prefecture last
year and later applied for refugee
status, it has been learned.
Following the revelation that a
Nepalese broker taught other
Nepalese how to create false
refugee applications, the
Immigration Bureau believes it is
likely other foreign nationals are
doing the same so they can find
better jobs.
Since a revision was made in
2010, the system has been granting
applicants for refugee status - even
technical trainees who leave their
jobs - permission to work
elsewhere for six months.
The trainees were being
supervised by Hasaki Kokusai
Koryu Kyodo Kumiai, an
organisation based in Kamisu,
Ibaraki Prefecture.
The group said it accepted 35
Myanmar trainees and set them up
with jobs, such as those at marine
product processing plants, from
December 2013 to May 2014.
But in June, three of them
stopped showing up for work.
Almost every month after that, a
few more would disappear.
Apart from two trainees who
returned home due to illness, the
remaining 33 had vanished by
December.
All of the remaining 33 trainees
have applied for refugee status.
Their ages range from 22 to 34
years, and 23 are men.
The group said it has since
learned some of the trainees are
working in Gunma Prefecture.
According to the organisation, it
has been unable to contact the
company in Yangon that sent the
trainees to Japan since last
summer.
Another organisation in nearby
Choshi, Chiba Prefecture, said 25
of the 34 trainees it accepted from
the same Yangon company have
since disappeared.
Last year, an estimated 434
people from Myanmar applied for
refugee status. Myanmar
accounted for the fourth-highest
number after Nepal, Turkey and Sri
Lanka.
MYANMAR ELEVEN, Wednesday, February 11, 2015
National
3
NEWS
DIGEST
EMG
Zoo to buy Japanese
penguins
Three columns of students are heading towards Yangon, with immense supports from local residents living along the way, to
step up their efforts to have the national education law amended.
Govt, ethnic groups pressed
to proceed with peace talk
MYANMAR ELEVEN
CIVIL society organisations
(CSOs) have pressed for the government and ethnic groups to
proceed with the peace talks, following the stalled negotiation in
the nation-wide ceasefire agreement.
Gathering at the ninth CSO
peace forum at the Myanmar
Peace Centre in Yangon last
weekend, they demanded pledges from the Union Peacemaking
Working Committee (UPWC) and
the Nationwide Ceasefire
Coordination Team (NCCT) to
continue peace talks beyond the
2015 general election.
The CSOs hope the pledges
will hold both parties accountable for implementing previously
settled points, signing a nationwide ceasefire deal, holding a
political dialogue, approving a
peace deal without bringing it
before the Union parliament
again, drafting a policy on peace
building and directing financial
support toward programmes that
support peace.
Union Minister Aung Min, the
vice-chairman of the UPWC,
spoke with delegates at the
peace forum. He pointed out that
all the points put forward by the
CSOs are already included in the
draft of the Nationwide Ceasefire
Accord, so if the accord is
signed, all those points would be
satisfied.
Also at the forum, CSO members discussed military matters,
the issue of building trust with
participants in the peace process
and public participation in the
peace process.
“Our aim is to spotlight why
the peace process is delayed,
despite all of the agreed-upon
points between the two sides,”
said Nyein Foundation representative Nan Yaw.
The CSOs also urged both the
government and ethnic armed
groups not to sell lands where
conflict has displaced people
from their homes. Their proposal that the land abandoned in the
wake of conflicts should not be
sold was sent to both the UPWC,
which represents the government, and the NCCT, which represents the ethnic armed groups.
The civic organisations’ message also said arresting and
abusing people under legal pretexts, including the unlawful
association law, should be
stopped.
“If authorities are found to be
arresting innocent people using
those laws, action shall be taken
effectively. Bomb and bullet
shells shall be removed from villages where conflicts occurred.
Villages shall not be held hostage, and sexual abuse shall be
stopped,” the message said.
The organisations also
stressed that internally displaced
persons (IDPs) should be provided with necessary assistance,
and media should be free to collect information in conflict
areas.
Meanwhile, the CSOs tasked
itself to compile a report on
Myanmar’s human rights situation and send it to the United
Nations.
The report, the first of its
kind, will emphasise freedom of
expression, the role of groups
protecting human rights, farmland and development, the role
of the human rights commission, legal reforms, the rule of
law, freedom of religious rights
and armed conflicts.
“We represent more than 20
organisations. We are collectively compiling the report. Our
heading is Universal Periodic
Review. The first draft will be
issued after all organisations put
forward the points they want.
After that we will call a meeting
in order to respond to the suggestions. We hope the draft
should have been finished by
mid-March and the report will
be sent at the end of the
month,” Aung Myo Min of
Equality Myanmar said.
“We have a report on human
rights to be submitted to the
UN. The organisations working
for child rights will put forward a
report on child rights,” Aung
Myo Min said.
The compilation of the report
started last November and
includes input from the
Assistance Association for
Political Prisoners (AAPP),
Bureau Partnership, Equality
Myanmar, ethnic human rights
organisations, community-based
bodies from Yangon and
Mandalay, groups representing
farmers and workers and different religious groups.
The CSOs claim the government turned a blind eye to the
rights of individual citizens and
the voices of the people, that the
administrative sector interfered
in the judiciary and that the current reform process has stalled.
Media freedom motion crushed Wai Yan Phyo Oo, Myo Min Htet
MYANMAR ELEVEN
The majority of MPs voted
down an opposition motion that
calls for the government’s
assurance of media freedom.
The motion was defeated by 217
votes to 51.
Phyo Min Thein, MP from the
National League for Democracy
(NLD) for Hlegu Township in
Yangon who submitted the
motion, said media needs freedom and take responsibility and
accountability for its own
actions. In a democratic transition, media freedom is essential, he said. Only with complete
media freedom could the people monitor the government in a
democratic way.
“There are several instances
of how the media is intentionally targeted for oppression.
Everyone knows that the murder
of freelance reporter Par Gyi
has horrified the whole industry.
Another example is the
Information Ministry’s lawsuit
against Eleven Media Group
[EMG] (for reports on the loss
of public funds). Another case is
about Unity Weekly’s coverage
of a secret chemical weapons
factory in Pauk Township. It is
clear that media freedom is
being systematically
encroached upon,” Phyo Min
Thein told Parliament.
