May 15-21, 2014

Myanmar Business Today

mmbiztoday.com
mmbiztoday.com May 15-21, 2014| Vol 2, Issue 19 MYANMARS FIRST BILINGUAL BUSINESS JOURNAL
Inside MBT
The Bonds That Will Tie The
NuLIon (PurL ) P-
Semen Indonesia to Buy
$o-m SLuke In Myunmur
CemenL Muker P-q
Corruption The Biggest Con-
cern for Myanmar Business-
es: Survey P-5
SMIB Louns Not Som cient Ior SMIs
In 2013-14, a total of K10 billion ($10.4 million) was disbursed to only
62 SMEs around Myanmar
T
he amount of loans
provided by the
state-owned Small
and Medium Indus-
trial Development Bank
(SMDB) Is noL udequuLe
for Myanmars small and
medium enterprises,
while the loan procedure
Is uIso noL eecLIve, en-
Lrepreneurs und om cIuIs
told Myanmar Business
Today.
n zo1-1q hscuI yeur
which ended March, the
bank disbursed a total of
K1o bIIIIon ($1o.q mII-
IIon) Lo onIy 6z SMEs
uround LIe counLry.
Currently, SMIDB gets
loans from the govern-
ment-owned Myanmar
Economic Bank, which
provides funds to SMIDB
uL u specIuI 8.z percenL
InLeresL ruLe. SMDB LIen
Iends Lo SMEs uL 8. per-
cent interest rate, while
other banks in Myanmar
Iuve u IendIng ruLe oI 1
percenL.
The bank wants to give
loans to most of the SMEs
not just to selected enter-
prises for a period of three
yeurs. BuL now, LIe bunk
May Soe San can only give loans after
it receives special funding
from the government, U
San Thein, senior advisor
at SMIDB told Myanmar
Business Today.
He said collaboration
between international
donor organisations and
the government is still
weak, rendering the bank
unable to lend enough to
SMEs. However, In zo1q-
1, SMDB wIII doubIe LIe
Ioun umounL Lo Kzo bII-
IIon, bunk om cIuIs suId
eurIIer.
If other organisations
such as JICA (Japan In-
ternational Cooperation
Agency) gIves hnuncIuI
assistance to the bank the
situation will be better, U
Sun TIeIn suId.
He said there have al-
ready been discussions
wILI JCA Ior Om cIuI
Development Assistance
(ODA) Iouns buL IL Is sLIII
noL sure.
U Myat Thin Aung, an
entrepreneur and vice
chairman at Yoma Bank
Ltd, told Myanmar Busi-
ness Today: The more
loan the bank will give,
the better it will be for the
SMEs. MosL oI LIe SMEs
do not own buildings or
any other forms of collat-
eruI. So, LIe governmenL
also needs to assume risks
In gIvIng Iouns Lo SMEs.
It [the government] also
needs to revise the loan
procedure.
U San Thein said SMIDB
Is IucIng dIm cuILIes In cur-
ryIng ouL hnuncIuI ussess-
ments of SMEs to deter-
mine loan viability as the
IocuI SMEs Iuve weuk h-
nancial management and
inadequate data and re-
cord keepIng sysLem.
Also, as there is no leg-
islation for the SMEs at
present the banks pro-
vide loans to SMEs after
getting approval from the
SME Centre, a depart-
ment under the Ministry
of Industry which keeps
registration records of
SMEs. AILIougI, u druIL
SME Law has been sub-
mitted to the parliament
and will be discussed in
the Hluttaws upcoming
sessIon In IuLe Muy.
Foreign experts from
the German Society for
International Coopera-
LIon (GZ) ure expecLed
to give training to banks
including SMIDB, KBZ
and Yoma Bank on moni-
toring and loan procedure
LIIs yeur.
U San Thein also urged
the government to im-
prove industrial and ser-
vice sectors of the country
for the development of
SMEs.
CurrenL GDP`s qo per-
cent is coming from ag-
rIcuILure und zo percenL
Irom IndusLrIuI secLor.
The GDP will only in-
crease with the develop-
ment of the SMEs, he
suId.
U San Thein also point-
ed out that Myanmars
number of export items
Contd. P 9...(SMILB) Contd. P 9...(SMILB)
Myanmar Summary
A worker makes a Iacquer-ware at a workshop in Bagan in MandaIay region. In 2U13-14 scaI year, the
state-owned Small and Medium Industrial Development Bank (SMIDB) managed to disburse a total of
K10 billion ($10.4 million) to only 62 SMEs around the country.
U
A
u
n
g
/
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in
h
u
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May 15-21, 2014
Myanmar Business Today
mmbiztoday.com
2
LOCAL BIZ
MYANMARS FIRST BILINGUAL BUSINESS JOURNAL
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Bosiness News in BrieI
For ei gn i nvestor s r eluctant to i nvest i n state-
owned pr oper ty
Foreign investors in Myanmars booming property
market have started avoiding making investments
in state-owned land because of a requirement to sign
BuIId, OperuLe und TrunsIer (BOT) ugreemenLs, IocuI
media reported, citing CEO Aung Kyaw Win of United
GoIden PuIuce ConsLrucLIon Co. Under LIe BOT ugree-
ment, immoveable property can be only leased for long
terms, but cannot be sold and foreign investors do not
want to take the trouble likely to be faced in extending
Ieuse Lerms, Ie udded.
Rice huer stock to he sold through competi-
ti ve bi ddi ng
TIe resL oI LIe qoo,ooo meLrIc Lonnes oI rIce LIuL wus
sLored us buer sLock Ior LImes oI dIsusLer wIII be soId
through competitive tenders soon, local media report-
ed, quoting chairman Aung Than Oo of Myanmar Rice
MercIunLs AssocIuLIon us suyIng. He suId some oI LIe
stocked rice was sold last July to help control soaring
prIces In LIe domesLIc murkeL. Aung TIun Oo dId noL
suy Iow mucI rIce wus In sLock.
SME to get loons up to K1oo million
State-owned Small and Medium Industry Develop-
menL Bunk (SMDB) wIII soon oer Iouns umounLIng
up Lo K1oo mIIIIon ($1oq,zoo) Lo smuII und medIum
enLerprIses (SMEs) uL 8. percenL InLeresL ruLe, IocuI
media quoted SMIDB Managing Director Tin Maung
HLuy us suyIng. He suId SMDB receIved u K-zo-bIIIIon
loan from the state-owned Myanma Economic Bank at
8.z percenL InLeresL Ior SME IendIng. SMDB pIuns Lo
oer soIL Iouns Lo SME uL Iower InLeresL ruLes wIen IL
gets grants from JICA (Japanese International Coop-
eruLIon Agency).
Neu income tox policg hurdens most people
Rates under the new income tax policy, which comes
InLo eecL In Muy, ure reIuLIveIy IIgIer LIun neIgIbour-
ing countries and will increase the burden on most tax-
payers, local media reported, quoting economists and
busInessmen. MyuL TIIn Aung, cIuIrmun oI HIuIngLI-
ayar Industrial Estate Supervision Committee, said that
LIose wIo eurn Iess LIun K1o,ooo (ubouL $1o.q1) per
day should not be required to pay any taxes, but under
LIe new poIIcy unyone eurnIng more LIun Kz mIIIIon ($
z,oo) unnuuIIy wIII Iuve Lo puy Income Lux. EconomIsL
and legal expert Tin Than Oo said any tax should not
be a burden for payers and there should be incentives
for them like good utility services, otherwise they would
evude Luxes.
Thirtg nine unused oirports to he opened ofter
upgr ade
A LoLuI oI q unused uIrporLs, mosLIy In LIe CIIn und
Shan states in northern Myanmar, will be upgraded in
cooperation with private companies and put into ser-
vice during this year to help cope with the steep rise
in domestic air travel, local media reported a senior of-
hcIuI Irom LIe DIrecLoruLe oI CIvII AvIuLIon us suyIng.
Ruhher grouers suer os glohol prices dioe
SmuII scuIe rubber growers ure suerIng Iuge Iosses
as a result of plunging rubber prices in the world mar-
ket, local media reported, citing secretary general My-
InL KIIne oI Myunmur Rubber Growers` AssocIuLIon. AL
present, a metric tonne of rubber in the world market
Is ubouL $z,ooo, down Irom $z,oo In MurcI. To muke
matters worse, Myanmar rubber fetches only about
$1,6oo, ubouL $qoo Iess LIun prevuIIIng worId prIces
becuuse oI Iow quuIILy, MyInL KIIne suId. L Is very dIm -
cult for the manageable scale rubber growers to survive
under presenL condILIons, Ie suId.
Yongon to designote zo1o os 'Visit Mgonmor
Year
Yungon wIII desIgnuLe zo16 us VIsIL Myunmur Yeur
to attract seven million foreign visitors, local media re-
ported citing sources from the Federation of Myanmar
TruveI AgencIes. Sources suId LIe exIsLIng vIsu-on-ur-
rival system needs further improvement while the e-
visa system should be introduced to lure more tourists
InLo LIe resource rIcI counLry.
Myanmar Summary
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May 15-21, 2014
Myanmar Business Today
mmbiztoday.com
3
LOCAL BIZ
Myanmar Summary
Contd. P 10...ation (Part z) Contd. P 10...ation (Part z)
The Bonds That Will Tie The Nation (Part II)
Kyaw Myo Htoon
I
nfrastructure project
hnuncIng Is enLIreIy
dIerenL Irom LIe wuy
private businesses raise
cupILuI. TIey very mucI
depend on large amount
oI Iong-Lerm debL or Ioun.
Usually debt is composed
oI ;o percenL Lo 8o per-
cent of total capital re-
quirement, and such
long-term debt can only
be sourced from capital
markets both local stock
exchange and interna-
tional stock markets as
bonds.
TIe benehLs oI u weII-
developed capital mar-
ket are immense and
these have been well re-
seurcIed. An oIL quoLed
study by the World Bank
has clearly demonstrated
that GDP grows faster in
economies with more liq-
uId cupILuI murkeLs. I-
nancial institutions like
IMF strongly recommend
developing deep and liq-
uid local stock and bond
murkeL. BuL LIe cIuIIenge
is that development of lo-
cal Myanmar bond mar-
ket may even take longer
to become liquid than
Myunmur sLock murkeL.
If the local capital
market absorbs a large
amount of government
bonds there will be a
crowdIng ouL eecL,
which means the govern-
ment will use all the capi-
tal in the Myanmar capi-
tal market and less money
will go to private business
sectors thus hurting their
deveIopmenL.
There are challenges too
for Myanmar government
to sell foreign currency
bonds via international
capital markets since it
will be exposed to cur-
rency excIunge ruLe rIsk.
Nevertheless, under cur-
rent circumstances, it is
the only viable solution
to issue foreign currency
bonds to spur the eco-
nomic growth in years to
come. Bond Is borrowIng
against the expenses of
the future generations so
it must be invested wisely
und properIy.
Government revenue
can be used in various
activities and sectors
that greatly enhance pro-
ducLIvILy oI u counLry.
A nations productivity
is measured by its GDP
(Gross Domestic Produc-
LIon) growLI. n muLured
economies like Japan and
the United States GDP
growLI ruLe Is ubouL 1
percent compared with
developing countries like
Myunmur (6 Lo ; percenL).
But such growth will not
Luke pIuce uuLomuLIcuIIy.
Vietnam and China both
depIoyed mussIve hnun-
cial resources to develop
the countries infrastruc-
ture such as power and
roud. rom 1qq6 Lo zoo;,
Vietnam maintained a
higher infrastructure in-
vestment rate than its
GDP growth and as a
result maintained con-
sistent average Foreign
DIrecL nvesLmenL (D)
ruLe oI 8 percenL Lo GDP,
while Chinas miracle
GDP growth rate (now
sIowIng down) In LIe IusL
few decades came from
Chinese infrastructure in-
vesLmenL ruLe oI 1o Lo 1z
percent of its GDP annu-
uIIy.
Case in point, the out
oI conLroI Lrum c probIem
in Yangon is just simply
a result of lack of infra-
structure and it is starting
Lo uecL boLI empIoyers
and employees, and will
soon impact productivity
in Yangon and the dom-
Ino eecL cun creuLe Iur
reucIIng consequences.
Yangon is heading for Ja-
kurLu sLyIe grIdIock Lrum c,
one of the most notorious
Lrum cs In LIe worId, und
it is no wonder because
Indonesia only invests be-
low 5 percent of GDP in
InIrusLrucLures. Yungon
city can issue municipal
sub-sovereign bonds for
roads and transportation
after sovereign bonds are
Issued by LIe governmenL.
Organisations like the
Asian Development Bank
(ADB) und WorId Bunk
recommend at least 5
percent of GDP for infra-
sLrucLure InvesLmenL. I
Myanmar wants to fol-
low Vietnams investment
model with current GDP
growLI ruLe uL 6 percenL,
infrastructure investment
rate should go around 7
percent of the GDP which
LrunsIuLes Lo $q bIIIIon In
zo1 und up Lo $; bIIIIon
In zozz (Myunmur GDP
wIII runge Irom $q8 bII-
IIon Lo over $1oo bIIIIon
In zozz). So, LIe LoLuI re-
quirement of infrastruc-
ture investment for the
nexL 1o yeurs Ior Myun-
mur wIII be $; bIIIIon.
McKinsey Global In-
stitute analysis suggests
that an increase in in-
frastructure investment
equIvuIenL Lo 1 percenL oI
GDP could translate into
un uddILIonuI .q mIIIIon
direct and indirect jobs
In ndIu, 1. mIIIIon In LIe
UnILed SLuLes, 1. mIIIIon
In BruzII, und ;oo,ooo In
ndonesIu. n Myunmur,
Infrastructure invest-
ment implies both busi-
ness infrastructure like
road, power and social
infrastructure and also
educational and health-
cure InsLILuLIons. n or-
der to attract FDI, it will
take development of both
business and social infra-
sLrucLure componenLs.
There are ongoing infra-
structure activities in My-
unmur Loo. TIe Jupun n-
ternational Cooperation
Agency (JCA) Ius been
preparing a master infra-
structure plan for Myan-
mar as well as a Yangon
Urban Development plan,
while ADB and World
Bank have been working
hand in hand for infra-
structure development
areas such as power and
LrunsporLuLIon.
Even funding all those
infrastructures with
bonds, ODA and loans,
theres shortfall in coun-
tries like India, Vietnam
und ndonesIu. TIey ure
increasingly seeking in-
vestment from their pri-
vuLe secLor Lo hII In LIe
hnuncIng gup. n order Lo
attract private investment
in infrastructure projects,
sound and transparent
PPP legal framework
pIuy u mujor roIe. RecenL
Myanmar governments
eorL Lo ruIse eIecLrIcILy
LurI wus u rIgIL move Lo
attract private investment
into the sector although
how it will manage this
sensitive issue is debat-
ubIe. DespILe uII LIese eI-
forts, funding those infra-
structures will remain a
major challenge for years
to come for Myanmar as
well as other emerging
economIes. EInsLeIn once
said, Insanity is doing
the same things and ex-
pecLIng dIerenL resuILs.
Simply put: bold results
requIre boId ucLIons.
Infrastructure invest-
ment is politically, eco-
nomically and socially
important and most of
Myanmars challenges
today are basically infra-
sLrucLure cIuIIenges. ELI-
nIc conIcLs uIso creuLe
transportation and com-
munication gap that cre-
ates wider divide devel-
opment among cities and
provinces, and the ethnic
groups. MosL peopIe In
remote provinces never
have been to major cities
and lack exposure, breed-
ing conservative minds to
create racial and religious
conIcLs In LIe counLry.
Moreover, development
and investment of infra-
structure in ethnic areas
and provinces is the only
way to strengthen the
IrugIIe peuce process.
Therefore, infrastruc-
ture investment will play
critical role in Myanmar
long-term economic de-
velopment but having
a plan is just the begin-
nIng oI LIe journey. TIe
pIun ILseII wIII noL Luke o
without a capable man-
ugemenL Leum. AL LIe end
of the day, it is the peo-
pIe LIuL muLLer LIe mosL.
But having a competent
team in place is only half
the journey their way
of management practices
need to comply with the
accepted code of conduct
besides being transpar-
enL.
Last but not least, hav-
ing all the above three in-
gredients in place will not
suddenly earn trust from
LIe pubIIc. TIe govern-

The out of control traffic problem

in Yangon is simply a result of lack
of infrastructure and it is starting
to affect both employers and em-
ployees, and will soon impact productiv-
ity in Yangon and the domino effect can
create far reaching consequences.
The increasingIy worsening trafc in Myanmar`s commerciaI capitaI Yangon exempIies the urgent need of investment in the country`s in-
frastructure. The totaI requirement of infrastructure investment for the next 1U years for Myanmar couId be around $57 biIIion.
O
liv
e
r