Pike Htwe, the deputy minister of information, lashed back.
He insisted the ministry consulted the interim press council
before taking legal actions.
“There’s no reason for jour-
nalists to end up in court if they
follow media ethics regulated by
the Press Council and the
standing laws.”
Disappointed, Phyo Min
Thein vowed to fight on. “I said
the Lower House is responsible
for pushing for liberty of information. I won’t give up.”
NLD chairperson Aung San
Suu Kyi said: “The proposal just
called for matters to be run in
line with the law. I have no idea
why it was rejected.”
Myanmar will buy Japanese
penguins for more than US$70,000
to be displayed at the Nay Pyi Taw
Zoological Gardens, according to
the zoo’s administrator.
Than Soe Aye said they would
replace the penguins which died of a
fungal disease six months ago. They
drew a number of visitors
“We already paid half of the
price for five pairs of Japanese
penguins. The cost is about
US$7,500 per penguin. They will be
here before the end of February,”
said the administrator.
The penguin house in the
gardens has been upgraded to
prevent any diseases from
reoccurring in the penguins due to
temperature and environmental
changes. There are experts from the
Czech Republic providing technical
training on how to keep them.
The zoo is also said to be
upgrading its medical equipment
to treat its animals.
Ethnic census release
delayed
The Central Census Commission
cannot release the exact figures for
the different ethnic groups before
this year’s general election,
according to the director general of
the Ministry of Immigration and
Population Myint Kyaing, who is also
on the Central Census Commission.
The nationwide census is to be
released in May.
“It is impossible to release a
census for each ethnic group at a
time when the nationwide census is
announced in May this year. We could
release it only after a series of
discussions with ethnic
representatives, the national races
affairs committee of Parliament,
historians and population experts.
We cannot release it while the ethnic
leaders have yet to confirm it,” he
said.
The commission is in talks with
ethnic groups who claim their
numbers have been reduced in the
census and ethnic names may be
misspelled.
Ethnic census is a key to the
election of ethnic representatives.
An official from Mon Census
Taking Committee said despite about
100,000 Mon population in Yangon,
without exact census these people
lost a chance to elect a Mon national
affairs minister.
Myanmar migrant
workers flee
crackdown
Hundreds of undocumented
Myanmar migrant workers in
Thailand’s Tak province are fleeing
to Myawaddy after Thai police
launched a crackdown early this
month.
“The crackdown on Myanmar
workers started on February 1. So
far, the Thai police have detained
about 600 Myanmar migrant
workers,” said Moe Gyo, generalsecretary of Myanmar Migrant
Worker Rights Network and chair of
the Joint Action Committee for
Burmese Affairs.
Over 100 undocumented
Myanmar migrant workers and
three factory owners from Mae Sot
were arrested. The police also
arrested 15 factory owners on the
first week of February, he added.
KYAT EXCHANGE
BUSINESS
Buy
Sell
US $
1,024
1,035
Euro ¤
1,154
1,172
752
764
Singapore $
Source: KBZ Bank
4
MYANMAR ELEVEN, Wednesday, February 11, 2015
Exchange developer
rules out OTC market
MYANMAR ELEVEN
OVER-the-counter (OTC) market will not be permitted if it hinders the growth of Yangon Stock
Exchange, according to Makoto
Akasaka, managing director of
Daiwa Securities.
“Cambodia and Laos started
with two or three listed companies but as they permitted dealings in OTC market, their stock
exchanges have not seen significant growth. We won’t let
Myanmar follow this road,” said
Akasaka.
Myanmar has potential to
become a big market but it is
not yet able to forecast on the
capital of the stock exchange,
he added.
“Like in Vietnam, the Yangon
Stock Exchange will kick off
with a few companies and grad-
ually expand in number of listed
companies in two or three
years.”
Vietnam’s stock exchange –
established in 2000 – is now
running successfully with 304
listed companies and the market capital is US$304 billion
forming one-thirds of its GDP.
“We can’t allow the OTC
market. If there’s OTC, the companies will not make deals in
VN border
trade still
faces many
barriers
VIET NAM NEWS
Hanoi
stock exchange. For its lower
listing criteria, the companies
prefer OTC market to the formal
stock exchange,” said Tin Myint,
executive director of Myanmar
Securities Bond Firm.
Currently there are about
three companies interested in
Yangon Stock Exchange. The
Yangon Stock Exchange (YSE)
is scheduled to open in October
this year.
FMI
FMI & LSC sign property development deal in Nay Pyi Taw
Tan Gin Mong, director of CTMCC-THE, far left; Cheng Wuying, CTMCC-THE’s managing direct, left; Kyaw Moe Naing, LSC’s director, right;
and Cyrus Pun, executive director of Yoma Strategic Holding’s, far right; signed the ceremonial certificates at Parkroyal in Nay Pyi Taw.
MYANMAR ELEVEN
Nay Pyi Taw
First Myanmar Investment Co
Ltd (FMI) and Lighting Specialist
Co Ltd (LSC) hosted a signing
ceremony commemorating their
strategic joint venture company
LSC-FMI Co Ltd, and first collaboration in developing a US$24
million high-end apartment in
Nay Pyi Taw.
Located in Zabu Thiri township,
KrisPLAZA project comprises twotowers of 10-storey development.
It will have 114 apartment units, a
basement car park, swimming
pool, retail space and Yoma Bank’s
regional headquarter.
The project area will span on
1.25 acres of prime location in
the capital in the proximity of
government and ministerial offices, three hospitals, the Jade
Museum, golf courses, the hotel
zone and Tha Pyay Gone Market.
The joint venture development
combines the international
design expertise of ID Architects
from Singapore and local knowledge of Edgewise Architects, with
the construction experience of
CTMCC-HTE. Other consultants
involved in the project include
civil and structural firm Aurecon,
MEP Consultant, and quantity
surveyor, Structon. At a total cost
of approximately US$24 million,
construction is scheduled to
commence in early 2015 with
completion earmarked for the
third quarter of 2016.
“The real estate sector continues to be an important part of
FMI’s portfolio and KrisPLAZA in
Nay Pyi Taw is a natural progression,” said U Linn Myaing, FMI’s
Chief Operating Officer.
“Krislite with LSC has been
operating in Myanmar for more
than 20 years and have a very
strong reputation, are highly
respected and understand the
market which makes them an
ideal partner for this joint venture.”
“Our first partnership with
FMI is an exciting venture in a
country with great opportunities.
Building on the strong capabilities in development and construction of our partnership, we
will offer a high quality and cost
effective product to new home
owners in Myanmar,” said Kyaw
Moe Naing, Managing Director of
LSC.
While KrisPLAZA is FMI’s first
development in Nay Pyi Taw, FMI
has a strong track record of creating premium residential spaces
in Myanmar. Some of FMI’s nota-
ble projects in Yangon include
Star City, FMI City and FMI
Centre. Considerable pent up
demand has caused an influx of
enquiries about the project, as
many business people and government officials see the opportunity to own a luxury apartment
residence to accommodate their
frequent trips to Nay Pyi Taw
while at the same time utilizing it
as a base for business to accommodate their executives and
office equipment.
LSC, known for its expertise
as a lighting solutions provider
with the brand-name Krislite,
recently expanded their business
portfolio in Myanmar with property development in Yangon
including CCPT, a 20-storey hotel
and office development in Strand
Road and an 8-storey headquartre Building in Pyay Road.
Inadequate infrastructure
and supporting services are
among the challenges that
Vietnam must overcome to
become a hub for cross-border trade, especially as
Asean will soon become an
integrated economic community.
Infrastructure at border
gates such as storage areas,
inspection equipment and
connecting roads were
among the hurdles that must
be addressed to improve
cross-border trade, according
to Nguyen Van Hoi, deputy
director of the Ministry of
Industry and Trade’s
Department of Mountainous
Area Trade.
At a recent forum with
international development
partners on improving border trade, representatives
from Lai Chau, Dien Bien,
Cao Bang and Ha Giang
provinces said most of the
roads serving border gates
were narrow. Mountainous
roads and a lack of investment in supermarkets, border markets, storage centres
and parking areas also made
it difficult for businesses.
Suggestions from 25 border provinces made it clear
that Vietnam needed to
upgrade and rebuild 122
border markets, improve 93
roads leading to border
gates and invest in four border economic zones.
Vo Dai Luoc, former chairperson of the Central Institute
for Economic Management,
said policies should encourage the private sector to
invest in infrastructure development at border gates.
The Trade Ministry is
working on a plan to call for
investment into upgrading
border markets, connecting
roads and improving the
competitiveness of small
and medium enterprises
involved in border trade.
Viet Nam aims to record
US$30 billion from border
trade by 2020, according to a
development plan approved
recently by the Prime
Minister Nguyen Tan Dung.
Under the plan, the country
could fetch as much as $14
billion in export earnings,
with imports valued at $16
billion.
Border trade is forecast
to reach $50 billion by
2030, with approximately
$22 billion coming from
exports.
The country is now home
to 28 border EZs, covering a
total area of 600,000 hectare.
MYANMAR ELEVEN, Wednesday, February 11, 2015
Business
5
BIZ
BUZZ
Exchange rate to
remain stable: finance
chief
EMG
Rice trucks at the Muse
gate on the ChinaMyanmar border.
China to help build
rice mills
MYANMAR ELEVEN
MYANMAR rice producers
hope to step up rice exports by
collaborating with China to build
modernised rice mills.
The Myanmar Rice Miller Co,
founded under the Millers
Association (MRMA), recently
signed a contract with China’s
CAMC Engineering Co (CAMCE)
to build international-grade rice
mills in Nyaungdone, Ayeyawady
region.
“Under the agreement, both
sides will cooperate on the construction of the internationalstandard rice mills. Afterwards,
we will carry out rice grinding
and then export quality rice to
China as well as to other international markets,” said Nay Lin Zin,
joint secretary of the MRMA.
Construction will start this
year and is due to be completed
by 2017.
“We have bought the land
plots for the first rice mill in
Sarmalauk in Nyaungdone, and
we will build two 200-tonne rice
mills in the initial phase,” Nay Lin
Zin added.
Under a deal between the
Myanmar Rice Federation (MRF)
and the Chinese firm COFCO,
China will purchase 100,000
tonnes of rice at market price
after the completion of the
work. The MRF will coordinate
the direct sale of rice with
COFCO, with both sides preparing the grinding and export of
the rice types and qualities
favoured in China.
The plan is in line with one of
the recommendations by the
World Bank that Myanmar
should modernise its rice mills
to increase private stocks and
trigger productivity and quality
improvement at the farm level.
Although Myanmar’s rice
‘Myanmar Times’ to
launch daily paper
The newspaper market will be
heated up next month, as the
Myanmar Times will launch an
English-language daily newspaper –
almost exactly 15 years after it started
the news weekly in Myanmar.
Though the government
announced in early 2013 that it would
lift a ban on private daily publications,
the English field remains relatively
open. In 2014, Myanmar Consolidated
Media, the parent company of The
Myanmar Times, was taken over by
business entrepreneur Thein Tun.
The state-run Global New Light of
Myanmar is the only locally published
daily, while there is also competition
from foreign papers, such as the
International New York Times and the
Straits Times. Eleven Media Group,
which plans to launch a joint-venture
publication with Thailand’s Nation
Group, has been denied the license so
far.
“The launch of the daily is a
milestone in the history of The
Myanmar Times,” said chief executive
officer Tony Child. “It is the result of
much dedicated work by our staff. It
will be an essential read and a
valuable contribution to the
development of the press in
Myanmar.”
The Myanmar Times launched its
English weekly in February 2000, and
a Myanmar weekly the following year.
In 2007 it began publishing a fashion
and lifestyle magazine.
exports amounted to 1.4 million
tonnes, rice exports to
Southeast Asia – the
Philippines, Indonesia and
Malaysia – are still modest,
according to MRF.
China remains Myanmar’s
major rice buyer, buying nearly
1 million tonnes this fiscal year
alone.
“We have planned to extend
to Europe. We will display rice
and agricultural products,
including fishery, livestock and
forest produce in trade fairs in
Italy,” said Ye Min Aung, the
general secretary of MRF.
The MRF has cooperated
with other agribusiness owners
to improve agricultural crops
and equipment in order to promote the country’s exports.
With the implementation of
these plans, officials expect rice
exports to increase in the coming
years.