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lo
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May 15-21, 2014
Myanmar Business Today
mmbiztoday.com
LOCAL BIZ
4
Myanmar Summary
Myanmar Summary
Semen Indonesia to Buy $30-m
Stake in Myanmar Cement Maker
I
ndonesias largest cement
producer PT Semen Indo-
nesia Tbk has agreed to buy
a minority stake in a Myanmar-
bused cemenL muker LIIs yeur.
At the moment we can only
enter with minority control, so
we wIII sLurL wILI u o percenL
ownership, President Director
Dwi Soetjipto told reporters last
week in Jakarta, Indonesia me-
dIu reporLed.
He said the stake is worth
ubouL $o mIIIIon.
He declined to name the My-
anmar company involved in the
deal, but said it has an annual
producLIon cupucILy oI up Lo 1.
mIIIIon meLrIc Lonnes.
We will gradually increase
our control there in the future,
but we need an entry point
now, SoeLjIpLo suId.
Semen Indonesia, formerly
known as Semen Gresik, op-
erates four units throughout
ndonesIu. TIe compuny un-
nounced last year that it plans
Phyo Aung Myint Lo spend up Lo $zoo mIIIIon
on un ucquIsILIon In Myunmur.
This investment follows the
companys venture into Viet-
num In zo1z, LIrougI LIe ucquI-
sILIon oI TIung ong CemenL.
For Indonesia, it is targeting
qo.8 mIIIIon Lonne unnuuI cu-
pucILy by zo1; Irom 1.8 mII-
lion estimated by the end of this
yeur.
Indonesias state-owned en-
terprises, including Semen
Indonesia and Bank Mandiri
among others, have been urged
by the government to expand
LIeIr presence In LIe regIon.
The cement producer has ob-
LuIned Rp1.q LrIIIIon ($16q mII-
IIon) In bunk Iouns Lo hnunce
the construction of a new plant
In WesL SumuLru.
TIe ;-yeur-oId hrm soId 6.z
million tonnes of cement in the
hrsL quurLer oI LIIs yeur, up .
percenL compured Lo .q mIIIIon
tonnes sold during the same
period last year, according to a
compuny sLuLemenL.
Semen Indonesias net in-
come rose . percenL Lo Rp1.
LrIIIIon ($11 mIIIIon) In LIe
hrsL quurLer oI LIIs yeur, wIIIe
revenue Increused 11.q percenL
Lo Rp6.z LrIIIIon ($q mIIIIon).
Ooredoo Tests First
OH Network Culls
O
oredoo Myanmar said it
has successfully tested
LIe hrsL mobIIe cuIIs Lo
and from its network and that
of the other new mobile op-
erator, terming the event an
important milestone in the
rollout of telecommunications
InIrusLrucLure ucross Myunmur.
In our industry it is impor-
tant that operators do collabo-
rate to enable total connectiv-
ity and choice for customers,
Ooredoo CEO Ross Cormack
said, highlighting the impor-
tance of good working relation-
sIIps beLween operuLors.
The Qatar-based company
and Norways Telenor last year
won the bid for the two telecom-
munIcuLIons IIcences oered Lo
IoreIgn hrms by LIe Myunmur
government, which seeks to
cede its ironclad control over
the countrys telecommunica-
LIons secLor.
Punishing SIM card prices
and state monopoly have left
Myanmars telecoms infra-
structure in shambles and only
managed a dismal mobile pen-
eLruLIon ruLe oI 1 percenL oI LIe
popuIuLIon.
We hope to be able to pro-
gress our work in connecting to
the existing MPT network in the
neur IuLure, Cormuck suId.
The company said in order for
the people of Myanmar to enjoy
LIe benehLs oI IeuILIy compe-
LILIon IL Is vILuI LIuL dIerenL
networks are able to intercon-
necL wILI eucI oLIer.
Ooredoo is currently rolling
out a voice- and data-enabled
G neLwork, IoIIowIng LIe om-
Htun Htun Minn cial awarding of the licences in
ebruury. TIe hrm suId IL wIII
hnIsI roIIIng ouL ILs neLwork
across the country within six
monLIs sInce LIe omcIuI uwurd-
Ing.
This interconnection mile-
stone brings together Ooredoos
next generation technology
with that of the current genera-
tion technology being deployed
by the other new operator, the
hrm, wIIcI currenLIy empIoys
over ;oo IocuI sLu, suId.
A worker Ioads a sack of cement onto a boat for shipping to Indonesia`s Bangka IsIand, at the Sunda KeIapa harbour in ]akarta.
Ooredoo ._ , .-. ~ e~ .~
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-~. ..: ~q:q .. Ross Cormack
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May 15-21, 2014
Myanmar Business Today
mmbiztoday.com
LOCAL BIZ
5
Myanmar Summary
Corroption The Biggest Concern Ior Myunmur Bosinesses: Sorvey
C
orruption is the top con-
cern for businesses in
Myanmar, which is un-
dergoing liberal reforms after
the end of military rule, accord-
ing to a UN-led survey released
IusL week.
Five decades of military rule
left Myanmar mired in poverty
and plagued by corruption, but
a quasi-civilian government
LIuL Look power In zo11 Ius
enacted sweeping political and
Jared Ferrie economic reforms aimed at at-
tracting foreign investment and
cIeunIng up LIe economy.
However, the survey suggests
the reforms have thus far had
only a limited impact on cor-
rupLIon.
AbouL zo percenL oI LIe more
LIun ,ooo hrms quesLIoned
IdenLIhed corrupLIon us u very
severe obstacle to their opera-
tions, according to the survey
from the United Nations, the
Organisation for Economic Co-
operation and Development and
the Union of Myanmar Federa-
tion of Chambers of Commerce
und ndusLry (UMCC).
Access to skilled labour and
LecInoIogy were IdenLIhed us
the second and third biggest
obsLucIes.
SIxLy percenL oI LIe hrms
surveyed said they had to pay
bribes for registration, licences
or permILs. AbouL IuII LIe hrms
suId LIey puId $oo In exLru
fees while about a dozen said
exLru Iees exceeded $1o,ooo.
For the bulk of Myanmar
businesses, the business envi-
ronment has not changed, said
Kim Ninh, country representa-
tive of the Washington-based
Asia Foundation, speaking at
LIe survey`s IuuncI.
She said she was surprised
by LIe hndIng LIuL LIe uveruge
compuny wus 1 yeurs oId und
few new ones had emerged dur-
Ing LIe reIorm perIod.
Curiously, not many in recent
years and the increase hasnt
been as strong as youd think
with the opening of Myanmar,
KIm NInI suId.
Myanmars parliament passed
anti-corruption laws last year
and appointed an anti-graft
commIssIon In ebruury.
Win Aung, president of the
UMFCCI, said he was optimistic
ubouL LIe governmenL`s eorLs
Lo hgIL corrupLIon buL LIuL suc-
cess would depend on whether
the authorities really acted on
LIe new IegIsIuLIon.
There should be action
against those who breach the
law, he said in an interview on
LIe sIdeIInes oI LIe evenL. OnIy
in that way can the elimination
oI corrupLIon be eecLIve.
Despite Myanmars ongo-
ing reforms, the World Bank
runked IL 18z ouL oI 18q coun-
tries in its annual report on the
business environment last Oc-
Lober. TIe counLry`s Iow score
was due to corruption, Charles
Schneider, a World Bank econ-
omist based in Yangon, said at
the time, though he added the
country was improving trans-
purency. Reuters
About 2U percent of the more than 3,UUU rms questioned identied corruption as a very severe obstacIe to their operations
in Myanmar, according to a survey from the United Nations, the Urganisation for Economic Co-operation and BeveIopment
and the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI).
R
e
u
t
e
r
s
New Tax Rate Comes
into Force This FY
M
yanmars new income tax and commercial tax
Iuw Ius come InLo Iorce In LIe currenL hscuI
yeur oI zo1q-1.
Under LIe new Iuw, peopIe wIo eurn Irom Kz mIIIIon
Lo K mIIIIon ($z,o8 Lo ,zo8) u yeur wIII Iuve Lo puy
5 percent income tax; those earning from above K5 mil-
IIon up Lo K1o mIIIIon Iuve Lo puy 1o percenL; Ior eurn-
ers Irom ubove K1o mIIIIon up Lo Kzo mIIIIon LIe ruLe Is
zo percenL und LIose wIo eurn ubove Ko mIIIIon wIII
Iuve Lo puy z percenL, LIe nLernuI Revenue DepurL-
menL suId.
n LIe new Iuw, Lux reducLIon Is oered Ior murrIed
coupIes und Ior LIose wIo Iuve cIIIdren.
CommercIuI Lux wIII be coIIecLed sLurLIng Irom K1
mIIIIon und Lux exempLIon Is oered Ior 6o ILems oI
goods, the department said, warning that those who fail
Lo puy Luxes wIII be hned under LIe commercIuI Lux Iuw.
AccordIng Lo LIe depurLmenL, u LoLuI oI K.8z LrIIIIon
($.; bIIIIon) In revenue wus coIIecLed durIng zo1-1q.
Myanmars parliament approved the two tax-related
bIIIs In MurcI.
Kyaw Min
Myanmar Summary
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May 15-21, 2014
Myanmar Business Today
mmbiztoday.com
LOCAL BIZ
6
Myanmar Summary
Myanmar Summary
Contd. P 18...(ALB)
Zhulian Corp Sees
Myanmar Entry by Q3
M
alaysia-based Zhulian
Corp Bhd, an invest-
ment holding compa-
ny, will enter Myanmar market
by the third quarter of this year
as part of the groups overseas
murkeL expunsIon.
Group managing director
Teoh Meng Keat said Myan-
mar is touted as the new fron-
tier market amongst emerging
countries in terms of the con-
sumer segment and has ap-
pointed a local master agent to
oversee LIe busIness LIere.
He said due to local laws lim-
iting company ownership, the
group will export its products
directly to the master agent,
wIo wIII LIen seII IL Lo IocuIs.
We will continue to expand
our overseas market to over-
come escalating raw material
prices, increasing operating
cosLs, sLI murkeL compeLILIon
und reduced consumer conh-
dence in spending, he told re-
porters after the groups annual
general meeting, Malaysian
news ugencIes reporLed.
He said the group also plans
to channel investments towards
increasing the production ca-
pacity in line with the objective
of growing the business by ex-
tending the scale and capability
of its food and beverages manu-
IucLurIng dIvIsIon.
The group sales ratio is mostly
exports at 57 percent to Thai-
Iund, 8 percenL IocuI, Iour per-
cent to Indonesia and one per-
Phyu Thit Lwin cenL Lo SIngupore.
However, Teoh said the group
Iud uIIocuLed RM mIIIIon
($1o.86 mIIIIon) us cupILuI ex-
pendILure (cupex) Ior LIe nexL
1z monLIs.
From dealing with only a small
range of gold plated jewellery,
ZIuIIun Loduy Ius dIversIhed ILs
product lines into home care,
food and beverages, nutritional
supplements, personal care,
cosmetics, air and water treat-
ment, sleep enhancement and
dIsposubIe IygIene producLs.
Currently, Zhulian has about
6q,;oq dIsLrIbuLors und z6
agents in Malaysia, Thailand,
ndonesIu und SIngupore.
Iorope Provides Sopc oI
LIFT Fund in Myanmar
T
he EU and six of its mem-
ber states are the founder
and largest donor of the
Livelihood and Food Security
TrusL und (T), uccounLIng
Ior 8o percenL oI LIe IundIng
granted to Myanmar, the Euro-
pean Union Delegation to My-
unmur suId.
n zooq, LIe EU LogeLIer wILI
other donors launched the mul-
ti-donor Livelihoods and Food
SecurILy TrusL und (T) Lo
tackle the issue of poverty and
hunger directly in Myanmars
ruruI communILIes. AL presenL,
more LIun 1o donors ure con-
LrIbuLIng Lo T.
n Myunmur, un esLImuLed z6
percent of the population live
in poverty and 5 percent live in
extreme hardship, with little or
no income to spend on essential
food, according to the Integrat-
ed Household Living Conditions
Survey In Myunmur zooq-zo1o.
Poverty and the lack of means
to buy or access basic food re-
quirements have been and re-
main a persistent problem in
Myanmar, particularly in rural
ureus.
In line with Millennium De-
veIopmenL GouI 1 - Lo erudIcuLe
extreme poverty and hunger
LIFTs work focuses on improv-
ing food and livelihood secu-
rity in areas around the country
where poverty is of particular
concern.
Through LIFT we have been
able to target two million of
Myunmur`s ruruI poor. We ure
proud to contribute to more
May Soe San LIun qo percenL oI LIe und us
EU and to have played a lead-
ing role in the creation of LIFT,
said Roland Kobia, the Euro-
pean Unions Ambassador to
Myunmur.
Together with EU member
states, the European contribu-
tion to LIFT, notably of the UK,
represenLs 8o percenL oI LIe
IundIng.
LIFT supports a wide range
of activities and projects imple-
mented by local and interna-
tional NGOs and agencies such
as increasing productivity and
yields, improving local seed va-
rieties, diversifying production,
ensuring a more diverse and
nutritive diet, promoting inclu-
sive value chains, easing access
to markets, strengthening farm-
ers organisations, or ensuring
mIcro-hnunce reucIes LIe ruruI
poor.
The focus of the fund is to as-
sist smallholder farmers to de-
termine their own way out of
poverty, and support them to
become active players in the so-
cial and economic development
of the country, the delegation
suId.
LIFT has developed an iden-
LILy oI ILs own. L Is u successIuI
experience of donors working
together to achieve the same
goal: reducing rural poverty and
malnutrition in Myanmar, said
KobIu.
The EU ambassador said:
Improving living conditions
in rural areas is one of the top
priorities of the government, as
reecLed In LIe rumework Ior
Social and Economic Reforms
and in the Strategic Framework
Ior RuruI DeveIopmenL. T Is
now adapting its strategy to mir-
ror the priorities of the govern-
menL Lo reduce ruruI poverLy.
....q:. ~._..~ Zhulian Corp
Bhd ~.,_e _._ ....~ ~ . .
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e. . . ~~ e. ...~ ~ ~ .q:~
.__e.._~:. ._~_:.._.
~. .|. . , .- ...: , _~:..q.
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._ .~ q e _e .....~ ~ .:.~ ~. .:
....: ...~~_e.._~:.. _.,.:
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.:. ~.~: _._~.~e.:..e.
_e,_e..:..__e.._~:. ._.:_~:..
._.
IiveIihood and Food Security Trust Fund (IIFT), founded by the EU and six of its member states, supports a wide range of
projects impIemented by IocaI and internationaI NCUs and agencies.
F
a
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id