Myanmar builds new border gate in Muse
Myanmar is constructing a
new border gate in Muse in
northern Shan State.
Construction is about 50 per
cent complete, sources say.
The new border gate is
located in Special Economic
Zone 1 in Muse, between Ho
Saung village in Myanmar and
Kyal Khaung in China.
“The construction is about
50 per cent complete on the
Myanmar side, and we are
expecting to finish all work in
the middle of this year,” said
Ngwe Soe, the project director
of the special economic zone.
Myanmar and China have
three border gates – Nan Taw
Gate, Sin Phyu Gate and Mant
Wain Gate. All three gates are
open from 6:30am to 10:30pm
daily. Cars owned by officials
from both countries and battery motorcycles are allowed to
Under construction
of a new border gate
in Muse.
Household income
nearly half of expenses
EMG
MYANMAR ELEVEN
Muse
The dollar/kyat exchange rate
should remain stable due to the
balance between supply and demand
of the greenback, according to Mya
Than, chairman of Yangon Foreign
Exchange Market Committee.
He said daily the Central Bank of
Myanmar sells US dollar worth
US$0.5-$1 million to ease the high
demand.
“Supply and demand is balanced.
The value of dollar against kyat may
rise above the permitted trading band
in the unofficial market if demand
skyrockets. But for now, there is little
difference (in the official rate and the
black market rate),” he said.
The central bank allows private
banks to trade dollar within a 0.8 per
cent band from the reference rate.
The reference rate as of February 9
was 1,025 per dollar. It has stood
between 1,024-1,025 since the
beginning of this year.
use Nan Taw Gate. Small trucks
and cars can pass through Sin
Phyu Gate, and big trucks are
only allowed to use Mant Wain
Gate.
“Third party citizens can go
between Myanmar and
Thailand by applying with their
passports. Officials from both
Myanmar and China prefer to
allow people from third party
countries. The construction of
the new border gate can reduce
the delay currently affecting
the three border gates,” said
Ngwe Soe.
Tourists from third party
countries can travel to
Mandalay, Nay Pyi Taw and
Yangon via Shwe Li-Kyal
Khaung, which officials hope
will encourage more tourism.
Households in Yangon’s
Shwepyitha Township earn monthly
income of between Ks100,000 and
Ks200,000 while expenditure is at
least Ks200,000, according to a
survey.
Shwepyitha is a largely workingclass township.
A survey of living costs is being
conducted in more than 20,000
households in 108 townships across
the country, in order to fix the
minimum wage.
That group raised more than 500
questions about the living costs in
Shwepyitha Township.
“In a family of four, three have to
go to work, leaving an elder at home.
The household income is Ks200,000,
barely enough to cover travel fees,
rents and other costs. Single-member
households find it even more difficult.
They have to pay for education and
healthcare by selling possessions,”
said Tun Wai, who is a member of the
team.
About 70 per cent of people have
to sell their possessions to pay for
health and education.
Govt to seek backing
for power plants
The coal-fired power projects will
only continue if the public accepts
them, the deputy minister for electrical
power Aung Than Oo told Parliament.
MP Myint Soe from Pyawbwe
constituency submitted a proposal
urging the government to invite foreign
investors into the electricity sector to
obtain modern technology in coal-fired
power projects to prevent pollution and
to generate electricity from nuclear
technology.
The deputy minister replied that the
government had signed 11
memorandums of understanding with
foreign and Myanmar companies to
develop 11 coal-fired power projects. The
government would continue with the
projects if residents accepted the
proposals and if they could be
implemented, he added.
He said that the government had
yet to start generating electricity from
nuclear power.
Exploration on fourth
offshore oil block in
Rakhine starts
Myanmar started exploring its
fourth deep-sea offshore oil block in
Rakhine on February 7, according to
the Ministry of Energy.
Aung Pyi Hein 1 oil well, block
AD-1, is being explored by the
Chinnery Assets Ltd in cooperation
with Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise
(MOGE) under the Ministry of Energy.
The company will explore natural gas
at a depth of 1,731 metres and the oil
at a depth of 5,000 metres.
At the drilling platform offshore,
21 technicians and workers from
MOGE are jointly working with the
staff from the company. The drilling
equipment at the AD-1 can drill up to
the depth of 3,000 metres.
This is the fourth exploration after
signing of MoU to explore oil and
natural gas in AD-9 and AD-11 in
Rakhine offshore and MD-5 in
Tanintharyi offshore.
Mung bean prices
The price of mung beans fell by as
much as Ks 60,000 per tonne to Ks
800,000 since the end of January,
although there have been no changes
in the Indian pea and bean market.
“I think this is because the
harvesting period for both Myanmar
and India is approaching. Merchants
are on the wait-and-see mode. I
think the price could drop for some
time, but it will be up again,” said
merchant Min Ko Oo.
The price of mung beans, also
known as green gram, was Ks
925,000 per tonne for special quality
(SQ) and Ks 856,000 per tonne for
fair average quality (FAQ) as of
January 30. By February 6, the price
had fallen to Ks 875,000 per tonne for
SQ and about Ks 800,000 per tonne
for FAQ, according to Bayintnaung
Wholesale Centre.
Thein Naing, a farmer, said he is
worried about decline bean prices,
and he believes they will go up again
in May.
ASEAN+
Anwar jailed for 5 years
after losing appeal
6
MYANMAR ELEVEN, Wednesday, February 11, 2015
Day of infamy
“It’s a day of infamy. It’s a
I feel vindicated, says
Anwar’s former aide
The Star
Anwar Ibrahim’s former
aide Mohd Saiful Bukhari
Azlan said he felt vindicated
after hearing the decision of
the Federal Court on Tuesday.
“Today, the Federal Court
has unanimously decided that
the claims I have made all this
while are true, and that I am a
credible witness. My family
and I respect the decision of
the court today,” said Mohd
Saiful in a blog post on
Tuesday afternoon.
In the blog post on his personal account, “http://mohdsaifulbukhari.blogspot.com/”,
appeared to be easing. It is the second
disputed sodomy
conviction for Anwar
in a career marked
by sharp ups and
downs.
He was a popular
top leader of the ruling United Malays
National
Organisation
(UMNO) until his
sensational ouster in
a bitter 1998 power
struggle that saw
him arrested and
jailed for six years on
previous sodomy
and corruption
charges. The case
was widely viewed as
tainted by politics,
and the sodomy conviction was eventually thrown out.
AFP
Malaysian opposition leader
Anwar Ibrahim alleged a “political conspiracy” as he was sent to
jail Tuesday after his appeal
against a sodomy conviction was
overturned, likely spelling the
end of his political career.
Chief Justice Arifin Zakaria
dismissed Anwar’s challenge
against last year’s conviction for
sodomising a young male former
aide, saying the court found
“overwhelming evidence” of the
crime. Sodomy is punishable by
up to 20 years in prison in
Muslim-majority Malaysia. Anwar
was taken from the court in the
afternoon to begin his sentence.
Arifin read his judgements out
to a stunned courtroom packed
with journalists, opposition figures, and Anwar’s family and
supporters, many of whom wept
quietly. Anwar later took to the
dock to launch a scathing attack
on the Federal Court panel of justices, accusing them of collusion
in a “political conspiracy” by
Malaysia’s now 58-year-old ruling regime.
“In bowing to the dictates of
your political masters, you have
become partners to the crime,”
he said. “You have chosen to be
on the dark side.”
“I will not be silenced! I will
never surrender!” Anwar shouted
at the judges as they abruptly got
up to leave. Government critics
say the case is part of a long-running campaign to destroy Anwar,
a former deputy premier who
was ousted from the ruling party
in the late 1990s and later helped
unite a previously divided and
hapless opposition into a formidable force.
over deep policy and personality
differences, however, and sidelining Anwar could sow further disarray. But analysts say jailing
Anwar also bears risks for Najib’s
regime, which lost the popular
vote in 2013 elections, clinging to
power only through gerrymandering.
“Few inside (UMNO’s) system
fully appreciate that jail time will
make Anwar a martyr for a new
generation, rally his supporters
at home and abroad and signal
the weakness of (Najib’s) government in its need to remove an
opponent,” Bridget Welsh, a
Southeast Asia politics analyst
with National Taiwan University,
wrote in a recent essay.
UMNO has a history of using
police and judicial organs to
pressure opponents, and the current charges were filed in 2008
Anwar Ibrahim and his wife at the court.
shortly after the first of two historic, Anwar-led opposition elecinvolved to respect the legal proshocking decision,” senior oppotion showings.
cess and the judgement.”
sition parliamentarian Lim Kit
Arifin said the court found
Overwhelming evidence
But Human Rights Watch conSiang said.
Saiful’s account “credible”.
Later joining the opposition,
demned the case as part of a
The ruling is a heavy blow to
“We have overwhelming eviAnwar has led a three-party allirapidly deteriorating rights situaboth Anwar and the opposition.
dence that (Saiful) was sodoance to the brink of ousting
tion that has seen the governNow 67, Anwar might not
mised,” he said, adding that allement launch a crackdown on free UMNO, one of the world’s longemerge from prison until the age
gations of a political conspiracy
est-ruling parties.
speech, calling it a “travesty of
of 72 if he serves the full term.
“remain unsubstantiated”.
The alliance risks falling apart
justice.”
He is also stripped of his parliaBut Malaysia’s handling
Amnesty
ment seat and disqualified from
of the case has drawn
running in the next elections, due International
international criticism,
called it “an
by 2018.
including from the United
oppressive rulMalaysian Prime Minister
States, which has said it
ing that will
Najib Razak has previously
raised rule-of-law conadmitted meeting Anwar’s accus- have a chilling
cerns. UMNO has dominateffect on freeer, Mohamad Saiful Bukhari
ed multi-ethnic Malaysia
dom of expresAzlan, in 2008 just before the
since independence in
sion.”
charges were filed, but he denies
1957, but has rapidly lost
Hundreds of
orchestrating the case.
ground to the opposition
Anwar supportA statement by his office after
Pakatan Rakyat (People’s
ers became
the ruling insisted the judiciary
Pact) alliance, which vows
locked in a
was independent.
to dismantle UMNO’s
tense standoff
“The judges will have reached
authoritarian rule and
with riot police
their verdict only after considercrony capitalism, and to
ing all the evidence in a balanced near the court
reform discriminatory poliafter the ruling, Supporters of Malaysian opposition leader Anwar
and objective manner,” it said
cies favouring the ethnic
but the con“That process is now comIbrahim shout slogans as they arrive at the Federal
Malay majority.
frontation
plete, and we call on all parties
Court.
The Star
Agence France-Presse
PUTRAJAYA
Saiful said that he had fulfilled
his responsibilities and upheld
the truth so he would not be
questioned in the afterlife.
“As far back as seven years
ago, from the first time I made
the police report until this
moment, all I wanted as a
complainant and as a citizen
of this country was to call for
my report of Anwar’s acts on
me to be investigated and
judged,” said Saiful.
He thanked all parties that
supported him.
“What is sure and what is
important now is that my family moves forward,” said Mohd
Saiful.
Hanoi bars officials from
frequent overseas travel
Viet Nam News
The Hanoi People’s
Committee has forbidden officials and staffs from making
numerous business trips
abroad or participating in study
tours organised or funded by
local enterprises or directly
invited by international companies.
The staffs include civil servants and others on the city’s
payroll.
The decision is part of a plan
to strengthen the management
of international group visits,
issued recently in an effort to
practise thrift and combat wastage of the city’s resources.
According to the plan, the
city’s leaders and officials will
not be allowed to travel abroad
more than twice a year, and
that too for absolutely necessary visits. Visiting participants
in a tour cannot be more than
10 persons and the travel duration has to be less than 10 days
and should not include travel-
ling to more than 3 countries,
the directive stated.
Two key officials from an
organisation will not be permitted to travel together for an
overseas visit.
The city has also asked
organisations and units to not
organise overseas visits for
leaders and staffs, the expenses
for which are billed to the State
Budget. Visiting groups have
also been requested to practise
thrift and use low-cost airlines
for travel.
MYANMAR ELEVEN, Wednesday, February 11, 2015
7
ASEAN+
8
Luis Liu
China Daily
The number of calls for help
received by a major mental health
care group for people suffering
mental problems increased by 12
per cent in 2014. This was “largely
due to” the “Occupy Central”
movement, its chairman explained
on Monday.