B
h
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a
/
P
G
M
F
.q:.... ~e~..:.._
the Livelihood and Food Security
Trust Fund (LIFT) - ~_.:.
.:._e._.. ~ q:..,...: q,..
~:. _.,.:.....~..:..__e.
._~:. _.,.:..q: .q:.
..~e.:..e. ._.:_~:..._.
~~ . . . ~ .q:... ~.,_e
~_ .:. . .| , . . .:. . ~~ ~~
Livelihoods and Food Security
Trust Fund (LIFT) ~:. _.,.:.-
.~.. ....:.q . .q . . ..|.. . ~.:
.q.:_.~ .. . ~:. .:~ . .... q,
~_.:._.._e.._. .~q~
~.q.e..~:. LIFT ~:.
_~.~_.~q._.
_.,.:.~ ...q- .,.,.._.
' q:. . , .._ . .q . . ..|.. :.,
.,q_. . |.q:. . , .. : .~ . . : q .,
.,q~: .:...:~.,.q.~~~
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Household Living Conditions Survey
in Myanmar 2009-2010 ~q .q
._.
..q....|... ~._..~.:.~.:
.~..~.:. ~eeq, .~..._
_., .:. -.~.. ....:.~ ~.~
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~ q:..,.~:. _~...:._..
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ADB, Japan to Assist Myanmar Improve
Water and Sanitation Works
A
bouL 18,ooo peopIe In
Yangon and Mandalay
will soon have access to
safe, regular water supply and
improved sanitation facilities
wILI LIe sIgnIng oI u $q mII-
lion grant funded by the Japan
Fund for Poverty Reduction and
administered by the Asian De-
veIopmenL Bunk (ADB), LIe Mu-
nIIu-bused Iender suId IusL week.
The four-year community in-
frastructure and basic services
project is expected to reduce the
prevalence of infectious diseas-
es, improve the system of solid
and liquid wastes disposal, and
reduce oodIng und wuLerIog-
ging in two of Myanmars most
popuIuLed cILIes, ADB suId.
Community participation will
Wai Linn Kyaw be instrumental in the delivery,
operation and maintenance of
these infrastructure subpro-
jects said Linda Adams, social
development specialist at ADBs
SouLIeusL AsIu DepurLmenL.
ADB said the project will in-
troduce a self-perpetuating
community operation and
maintenance fund, with com-
munity development commit-
tees responsible for the collec-
tion of fees and administration
oI LIe InIrusLrucLure.
The grant will also include im-
proving drainage of storm and
ood wuLer, und enIuncIng uc-
cess Lo rouds und IooLpuLIs.
Improving living conditions
in Myanmars major cities by
enhancing sanitation and clean
May 15-21, 2014
Myanmar Business Today
mmbiztoday.com
7
LOCAL BIZ
Myanmar Summary
Myanmar Summary
Allen & Overy Steps into Myunmur with Sixth ASIAN Om ce
U
K-based Allen & Overy
(A&O) suId IL Ius opened
ILs sIxLI om ce In LIe
ASEAN region in Yangon, be-
coming the latest in the line of
InLernuLIonuI Iuw hrms LIuL ure
swarming into Myanmar to tap
LIe IusL economIc IronLIer.
TIe new om ce wIII be mun-
aged by Simon Makinson, Allen
& Overy ASEAN group chair-
mun, wIo Ius Ied LIe hrm`s
push into Myanmar when sanc-
LIons begun Lo IIIL Lwo yeurs ugo.
Through this investment, we
believe we can not only play a
role in helping Myanmar with
its legal framework, we can also
help clients across our global
network better understand the
mechanics and nuances of what
has been, up until recently, an
unknown quantity from an in-
ternational investment point of
vIew, MukInson suId.
He suId Irom wIen LIe hrm
began work in the market two
years ago weve been extremely
busy with a multi-faceted ap-
proucI Lo LIe murkeL.
Last year, A&O, which is one
of the so-called magic circle
hrms, IeIped ILs Iong-sLundIng
Norwegian client Telenor to win
one of two telecoms licences
granted to foreign companies
allowing it to provide telecom-
munications services in Myan-
mur. Our work Ior LIIs cIIenL
continues with network deploy-
menL, MukInson suId.
On the client side we are ad-
vising across all active sectors
with the big ticket deal to date
beIng our work Ior TeIenor.
Besides telecoms, we have
also been active in banking and
hnunce, energy IncIudIng oII
and gas, infrastructure, manu-
IucLurIng und consumer goods.
US OFAC and EU sanctions
advice also feature prominently
Htun Htun Minn
ucross uII secLors In LIe hrm`s
porLIoIIo oI experIence, Ie suId.
While risk is still a key factor
for corporations looking to in-
vest in Myanmar, the business
and legal framework for oppor-
tunity is improving day-by-day,
MukInson udded.
In terms of industry devel-
opment, we have been active
in the power sector, working
with developers and multilater-
als, including assisting with the
development of a standardised
power purchase agreement for
uII eIecLrIcILy suIes.
TIe hrm Is uIso u member oI
the UK-Myanmar Financial Ser-
vices Task Force reviewing My-
unmur`s bunkIng reguIuLIons.
There are two other senior law-
yers and three business services
sLu on LIe ground, us weII us u
team of sector specialists made
up of partners and lawyers from
LIe hrm`s Bungkok und SIngu-
pore om ces, A&O suId.
Having people on the ground,
alongside the contacts and
goodwill we have established
over the past two years, has
been critical in enabling us to
udvunce, MukInson suId.
This latest opening takes the
hrm`s om ce counL Lo 1z In AsIu-
PucIhc, uugmenLIng ILs exIsLIng
ASEAN oerIng wIIcI IncIudes
om ces In SIngupore, Bungkok,
Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi and
JukurLu.
On LIe pro bono sIde, LIe hrm
has rolled out educational pro-
grammes for government and
regulatory agencies, members
of the local legal profession and
law students to help build Myan-
mars foreign investment know-
Iow. TIIs Ius been deveIoped In
partnership with the Myanmar
ALLorney-GeneruI`s Om ce und
LIe UnIversILy oI OxIord.
EsLubIIsIed In 1qo, A&O op-
eruLes q om ces In o counLrIes
wILI upproxImuLeIy z,8z1 Iuw-
yers und ,o;; empIoyees, und
revenue oI ubouL 1.1q bIIIIon
($z.o1 bIIIIon).
_-~,~._..~ Allen & Overy
(A&O). ,.- ._.._.:~,..,.~:.
q, ~ , ~ e . . ._ _e. ._~: .._~_:
. ._ .~. .|,.., .~:. . , . ._ . . . .
.~ : ~_., .:. ~:. . .. :..q.. ~ . .
.:.,~ . .....q, _~... .. ._ Allen &
Overy ASEAN group - ~__e..
Simon Makinson ~ _~._~..__e.
._~:.._. .q._.
, .. Allen & Overy (A&O) ~.,
_e _.,.:.~ .,.._ ....
~~_.~.~ . . ~ . _. ._e. _. . .~ q
~ ...~ ~ . q:. . , ..:._e ~. .
,..~q._~:. .q._.
US OFAC . EU ~ - _., .:.
~..' . .. :..q.. ~ . :.. .:.._e..:
._..._ Allen & Overy (A&O)
-.~: _. ._ . ~ ~ ~. . _e. ._~: .
~ ._. ~. .|~ . ~ ~ _. ._.:_~:.
. ._ .
Thailand Seeks Business Development
with Myanmar Through Fairs
T
hailand is aiming to de-
velop a stronger business
relationship with My-
anmar by organising business
matchmaking fairs, a top Thai
om cIuI suId.
Myanmar and Thailand are
neighbouring countries and
uIso cIose busIness purLners. To
tighten the business relationship
between two countries, we need
more collaboration and coopera-
tion in business, said Boon Inti-
ruLunu, counseIor (commercIuI),
Om ce oI CommercIuI AuIrs,
RoyuI TIuI Embussy.
One such fair, Thailand Week
BIzmuLcI uIr zo1q, wus IeId
Irom Muy q- uL TuLmuduw HuII
In Yungon.
Entrepreneurs from Thailand
seek small and medium entre-
preneur purLners In Myunmur.
So, we introduced Myanmar
entrepreneurs with Thailands
high quality businesses and
producLs, nLIruLunu suId.
There were also business con-
claves at the Bizmatch Fair and
Thai cuisine cooking sessions
Ior LIe pubIIc.
HoIdIng sucI IuIrs be beneh-
cial to improve the partnership
beLween LIe Lwo counLrIes. As
Myanmar is a long-term busi-
ness partner of Thailand, it
makes sense to do more busi-
ness collaboration with Myan-
mar, a Thai entrepreneur com-
menLed.
Pann Nu
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May 15-21, 2014
Myanmar Business Today
mmbiztoday.com
LOCAL BIZ
8
Myanmar Summary
Ioreign Lenders Prepure Ior Myunmur Intry
Timothy Sifert
F
oreign lenders are expect-
ed to receive requests for
proposals on new bank-
ing licences from the Central
Bank of Myanmar as early as
this month, the Southeast Asian
nations latest step towards a
more open und compeLILIve h-
nuncIuI murkeL.
New banking licences, expect-
ed as early as this year, will al-
Iow IoreIgn hrms Lo expund be-
yond LIe represenLuLIve omces
muny now operuLe. Myunmur
has been opening up its mar-
kets to foreign companies since
the US and European Union
started lifting economic sanc-
LIons In LIe pusL Iew yeurs.
The country granted telecom
licences to Norways Telenor
and Qatars Ooredoo earlier this
yeur. SeveruI IoreIgn brunds,
such as Coca-Cola, General
Electric, Unilever and Visa,
have been introduced, or rein-
Lroduced, oI IuLe Lo consumers.
At the same time, the Tokyo
Stock Exchange and Daiwa Secu-
rities Group are advising the cen-
tral bank on the establishment of
the Yangon Stock Exchange, ex-
pecLed Lo open nexL yeur.
The lenders likely to get the
hrsL IIcences ure LIose wILI
represenLuLIve omces In LIe
counLry. Among LIem ure DBS,
United Overseas Bank, OCBC,
CMB und SLundurd CIurLered.
However, oLIer hrms - noL onIy
SE Asias regional players are
expected to seek to licences, as
weII.
With companies like Coke
and Unilever doing business
here, its very encouraging,
said a source at a foreign bank
wILI u Myunmur rep omce. We
are waiting just for RFPs (Re-
quesL Ior ProposuIs).
Happy r etur ns
Coke, IIke oLIer IoreIgn hrms,
is returning to the country and
pIuns Lo InvesL sIgnIhcunLIy us
Myanmars economy is expect-
ed, with the help of FDI, to grow
;.8 percenL In eucI oI LIe nexL
hve yeurs, uccordIng Lo LIe M.
Coke opened a new bottling
plant near Yangon in the mid-
dIe oI IusL yeur, LIe hrsL LIme
In more LIun 6o yeurs LIuL LIe
brund Is produced In Myunmur.
Coke suId IL wouId InvesL $zoo
mIIIIon over hve yeurs, some-
thing permitted under the new
foreign investment law, signed
In November zo1z.
At the outset, new bank licen-
sees will likely be limited in the
types of business they can pur-
sue, owing to regulations, as
well as the fact that the banking
and capital markets in Myan-
mur ure so underdeveIoped.
Nonetheless, lenders see
promise in the country, not least
because it is located between
India and China, the two most
popuIous counLrIes. Myunmur
posLed u GDP oI $6.q bIIIIon
IusL yeur, uccordIng Lo LIe M.
TIe hgure Is seL Lo doubIe In LIe
nexL sIx yeurs or so.
oreIgn hrms, sucI us DBS,
are naturally interested in a
growIng SE AsIun murkeL.
As Myanmar moves to devel-
op ILs hnuncIuI secLor, DBS weI-
comes the opening up of Myan-
mar to foreign banks, and we
would be keen to tap on bank-
ing opportunities there, a DBS
spokesperson suId.
Another Singapore lender has
sImIIur pIuns Ior LIe counLry.
OCBC sees potential in Myan-
mar, said a spokeswoman at
LIe bunk. As und wIen LIe reg-
ulations allow for banks to have
more sIgnIhcunL InvesLmenLs In
the country, we will be keen to
explore deepening our presence
LIere.
TIe rougIIy IoreIgn bunks
wILI rep omces In Myunmur do
noL conducL busIness IocuIIy.
nsLeud, omce Ieuds enguge In
IucL hndIng und consuILIng wILI
uuLIorILIes.
A lot of what we do now is
education, the source at the rep
omce suId. We IeIp Lo provIde
knowIedge Lo LIe cenLruI bunk. I
we want to be in this market, why
noL uIso Lry Lo IeIp sIupe IL.
1M1 help
The central bank has been
willing to seek outside advice
Irom LIe rep omces, us weII us
gIobuI InsLILuLIons IIke LIe M.
A March report from the IMF
said that authorities in the coun-
try are moving rapidly to issue
IIcences Lo IoreIgn bunks. TIe
introduction of licensed foreign
hrms wouId ucceIeruLe InLegru-
LIon wILI InLernuLIonuI hnuncIuI
murkeLs, LIe M suId.
However, the authors of the
report said that the central bank
should limit the number of new
hrms Irom LIree Lo hve uL hrsL,
because supervising more lend-
ers than that would pose an un-
necessury InILIuI burden.
Once supervisory capacity
has improved, further licences
cun be uwurded, IL suId.
Myanmar Committed to Sustainable
und Green Growth: Minister
It is unclear how many licenc-
es the central bank will ulti-
muLeIy grunL. YeL, despILe uII LIe
uncertainties related to Myan-
mars nascent markets, foreign
banks have kept on opening rep
omces. SeveruI ndIun und Ko-
rean banks, including Shinhan
Bank, Industrial Bank of Korea
and Kookmin Bank, landed in
LIe counLry IusL yeur.
Such an on-the-ground pres-
ence wIII IIkeIy gIve u hrm some
advantage in working on Myan-
mur-reIuLed InLernuLIonuI hnunc-
ing opportunities, even if their
IocuI operuLIons ure nomInuI.
Wai Linn Kyaw
M
yanmar is fully com-
mitted to green growth
as it navigates a transi-
tion to a more open country, a
mInIsLer suId.
U Win Tun, union minister for
environmental conservation and
forestry, said at the Forests Asia
Summit in Jakarta that the gov-
ernment is fully committed to
climate change mitigation and
sustainable forest management
as it seeks to transform itself po-
litically, economically and social-
Iy uILer yeurs oI IsoIuLIon.
Observers are keen to see
whether Myanmar can main-
tain the growth in its newly lib-
eralised economy without dam-
aging its forested landscapes
a path that many of its more-
developed neighbours have tak-
en In recenL decudes.
The minister also discussed
development of production for-
ests with the Indonesian Forestry
MInIsLer ZuIkII Husun.
Myanmar wants to learn about
the land concession system and
ways to transform forest areas
into a production forest from In-
donesIu, ZuIkII LoId ndonesIun
medIu.
The Indonesian minister was
expected to accompany U Win
Tun to view the forest business
that was started by state-owned
IoresLry compuny PT PerIuLunI.
ZuIkII suId Myunmur Is InLer-
ested in the management of for-
ests in Indonesia because it has
similar forest conditions as Indo-
nesIu. CurrenLIy, ndonesIu Ius
oo wood processIng compunIes
oI wIIcI zo percenL ure munuged
by LIe IocuI communILy.
U Win Tun said Myanmar is in-
terested in studying the way In-
donesia manages its forest areas
to transforms them into a pro-
duction forest, while also main-
taining the environment and bio-
dIversILy oI LIe IoresL.
Myanmar Summary
ThaiIand`s Siam CommerciaI Bank`s representative ofce on Kaba Aye Pagoda road in Yangon. The roughIy 35 foreign banks
with rep ofces in Myanmar do not conduct business IocaIIy. Instead, ofce heads engage in fact nding and consuIting with
authorities.
O
liv
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S
lo
w
A truck Ioaded with Iogs runs on a road in Yangon. Ubservers are keen to see
whether Myanmar can maintain growth without destroying its forests.
U
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May 15-21, 2014
Myanmar Business Today
mmbiztoday.com
LOCAL BIZ
9
Myanmar Summary
Thome Group Opens Myanmar Manning Agency
S
ingapore-based ship
munugemenL hrm
Thome Group has
opened a crew recruit-
ment and placement ser-
vices agency in Myanmar
in a bit to support its bur-
geoning Southeast Asian
shipping cluster, the com-
puny suId.
Thome Myanmar
is seen as an impor-
tant step in the com-
panys expansion
into the growing
economies of South-
east Asia and posi-
LIons IL weII Lo oer
its full range of ship
management ser-
vices to the country,
LIe compuny suId.
It will immediately
enable Thome to tap
into the vast wealth
of seafarer potential
that Myanmar has
wILI ILs 6o mIIIIon
strong population, it
udded.
Thome group
chairman Olav Eek
Thorstensen said:
Phyo Aung Myint The oil and gas sectors
are also very important in
this part of the world and
LIe openIng up oI un omce
here places the Thome
Group in a good position
to service the future needs
of this and other growth
ureus.
He said establishing
a manning operation in
Myanmar underlines the
groups commit-
ment to this fast-
moving and highly
important seafarer
recruitment mar-
keL.
The Myanmar/In-
dia/Sri Lanka region
is seen as an area of
massive potential
growth for Thome,
not only as far as
crew recruitment
and training is con-
cerned but also in
the supply of general
shi pmanagement
services, the compa-
ny suId.
Thome already em-
pIoys cIose Lo 1,ooo
crew from the region
and it says it sees
sIgnIhcunL opporLunILIes
for expansion through the
new omce.
Michael Elwert, director
of group HR, strategy and
support at Thome Group,
said seafarers from Myan-
mar are extremely quali-
hed us LIey ure educuLed
Lo u very IIgI IeveI.
Thome Myanmar has
received its manning
agency and MLC licences
and a programme of cadet
recruitment has already
sLurLed wILI o cudeLs uI-
reudy Luken on.
Training is important
to us and we have ap-
pointed a regional train-
ing manager who will
oversee the training of
such cadets and others
from the Myanmar/In-
dia/Sri Lanka region, El-
werL suId.
Thome was one of the
hrsL sIIp munugemenL
companies to visit as part
of an earlier Scandinavian
IucL-hndIng LrIp Lo LIe
counLry.
Claes Eek Thorstens-
en, president of Thome
Group, said: Thome
brIngs over o yeurs oI
quality ship management
experience to this impor-
tant market and we look
forward to working even
more closely with new
and existing clients in the
monLIs und yeurs uIeud.
The companys other
expansions in Asia in-
voIve osIore consuI-
Luncy OC. TIe compuny
registered LOC Seoul and
opened ILs hrsL omce In
SouLI Koreu In AprII.
Thome Group of Com-
panies provides services
ranging from ship man-
ugemenL Lo runnIng o-
shore vessels, FSOs and
FPSOs, port agency, ves-
sel inspection, newbuild-
ing site supervision, and
crew LruInIng.
As an independent in-
ternational ship manager,
LIe hrm Ius more LIun
zoo vesseIs under LecInI-
cal management serviced
by 6oo sIore sLu und
1o,ooo crew members. L
uIso Ius 1zo vesseIs under
pure crew management
engugemenLs.
Thome Myanmar is seen as an important step in the company`s expansion into the growing economies of
Southeast Asia and positions it weII to offer its fuII range of ship management services to the country,
the company said.
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. ~:. ~._.. ~ .. :. . .
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Group ~.,_e ~.q .~: ~:
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is still lower than other
neighbouring and re-
gional countries, and the
government should re-
form the economic infra-
structure to increase the
number.
The Myanmar govern-
ment is now desperately
trying to strengthen its
esLImuLed 1zo,ooo SMEs
ahead of the ASEAN Eco-
nomIc CommunILy (AEC)
In zo1. TIe Iree ow oI
goods and labour within
the AEC is expected to
pose sLI cIuIIenges be-
fore the ill-funded My-
anmar SMEs who will be
competing against their
superior rivals in the re-
gIon.
From page ...(SMILB)
From page ...(SMILB)
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.: ~~..,. ~, q:..,._e
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_~:.._.
May 15-21, 2014
Myanmar Business Today
mmbiztoday.com
LOCAL BIZ
10
Myanmar Summary
ment still needs to com-
municate their plan that
will align with public in-
terests in simple and plain
Iunguuge.
At this initial develop-
ment stage of a country
like Myanmar, it is very
hard to show big tangi-
bIe und pIysIcuI resuILs.
What the government can
do right now is sell hope
(or u LungIbIe pIun) Lo LIe
public and earn their trust
so that they can minimise
public resistance along
LIeIr wuy. TIe govern-
ment also needs a public
reIuLIons ugency Loo.
From page ...ation (Part z)
From page ...ation (Part z)
The knowledge will give
control to the people and
control in turn will give
hope to them in the fu-
Lure. PeopIe wILI Iope
wIII beIuve weII. TIere
are several road junc-
tions in Yangon without
Lrum c IIgILs wIere drIv-
ers act desperately to es-
cupe LIe mess. BuL sume
drivers at junctions with
Lrum c IIgIL ucL LoLuIIy op-
posILe. TIose Lrum c IIgILs
are like a plan that will
control the public and
such control will spawn
hope that they will escape
the mess when the time
comes. n oLIer words,
highly capable leadership
will bring public in the
back seat of the leaders
car and will see the chal-
lenges and opportunities
on LIe roud uIeud. eud-
ers have to earn trust and
sympathy while driving
along a bumpy road drive
to achieve a common des-
LInuLIon.
Former US President
BIII CIInLon dehned Ieud-
ership during an inter-
view with Fortune maga-
zine as bringing people
together in pursuit of a
common cause, develop-
ing a plan to achieve it,
and staying with it until
LIe gouI Is ucIIeved.
Myanmar leaders and
policy makers can learn
a lot of development les-
sons from Vietnam and
India to take the ad-
vantage of being a late
mover instead of invent-
ing a Myanmar way (of
course there will be some
cusLomIsuLIons) LIuL Ius
stunted the country for
LIe IusL hve decudes.
TIe very hrsL sLep oI
leadership will be having
u soIId pIun. WILIouL one
at hand, no matter who
wIns LIe zo1 eIecLIon,
Myanmar leaders will face
a troubled time in leading
the change that Myanmar
people has been yearning
Ior so Iong.
Kyaw Myo Htoon (John)
is c bestsellin uriter cnd
c jncncicl consultcnt.
His recent bool Under-
standing Equity and Pro-
ject Iincncin become c
bestsellin business bool
in Myanmar. He is also a
director ct Youn & Rubi-
ccm cdtertisin cenc.
He ccn be recched ct:
johnQmcnmcrpinnc-
clejncncicl.com.

There are challenges too for My-

anmar government to sell foreign
currency bonds via international
capital markets since it will be
exposed to currency exchange rate risk.
Nevertheless, under current circum-
stances, it is the only viable solution to
issue foreign currency bonds to spur the
economic growth in years to come.
Initial Census Results to be Released in August
Aye Myat
M
yanmar authorities
will release in August
the initial results of
this years nationwide census
conducted in March-April, U
Khin Yi, minister for immigra-
LIon und popuIuLIon, suId.
U Khin Yi made the disclosure
at a press conference on the
zo1q PopuIuLIon und HousIng
Census Enumeration at Yangon
RegIonuI PurIIumenL buIIdIng.
The preliminary results will
include the census on popula-
tion taken state-, region- and
LownsIIp-wIse, Ie suId.
It is expected that the launch
of the main population infor-
muLIon wIII be In Muy zo1, Ie
udded.
The minister said all com-
pleted questionnaires are now
being retrieved from townships
in a swift, secure and safe man-
ner Lo LIe cupILuI Nuy PyI Tuw.
He said there were about
81,ooo enumeruLIon ureus
where counting was done
by qo,ooo enumeruLors und
z,ooo supervIsors.
Myunmur`s zo1q nuLIonwIde
census covered 1o.;1q mIIIIon
households except some in the
countrys restive northernmost
Kachin state and western Rakh-
ine state, according to the min-
IsLry.
nIormuLIon Irom LIe heId
suId q; vIIIuges Irom z vIIIuge
tracts in Kachin were not enu-
meruLed.
In Rakhine state, three out of
hve dIsLrIcLs were purLIuIIy enu-
merated due to non-response
from Bengali community, the
minister said referring to the
community otherwise interna-
LIonuIIy known us RoIIngyu.
TIere Is u LoLuI oI 1. mIIIIon
population of Bengalis in the
counLry, oI wIom 1.o mIIIIon
live in Rakhine state, U Khin Yi
suId.
Myunmur`s 1z-duy nuLIonuI
census Irom MurcI o Lo AprII
1o, LIe hrsL In LIree decudes,
collected data on current popu-
IuLIon, economIc und socIuI hg-
ures, aimed at working out a na-
LIonuI deveIopmenL pIun.
He revealed that the prepara-
tions for enumeration started
on Muy z, zo11, Lwo monLIs uI-
Ler LIe governmenL Look om ce.
n LIe 1q8 census, Myun-
mur`s popuIuLIon wus . mII-
lion excluding an estimated
1.1; mIIIIon (. percenL) non-
census ones for security rea-
sons, Ie suId.
Minister for Immigration and PopuIation U Khin Yi speaks at a press conference in Yangon.
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and Housing Census Enumeration
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May 15-21, 2014
Myanmar Business Today
mmbiztoday.com
LOCAL BIZ
11
Contd. P zz...(ReBecting)
Reecting On Myunmur's Iotore
Jon Springer
W
hen it comes to
covering Fron-
tier Market in-
vesting, there are always
LIe currenL IoL counLrIes.
Myanmar (formerly and
sLIII Lo muny, Burmu) Is uL
this crossroads and may
hold hot country status
for a run of several years
because the hopes for the
country are high and the
timeline to unlock the
country from military dic-
tatorship is likely to take
muny yeurs Lo unIoId.
The promise
A country of an estimat-
ed 6o mIIIIon peopIe, My-
anmar is emerging from
a Tatmadaw dictatorship
goIng buck Lo 1q6z (TuL-
madaw is the name of
LIe mIIILury). TIe process
of democratic reforms
begun In zoo8 und Ius
gained traction with the
beIIeI LIuL zo1 wIII see
full and open democratic
elections that might see
Nobel Peace Prize Winner
and former political pris-
oner Aung San Suu Kyi
Luke LIe omce oI presI-
denL. AILIougI LIe sLory
of a country emerging to-
ward democracy is inter-
esting, what gets investor
juIces owIng Is wIuL eIse
Myanmar could be, and
once was:
- A country strategically
located between India
und CIInu.
- A land of largely unex-
ploited oil, gas and other
natural resources lying in
wuIL Ior deveIopmenL.
- A new venue for cheap
labour, cheaper than most
uvuIIubIe.
- A nation with long
coastlines and a long un-
der-utilised port network
wuILIng Lo be deveIoped.
- A new good-sized mar-
ket for goods from cell
pIones Lo IoodsLus.
- A country of great
beuuLy und (BuddIIsL)
spiritual importance now
open Lo LourIsm.
- A people in which its
advocates see the entre-
preneurial spirit neces-
sary for successful capi-
LuIIsm.
- A country with huge
agriculture and aquacul-
ture potential that was
the worldwide number
one exporter of rice from
1q6o Lo 1q6.
The prohlems
During a panel at the
Milken Institute Global
ConIerence zo1q recenL-
ly, there was an excellent
array of representatives
Irom Myunmur. WIen LIe
panel was queried on why
the country was now de-
mocratising, the general
consensus was: we should
focus less on why and
more on the process of
encouraging both democ-
ratisation and free mar-
keL cupILuIIsm. YeL, LIere
are some contradictions
to the narrative that My-
anmar is headed toward
democratic free market
success:
- Under current law,
the Tatmadaw automati-
cuIIy occupy z percenL
oI LIe purIIumenL. Aung
San Suu Kyis National
League for Democracy
(ND) purLy wouId Iuve
Lo wIn 6; percenL oI seuLs
open Ior eIecLIon In zo1
Lo guIn o. percenL oI LIe
purIIumenL.
- Under the current con-
stitution, Aung San Suu
Kyi cannot attain the of-
hce oI presIdenL becuuse
her husband was a for-
eIgner.
- The notion that Myan-
mur wus cIosed o Irom
LIe worId sInce 1q6z Is
exaggerated as relations
have been normal with
most Asian countries in-
cluding Singapore and
China while western
Europe and the United
States engaged in sanc-
tions against the country
over LIe yeurs.
- While the government
states there are new press
freedoms and has recent-
ly passed new press free-
dom laws, the local Daily
Eleven Newspaper said,
Journalists do not fully
receIve LIe benehLs und
protection under the two
medIu Iuws. DespILe new
legislations, they remain
under threats by oscil-
lating law enforcement
which can be manipulat-
ed to fault and jail them
uL uny LIme. ndeed, hve
journalists await trial for
revealing state secrets by
investigating a potential
cIemIcuI weupons pIunL.
Pr ogr ess
On the panel at the con-
ference were Ko Ko Gyi
and Dr Min Zaw Oo, both
members of earlier itera-
tions of pro-democracy
movements in Myanmar
that respectively endured
18 yeurs In Burmese prIs-
ons und z1 yeurs In exIIe.
The mere presence of
these men on a panel rep-
resenting Myanmar today
Is u Iuge sIgn oI progress.
Min Zaw Oo in fact now
serves the government
of Myanmar as director
oI ceusehre negoLIuLIons
und ImpIemenLuLIon. MIn
brings a wealth of experi-
ence to the complexity of
Myanmars peace nego-
tiations with his resume
including USAID election
projects in Afghanistan,
service to the US govern-
ment-funded Political
Instability Task Force, a
PI.D. Irom George Mu-
son UnIversILy In conIcL
analysis and resolution
and a MA from George-
town University in securi-
Ly sLudIes. TIe compIexILy
oI Myunmur Is reecLed
in a government that rec-
ognIses 1 eLInIcILIes oI
wIIcI 16 were urmed und
hgILIng LIe governmenL
to varying extents at the
sLurL oI LIe peuce process.
Under the peace process,
1q oI 16 groups Iuve now
sIgned peuce uccords.
Moreover, among Myan-
mur`s 1q sLuLes, LIere pre-
viously was armed con-
IcL In 1o regIons buL now
onIy Lwo.
The peace process does
ignore the Rohingya
population, a population
that are not a recognised
ethnicity and are receiv-
Ing sIgnIhcunL uLLenLIon
from the human rights
community recently
wILI IILLIe posILIve resuIL.
There are also refugees
Irom LIe vurIous conIcLs
and many ethnic groups
in Myanmar scattered
around the world from
neighbouring Thailand to
LIe UnILed SLuLes.
Whot uill democrocg
ond free morkets
meon?
During the panel, Ko Ko
Gyi stood out as the per-
son who did not mince
words. HIs ImprIson-
ments include involve-
ment with the pro-democ-
rucy movemenLs oI LIe 88
GeneruLIon In 1q88 und
LIe Suron RevoIuLIon In
zoo;. Some oI IIs poInLs
made during the panel
that may be of summary
note to investors are:
- TIe uprIsIng In 1q88
was people being upset
that their country has
plenty of natural resourc-
es [yet] we are among
the least developed coun-
tries we [could not] ac-
cept such a situation
that is why we are against
the single party dictator
socIuIIsL regIme.
- the political power
and economic power are
still in the hands of the
old guys
- democracy, peace and
stability cannot be sepa-
rated
- [the] former mili-
tary regime, why they
change such a situation
[from dictatorship to de-
mocracy]? democracy
and market economy is
the world trend [the
military] never got in-
ternational credibility,
international legitimacy;
thats why our army gen-
erals are very clever how
to deal with the interna-
tional community to get
the legitimacy
- When people recog-
nise positive changes
in the country such as
more media freedom, we
agree, the media chang-
es. BuL mosL oI LIe IocuI
printed media are in the
hands of proxies of the
government especially
LIe broudcusL medIu. TIIs
Is noL yeL Ireedom.
Myanmar Summary