Meanwhile, the number of those
considering suicide also increased
50 per cent last year compared with
2013. Both figures marked record
highs since the organisation was
established in 2003.
Releasing a research report,
Chow Man-cheung, chairman of
Hong Kong Familylink Mental Health
Advocacy Association, said the
“Occupy” protests had created
uneasiness in the social
atmosphere. This had stimulated
people’s negative emotions,
especially in a busy city like Hong
Kong. In a typical case, a help
seeker, Lily (not her real name), a
35-year-old office worker, had
suffered from prolonged depression
and stress. This was after nearly all
the local television intensely
reported the illegal occupation
movement between September and
December last year.
She lives in the New Territories
and never visited any of the
occupied areas. However, the
disturbances were still very hard to
ignore, she explained. Later Lily still
could not recover even after she
tried to avoid watching or listening
to the city’s news programs. She
kept hearing news from her friends
and colleagues during daily
conversations.
In some extreme cases, those
seeking help even said they wanted
to commit suicide “only to escape”
the tension created by the
occupation, according to Familylink.
Local mental health specialist
Chiu Siu-ning said people were
more likely to develop mental
illnesses during social crises.
“When the social situation
becomes unstable, people will
develop different kinds of mood
disorder,” Chiu said, quoting various
foreign studies. “’Occupy Central’
served as one of the major triggers
of mental problems in the city.”
Last November, another local
organisation caring for the family,
Caritas Family Crisis Support
Centre (CFCSC), found that more
than half of 289 people who
requested help in relation to
“Occupy” fought with their families,
friends and colleagues. The
percentage was “very high”
compared with previous research. It
“deserved special attention” from
the public, according to the CFCSC.
It was the first time since it
began in 2001 that the CFCSC had
ever received requests for help over
political issues. Hong Kong is a city
where people have serious mental
problems, according to Chow. He
urged those who suffered in this
way to seek medical advice.
In Familylink’s survey of Hong
Kong people’s mental health, 60 per
cent said they suffered from
depression and frustration. The
survey, conducted online between
October 2013 and December 2014,
collected the views of 1,255 people.
Lung disease more deadly
than accidents in mines
Coal miners emerge from a day’s work at the state-owned Ximing Mine in Shanxi, the
country’s biggest coal producing province. The photo was taken in 2004.
China Daily
Sixty-two per cent of Chinese
patients with a lung disease
caused by dust inhalation come
from the coal mining industry,
and its death toll far outnumbers
those in mining accidents, highlighting a significant danger to
miners’ health, a report released
on Friday said. More than
720,000 workers nationwide
reported their disease, pneumoconiosis, to the China Coal Miner
Pneumoconiosis Prevention and
Treatment Foundation. About
440,000 of those, or 62 per cent,
were from the mining industry.
The form of the ailment prevalent
among coal miners is known formally as black lung disease.
The foundation, under the
leadership of the State’s top work
safety authority, has spent more
than 113 million yuan (US$18.1
million) since it was founded in
2004, and has provided assis-
AFP
‘Occupy Central’
led to rise in
mental health
problems
MYANMAR ELEVEN, Wednesday, February 11, 2015
tance for the treatment of more
than 125,500 pneumoconiosis
patients, the report said.
But it’s far from enough to
cover the large group of workers
suffering from the ailment.
It’s estimated that there are 6
million workers with pneumoconiosis nationwide, of which 90
per cent are rural residents. The
number increases by 20,000
workers every year, according to
a survey released by a special
foundation targeted on the pneumoconiosis patients under the
China Social Assistance
Foundation in July.
The Ministry of Health said by
the end of 2010, 22 per cent of
the reported 677,000 black lung
disease sufferers had died.
By comparison, the death toll
from mining accidents declined
to 1,067 in 2013, down from
about 7,000 annually 15 years
ago, according to the State
Administration of Work Safety.
Revisions in the law have not
succeeded at helping patients
get the compensation they
deserve, said Huang Leping,
director of the Beijing Yilian
Legal Aid and Research Center of
Labor, an NGO dedicated to providing free legal aid for workers.
In order to protect the interests of people with occupational
diseases, China revised the prevention law, which went into
effect at the end of 2011, with
smoother channels for diagnosis
and compensation.
“But the revised law did not
work as expected, and our case
load has not decreased in the
past three years,” Huang said.
He said the laws and regulations did not ease the difficulty
for sufferers, and they were
required to consume great
amounts of time and energy.
In the July survey results,
workers with pneumoconiosis
spent about 17 months on average in lawsuits. Only 19 per cent
of the six million patients managed to get any compensation.
“Many of the workers found
the pneumoconiosis after they
quit their jobs, adding more
problems and difficulties for
them to get the deserved compensation,” Huang said. Coals
mines without insurance for
workers or that don’t have the
resources to pay compensation
are also major obstacles for sufferers.
Indonesian filmmakers may sue government on festival trips
The Jakarta Post
Prominent Indonesian filmmakers are heading for a showdown with the tourism ministry,
vowing to sue if the government
is not transparent as to why
bureaucrats are sent overseas to
film festivals.
Nia Dinata, the award-winning
director and producer, said she
and about 200 other filmmakers
under the aegis of Bela Film
Indonesia would not stop after
their recent protest led to the firing of an official who allegedly
abused his power to send
bureaucrats — and not filmmakers — to the Berlin Film festival
at government expense.
“The ministry has ousted its
film industry development director, Armein Firmansyah. However,
we feel as film industry practitioners that this move is not
enough,” Nia told The Jakarta
Post by phone on Monday.
“We demand more officials be
punished,” she added. “The ministry secretary-general, Ukus
Kuswara, and the cultural-based
creative economy director gener-
al, Ahman Sya, must also resign.
Nia said that Ukus and Ahman
would have a chance to defend
their decision first.
“We have met them and they
said that they would do an internal investigation of this Berlin
Film Festival controversy. We told
them they could do that and that
they had to reveal their findings
publicly. If we feel that the findings are unsatisfactory, then we
will file a class-action [lawsuit],”
Nia said.
The controversy began after
film director Joko Anwar made
several provocative comments on
Twitter, where he has a huge following, in early February.