We as activists are commit-

ted to our country to develop
... But, up to now, so many
investments in our country
[have] no transparency at all ... no-
body knows how to sign a contract,
how to share the benefits ...
Trafc moves through the streets of Yangon.
B
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.:~.:~ . , ~_.:..e ~:~
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...,_....:.~~:..~
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.q q_.:.~ ~..,.~,.
e: . . ~. .~ , q~ ~. . _e. ..'
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e,.~., .:...:~~,~
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~.,, .~: _. ~ . . , .~. .
~.,, .: . ~ . ~. .
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Contd. P zz...(ReBecting)
May 15-21, 2014
Myanmar Business Today
mmbiztoday.com
LOCAL BIZ
12
Contd. P z...(\S Myanmar)
Cracks Appear in US Myanmar Rapprochement
New legislation signals growing concern over the Obama administrations Myanmar policy
R
ecent legislation intro-
duced to US Congress to
put conditions on US co-
operation with Myanmars mili-
Lury muy be one oI LIe hrsL sIgns
of emerging dissatisfaction with
President Barack Obamas rap-
prochement policy with the
posL-junLu governmenL.
The bill was sponsored in the
House of Representatives April
z by RepubIIcun SLeve CIuboL,
cIuIrmun oI LIe oreIgn AuIrs
Subcommittee on Asia and the
PucIhc, und DemocruL JosepI
CrowIey. L grows ouL oI con-
cerns that the Obama admin-
istration, having begun limited
cooperation with Myanmars
military, is moving too quickly
without demanding reforms
Irom Myunmur hrsL. TIe bIII Is
u modIhcuLIon oI sImIIur, eurII-
er bipartisan House and Senate
legislation and follows enact-
ment of language in a funding
law limiting spending for assis-
Lunce Lo Myunmur.
Myanmars military is notori-
ous for atrocities including de-
stroying villages, using villagers
us Iorced Iubour, und rupe. OLI-
er concerns include Myanmars
military ties with North Korea
and continuing government
hgILIng wILI eLInIc mInorILIes.
So far, US cooperation with
Myanmars military has been
modesL. EorLs Iuve IncIuded
allowing observers during the
last two Cobra Gold region-
al military exercises, human
rights talks, and exchanges
and workshops on such goals
as promoting civilian control
oI LIe mIIILury. TIey Iuve uIso
included exchanges with My-
anmar military leaders, judge
udvocuLe omcers, und oLIers
on human rights law and law of
urmed conIcL.
In addition, Myanmar was
umong 1o counLrIes DeIense
Secretary Chuck Hagel invited
to participate in last months
meeting of Association of
Southeast Asian Nations de-
fense ministers in Hawaii, the
hrsL sucI meeLIng Lo be IeId In
LIe UnILed SLuLes.
AdmInIsLruLIon omcIuIs Iuve
publicly cited the importance of
working with Myanmars mili-
Lury In eorLs Lo IosLer reIorm
LIere. SLrengLIenIng LIe ruIe
of law and promoting security
sector reform are essential el-
emenLs oI LIe reIorm eorL,
State Department Senior Ad-
visor for Burma Judith Cefkin
told Chabots subcommittee in
December.
Voices from across Bur-
mese society including civil
society, ethnic minority repre-
Steve Hirsch
sentatives, and members of the
government and political oppo-
sition are urging us to engage
with the Burmese military and
civilian police force to teach
new models of conduct that
help make the security services
a stakeholder in the success of
democruLIc reIorm, sIe suId.
We believe that carefully
calibrated military-to-military
engagement to share lessons
on how militaries operate in
a democratic framework will
strengthen the hand of reform-
ers, sIe LoId LIe puneI.
However, Chabot, in an inter-
view, called it nave to think
Myanmars leaders will be con-
vinced to follow the appropriate
path simply by asking them to
do so and continuing to giving
them all the goodies without ac-
tually requiring them to follow
LIrougI.
The Chabot-Crowley bill
would tie funding for certain
types of security assistance to
military and other reforms in
Myunmur. L wouId bur sucI
funding unless the secretary of
SLuLe cerLIhes LIuL Myunmur
has met conditions related to
reforming its military, ending
military ties to North
Korea, opening the process
of amending the constitution
and opening elections, getting
the military out of commercial
businesses, and working to end
eLInIc conIcLs.
n uddILIon, LIe cerLIhcuLIon
would have to show that My-
anmars army is improving its
human rights performance,
ceasing attacks on ethnic mi-
nority groups, moving to with-
druw Iorces Irom conIcL zones,
IoIIowIng ceuse-hre ugreemenLs
and signing and implementing
u code oI conducL.
Chabot dismissed the defense
that US cooperation with My-
unmur`s mIIILury Is IImILed.
The military, he said, is such
u sIgnIhcunL eIemenL In Myun-
mar and its government, and its
abuses have been so substan-
tial that having them reform
is such a critical element that
without that happening, the
rest of it really doesnt matter
all that much, when youre talk-
ing about the lives that are ac-
LuuIIy beIng uecLed In Burmu.
So its critical that we insist
on the reform of the military
and it essentially cleaning up its
act and stopping all the human
rights abuses, we need to insist
on that at every level and that
should be a key aspect of our in-
teraction with the government,
Ie suId.
Backers of placing conditions
on military cooperation are
not asking the administration
to ignore Myanmars military,
which still wields substantial
power und Inuence LIere.
Keith Luse, a well-regarded
former Senate Foreign Rela-
LIons CommILLee sLuer wIo
has also called for linking mili-
Lury engugemenL Lo specIhc re-
forms, expressing his personal
opinion, has cited the need for
the US government to deal with
LIe Myunmur mIIILury.
He told a Heritage Founda-
tion session in October that
US-Myanmar military relations
should be contingent on meas-
urable reform benchmarks in-
cluding a wide range of human
rights issues and ending Myan-
mars military relationship with
NorLI Koreu.
In addition, though, he said
progress and reform in Myan-
mar are more likely to acceler-
ate with substantive mil to mil
engagement and confrontation,
due in part to the disdain often
held toward professionals with-
in Burmas Foreign Ministry by
LIose In unIIorm.
Over the long-term, he said,
communication exclusively be-
tween the United States, others
in the international community
und Burmu`s (so-cuIIed) cIvIIIun
leadership will have incomplete
resuILs.
He also said before proceed-
ing on a long-term plan, Hagel
must be fully informed on the
Myanmar-North Korea mili-
tary relationship and on the
status of Myanmars nuclear,
biological, chemical and missile
programs points where the
international community has
been dismal in expressing inter-
esL or concern.
use IuId ouL u IIsL oI 1o ques-
tions to be answered on this
subject, such as which Myan-
mar military or other projects
have involved North Korean
LecInIcIuns und omcIuIs, pro-
jects or facilities with North Ko-
reans present that have played a
role in the development of My-
anmars missile or nuclear pro-
grams, countries that knowingly
or not have helped Myanmars
nuclear and missile programs,
and the range of military equip-
ment and weapons provided or
in the works to be provided by
NorLI Koreu Lo Myunmur.
Jennifer Quigley, executive
director of the US Campaign for
Burma, called the Chabot bill a
message to the administration
that they have not been clear,
theyve not laid out a roadmap
not just to Congress, but to
the Burmese as to what this
engagement with the Burmese
military is about, what they
hope to accomplish with that
engugemenL.
Murray Hiebert, a senior
Southeast Asia specialist at the
Center for Strategic and Inter-
national Studies in Washing-
ton, raised concerns about the
bill but acknowledged that it
shows a drop in support for the
udmInIsLruLIon poIIcy.
He said the bills backers are
trying to constrain something
that is so tiny, you cant even
meusure IL rIgIL now.
He called administration ef-
forts so far really very mini-
mal, consisting of talks, mostly
on human rights issues and
rules of engagement, but no
LruInIng or weupons suIes.
Its engagement basically on
human rights issues, now why
wouId we hnd LIuL u probIem?
Ie usked. He uIso wondered
how the United States could
promote democracy, human
rights and reform if we cant
even talk to the most powerful
InsLILuLIon In LIe counLry.
The bills introduction comes
as scepticism is growing about
the reality of change in Myan-
mar, which has led to questions
about whether the administra-
LIon Ius moved Loo Iur Loo IusL.
Although Myanmar has seen
sIgnIhcunL cIunges sInce LIe
end of junta rule, anti-Muslim
vIoIence Is wIdespreud, hgIL-
ing with ethnic groups contin-
ues, and doubts are rising about
poIILIcuI reIorms. or exumpIe,
there is increasing expectation
that opposition leader Aung
San Suu Kyi will be barred from
runnIng Ior presIdenL nexL yeur.
Chabot said he sees consid-
erable concerns by himself and
others about the administra-
tions Myanmar policy and said
LIe sLruLegy Ius sIgnIhcunL
uws.
I think that they have been
too hasty and been too willing
to overlook all the evidence on
the ground that the military, in
particular, is not living up to its
US President Barack Ubama sits with Myanmar's President Thein Sein in the UvaI Ufce at the White House in Washington.

I think there is, probably, a diminu-

tion of support. I think earlier on they
gave them ... a sort of blank check
you know what youre doing, carry
on and now people are asking more ques-
tions, and it goes beyond the military.
L
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D
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in
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/
R
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u
t
e
r
s
May 15-21, 2014
Myanmar Business Today
mmbiztoday.com
REGIONAL BIZ
13
Myanmar Summary
Thai Rubber Farmers Say to Protest Against Govt Plan
Apornrath
Phoonphongphiphat
T
hai rubber farmers
will protest against
the governments
pIun Lo seII zoo,ooo
tonnes of rubber from
its stocks as they fear the
sales will drag falling pric-
es down further, the head
of a group representing
farmers of the commodity
suId on Tuesduy.
Top global rubber
producer Thailand had
planned in April to sell
uround zoo,ooo Lonnes
of rubber it had bought
Irom Iurmers. No suIes
were made last month,
but caretaker Agriculture
Minister Yukol Limlaem-
thong told Thai media last
month the stocks would
be released soon to avoid
IurLIer Iosses.
We will submit an open
letter to the government
this week, asking them to
hold the plan to sell the
sLuLe sLock IndehnILeIy,
Boonsong Nabtong, head
of the Federation of Rub-
ber Planters Association
oI TIuIIund, LoId ReuLers.
The Federation groups
several rubber coopera-
tives across the country
und Ius uround 1.z mII-
IIon members.
He added farmers would
gather in Bangkok to voice
their concerns about fall-
ing prices and to force the
government to stop adding
more supply in the market
LIrougI LIe sLock suIes.
To sell the stocks is to
kill farmers indirectly and
we are telling the govern-
ment that we dont want
to be killed by this policy,
Ie suId.
TIIs won`L be LIe hrsL
time rubber farmers are
proLesLIng. TIey sLuged
several protests in Octo-
ber and November last
year, demanding action to
sLop IuIIIng prIces.
A far more controver-
sial rice-buying scheme
stoked massive protests
from farmers late last
year and this year when
the government failed to
muke puymenLs Lo LIem.
TIe zoo,ooo Lonnes
rubber stocks the govern-
ment has said it plans to
sell are smoked rubber
sheets bought from farm-
ers beLween OcLober zo1z
und MurcI zo1 Lo sup-
port prices in the domes-
LIc murkeL.
Yukol said he planned
to release the rubber
stocks in April when the
seasonal dry weather cut
rubber supply, in a bid to
geL good prIces.
However, the dry sea-
son in March-April in key
global rubber produc-
ers Thailand, Indonesia
and Malaysia has failed
to check the declines in
physical rubber prices,
which are being pres-
sured by falls in Tokyo
rubber IuLures.
Benchmark TOCOM
futures are down more
LIun z percenL LIIs yeur
on fears about falling
demand in China, the
worlds biggest rubber
consumer. TIe prIce oI
benchmark grade Thai
smoked rubber sheet
(RSS) Is down uround zo
percenL LIIs yeur. Reuters
Visa Crackdown Risks Stranding Phuket Expats in Myanmar
Ranong Immigration warns that any foreigner who exits ThaiIand after using three consecutive visa
exemption entries must get a proper visa.
C
h
r
is