“The ministry secretary-general is apparently approving the
financing of unknown and questionable individuals to participate in the festival,” Joko said in
a message containing an image
of a ministry bureaucrat’s paperwork for the festival.
The Berlin Film Festival, one
of the world’s largest and most
prestigious, is a critical stop for
filmmakers and industry professionals.
MYANMAR ELEVEN, Wednesday, February 11, 2015
9
ASEAN+
Reflecting Filipino values
Philippine Daily Inquirer
The Top 10 ads that made it to
YouTube Ads Leaderboard have a
story to tell and each of them
chose to touch on human emotions. Most of them succeeded in
getting the audience’s attention
either with a good or bad comment. To come up with the list,
YouTube gathered the combined
popularity (organic views) and
promotion (paid views) for the
past 12 months. The list also
reveals that people are actually
looking at ads and viewing them
at their entirety. Some are more
than one minute long.
Heartwarming
Anyone who is familiar with
Coca-Cola Phils.’ previous commercials will not be surprised
that its digital ad tackles values
inherent to Filipinos anew. Its
“The Happiest Thank You” ad is
the most watched ad on YouTube.
The made-for-digital commercial shows ordinary people showing their gratitude to people they
often see or interact in their daily
lives. The most touching moment
was when the participants were
asked if they knew the name of
the individuals they give honour
to. According to Google, the leaderboard is largely populated by
ads that were born digital, with
formats created specifically with
YouTube’s audience in mind. The
ad videos are “well beyond 30
seconds, and in fact three are
past the four-minute mark. This
offers a degree of creative freedom for brands - since viewers
on YouTube will watch longer videos as long as there is a strong
story.”
Ryan Morales, country marketing manager, Google
Philippines, said that if an ad got
past the five-second mark, then
it had all the chances of being
viewed in its entirety.
Google Philippines’ “Miss
Screen grab of “The Happiest Thank You” ad from Youtube
Nothing” tells of the lives of
OFWs and their families.
Surprisingly, it placed only eighth
considering how it went viral
around Chistmastime last year.
Four themes
The ads revolve around the
four themes of Filipino creativity,
local heroes, global brands and
global stories, and are specifically made for digital consumption.
“The YouTube Ads
Leaderboard is a good opportunity for brands to showcase their
understanding of the importance
of digital marketing in connecting with consumers,” Morales
said. Unilever veered away from
the usual tearjerker and cleverly
touched on one of the most
searched items on Google: hair.
Unilever is one of the world’s
leading consumer brands company with a large stake on hair
products. As it partnered with
Google for this particular ad, the
company also learned that a
large number of people search
for how-to or do-it-yourself videos. Combining these two top
search terms, Unilever came up
with “DIY Fish Tail Braid - All
Things Hair” which is more than
three minutes long. It went all
digital by featuring fashion blogger Angela Nepomuceno. It
placed No. 3 in the list.
As the Internet has become a
global platform to reach audiences from all corners of the world,
it is not surprising that four of
the ads in the list are by foreign
brands. However, they share
some similarities with the six
Filipino brands: They resonate
values and are heartwarming.
Partner puppies and a good
concept together and you’ve got
a winner ad. The Netherlands’
flag carrier KLM and its ad titled
“Lost and Found Service” featuring a beagle became a trending
video just a few months ago.
“You can never go wrong with
puppies,” said one observer.
Nike touched on the Fifa
(F?d?ration Internationale de
Football Association) fever with a
really long ad featuring football
superstars Cristiano Ronaldo and
Neymar. Air New Zealand capitalized on the “Lord of the Rings”
film fan base when it featured
Frodo (played by Elijah Wood in
the movies) in its safety features
advisory. Notably different is
Samsung S5’s ad. It does not
mess with human emotions. The
Korean smartphone brand chose
to present the product and its
features in a straightforward and
traditional way, and people actually watched it as it placed second. On how these stories would
connect to the business, Jollibee
Corp.’s AJ Quiambao said that
there was a conscious effort in
making the brand and product
stand out. The fast-food chain’s
“Dito Masaya” featuring young
boys showing the benefits of
using its Happy Card (rewards
card) placed 10th.
Hong Kong overtakes
Vietnam plans to wipe out trade deficit by 2020
Singapore title as largest
wealth management centres
Viet Nam News
The Straits Times
Hong Kong has overtaken
Singapore to be the fifth largest
wealth management centre in the
world, a new report has shown.
With US$500 billion worth of
assets tucked under its belt,
Singapore fell a spot from last
year although it recorded an
increase of 25 per cent in its clients’ assets since 2008, consulting firm Deloitte said on Monday.
Hong Kong achieved stellar
growth of 142 per cent to $640
billion worth of in assets under
management in the same period,
recording the strongest expansion among all contenders.
Hong Kong overtook
Singapore for the first time in
2012. Switzerland kept the top
spot as the leading wealth management centre, with $2 trillion
worth of assets under management at the end of 2014, up 14
per cent from 2008.
“Switzerland remains the
world’s largest centre, but other
locations are catching up rapidly
- especially Hong Kong, the US
and Singapore,” said Daniel
Kobler, head of banking strategy,
consulting at Delotte
Switzerland.
The US closed in on
Switzerland in third place, after
growing its clients’ assets by 28
per cent to $1.4 trillion since
2008. In second place was the
UK with $1.7 trillion of assets, an
increase of 13 per cent, while in
fourth was Panama & Caribbean
which saw assets fall 47 per cent
to $900 billion.
However, the growth in market
share some countries has not
been driven by a net growth in
new client assets, said Deloitte.
On the contrary, international
wealth management centres
recorded a drop of 23 per cent,
with Switzerland losing 7 per
cent.
Vietnam targets average
export growth of 11-12 per cent a
year until 2020 and gradual
reduction of imports to wipe out
the trade deficit by then and
achieve a surplus by 2030,
according to its overseas market
development plan.
Asia will account for 46 per
cent of the exports, the EU for
20 per cent, the America for 25
per cent, Oceania for 4 per cent
and Africa for 5 per cent.
The establishment of the
Asean Economic Community
this year would strengthen
investment and trade ties
between countries in the bloc,
Le An Hai, deputy head of the
Asia-Pacific Market Department,
told a meeting held in HCM City
last week to collect opinions
from companies, business
groups, and official agencies
about the plan. Vietnam would
strengthen trade promotion in
Asean to ensure exports to the
bloc increase by 10 per cent a
year on average to at least
US$31 billion by 2020, he said.