H
u
s
t
e
d
/
P
h
u
k
e
t

G
a
z
e
t
t
e
Chutharat Plerin
O
mcIuIs uL Runong
Immigration last
week conhrmed Lo
the Phuket Gazette that
they are turning away any
foreigners attempting to
enter Thailand after using
three consecutive walk-
In vIsus.
The news follows re-
ports of immigration of-
hcers uIIegedIy sLoppIng
Phuket expats on visa
runs to Ranong from exit-
Ing LIe counLry. Runong,
neurIy qookm norLI oI
Phuket, has for decades
been a prime destination
for foreigners conducting
vIsu runs.
We began enforcing
LIe ruIe Irom Muy |SuL-
urday] after receiving an
order from Bangkok, an
omcer uL Runong mmI-
gration told the Gazette
on condition of anonym-
ILy LIIs mornIng.
We have already spo-
ken with several foreign-
ers and strongly advised
that they do not exit
Thailand to arrive in Kau-
thaung [in Myanmar], as
there is no Thai embassy
or consuIuLe LIere.
We explained that if
they went and tried to re-
enter Thailand without
hrsL obLuInIng u vIsu Irom
a Thai embassy or consu-
late, we would have to re-
fuse them entry because
they would have already
entered Thailand three
consecutive times on visa
exempLIon` sLuLus.
Any foreigners who ig-
nore the advice risk being
stranded in Myanmar, the
omcer wurned.
TIe omcer expIuIned
that the crackdown on the
three-visa-and-out rule
was aimed at catching
foreign criminals staying
In TIuIIund.
TIIs Is jusL LIe hrsL sLep
in a crackdown on expats
and tourists who keep re-
newing their visas so that
they can live in Thailand
for the wrong reasons,
Ie suId.
Some foreigners live
here and form their own
networks to carry out il-
IeguI busIness. Some oI
the people we are target-
ing are known associates
of international crimi-
nuIs.
Visa run companies in
PIukeL Iuve been noLIhed
oI LIe sILuuLIon, LIe omcer
ussured.
These companies can
explain the rules to for-
eigners before they book
them on a visa run, he
suId. TIIs wIII IeIp uvoId
any problems at the Ra-
nong cIeckpoInL.
As I said, this is just the
hrsL sLep us we uLLempL
to root out foreign crimi-
nuIs. TIe nexL sLep mIgIL
be tougher than this one,
but law-abiding foreign-
ers should be aware that
we are not picking on any
particular nationalities
criminals are the ones we
wunL Lo cuLcI.
Any foreigners caught
overstaying their permit
to stay are subject to a
hne oI oo buIL per duy,
up Lo u muxImum hne oI
zo,ooo buIL.
Foreigners caught
grossly abusing the maxi-
mum oversLuy hne ruIe
risk being deported and
added to the immigration
blacklist, barring the for-
eigner from re-entering
LIe counLry.
Phulet Gczette
Myanmar Summary
Farmer Khot Samnung pours raw Iatex into moIds to prepare rubber cup Iumps at a pIantation adjacent
to the Thai Hua Rubber PcI factory in Samnuktong, Rayong province, ThaiIand.
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May 15-21, 2014
Myanmar Business Today
mmbiztoday.com
REGIONAL BIZ
14
Myanmar Summary
More Chinese Cities Ease Grip on Housing
As Economy Stutters
Xiaoyi Shao and
Koh Gui Qing
M
ore Chinese cities are
rolling out measures
to encourage home
purchases, in a sign that local
governments are increasing ef-
forts to safeguard an important
driver of growth in Chinas fal-
LerIng economy.
The loosening of home pur-
chase rules in the eastern city
of Tongling in Anhui province
and Ningbo, the coastal city of
eastern Zhejiang province, fol-
lows several other smaller stim-
ulus steps in recent weeks to
juice the worlds second-biggest
economy.
Tongling has introduced steps
including providing tax subsi-
dIes Lo hrsL-Iome buyers, und
cutting down-payment rates to
zo percenL Irom o percenL Ior
select buyers, the city govern-
menL suId on ILs websILe.
Ningbo has also relaxed home
purchase restrictions, the of-
hcIuI CIInu SecurILIes JournuI
newspaper reported, quoting a
meeting held by a local industry
ussocIuLIon.
By relaxing the rules, local
governmenLs ure eecLIveIy
reversIng u neur-hve-yeur-oId
policy of reining in Chinas
frothy property market, under-
scoring policymakers resolve to
support an economy growing at
ILs sIowesL puce In decudes.
Analysts believe the health of
Chinas property market will
IIkeIy Inuence wIeLIer AsIu`s
economIc powerIouse suers u
shallow or deep downturn, not-
ing that the real estate sector
uccounLs Ior ubouL 1; percenL oI
the countrys total annual eco-
nomIc ouLpuL.
Chinas growth engine has lost
steam in the past year, squeezed
by lacklustre demand for ex-
ports and the governments
push to cut its own investment
In u bId Lo resIupe LIe economy.
Given slackening growth, Bei-
jing will likely back local gov-
ernmenL eorLs Lo supporL LIe
housing market lest a collapse
in prices jolts the economy and
undermines its reform drive,
LIe unuIysLs suy.
If property activity weakens
IurLIer, we LIInk LIe (cenLruI)
government may allow vari-
ous local governments to relax
home purchase restrictions
and cut down the current hefty
down-payment requirements,
economists at UBS said in a
noLe Lo cIIenLs.
The latest moves follow recent
similar measures by three other
cities the southern city of Nan-
ning, the eastern city of Wuxi and
the Xiaoshan district in the east-
ern city of Hangzhou to ease
ruIes Ior buyIng Iomes or Iund.
A cooling property market
pressures the incomes of local
governments, which depend on
the real estate sector for a sub-
sLunLIuI purL oI LIeIr proceeds.
Data from the land ministry
showed in April that residential
Iund prIce InuLIon cooIed Ior
LIe hrsL LIme In neurIy Lwo yeurs
In LIe hrsL quurLer, und Is IIkeIy
Lo euse IurLIer.
The steps in the housing mar-
ket join other measures by Bei-
jing to shore up the economy,
even though it has ruled out the
use oI mujor sLImuIus Lo hgIL
sIorL-Lerm dIps In growLI.
Recent measures include the
relaxation of reserve require-
ments for some rural banks,
tax breaks for more companies
to support job creation, and
speeding up investment in rail-
wuys. Reuters
Bangladesh April
Remittunces Lp Ior
Third Straight Month
Ruma Paul
M
oney sent home by
Bangladeshis work-
ing overseas in April
rose .z percenL Irom u yeur
eurIIer Lo $1.z bIIIIon, LIe LIIrd
sLruIgIL monLI oI guIns.
Millions of expatriate Bang-
IudesIIs remILLed $11.; bIIIIon
Irom JuIy Lo AprII, LIe hrsL 1o
monLIs oI LIe currenL hnuncIuI
yeur, down neurIy q.8 percenL
from the same period the pre-
vious year, central bank data
sIowed.
OmcIuIs suy remILLunces
have dropped over the last few
months because of political tur-
moil in the months leading up
Lo un eIecLIon In Junuury.
Fewer Bangladeshis are also
going abroad to work as jobs
have dried up in traditional
markets such as in Middle East-
ern counLrIes.
nows oI remILLunces Lurned
posILIve In ebruury - LIe hrsL
year-on-year increase since last
AugusL.
Strong remittances in recent
years have helped build foreign
exchange reserves that stood at
un uII-LIme IIgI oI $zo.; bII-
IIon uL LIe end oI AprII.
n LIe hrsL 1o monLIs oI LIe
hscuI yeur, LIe cenLruI bunk
purcIused neurIy $q.z bIIIIon
from local commercial banks to
stem an appreciation in the do-
mesLIc currency.
BungIudesI receIved $1q.q6
billion in remittances in the
zo1zJ1 hscuI yeur, up 1z.6 per-
cenL Irom u yeur eurIIer.
RemILLunces Irom ubouL q
million citizens abroad are criti-
cal for the impoverished nation
and are a key source of foreign
exchange, alongside garment
exporLs, wIIcI uccounL Ior 8o
percent of total export earnings
oI ubouL $z; bIIIIon u yeur.
Bangladeshs economic growth
LIIs hnuncIuI yeur, Iowever, Is
expected to be slower than the
6 percenL In zo1zJ1, IurgeIy be-
cuuse oI poIILIcuI unresL. Reuters
Myanmar Summary
MiIIions of expatriate BangIadeshis remitted $11.73 biIIion from ]uIy to ApriI, the rst 1U months of the current nanciaI
year, down nearIy 4.8 percent from the same period the previous year, centraI bank data showed.
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q._.
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~_~. ~...._~:..q._.
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A pedestrian checks her watch as she walks past an advertisement for a real estate company near the Dalian International
Conference Center in BaIian, China.
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May 15-21, 2014
Myanmar Business Today
mmbiztoday.com
REGIONAL BIZ
15
Myanmar Summary
Wung Jing: Chinu's Connected Telecoms Tycoon
Matthew Miller
E
ntrepreneur Wang
Jing is little-known
outside China, but
the turnaround of his core
telecoms business shows
he is a well-connected
hgure umong LIe BeIjIng
eIILe.
Wangs key compa-
ny, Beijing Xinwei, was
sLurLed In 1qq us u joInL
venture between China
Academy of Telecommu-
nication Technology and
Cwill Telecommunica-
tions, a US entity set up
by former Beijing Xinwei
presIdenL CIen WeI.
The company helped
deveIop CIInu`s hrsL
homegrown wireless
technologies, including
the mobile communica-
tions standard, TD-SCD-
MA. BuL by zo1o, BeIjIng
Xinwei was foundering,
with reported revenue for
LIe yeur oI 1.8 mIIIIon
yuun ($z1.6 mIIIIon) und
neL prohLs oI .z; mIIIIon
yuun ($z6,qoo).
Wang said he was con-
tacted by a friend, Wang
QIngIuI, wIo In 1qqq be-
came an early investor
In LIe hrm LIrougI IIs
venLure hrm, Bonunzu n-
vesLmenL Group Ld.
Wang initially helped
Bonunzu ruIse 1o.8 mII-
IIon yuun Lo hnunce sub-
scrIpLIon oI 1zo mIIIIon
new sIures, wILI 88 mII-
lion shares later placed
In IIs nume. InvesLed
in Xinwei with my own
money, without the help
of friends or family, he
suId.
Since Wangs arrival,
Beijing Xinwei has made
u sIurp rebound. TIe
company has gained ven-
dor cerLIhcuLIons Irom
the General Armament
Department of the Peo-
Wang ]ing, CEU of Xinwei TeIecom Enterprise Croup, speaks during an interview at the company's head-
quarters in Beijing, China.
A
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ples Liberation Army and
the State Commission of
Science and Technology,
allowing it to sell equip-
ment and services directly
to the Chinese military
und Iuw enIorcemenL.
It continues to build
public telecom networks,
along with private net-
works Ior oIIheIds, power
grIds und LrunsporL.
Key enter pr i se desi g-
nati on
Beijing Xinwei is clear-
ly well-regarded by the
CIInese IeudersIIp. Ive
central government min-
istries, including the Na-
tional Development and
Reform Commission, the
Ministry of Industry and
Information Technology
and the Ministry of Fi-
nance, jointly designated
the company a key soft-
ware enterprise for stat
planning, giving it a pref-
erential corporate income
Lux ruLe.
n zo11, LIe CIInu De-
velopment Bank also

My special contribution has

been hard work. I arrived at
Xinwei 4 years ago, and since
then I havent rested. I eat and
live at the office.
My life is about work.
granted Beijing Xinwei a
1z bIIIIon yuun ($1.qz bII-
IIon) IIne oI credIL Lo sup-
port the companys going
gIobuI sLruLegy.
In the last three years,
Beijing Xinwei has inked
global deals to build tel-
ecoms networks in Myan-
mar, Cambodia, Ukraine,
und NIcuruguu. TIe Cum-
bodia project, which is
rolling out a mobile net-
work and wireless ser-
vices through Xinweis
local subsidiary CooTel,
InvoIves u z.z bIIIIon yuun
credit guaranteed by Chi-
na Development Bank,
uIong wILI un 8oo mIIIIon
yuan US dollar credit fa-
cIIILy. TIe UkruIne projecL
uses hnuncIuI guurunLees
from China Construction
Bunk oI up Lo $q1z mII-
IIon.
Xinwei has gained the
governments trust, and
some government sup-
port, but this is entirely
because Xinweis technol-
ogy is advanced and, more
importantly, because Xin-
weis technology is the
intellectual property of a
Chinese company, said
Wung. I XInweI were
a US company it would
receive the same kind of
support from the US gov-
ernmenL.
By zo1z, BeIjIng XInweI
reported operating in-
come oI q1 mIIIIon yuun
($1q6. mIIIIon) und
neL prohLs oI qq1 mIIIIon
yuun. TIe compuny suId
zo1 operuLIng revenues
reucIed z.6 bIIIIon yuun
($;;.qz mIIIIon), pro-
ducIng neL prohLs oI 1.;1
bIIIIon yuun.
Reoerse tokeooer
Last September, Bei-
jing Xinwei and Beijing
Zhongchuang Telecom
Test Co, a Chinese maker
of network testing devic-
es, announced their in-
tention to undertake the
biggest reverse takeover
in Chinese stock market
IIsLory.
The deal, which may be
hnuIIsed beIore LIe sum-
mer, now calls for Beijing
XInweI Lo InjecL q.61 per-
cent of its shareholding,
vuIued uL zz.qq bIIIIon
yuan, into Beijing Zhong-
chuang, in exchange for
z.61 bIIIIon new sIures.
TIe IIsLed hrm wIII uIso
ruIse q bIIIIon yuun Lo
support new projects and
settle some high-interest
Iouns.
At the deals close, Bei-
jing Xinwei shareholders
wIII Iuve un 8o percenL
sLuke oI LIe IIsLed hrm;
Wang Jing himself will
IoId o.q1 percenL.
Wang and his colleagues
have added a sweetener,
oerIng LIeIr own sIures
In LIe combIned hrm Lo
guurunLee LIuL prohLs Ior
Beijing Xinweis underly-
Ing usseLs wIII rIse Irom z
bIIIIon Lo z.; bIIIIon yuun
over the next three years,
uccordIng Lo u MurcI z
hIIng.
Beijing Zhongchuang
sIures, wIIcI spIked 18
percent in the month fol-
lowing the takeover an-
nouncement, have since
sIed qo percenL.
My special contribu-
tion has been hard work,
suId Wung. urrIved uL
XInweI q yeurs ugo, und
since then I havent rest-
ed. euL und IIve uL LIe
omce. My IIIe Is ubouL
work. Reuters
Bangkok Bank Cuts 2014 Loan
Growth Target
Manunphattr
Dhanananphorn
B
angkok Bank Pcl,
Thailands larg-
est lender by as-
seLs, Ius cuL ILs zo1q Ioun
growLI LurgeL Lo - per-
cent from 5 percent to re-
ecL LIe weuker economIc
outlook and the impact
from prolonged political
unresL.
The revision was based
on assumption that the
countrys economy will
grow z percenL LIIs yeur
and the banks non-per-
forming loans will remain
stable at the current level
oI ubouL z percenL oI LoLuI
loans at the end of this
year, President Chartsiri
Sophonpanich told re-
porters at a sideline of a
murkeLIng evenL.
Separately, Teeranun
Srihong, president of
Kasikornbank, said the
countrys fourth-largest
lender is maintaining its
zo1q Ioun growLI LurgeL
oI 8 percenL due Lo sLrong
demand from large cor-
porate clients, especially
in the infrastructure, en-
ergy und exporL secLors.
Reuters
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Myanmar Summary
..- ~_~.......
~_e.._ Bangkok Bank
Pcl ~.,_e ,.~- ....
~ .~~ . , q:. . , .. q:.
.,.~:. q:..,.~ _e~
.~:~.~_.. .-~:.,_.
.:._ . .. :..q.~._.~.,.
. .q..~_ _ . . ~:. _...~
q._.
~. .|_. . . ._ . . .. :.
.q.~ e. . . ~~ . . . q:. . , .
~ .~~ . ._ ~..'~ ~._..
_. ._e. _. .~ -~. . .. . ._
.... ._ .~ q .... ..:~
-. . q:. . , ._e e. . . ~ , ~
~__..._~:. ~~_
Chartsiri Sophonpanich .
._.:_~:.:.._.
.,.~. Wang J ing
~:. ~, ~ . _._ .~ . .
,_.._....: ,.- .~
.e.q...,.~:. _~__..
~:._e ,.._ .....:.
.q..q..'. .:.. ~.~ ~. e
q._~:. ..._.
Wang - ~.~~.~_e.
._ Beijing Xinwei ~:.
~ ~ China Academy
of Tel ecommuni cati on
Technology . e. Beijing
Xinwei -~ __e. . Chen Wei
- Cwill Telecommunications
~. ~~.~....|.~: ~_
.:.._.
~. .|~ . ~ ~.,_e ~, ~
. -... ._._ ~ ._~ ..
,_ . ._:.:. _ e. ._ TD-
SCDMA ~:. ~_e,~..
._ .. ..: ~~~ ~ Beijing
Xinwei ._ ~..|..~
e . ~,, ... . . e ~..q
~, ..'.: ~ ... ' . . e ,
. ~.:.~ ~_.~ e . ,., .
~..q ~, ..'.: ',~~,
qq.._.
Wang . ,.~:. ~..|
. . , .~ . -. . , . Bonanza
Investment Group Ltd .~.
. ~..:..q..._.....
Wang Qinghui ...: .e
...~.. .~..._.._e.
._~:. .q._. Wang ~.,
_e Bonanza ~:. e. ~,~
... .,.qq..q,~_...
._.. qee:~.. .,. ~~
~:. ~.q:..._.
May 15-21, 2014
Myanmar Business Today
mmbiztoday.com
INTERNATIONAL BIZ
16
Myanmar Summary
Myanmar Summary
Siemens Unveils Overhaul,
Q2 Disappoints on Energy Charges
Noah Barkin
G
erman engineer-
ing giant Siemens
unveiled a long-
awaited strategic over-
haul in a bid to catch up
wILI more prohLubIe rI-
vals, as it posted weaker-
than-expected quarterly
earnings last week, hit by
charges in its energy busi-
ness.
The Munich-based
hrm`s CIIeI ExecuLIve Joe
Kaeser has been working
on the new strategy since
taking power last summer
following a boardroom
coup that pushed out his
predecessor Peter Loe-
scher following a series of
prohL wurnIngs.
The company an-
nounced that it was buy-
ing energy assets from
Rolls-Royce for roughly
Cqo mIIIIon ($1.z bII-
IIon) und LrunsIerrIng u
majority stake in its Aus-
trian metals business to
Japans Mitsubishi Heavy
Industries for undisclosed
Lerms.
Siemens also said it was
streamlining its divisional
sLrucLure, spInnIng o
its hearing aids business
and separating out man-
agement of its health-
care business all steps
aimed at strengthening
LIe hrm`s Iocus on eIecLrI-
hcuLIon, uuLomuLIon und
dIgILuIIsuLIon.
The earnings and stra-
tegic revamp, dubbed
VIsIon zozo, come us
Siemens mulls a formal
oer Ior LIe energy busI-
ness of French rival Al-
stom, which has already
received a bid from US gi-
unL GeneruI EIecLrIc.
Under former CEO Loe-
scher, Siemens went on
an aggressive drive for
growth, leaving it lum-
bered with a complex
porLIoIIo oI busInesses.
Retur n to r oots
Kueser, 6, u q-yeur
veteran of Siemens who
previously served as its
hnunce cIIeI, Ius vowed
to restore the sense of
pride at a company that
has lagged big competi-
tors like GE and Philips in
terms of innovation and
prohLubIIILy.
In a signal that Siemens
is returning to its proud
roots, Kaeser is mak-
ing his presentation at
LIe hrm`s IIsLorIc SIe-
mensstadt industrial
complex in Berlin, which
was the site of its head-
quarters between the two
worId wurs.
ToLuI secLor prohL, or
operuLIng prohL, Ior LIe
hscuI second quurLer end-
Ing MurcI 1 cume In uL
C1.; bIIIIon on revenues
oI C1;.q bIIIIon, mIssIng
consensus.
ProhL In LIe energy sec-
Lor LumbIed q percenL
Lo Cz mIIIIon, IurgeIy
due Lo C1o mIIIIon In
project charges related
to two high-voltage di-
rect current transmission
(HVDC) projecLs In Cun-
udu.
The second quarter
showed that we still have
a lot to do to improve our
operating performance,
suId Kueser. NeverLIe-
less we are on course to
reach our targets for the
hscuI yeur, Ie suId, con-
hrmIng u gouI Lo Increuse
earnings per share by at
Averuge LS Imployee Only Tukes HulI oI Iurned Vucution Time: Sorvey
Wai Linn Kyaw
W
hile the US gov-
ernment, under
the Fair Labor
Standards Act, does not
currently require employ-
ers to grant employees
puId LIme o, empIoyees
who do earn vacation
time may need a reminder
Lo ucLuuIIy Luke IL.
According to Glass-
door`s Q1 zo1q EmpIoy-
menL Conhdence Survey,
the average US employee
(of those who receive va-
cuLIonJpuId LIme o) onIy
Lukes IuII (1 percenL) oI
his or her eligible vaca-
LIon LImeJpuId LIme o. n
addition, when employ-
ees do Luke puId LIme o,
LIree In hve (61 percenL)
udmIL doIng some work.
Each quarter, the Glass-
door Employment Con-
hdence Survey monILors
four key indicators of
empIoymenL conhdence:
salary expectations, job
security, the job market
und compuny ouLIook.
This quarters survey
also took a look at em-
ployee vacation time, in-
cluding the percentage
of eligible vacation time/
puId LIme o empIoyees
actually take, how much
they work and why while
on vacation, among other
reuIILIes.
Emplogee oocotion
r eali ti es
While most employ-
ees may be using at least
some of their earned va-
cation time, three in four
(; percenL) ure noL Luk-
Ing uII oI IL. Among em-
ployees who receive vaca-
LIon undJor puId LIme o,
8 percenL reporL LukIng
uL IeusL some LIme o In
LIe pusL 1z monLIs wIIIe
1 percenL reporL LukIng
no vacation/paid time
o. n IucL, one In Iour
(z percenL) reporL LukIng
1oo percenL oI LIeIr eIIgI-
bIe LIme o. Two In hve
(qo percenL) empIoyees
reporL LukIng z percenL
or less of their eligible
LIme o.
Plus, when employees
ure ouL oI LIe omce on
vacation, that doesnt
necessarily mean theyre
catching up on rest and
reIuxuLIon. OI empIoy-
ees who took vacation in
LIe pusL 1z monLIs, one
In 1o (11 percenL) reporL
they used vacation/paid
LIme o Lo InLervIew Ior
unoLIer job. EmpIoyees
18-q yeurs oId ure doIng
this more than any other
uge group, us one In hve
(zo percenL) udmIL usIng
vucuLIonJpuId LIme o Lo
InLervIew Ior unoLIer job.
So why are employees
working while on vaca-
tion? Of those who report
working while on vaca-
tion, they say they do so
prImurIIy becuuse: u) No
one else at my company
cun do LIe work ( per-
cenL); b) eur oI geLLIng
beIInd (z8 percenL); c)
Complete dedication to
compuny (zz percenL).
PeopIe waIk out of an ofce buiIding of Siemens AC in BerIin.
F
a
b
r
iz
io

B
e
n
s
c
h
/
R
e
u
t
e
r
s
~..q ~, . - Fair Labor
Standards Act ~q ~. .q~.,
_e ~. . q .:.._ ~. . ..:.
.:.~:. ~. . . , _. .~ . . .
...q, ..~...:._. ~:.
.. q~ ~ ~. . . . ~ ._
~....:..:.~.,_e .
. . ..: q, ~. ....~ . ~.
._~:. .q._.
Gl assdoor - ~~,
Employment Confidence
Survey ... ...~ .. .:.
~q ~:... q~e ..: .:.,
~..q ~, ~. . ..:..:.._
, .~ -~:... q~ ~ q:.
.,.~.: qe._~:. .~qq
._. ~_. ~:...q~e
._ ~....:. .. , .
~ '~ q:. . , ., ._ ~. .|
~:... q~ ~ ~_.:.~. . .:.
..~._~:. ~,.:.._.
. ...~ ~. . . ~~ ~
Glassdoor Employment
Confdence Survey ~.,_e
~....:..:.- .,.,...:
~. . . . _. .q. ~. . ...
~~. ~.~~._.~.,.:.
~:. ~._..:....:_.._e.
._ .
:.,~.~ Siemens ~.,
_e e. ~.~ ~., . , .._ ~
..: ~._ . ...~ ~ . .:q .
~ ~_.,_...,:~ ..~~.
~_.~qq..._ .e:-e:.:.
~:. ._..._.
~ . ~ ~.,_e e , ..| ., .
~~..q ~, ..'.: ~ ...
, . e ,~, e .q q e e:.:.
~:. Rolls-Royce . ~e e ._
_e.._~:. ._~_:._.. ,.-
_..._~...~ . . , ..q e e:
~.:.. ~:. ., . Mitsubishi
Heavy Industries ~:. . ._.: .
.__e.._~:.~._. ._~_:
.._.
.~. ,~ q~~ _.....
._ . ~ e. ...~ _:.q.. .
~ . . ..| .~_~. ~ ~_.~
., ~...~_.~~.,_e
e,..| ~ ... .e
qq . _. . ~_.~ . . ..|. e , ..|
~ ... , . e qq . ._ .
. . .~ ~_~.,_e ~.,.|
.q high-voltage direct
current transmission (HVDC)
. . ~ , .. . . ._ e , ..| ., .
,~~ ~ , ~._ ~~ ~ ~_.~
. , q:..,. e,..|
.,. ~...._.
IeusL 1 percenL In LIe
currenL hscuI yeur.
Reuters
May 15-21, 2014
Myanmar Business Today
mmbiztoday.com
INTERNATIONAL BIZ
17
Myanmar Summary
Myanmar Summary
Ford Suspends Vehicle Assembly in Venezuela
Eyanir Chinea
U
S automaker Ford
has halted opera-
tions in Venezuela
due to a lack of foreign
currency to import parts
for assembly, workers at
ILs pIunL suId.
Like other private busi-
nesses in Venezuela, car-
makers have been com-
plaining that the socialist
governments currency
controls are preventing
them from importing es-
sential products due to
restrictions and delays in
purcIuses oI doIIurs.
Workers, who spoke to
Reuters on condition of
anonymity, said the plant
in the central city of Va-
lencia would be paralysed
unLII LIe end oI Muy.
Transport Minister
Haiman El Troudi con-
hrmed LIe sLoppuge uL LIe
plant but said it should
reopen in two weeks after
a meeting between Ford
representatives and gov-
ernmenL omcIuIs LIuL re-
solved some critical bot-
LIenecks.
Toyota Motor Corp halt-
ed vehicle assembly in
Venezuela in February for
LIe sume reusons.
Venezuelas struggling
uuLo IndusLry suw hrsL-
quarter production fall
;6 percenL Lo jusL ,qzq
vehicles, compared with
1q,16 unILs In LIe sume
perIod oI zo1, uccordIng
to national automakers
orgunIzuLIon Cuvenez.
Ford assembled only
qqq curs In LIe hrsL LIree
monLIs oI zo1q.
Automobiles are just
one sector of many where
President Nicolas Ma-
duros government is fac-
ing clamour to release
more doIIurs Ior ImporLs.
He says unscrupulous
businessmen exaggerate
needs In order Lo Ip doI-
lars on the black market
Ior prohL.
A worker at a Ford assembly plant.
B
lo
o
m
b
e
r
g
But nevertheless min-
isters are holding urgent
meetings with business
heads to try and resolve
problems and help re-
verse the slide in local
producLIon.
Venezuela operates
three exchange controls
- uL 6. boIIvurs per doI-
lar for preferential goods,
und uL uround 11 und o
for other sectors via two
Central Bank mecha-
nIsms.
The dollar is trading at
ubouL 66-68 boIIvurs on
the black market, accord-
ing to illegal web sites
LIuL Lruck IL.
General Motors, Mit-
subishi, and Fiat Chrysler
also have assembly plants
In VenezueIu. Reuters
US, Singapore Reach Agreement on Tax Evasion
Patrick Temple-West
& Rachel Armstrong
S
ingapore has
reached a tax in-
formation-sharing
agreement with the Unit-
ed States under a new law
meunL Lo combuL osIore
tax dodging by Ameri-
cans, a US Treasury De-
partment spokeswoman
suId IusL week.
The deal, which was ex-
pected for more than a
year, will make it much
easier for institutions
in one of Asias biggest
wealth management cen-
tres to comply with US
rules, and puts it ahead of
rival Hong Kong which is
yeL Lo hnuIIse u deuI.
SeL Lo Luke eecL on
JuIy 1, LIe oreIgn Ac-
count Tax Compliance
US Bepartment of the Treasury InternaI Revenue Service (IRS) 1U4U IndividuaI Income Tax forms for the
2U13 tax year are arranged for a photograph in TiskiIwa, IIIinois.
R
e
u
t
e
r
s
AcL oI zo1o (ATCA) wIII
require foreign banks,
investment funds and in-
surers to hand over infor-
mation to the US Internal
Revenue Service about
accounts with more than
$o,ooo IeId by AmerI-
cuns.
oreIgn hrms LIuL do
noL compIy Iuce u o
percent withholding tax
on their US investment
Income und couId eec-
tively be frozen out of US
cupILuI murkeLs.
The Singapore deal,
known as an intergovern-
menLuI ugreemenL (GA),
will come as relief to the
city-states wealth man-
agement industry which
Iud S$1.6 LrIIIIon ($1.o
LrIIIIon) In usseLs under
management at the end of
zo1z.
Like most of the other
FATCA deals, the Singa-
pore agreement will al-
Iow hrms Lo reporL US
account-holder informa-
tion to their local tax au-
thority, which will send it
along to the IRS, saving
them from dealing direct-
ly with the US tax authori-
LIes.
The Singapore deal was
agreed in substance and
musL be hnuIIsed by LIe
end oI LIe yeur.
The advantage this
gives to Singapore insti-
tutions is the certainty
on how they should go
about their compliance
eorLs und muke LIe reI-
evant registrations, said
Michael Brevetta, who is
PricewaterhouseCoopers
FACTA lead for Southeast
AsIu.
Hong Kong is looking to
sign a similar agreement,
and inked a separate tax
information agreement
with the United States in
MurcI us LIe hrsL sLuge Lo
achieving a full IGA, al-
though it is unclear if that
wIII be done beIore JuIy 1.
China has also been in
talks with the US Treas-
ury on whether to sign
such a deal, although no
information has been re-
leased on how much pro-
gress Ius been mude.
InuncIuI hrms In coun-
tries that have not reached
a FATCA pact must report
directly to the IRS and
risk violating local priva-
cy laws, a particular risk
in China, which has broad
sLuLe secrecy ruIes.
More LIun 6o GAs Iuve
been negotiated to date,
including deals with In-
donesia, Peru and Kuwait
announced in recent days,
according to the Treasury
DepurLmenL`s websILe.
FATCA was enacted af-
ter a scandal involving
Americans hiding money
In SwIss bunk uccounLs.
Reuters
~..q ~, ~:. ~ . . .q.
. . , ._e. ._ Ford ~.,_e
..: .~: e: ~. . .q.. .
..: q, . _.:.. ._~._.~ ..
. . _~ .~ .:._ ~~ ~ - ,
~ .:.. q , .-. . , .._ .~
. .:.~:. q. ~, . ~ ._~: . . q
._.
- , ~ .:.q ~_.:.. . ~. . , .
.:.~.. ~:.~....:.
~.,_e , .~ -~ , .. _ .~
. .. . _.:.. ._~..q.q:~
~ . q e .. ~. .q-. ._~.
. q: , ... . .:._.. . .,_. .
.:.~:. _~.~ .,q_.._e. ._ .
~e~:~:.~.~~.,_e
._. .e.e: ~|q .~~ . - ,
~ .:.. ~ ..: .~: ~:. ~
. . . .:.~:. q. . .. ._ .
Ford ~.,_e ~~, ...
... ...~ ~~ . ..: .~:
~:.~...q , ...: ~
. . . . ._ .
~..q ~, . ._ , .-
. .:. .:. ~.,_ e _ ._ .
~ ~. , .q : ~ . ..,. .:.~:.
~~e~q, _._:,..~._
...~q . ~:. . . ~. ,
~.~~.~..~_. . ..:
~_.qq.._~:. ~..q~,
_:.q._:,. ._.:.q...q
.~ e.~.~~ ~.e:
._.:_~:.._.
e...~~_.~ ..:.
:.._ ~..|..:~_.
._ ~:q -~_~ .. ._~e ~. . .
., . .q. . ~:.:. . ~. . q
. . , ..:.~:. ~..q ~, ._.
~...:.~ . ~ ,:..q, . . . e ~
..._ _e. _. . ..:~ _ . .q
...._ _. ~ .e: .~:
~:. ~.:q...__e.._.
~ . ~. q~ ., ~ .~
~.~ ~ ._ Foreign Account
Tax Compliance Act of 2010
(FATCA)~q . _.:.~ .:.
q..._....q,...:.. ...
. .... .:.-~.~ ~.~ .:.
~:. US Internal Revenue
Service (IRS) . .._.:....
q.__e._.. ~..q~,..'.:
|...: .. ~~ q ~..q ~,
. .:..:.- ~.~ ~.~ .:.
._ . .|~ ._ .. ~ ,:_. ..q
._ ..,..:.~.,_e ,.
~- q..._....~.~..'
~ ~.,~.,_e ,~ q:.
. , ..~ ._~.~_e. .~:~ . ._
_e._.. ~..q~,...~~~
._ . .q:~ . :. ~ . . :.._
_e. ._ .. ~:. ..:~ .~
~.,_e e. . . ~~ , ~ ~_. .
.~. . ..: . :.._ _e. ._~: .
.q._.
May 15-21, 2014
Myanmar Business Today
mmbiztoday.com
INVESTMENT & FINANCE
18
Myanmar Summary
From page 6...(ALB)
Chiang Mai Reps visit Myanmars
Kengtung to Boost Trade
Ruedee Pavasiriporn
R
e pr e s e nt a t i v e s
from Thai city of
Chiang Mai recent-
ly visited Chiang Tung in
Shan state (also known as
KyuIngLong or KengLung)
in Myanmar to tighten
Lrude reIuLIonsIIp.
n LIe pusL, LIe hve
Chiangs, which include:
Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai,
Chiang Tung, Chiang
Rung (currently referred
Lo us JIngIong In CIInu),
and Ching Thong (which
is now Luang Prabang in
uos) used Lo bousL sIgnII-
icant trade relationships
wILI eucI oLIer.
To help strengthen the
relationship in the pre-
sent day, delegates had
been sent to visit Chiang
Tung In LIe hrsL week oI
May, according to Pairoj
Kullawanich from Chiang
MuI`s Omce oI Commer-
cIuI AuIrs.
The talks included open-
ing new border check-
points, discussions about
the hazards of cross-bor-
der wIIdhre smog, und
enhancing transportation
cooperation between the
Lwo cILIes. BusInesspeo-
ple from Chiang Mai also
showcased their products
In KengLung.
The two cities are ex-
pected to sign a sister city
pucL In LIe IuLure.
Myanmar Summary
Iyn Kok, the new chief executive ofcer for the Creater Mekong
Sub-region of Standard Chartered.
Standard Chartered Appoints
New CIO Ior Greuter Mekong
Myanmar market a key focus
May Soe San
S
tandard Chartered
has appointed Lyn
Kok as the new chief
execuLIve omcer Ior LIe
Greater Mekong Sub-re-
gion, the UK-based bank
suId.
In her new capacity,
she will work closely with
Chief Representative for
Myanmar, Tina Singh-
sacha to leverage cross-
border opportunities and
enhance the banks ability
to provide strategic sup-
port to its international
clients exploring oppor-
tunities in Myanmar, the
bunk suId In u sLuLemenL.
Standard Chartered
resumed its Myanmar
operations last year by
opening a representative
omce In Yungon IoIIowIng
u o-yeur IIuLus. SLurLed
In 186z, LIe bunk oper-
ated in Myanmar as the
hrsL IoreIgn bunk buL wus
nuLIonuIIsed In 1q6 dur-
ing the infamous dictator
Ne WIn`s regIme.
The Greater Mekong
CEO role is a new region-
al leadership position that
sees Lyn assume govern-
ance responsibilities for
Greater Mekong, which
comprises Thailand, Viet-
nam, Myanmar, Cambo-
dIu und uos.
In addition to her re-
gional responsibilities,
Lyn will continue in her
current role as president
und cIIeI execuLIve omcer
for the banks Thai opera-
LIons, LIe bunk suId.
Lim Cheng Teck, re-
gional chief executive
omcer Ior ASEAN, suId:
The potential of the
Greater Mekong region
Is Iuge. By uIIgnIng our
business operations in
those markets under the
Greater Mekong umbrel-
Iu, we wIII be ubIe Lo oer
our clients doing business
in those markets targeted,
regIon specIhc hnuncIuI
insights and enhanced
servIce.
I believe Lyns deep ex-
perience and understand-
ing of the region will help
take our business to new
IeIgILs.
Lyn was appointed
president and CEO for
Standard Chartered Bank
(TIuI) In JuIy zo1o. PrIor
to that was she was man-
aging director, country
head of strategy & cor-
porate development and
general manager, Beijing
for Standard Chartered
Bunk In CIInu.
S
C
B
Standard Chartered ~.,
_e Lyn Kok ~:. .e:...|
....-~...:~q:q..
~.. ~_e. ., ~. . ~ ._~: .
.q._.
. .~.,_e _., .:. . q:
_:.,~ e .:. . e Ti na
Singhsacha . _.,.:.~
,e .. _e~ .~: ~. ~.q..:.
_.,.:.~ ~.~....:.
.:.q:~q:.e_~._ ~_._
_._ . q:. . , ..:.~:. .e:
-e:~~ ~_.:~.....
.:.~ . . . ..: . .q.~~ ~
~~ ~~ . . ..: _~q._ _e.
._.
Standard Chartered ~.,
_e _.,.:.. .. ~ _~:
.~.~:.,q:. e...~ _.,
._ ~ .q:~ . _. . q, ~ , _. ~
~e.:..e,. e...._.
Standard Chartered ._
~' . .~~: _.,.:..
~.q:~.._ ......:
._.:.~_e.._....:
~', . . . ~ ..,~.~~:~:
...~: _._.. ~.....q
._.
.e:. ..| ...~. ..:
~q:q..q:.._ ....
q: ..| ...: . . . q: .~..
~. . _e. _. . Lyn ~.,_e .
-e~,. _.,.: ~..:..e:.
. .:~ ~ .|~ ._ .e:. ..|
...- ~ . .. .q.~:~, .:.
._. ....:q.__e.._.
Lyn ._ ~, ~ . . .
q Standard Chartered Ban
- ...: , _~:..q.. . .
.q: .e:-e:. ....|.
..:q~.q.~_~.~~~_e.
. ...: . _. . ~~~ ~ . ~
Standard Chartered Bank
(Thai) -~...:~q:q..
~_e. .,~._...q._.
water access is crucial to ensuring that the countrys
growLI Is IncIusIve, wILI benehLs reucIIng vuInerubIe
and poor populations, said Matsuo Hideaki, counsellor
(economIc und overseus deveIopmenL ussIsLunce) oI LIe
Embussy oI Jupun In Myunmur.
The grant can demonstrate to city authorities innova-
tive and sustainable methodologies for the planning and
delivery of improved sanitation and urban services in-
IrusLrucLures wILI communILy InvoIvemenL.
By zo18, LIe grunL uIms Lo buIId z,ooo sunILury Iu-
LrInes, consLrucL 1; kIIomeLres oI druIns IInked Lo cILy
networks, and build four community solid waste sys-
Lems In Iour LownsIIps. L wIII uIso buIId cupucILy wILIIn
local government and develop community action plans
und mobIIIse 1oo CommunILy DeveIopmenL CommIL-
tees to partner with Township and City level Develop-
menL CommILLees, ADB suId.
Myanmar Summary
.,.- ..q....|....:..q. q,.. ~..q~,..'.:
....,.~:.~:qe_e..q.~ (ADB) ._~ ._~. ~:. . ..: ._
. . ~ , .._~: q, ~ , . .. ...q . ..q~. ..: . q..:~._
._~:. ~ ., q .. ~ .q._ ..:~ . ..q. .q. .., . . .
,. .:. qq .~: ._ _e. ._~: . ADB .._~_::.._.
~. .|.... . . . ~ , .~.,_e .q:|_., . :.. , ... _. . .q. ..,
. . .,. .:. _. ~ _. . .q_~ .. ~:. ..: ._. . ~~:. _.,.:.-
_._~..._.~....:.__e.._~:. ADB . ._.:_~:.._.
ADB.~..|..~,.._ ...~ ~, .~ ~._.. _. . . q, .
. .,. ~:.. ~ .~ ...._ _ e. _ . .. . ~, .~ ~.,_ e ~._ .
. ~..:~ ~~ .:.~:. ~....~~~ ~.._~...~:~.
_. . . . _. ..:.. . ..: q._ _e. ._ .
~. .|.... ._ . , ~ ..:.._~: .q. _. ..q_~ ._. .. .. .
.:. . . :. ._~ .:.~ ._. .q.~ ~~ ~ .| .|~ ._ _e.._.
.. .... ~e.:.
.e.:.~.,_e q.._._,e
~ .~ _ . . _ ., .:. .
...:..q..q: .~.e.q.
.:.~._.q,~~~.:..q:~
.._~:. .q._.
e. ~ Chiang Rai, Chiang
Mai, Chiang Tung, Chiang
Rung . Ching Thong ~
._ ~. _. . ~. _. . .. :..q.
.q:.~.e.q._~._.
e.~.| .~.~~.q,
~~~ .... ~e.:..e
.:.._ ~.~_.. ...
...~ ~~ .~ . :..q:~ .
._~: .. .. ~ , . e .q..q.q:
,.. Pairoj Kullawanich .
._.:_~:..._.
May 15-21, 2014
Myanmar Business Today
mmbiztoday.com
INVESTMENT & FINANCE
19
Myanmar Summary
Myanmar Summary
David Mayes
T
here is a lot of downside
risk in both the stock and
bond markets at the mo-
ment, but with interest rates
currently so low I am often
asked if there is a way of partici-
pating in them while limiting
your downsIde. TIe unswer Is
yes, and it is not as complicated
us mosL peopIe LIInk. TIere Is
Hedging Your Market Exposure
a generally misguided fear of
anything labelled a derivative,
in fact if you scan through the
medIu you wIII hnd IL Is noL oI-
ten you will even see the word
derivative unaccompanied by
LIe word compIIcuLed. YeL noL
all derivatives are complicated,
and it is a relatively straightfor-
ward process to insure a port-
IoIIo uguInsL poLenLIuI Iosses.
An American style put option
gives the owner the right to sell
the underlying stock or stock
index at a certain price, the
strike price, anytime up until
LIe expIruLIon duLe. I LIe prIce
of the underlying stock or index
falls below the strike price, the
option becomes in the money
and becomes more valuable as
the price in the market contin-
ues Lo drop. TIus, II perIecLIy
hedged, which I will discuss
later, you can limit the down-
sIde eecL on your porLIoIIo Lo
the strike price of the options
you IoId.
For example, say you own
a stock portfolio that is es-
senLIuIIy LIe S&P oo worLI
$1oo,ooo. You couId buy puL
options at a strike price that is
far out of the money, for in-
sLunce 1 percenL beIow wIere
the market is currently trading,
and thus lock in a maximum
Ioss on LIe sLock porLIoIIo II 1
percenL. Keep In mInd you don`L
need Lo buy $1oo,ooo worLI oI
options since they include a lot
oI Ieveruge. You wunL Lo muke
the number of shares underly-
ing the contracts you buy add
up to the value of your portfo-
lio based on the current market
prIce.
The option cost is the sunk
cost of insurance basically and
should always be viewed this
wuy. I LIe murkeLs don`L crusI
these costs are deducted from
the return you get obviously like
anything else in life the more
you spend typically means the
more you get, and this is true
with options as well gener-
uIIy. An opLIon wILI u Ionger
time frame to maturity will be
more expensive than one with a
sIorLer LIme Irume. TIe IIgIer
the strike price of a put option
also means the higher the in-
surunce Is goIng Lo cosL.
Not all stocks have the same
volatility as the overall market,
so in reality you will not likely
puL on u perIecL Iedge. How-
ever if you use an option on an
index that has similar volatility
and is correlated to the bulk of
your holdings it will still do well
in massively reducing downside
exposure. or InsLunce II you
hold mostly emerging market
stocks like BRIC funds it might
noL be wIse Lo use LIe S&P oo
as it will not likely be volatile or
even correlated enough to do a
very good job. NexL week wIII
write about how you can reduce
your rIsk In LIe bond murkeLs.
Dctid Mces MA protides
ueclth mcncement sertices
to expctrictes throuhout
Southecst Asic, jocusin on
UK Pension Trcnsjers. He ccn
be recched ct dctid.mQjcrc-
mond.com. Icrcmond UK is
Boundary Settlement to Boost BD-Myanmar Trade
Kyaw Min
T
he settlement of
maritime boundary
disputes between
Bangladesh and Myan-
mar provided an excellent
opportunity to enhance
maritime commerce and
cooperation between the
two countries, the Presi-
denL oI BungIudesI suId.
The exchange of more
training for both sailors
und omcers beLween LIe
two countries may be con-
sidered in order to foster
friendship and sharing
knowledge, Abdul Hamid
said to commander-in-
chief of Myanmar Navy
Admiral Zeya Kyaw Htin
Thura Thet Swe who
visited Bangladesh last
week, Bangladeshi media
reporLed.
During the meeting, Ab-
dul Hamid said Admiral
Zeya Kyaw Htin Thura
Thet Swe said Myanmar
always attaches impor-
tance to its relations with
Bangladesh, adding that
this visit would increase
the friendly thought be-
Lween LIe Lwo counLrIes.
There is a Iot of downside risk in both the stock and bond markets at the moment, but there are ways of participating in
them while limiting downside.
R
e
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Hamid . .q~.-..._~.
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reulcted b the ICA cnd pro-
tides cdtice on pensions cnd
tcxction.