Besides, efforts would be
made to boost exports to other
Asian markets like Korea, Japan,
and China, he said.
The economic recovery in the
EU along with the upcoming
free trade agreement with it
would open up opportunities for
Vietnamese exporters, he said.
Exports to the EU are expected
to rise by 15 per cent a year to
$58 billion by 2020.
The country will also try to
increase exports to the US and
Canada by 15 per cent a year
and strengthen trade promotion
to boost exports to countries in
Africa, Latin America, and
Oceania. The plan also contains
measures to achieve the targets,
including strengthening of international co-operation and communication to help businesses
understand and capitalise on
the opportunities brought by the
FTA, he said. Vietnam will strive
to improve the quality of its
export items and boost exports
of processed goods with high
value-addition and key agricul-
tural products like rice, foodstuff, coffee, rubber, and seafood
and reduce exports of crude oil
and coal. Delegates at the meeting appreciated the necessity
for the plan, but urged the
Government to take measures
to help exporters, especially
small- and medium-sized firms,
to improve competitiveness.
Le Thi Giau, chairwoman and
general director of the Binh Tay
Foodstuff Joint Stock Company,
said companies need policy
support to facilitate exports.
Nguyen Truc Van of the HCM
City Institute for Development
Studies said the plan drafters
should research into demand as
well as consumer tastes in foreign markets to enable businesses to create suitable export
strategies. Tran Vinh Nhung,
deputy director of the HCM City
Department of Industry and
Trade, said the plan should consist of concrete action programmes for each market and
region to improve the efficiency
of trade promotion programmes.
LIFESTYLE
10
MYANMAR ELEVEN, Wednesday, February 11, 2015
The feminine face of hip-hop
MYANMAR ELEVEN
Since her foray into the music
industry as an underground hiphopper in 2006, teen hip-hop
idol Bobby Soxer has been greeted as a breath of fresh air thanks
to her unique music and fashion.
Despite a number of group
albums and a duet album with
fellow hip-hop artist Hlwan
Paing, the singer released her
debut album titled “21” just last
Sunday in time to celebrate her
upcoming birthday.
As if that’s not enough, she’s
kept herself busy by dabbling in
films. In this exclusive interview
with Myanmar Eleven, the singer
reveals how she’s managed to
get her priorities right.
Tell us about your
first album.
The album will
feature a variety
of songs from
pop and drifting
ballads to upbeat
songs. The songs
come in different styles
in order for the fans not to
get bored while they are listening to my album. For example, the upbeat songs are not
based on the same normal
arrangement and the song “colour” sounds very different from
other songs.
The album has attracted criticism from fans. What’s your
response?
This is my first album and it
was released in the year marking
my 21st birthday. They have
accused me of copying a foreign
singer in the way I named this
album.
But it’s not true. There won’t
be 21 songs in this album. I’ve
only chosen this title as a memorable event in my life.
Are you satisfied with all the
songs in your album?
Yes. The album features 12
tracks. I felt quite satisfied when
I first listened to them as I put
the finishing touches to the
album. That’s why I had arranged
to release it on February 8.
What’s your favourite song?
“Anargat Lay” (“Future”) is the
most memorable song for me
because I wrote the rap lyrics of
this song when I was a 10th
standard student. Ko Thein Linn
Soe wrote the melody for me
when I started planning this
album.
His lyrics remind me of how I
felt six years ago when I was still
in the 10th standard. So I really
want the audience to listen to
this song. The rap lyrics are
exactly the same as the one I
wrote six years ago. I didn’t make
any changes.
“Eain Htaung Shin Seikku”
(“Dream of a Married Woman”)
composed by Ko Hlwan Paing is
like an old song from the past so
i think this will be another crowd
favourite.
You’ve been cast in the lead
role for a feature film by Bo Bo
Entertainment. When will the
filming start?
I’ve learnt that the filming will
start next month. The filming
date was delayed while they were
trying to come up with a suitable
date that all the cast members
agreed on.
You have also done a directto video with Ko Lu Min. Are you
serious about pursuing a career
in acting?
I have just filmed a direct-to
video with Uncle Lay [Lu Min]
titled “Arr Shwi Tae Ko Ko”. He
offered the role to me and I
accepted it because the character suited me well.
But I’m not sure I’ll continue
to work as an actress in the
future. Music is my main interest
so it’s a top priority. I think I may
act in the future if I have a
chance and the characters fit me.
Is acting difficult?
It’s more difficult for me to
play in films than acting in my
own music videos and my
friends’ music videos.
What’s in the pipeline?
I’m only focussing my attention on releasing my album for
now.
Rapper Myo Kyawt Myaing
to mount a concert
Myo Kyawt Myaing
is known for
pioneering rap
music in Myanmar
in the 1990s.
EMG
MYANMAR ELEVEN
One of the local pioneer rap artists,
Myo Kyawt Myaing will stage a concert
titled “Virus 3 64 Bit” at the Myanmar
Event Park on February 12.
Organised by Forever Blossoms, the
veteran artist will share the stage with
Alex, R Zarni, Yan Yan Cha, Sai Sai
Kham Leng, Phyo Gyi, Kaung Myat,
G-Tone, Chan Aye Win, Zeyyar Myo
Thant, and Nge Nge.
“Ko Myo Kyawt has many successful
hits. There are many memorable songs
between him and his fans. That’s why we
are organising this ‘one man’ show,” said
an official with Forever Blossoms, adding: “We have arranged many songs.
The concert will also feature other artists who will perform together with him.
We will try to present a new taste to the
audience.”
R&B artist Nge Nge has admired Myo
Kyawt Myaing since she was young.
“It will be a fun concert since I will
get to perform with him. I think the audience will feel satisfied with this concert,”
she said.
Tickets cost Ks, 10,000 (US$10), Ks
20,000 (US$20), Ks 30,000 (US$30),
and Ks 40,000 (US$40).
Myo Kyawt Myaing was one of the few
local artists who introduced rap music
and remix music to Myanmar in the
early 1990s. He has released several
albums and collaboratve group albums.