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May 15-21, 2014
Myanmar Business Today
mmbiztoday.com
INVESTMENT & FINANCE
20
Myanmar Summary
Frontier Fund Buyers Find It Pays to Look Under The Hood
Most frontier fund managers are watching for opportunities in Myanmar, whose equity market is not yet open to foreign investors
Alexandra Wexler
F
rontier market
Iunds sIgnIhcunL-
ly outperformed
emerging market funds
last year, with the top-
performers in the fron-
tier category returning as
mucI us percenL. TIe
eye-popping performance
has caught investors at-
tention, prompting a
surge of interest in fron-
LIer-murkeLs equILy Iunds.
Its not hard to see why
frontier funds are gen-
eruLIng sucI u buzz. TIe
MSCI Frontier Markets
1oo ndex guIned z6.
percenL In zo1, wIIIe LIe
MSCI Emerging Markets
ndex IosL percenL. So
far this year, the Frontier
Index Is up ;.q percenL
through March, while the
Emerging index is down
o.8 percenL.
Eye-catching though
the headline numbers
are, perhaps more than in
any other asset category
it pays investors to look
under the hood of any
Iund LIey`re consIderIng.
While the MSCI Frontier
Markets index and the
top-performing funds en-
joyed a stellar year, not
all funds in the category
ended zo1 In LIe bIuck.
The countries and regions
in which the best- and
worst-performing funds
focused their holdings
had a major impact on
their returns, as did their
InvesLmenL sLruLegIes.
Some of the funds have
a bottom-up focus, which
evaluates companies on
standalone basis, and
others take a top-down
approach, in which the
counLrIes ure hrsL IdenLI-
hed us poLenLIuI InvesL-
menL opporLunILIes. MosL,
though, combine the two
approaches, selecting
companies they see as
undervalued in a range of
countries in which they
feel comfortable invest-
Ing.
Harding Loevners
$q1;.1 mIIIIon ronLIer
Emerging Markets Fund,
which rounded out the
top four performers,
wus up 1; percenL IusL
yeur. AccordIng Lo porL-
folio manager Pradipta
Chakrabortty, the fund
takes a bottom-up invest-
Ing upproucI.
What were looking at
are companies that are
very well positioned with-
in the industry and ex-
pecLed Lo benehL over LIe
long run from growth in
LIese economIes, Ie suId.
or zo1q, CIukruborLLy
is bullish on Africa and
SouLIeusL AsIu.
Markets like Kenya
have continued to look
very robust, he noted,
citing the banking and tel-
ecom industries as being
purLIcuIurIy InLeresLIng.
The fund owns Safaricom,
a Kenyan mobile network
operator that Chakrabort-
Ly suys Is poIsed Lo benehL
from consolidation in the
Kenyun LeIecom secLor.
Proponents of frontier
markets as an asset class
argue that the asset pool
is continually growing as
more companies list on
stock exchanges and
more countries become
viable investment desti-
nuLIons. or InvesLmenLs
that will start to become
IeusIbIe beyond zo1q,
most frontier fund man-
agers are watching Myan-
mar, whose equity market
is not yet open to foreign
InvesLors.
Its a massive market
in terms of population,
but its very backward in
terms of development,
CIukruborLLy suId. HIs
fund has exposure to My-
anmar through Thai and
Filipino companies that
have operations there, he
udded. L`s goIng Lo be
a big market in the very
Iong run.
Morgan Stanleys
$qz.q mIIIIon ronLIer
Emerging Markets fund
takes a more top-down
approach, analyzing the
macroeconomic environ-
ment in all the countries
IL IdenLIhes us IuvIng
sustainable economic
growLI. TIe Iund bougIL
into Vietnam only last
yeur, Ior exumpIe. We
thought the growth level
oI 8 percenL |prIor Lo LIe
hnuncIuI crIsIs| wus re-
ally unsustainable, said
Timothy Drinkall, the
Iund`s porLIoIIo munuger.
But when policy makers
slowed Vietnams GDP
growLI down Lo beIow 6
percent, the fund began
InvesLIng LIere.
Once the fund man-
uger Is conhdenL In un
economy, he looks for es-
tablished businesses that
have considerable growth
poLenLIuI. We`re reuIIy
looking for companies
that are market leaders or
soIId No.z In un IndusLry,
DrInkuII suId. TIe sLruL-
egy cerLuInIy puId o IusL
year: Morgan Stanleys
was the top-performing
frontier fund with a re-
Lurn oI percenL.
David Wickham, who
munuges HSBC`s $1qq.8
million frontier markets
fund, said that liquid-
ity risk is one that can be
handled by keeping in-
vestments to a managea-
bIe sIze. We`re noL goIng
Lo grow Lo $z or $ bII-
IIon, Ie suId. WIckIum,
whose fund racked up
u z.;% guIn Lo become
the second-best fron-
tier performer last year,
explained: We want to
be nimble, and if youre
munugIng $z bIIIIon, you
just cant move the money
quIckIy.
Mobile Internet is a
theme that fund manag-
ers are following closely
In IronLIer murkeLs.
Wickham sees local
retail consumers driv-
ing growth in frontier
markets, so hes focusing
on trends including mo-
bile phone use, Internet
penetration, and alcohol
consumption, as well as
LrunsporLuLIon. We`re
trying to capture posi-
tive change thats hap-
pening in these markets,
WIckIum suId. TIere
are many ways to play
the consumer, including
low-cost airlines, mobile
phones and shopping
muIIs.

Its a massive market in terms

of population, but its very
backward in terms of devel-
opment. Its going to be a big
market in the very long run.
Most frontier fund managers are watching for opportunities in Myanmar, whose equity market is not
yet open to foreign investors.
U
A
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g
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in
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a
e.,..~~. ,e.~....
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May 15-21, 2014
Myanmar Business Today
mmbiztoday.com
INVESTMENT & FINANCE
21
Myanmar Summary
Myanmar Summary
Myanmar Summary
From page z...(\S Myanmar)
end of the bargain and as a
result, you know, the eth-
nic minorities and a lot of
people on the ground are
conLInuIng Lo suer, und
so I do think that theres
not uniform support for
the total Burma policy,
Ie suId.
He acknowledged that
progress has been made,
and said he would com-
mend the administra-
tion on that, but I think
theyve been way too hasty
to allow the military-to-
mIIILury connecLIons.
He said there have mis-
givings from the start
about the administra-
tions policy, that it was
going way too far too
fast without establish-
ing benchmarks so out-
siders would know what
to measure to determine
whether the strategy was
successIuI.
They kind of gave away
the store, he said, cost-
ing them the ability to
Inuence LIe Myunmur
mIIILury.
The administration,
rather than establishing
standards or benchmarks,
their idea has been to keep
LIe sLruLegy very ex-
ible, and I just think that
doesnt work not with a
regime like Burmas, he
suId.
A congressional source
who asked for anonymity
wus more poInLed.
He said he thought the
administration has de-
clared victory and hoist-
ed the mission accom-
plished banner too soon
and without a policy in
pIuce Lo ucLuuIIy geL LIere.
Youd think that after
LIe pusL 1z yeurs we`d
learn that in foreign pol-
icy, wishing doesnt make
IL so, Ie suId.
Hiebert suggested that
there are now more ques-
tions about Myanmar
policy, particularly in the
House, than there would
have been two years ago,
partly because it is now
becoming clear that re-
forms such as those un-
derway in Myanmar are
compIIcuLed.
I think there is, prob-
ably, a diminution of sup-
porL. LIInk eurIIer on
they gave them a sort of
blank check you know
what youre doing, carry
on and now people are
asking more questions,
and it goes beyond the
mIIILury, Ie suId.
The Diplomct
Stete Hirsch is c Wcsh-
inton DC-bcsed journclist
uho hcs reported exten-
sitel on Western policies
towards Myanmar.
FDI Created over 90,000
Jobs in Myanmar Last FY
Aye Myat
M
ore LIun qo,ooo
jobs were cre-
ated by foreign
dIrecL InvesLmenL (D)
projects in Myanmar dur-
Ing LIe hscuI ended MurcI
1, sLuLe-run medIu re-
porLed.
The English daily New
Light of Myanmar, which
is widely regarded as a
government mouthpiece,
said total accumulated FDI
Irom z6 InvesLor counLrIes
us oI LIe end oI IusL hscuI
wus $6.161 bIIIIon.
China tops the list of in-
vesLors wILI $1q.1q bII-
lion, followed by Hong
Kong wILI $6.qo; bIIIIon
und SIngupore wILI $q.18
bIIIIon, LIe puper suId.
The oil and gas sector
attracted the most FDI
wILI $1.6o bIIIIon, IoI-
lowed by electrical power
wILI $1.zq bIIIIon und
manufacturing with $
z.;8 bIIIIon, LIe puper
udded.
China Remains Myanmars Biggest Trading Partner
Kyaw Min
C
hina continued to
be the biggest trad-
ing partner of My-
unmur durIng LIe hscuI
yeur ended MurcI 1, uc-
cording to data released
by the Commerce Minis-
Lry.
Bilateral trades with
CIInu durIng LIe hscuI
yeur umounLed Lo $;.
billion out of the coun-
trys total traded volumes
worLI $zq.8; bIIIIon, uc-
counting for slightly more
LIun o percenL oI Myun-
mur`s LoLuI Lrude.
Myanmars export to
CIInu wus $z.q1 bIIIIon
while Chinas export to
Myanmar reached over
$q bIIIIon durIng LIe pe-
rIod.
WILI over $.6 bIIIIon
worth of bilateral trades,
Thailand turned out to be
the second biggest trad-
ing partner of Myanmar
IusL hscuI.
Myanmar mainly sold
rice, corn, beans, pulse,
sesume, rubber, hsIery
products, teak, hardwood,
natural gas, jade and gar-
ments to China, India,
Bangladesh, Australia,
UAE, Belgium, Indone-
sia, Italy, Japan, Korea,
Malaysia, Pakistan, Phil-
ippines, Russia, Saudi
Arabia, Singapore, Spain,
Thailand, UK, USA, and
Vietnam, the Central Sta-
LIsLIcs OrgunIzuLIon suId.
.~.~ _......_ e.
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. -e. . . ~ , . e . ~,
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.,..~:q.,_.._e.._.
_.,.:..~,~..~
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~ . e q._.. ~,~..:
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_. . . . .:.~.,_e _.,.:.
~~..~~..|. ~,~~~
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New Light of Myanmar ., .
~ ~ . . .~ ..:~q.
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._~:....~ ..._._:,.
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~ _.._ ~.| _., .:. -
..~..,:~.~..q. ..~
Barack Obama ~- _.,.:
..q: ....|...:q~.
. ~|.~ ..~,. . ._:, .:.
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~..|..._~..~:. ~:q
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~ . -_. . q~ ., ~ .~:~
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. . ..: q, ~ ~ ~ , .. _. ..q
._~:. .~q_.._e.._.
R
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May 15-21, 2014
Myanmar Business Today
mmbiztoday.com
INVESTMENT & FINANCE
22
Myanmar to Host 2014 ASEAN
Business And Investment Summit
Kyaw Min
M
yanmar will host
zo1q ASEAN
Business and In-
vesLmenL SummIL (BS)
in Nay Pyi Taw in Novem-
ber, according to Vice-
President of the Union of
Myanmar Federation of
Chambers of Commerce
und ndusLry (UMCC)
U WuI PIyo.
U Wai Pyo who is also a
member of ASEAN Busi-
ness Advisory Council
(BAC) suId LIuL LIe zo1q
ASEAN BIS is slated for
November 1z-1q.
ASEAN BIS, organised
annually by the ASEAN
Business Advisory Coun-
cII (ASEAN BAC), pro-
vides a platform for the
business community
to engage with ASEAN
Leaders and economic
ministers as well as key
decIsIon mukers, Ie suId.
This annual summit
aims to increase ASEANs
attractiveness as a region
for trade and investment
and enhances regional
competitiveness, ASEAN
BAC suId In u sLuLemenL.
The ASEAN BIS is ex-
pected to be attended by
prominent government,
business and thought
leaders to discuss issues
of strategic importance to
ASAN und EusL AsIu.
Myanmar takes the ro-
tating chair of ASEAN
LIIs yeur Ior LIe hrsL LIme
after joining ASEAN in
1qq;.
ASEAN comprises Bru-
nei, Cambodia, Indone-
sia, Lao, Malaysia, My-
anmar, the Philippines,
Singapore, Thailand and
VIeLnum.
Myanmar Summary
- We as activists are
committed to our coun-
try to develop But, up
to now, so many invest-
ments in our country
[have] no transparency at
all nobody knows how
to sign a contract, how to
sIure LIe benehLs. we
ask democratic countries
to think of how to invest
in our country, responsi-
ble investment or ethical
investment that means to
have a sustainable devel-
opment and democracy in
our counLry.
From page ...(ReBecting)
From page 8...(ReBecting)
- We are ready to work
on the market develop-
menL Ior LIe benehL oI uII
our people, not a few peo-
pIe.
Surfoce or uhot lies
heneoth
The panellist that in-
sLIIIed LIe mosL conh-
dence from an investors
point of view was Win-
ston Set Aung, vice gov-
ernor of the Central Bank
oI Myunmur. SeL Aung
spoke clearly about how
Myanmar is making great
strides in reforming its
InsLILuLIons. He spoke uL
length about the quantity
of reforms that are not
superhcIuIIy seen In order
for the visible reforms
for example joining the
global currency exchange
mechanisms to take
pIuce. He eIucIduLed LIuL
while many reforms are
not very much visible to
the people that is not
possible without having
the strong and sustained
political will and commit-
ment of the people and
government to keep mov-
ing forward ahead with
the democratisation pro-
cess, to keep improving
und keep mukIng u dIer-
ence.
He spoke about the
challenge that the country
is managing by simulta-
neously addressing re-
forms concerning politi-
cal development, national
reconciliation, economic
development, social de-
velopment and environ-
menLuI deveIopmenL.
While he said with some
humility, Im a techni-
cian, not a politician, he
simultaneously made a
good case that the country
needs an army of techni-
cians to help bring about
eecLIve reIorm.
Set Aung fairly points
out it is early days for My-
anmars reforms: Reform
is a process it needs time
to evolve Now we have
gone through two and a
IuII yeurs. SeL Aung uIso

[the] former military regime, why

they change such a situation [from
dictatorship to democracy]? ...
democracy and market economy
is the world trend ... [the military] never
got international credibility, international
legitimacy; thats why our army gener-
als are very clever how to deal with the
international community ... to get the
legitimacy
discussed the develop-
ment of special economic
zones and methodologies
being put in place for all
foreigners to invest on
u IeveI pIuyIng heId. He
added, The most impor-
tant thing is we have been
trying to create favour-
able investment and busi-
ness cIImuLes.
Dissecting the oppor-
tuni ty
Coming away from the
panel, one has the feel
that economic develop-
ment will come in spurts
and stops while full dem-
ocratic reforms may lag
expecLuLIons. or Inves-
tors and businesses, the
timing of their entry re-
lated to particular busi-
nesses and investments
wIII be key. or LeIecom
providers Telenor and
Ooredoo, the time to en-
ter the market has already
urrIved und LIeIr hrsL
mover status will likely
benehL LIem. TIuL suId,
as much as one may be-
lieve the trajectory of re-
forms will continue if the
NLD eventually comes to
omce In zo1 eIecLIons or
in the elections after that,
it is in reality uncertain
what the NLD will change
and will keep from the
currenL reIorm ugendu. L
seems important to both
encourage and question
the development of My-
anmar for the local people
und LIe brouder regIon.
At the same time, the case
for coddling the current
government to build re-
lationships with a revital-
izing country would seem
to risk the incomplete
political and economic
reforms transpiring in the
country, albeit perhaps
prohLubIy. Iorbes
1on Spriner is c con-
tributor ct Iorbes cnd
urites cbout jrontier cnd
emerin mcrlets, uith c
focus on Asian economies.
PaneIIists at a session at Iast year`s edition of the ASEAN Business
and Investment Summit.
E
R
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May 15-21, 2014
Myanmar Business Today
mmbiztoday.com
PROPERTY & REAL ESTATE
23
Myanmar Summary
Contd. P z...(Colden Land")
Contd. P z...(Colden Land")
Golden "Lund: Protecting Investments in Myunmur Irom ispotes
Foreign legal consultants John Lichtfeld and Kyaw Zin Htet report that Myanmar is fast emerging as a destination for foreign companies.
Issues remain, however, over land ownership..
John Lichtefeld &
Kyaw Zin Htet
A
s Southeast Asia
has blossomed
into a region at-
tractive for investment,
coveted land resources
have become scarcer and
disputes over land more
common. Even wILI ILs
vast size, Myanmar is no
exception to this rule, as
the nation struggles with
eecLIve Iund regIsLru-
LIon und LILIIng Issues.
n zo1zJ1, Myunmur`s
economy grew by 6. per-
cent but land disputes
remain a legal issue that
developers are having to
conLend wILI. TIere Is u
huge farming community
that have settled on this
land for decades, land
that foreign businesses
will need to build infra-
structure and establish
operuLIons.
While each nation in the
region has its own unique
and often historic obsta-
cles to investment in land,
Myanmar in particular
suers Irom LIe eecLs
of past nationalisation
of land ownership and a
tradition of mixed cus-
tomary and common law
practices with regards to
Iund rIgILs. AILIougI Is-
sues within the Golden
Land have yet to garner
the same outside atten-
tion as land disputes in
other Southeast Asian na-
tions, property rights and
ownership are a growing
concern for Myanmar cit-
izens, the Union Govern-
ment and foreign inves-
Lors uIIke.
Di sputes between
formers ond the
gooernment
In rural areas, disputes
typically emerge between
farmers and the govern-
menL over LIe cIussIh-
cation of farmland, the
rights to cultivate land
IndehnILeIy und LIe per-
manence of the land use
rIgILs grunLed. or Inves-
tors, this can play out ei-
ther as a challenge from
the government or anoth-
er interested third party
of rights granted to the
investor by way of sub-
lease, or alternatively, in
the form of a citizen pro-
test over otherwise legiti-
mate grants of land from
the government to inves-
Lors. n urbun Myunmur,
rights disputes are more
likely to occur where
there is contested owner-
ship over a single parcel
of land, or when a local
party fails to abide by the
rules or limitations of a
land grant from the gov-
ernmenL.
Investors seeking abso-
lute certainty regarding
land rights in Myanmar
muy hnd IL dIm cuIL Lo
navigate this labyrinth
of seemingly opaque and
compIex procedures. or
example, registration for
the rights associated with
the land is haphazard in
the cities and practically
non-existent in many ru-
ruI ureus. n muny cuses,
land has changed hands
on an informal basis, with
the original or registered
owners of property either
having died in the interim
or moved on from their
IIsLed uddresses. DespILe
LIese dIm cuILIes, Inves-
Lors cun hnd some com-
fort in their dealings by
understanding the basics
of land rights in Myanmar
and following certain best
prucLIces. WIIIe uImosL
no due diligence in Myan-
mar can be said to be fool-
proof, understanding the
basic laws relating to land
and taking certain pre-
cautions can help develop
LIe conhdence necessury
to pursue investment in
otherwise uncertain con-
dILIons.
Lond rights generollg
There is no overarch-
ing land or property law
in Myanmar that governs
the ownership, use and
transfer of immovable
properLy. TIe generuI Ie-
gal framework concern-
ing immovable property
in Myanmar today is con-
tained in:
(u) TIe ConsLILuLIon oI
the Republic of Union of
Myunmur (zoo8);
(b) TrunsIer oI ProperLy
AcL (188z);
(c) RegIsLruLIon AcL
(1qo8);
(d) TrunsIer oI mmov-
able Property Restriction
uw (1q8;);
(e) TIe urm und uw
(zo1z);
(I) TIe MunugemenL oI
Cultivable, Fallow and
WusLe und uw (zo1z);
(g) Myunmur oreIgn
nvesLmenL uw (zo1z)
und NoLIhcuLIon qJzo11
on the Right to Utilize
Land; and
(I) und AcquIsILIon
AcL (18qq).
Additional acts and
regulations, such as the
Forest Law and the En-
vironmental Protection
Law, can have an ancil-
Iury eecL on LIe use oI
land, even if they do not
directly regulate the own-
ership, use and/or trans-
Ier oI Iund.
In general, all land in
Myanmar is theoreti-
cally held by government
bodIes. WIIIe LIere ure
sporadic cases of genu-
ine private land owner-
ship, these are rare and
represent the exception
ruLIer LIun LIe ruIe. o-
cals with rights to land
typically hold land use
grants or land leases from
a government body, usu-
uIIy Ior Lerms oI o, 6o
or qo yeurs. TIe concepLs
of lease and grant are of-
Len conuLed und IL Is noL
uncommon to see sub-
lease arrangements or as-
signments referred to as
sales even if actual title
or ultimate ownership of a
property remains with the
governmenL.
Laws regulating the use
of land by foreigners set
up a number of restric-
tions on the ability of for-
eigners or foreign entities
to hold, transfer and/or
use Iund. OI purLIcuIur
importance to foreign in-
vestors is the Transfer of
Immovable Property Re-
sLrIcLIon uw (1q8;) (LIe
TPR (1q8;)), wIIcI
forbids the transfer of
immovable property to
and from foreigners (in-
cluding companies with
uny IoreIgn InvesLmenL).
Furthermore, the TIPRL
(1q8;) resLrIcLs IoreIgn
investors and individuals
from entering into leases
extending beyond one
yeur. TIIs uecLs uII mun-
ner of immovable proper-
ty from residential leases
to leases involving com-
mercial projects, essen-
tially limiting foreigners
and foreign invested enti-
ties to a single year lease
Lerm. TIe onIy presenL
exception to this other-
wise onerous restriction
is found in Myanmars
Foreign Investment Law
(LIe M (zo1z)).
Ohtoining o permit
Om cIuIIy pussed In No-
vember zo1z, LIe M
(zo1z) uIIows IoreIgn In-
vestors to apply for an in-
vestment permit (the MIC
PermIL) wILI LIe Myun-
mar Investment Commis-
sIon (MC), wIIcI, umong
oLIer benehLs, wIII uIIow
the foreign investor to
lease or use land in Myan-
mar for extended periods
beyond what is otherwise
allowed under the TIPRL
(1q8;). PursuunL Lo uny
MIC Permit application, a
potential foreign investor
is required to submit to
the MIC a draft lease for
revIew. SIouId LIe MC
approve of the proposed
investment project, the
MIC will also generally
approve of the submitted
lease of immovable prop-
erty or land for a term of
up Lo o yeurs.

Myanmar in particular suffers from the ef-

fects of past nationalisation of land owner-
ship and a tradition of mixed customary and
common law practices with regards to land
rights. Although issues within the Golden Land
have yet to garner the same outside attention as
land disputes in other Southeast Asian nations,
property rights and ownership are a growing
concern for Myanmar citizens, the Union Govern-
ment and foreign investors alike.
HoteI construction work on a pIot of Iand in NgapaIi, Rakhine state. As investment spurs growth and
infrastructure deveIopment in Myanmar, coveted Iand resources have become scarcer and disputes are
becoming common.
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May 15-21, 2014
Myanmar Business Today
mmbiztoday.com
24
From page z...(Colden Land")
From page z...(Colden Land")
PROPERTY & REAL ESTATE
The exact period grant-
ed muy be modIhed de-
pending on the size and
needs of the investment
project, but generally,
major investment pro-
jecLs seek up Lo LIe IuII o
yeur Lerm. Upon LIe ex-
piry of the initial period,
the MIC may then grant
two extension periods of
up Lo 1o yeurs eucI. TIe
MIC may, with the prior
approval of the Myanmar
Government, provide for
an even longer lease term
if it is in the interest of the
economic development of
less-developed and inac-
cessible regions of Myan-
mur.
As a foreign investor in
Myanmar, it is critical to
undersLund LIe dIerence
between rights authorised
under an MIC Permit and
rights actually granted to
a local partner pursuant
to a land grant from the
governmenL. TIe MC
Permit authorises a for-
eign invested company
Lo Ieuse Iund Ior up Lo o
years, plus the two ad-
ditional ten year renewal
terms; however, should
the foreign invested com-
pany enter into a lease
for land that is subject to
an initial grant that ends
prIor Lo o yeurs, LIe Iund
will revert to the govern-
ment upon termination of
the initial grant regard-
less of the MIC Permits
uuLIorIzuLIon. TIereIore
when considering land
for investment purposes,
it is crucial to determine
not just the suitability of
the land for the invest-
ment proposed, but also
the capacity of the lessor
to obtain an extension of
their land grant to take
full advantage of the MIC
Permits extended lease
perIod.
GoIng Iorwurd In zo1q,
there is a general expecta-
tion by Myanmar real es-
tate observers that a new
Condominium Law will
be pussed LIuL wIII oer
an additional exception
Lo LIe TPR (1q8;) sIn-
gIe yeur Ieuse resLrIcLIon.
Although only circulated
in an unapproved draft
form, the proposed Con-
dominium Law foresees a
regulatory regime where
appropriately registered
land development pro-
jects may be allowed to
provide ownership and
long term leases of condo-
minium units to foreign
InvesLors. CerLuIn regIs-
tration restrictions and
local ownership quotas
are in the present draft
version of the Condomin-
ium Law; however, even
with these complications,
passage of the Condomin-
ium Law would represent
major progress for land
regulation in Myanmar
and could result in ma-
jor changes to the market
Iundscupe.
How i nvestor s can
protect themseloes
Foreign investors enter-
ing into Myanmar should
take precautions when
preparing to secure land
Ior InvesLmenL. One ruIe,
above all others, is to
know your IocuI purLners.
Often, land is provided
as in-kind contribution
(generally through a long-
term lease in the case of
MIC approved joint ven-
Lures) by u IocuI purLy,
and it is left to the foreign
party to ensure that the
land is legitimately held
and authorised for the its
InLended use. WIIIe LIe
temptation to rush into
the market may be high,
it is critical to take time
to meet with and carefully
evaluate potential local
partners, and to ask ques-
tions about their back-
ground and the assets
they will be investing in
uny projecL. BeIore sIgn-
ing on the dotted line, it is
advisable to engage com-
petent legal counsel to
review any lease or other
documents related to land
to ensure that the land is
indeed available and suit-
able for the investment
projecL conLempIuLed.
Because of the lack of ef-
fective central land regis-
tration, the performance
of due diligence on land in
Myanmar typically relies
entirely on the documen-
tation provided by the lo-
cal party contributing the
Iund. TIe mosL common
documents provided for
review tend to be leases or
grants, either from a third
party to the local party, or
more ideally, from a gov-
ernment entity to a local
purLy. EnsurIng un uccu-
rate chain of title is criti-
cal and leases that have
been sublet or assigned
through multiple trans-
Iers cun be dImcuIL Lo ver-
IIy. OLIer documenLs LIuL
are useful, though not al-
ways immediately availa-
ble, are the land map and
land history setting out
the exact parameters of
the property in question,
as well as its registration
history, and other docu-
mentation of registration
noting where a property
has been properly regis-
tered with the Registrar
oI Deeds und Assurunces.
While registration of
land grants and leases ex-
tending beyond one year
are required by law, this
requirement is frequently
ignored, foregone with
an eye to avoiding stamp
duties or simply misun-
dersLood by IocuI purLIes.
Even when the laws are
complied with, there ex-
ist structural weaknesses
in the system including
the extended period in
which land transfers may
be regIsLered. TrunsIerees
have up to four months
after completion of lease
or grant to register the
transfer, thus, if registra-
tion does not occur until
the four-month dead-
line, a less than scrupu-
lous landholder could in
the interim arrange for
the sale or lease of the
land to an otherwise un-
suspecLIng LIIrd purLy.
Even if the latter lessee
should successfully reg-
IsLer LIe properLy hrsL, u
lessee having a legitimate
lease entered into prior
to the latter lessees lease
may register at any time
up until the four month
deadline and take claim
Lo LIe properLy.
While the scenario
wherein multiple parties
are engaged simultane-
ously by a lessor to lease
a single property is rela-
tively uncommon, is it not
that rare for land registra-
tion to be incomplete or
mIssIng. As menLIoned
above, tax avoidance and
ignorance of the law are
common causes for im-
proper or missing reg-
IsLruLIon. As u resuIL, u
land lessors documents
and assistance in work-
ing with the Myanmar
authorities are critical to
establishing the suitabil-
ity of land for investment;
in absence of any truly ef-
fective regulatory regime,
it is these documents that
will hold the key to deter-
mining the provenance
and suitability of land for
InvesLmenL.
Exisitng inoestment
oppor tuni ti es
Myanmar simultane-
ously boasts exciting
investment opportuni-
ties and a challenging,
and at times, inscrutable
environment for doing
busIness. nvesLors con-
sidering major projects
LIuL requIre sIgnIhcunL
land use would be wise
to move carefully into the
market and avoid making
hasty arrangements with
unIumIIIur purLners. MIs-
takes made early on in the
process cun Iuve sIgnIh-
cant and sometimes cost-
ly consequences down the
roud once sIgnIhcunL LIme
and money have been in-
vesLed. EnsurIng u good
relationship with local
partners and any local au-
thorities with oversight of
the relevant investor sec-
Lor Is crILIcuI.
Almost equally impor-
tant is engaging experi-
enced counsel, whether
legal or general business
consuILuncy, wILI u hrm
grasp on the laws and on-
the-ground realities of
doing business in Myan-
mur. L Is eusy Lo Luke Ior
granted matters such as
continuous electrical and
water supply that would
be certainties in more de-
veloped regions, but are
just now being brought
online in this developing
murkeL. TIe more esLub-
lished consultancies can
help a foreign investor
manage these basic com-
plications that might oth-
erwise go unnoticed until
they have metastasized
into unmanageable prob-
Iems. An ounce oI preven-
tion is worth a pound of
cure, and nowhere is this
clichd axiom truer than
in the obtaining suitable
land for investment in a
turbulent, emerging mar-
keL.
John Lichtefeld and
Kyaw Zin Htet are For-
eign Legal Consultants
uith lcu jrm Keltin Chic
Yangon Ltd. The article
jrst cppecred in Globcl
Lecl Post in its Globcl
Vieu blo.

As a foreign investor in Myanmar,

it is critical to understand the dif-
ference between rights authorised
under an MIC Permit and rights
actually granted to a local partner pursuant
to a land grant from the government.
In ruraI areas, disputes typicaIIy emerge between farmers and the government over the cIassication of
farmIand, the rights to cuItivate Iand indeniteIy and the permanence of the Iand use rights granted.
S
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May 15-21, 2014
Myanmar Business Today
mmbiztoday.com
AUTOMOBILE
25
Myanmar Summary
Myanmar Summary
Toyotu Withdruwul A Bombshell, Iconomic Blow to CuliIorniu City
Tim Reid
T
oyota Motor Corps deci-
sion to move its North
American sales head-
quarters from California to Tex-
as was met by disbelief in Tor-
rance, this Los Angeles exurb
where the Japanese car manu-
facturer has run its US opera-
LIons sInce 1q8z.
Torrance Mayor Frank Scotto,
looking grim, said outside city
hall that he had been blindsid-
ed by LIe move. A Iew IeeL uwuy
sat Pat Simpson, a Torrance
resIdenL Ior over 6o yeurs, wILI
Ier Ieud In Ier Iunds. WIy
do they want to tear this place
upurL? SImpson, ;z, usked.
ScoLLo suId IIs hrsL InkIIng
of Toyotas decision to move
to Plano, Texas, came when he
was told by Toyota to expect a
pIone cuII uL q.qum - jusL be-
fore the company was to make
ILs decIsIon omcIuI.
AL hrsL LIougIL IL wus ubouL
someLIIng eIse, ScoLLo suId.
Even this morning, despite all
the rumours this weekend, we
thought it was only going to be
part of Toyota moving not just
everyLIIng. TIe decIsIon, Ie
suId, wus sud news.
The two biggest employers in
Torrance, which has a popu-
IuLIon oI 1q;,ooo uccordIng
Lo cILy hgures, ure ToyoLu und
Hondu. BoLI Iuve ubouL q,ooo
empIoyees. osIng ToyoLu wIII
meun un unnuuI Ioss oI $1.z
million in tax revenue, Scotto
said, but the emotional toll and
wider economic impact will be
mucI bIgger, Ie suId.
Scottos son-in-law works for
Toyota so the mayor faces the
prospect of his daughter and
grundcIIIdren movIng Lo Texus.
L`s goIng Lo uecL Lens oI LIou-
sunds oI peopIe, Ie suId.
AbouL hve percenL oI LIe cILy`s
workforce is employed by Toy-
oLu. usL yeur LIe cILy Iud un
unnuuI budgeL oI $z;1 mIIIIon,
und $1z1 mIIIIon oI Iong-Lerm
debL.
ScoLLo, muyor sInce zoo6,
thanked Toyota for all it had
contributed to the city, includ-
Ing u recenL $oo,ooo donu-
tion to help build a new sports
complex a few blocks from city
IuII. ScoLLo suId IL Is Lo be cuIIed
the Toyota Sports Complex, al-
though the sign hasnt been put
up yeL.
Whether the city can replace
ToyoLu, und hII LIe 1o1-ucre
business park and headquarters
it will leave behind, remains to
be seen. ScoLLo suId LIe cILy Iud
a short list of companies similar
to Toyota that are being court-
ed to replace the Japanese car
muker.
But conceding that the battle
to keep Toyota was lost before it
had even begun the train has
already left the station, Scotto
said he also said it takes the
state of California, not a small
city such as Torrance, to stop
large manufacturers from leav-
Ing LIe GoIden SLuLe.
Frank Portillo, a co-owner of
Los Chilaquiles Mexican Grill
next to the Toyota headquarters
said he did not blame Toyota,
although he might lose business
IImseII. TIe Luxes ure Iower In
Texus. TIere ure Iewer reguIu-
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~. ._ ~. .|.,q:~ ~ .q:~ q,
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:.._~:. ._.:_~:.:.._ .
LIons. L`s cIeuper Ior u com-
puny LIere. WIy wouIdn`L LIey
leave California?
Ford's state-of-the-art plant in Thailand.
Thai Auto Sector Slams on Brakes
As Political Crisis Rumbles On
More than 30,000 subcontracted workers laid of this year
Khettiya Jittapong
and Pisit Changplayn-
gam
T
hailands auto sector,
Southeast Asias big-
gesL, Ius hred more LIun
o,ooo subconLrucLed work-
ers this year and slashed pro-
duction, as sales plunge after
months of political unrest that
threatens to drive some manu-
IucLurers osIore.
TIe Iuy-os ure LIe IuLesL sIgn
that the auto industry, account-
Ing Ior ubouL 11 percenL oI TIuI
economic output, is being hit
hard by the prolonged power-
struggle between the Bangkok-
based royalist establishment
and the mainly rural supporters
of ousted former Prime Minis-
Ler TIuksIn SIInuwuLru.
The crisis deepened last week,
when a court ordered Prime
Minister Yingluck Shinawatra,
Thaksins sister, to step down
uILer hndIng Ier guIILy oI ubuse
of power, leaving a caretaker
government to press ahead with
pIuns Ior u JuIy eIecLIon.
As a regional production and
export base, Thailands troubles
have major implications for top
manufacturers such as Toyota
Motor Corp, Nissan Motor Co
and Ford Motor Co, which may
be forced to shift some produc-
tion to cheaper bases such as
Indonesia, the regions second-
bIggesL uuLo murkeL.
As political instability con-
tinues, we are concerned that
automakers may reduce their
exposure to Thailand to diversi-
fy their risk, said Kovit Wong-
kolkitsilp, chairman of the auto
parts group of the Federation of
TIuI ndusLrIes (T).
Honda Motor Co said it was
considering delaying the start-
up oI u new $o mIIIIon mun-
ufacturing plant in Thailand
by six months to a year, as the
economy teeters on the brink of
recession and political turmoil
prompts automakers to rethink
LIeIr InvesLmenLs.
Its critical especially in the
uuLo secLor. We Iuve seen u bIg
IoL oI Iuyos, ubouL oo Lo ;oo
sLu, severuI LImes In recenL
months, National Congress of
Thai Labour President Panus
TIuIIuun suId.
Toru Hasegawa, Nissans In-
donesia chief, said that be-
cause of the political uncertain-
ty, total industry volume is a
bIL uecLed, buL Ie udded LIuL
Thailand remained a key mar-
keL Ior LIe compuny.
They are also a big market
und sLIII growIng. or NIssun,
Southeast Asia is very much im-
porLunL, Huseguwu suId.
Rival Toyota said at the start
of the year it planned to sell
qoo,ooo veIIcIes In TIuI-
land this year, but in the three
months to March saw sales there
R
e
u
t
e
r
s
drop percenL Lo 8q,ooo.
Toyota Executive Vice Presi-
dent Nobuyori Kodaira told re-
porters in Tokyo on Thursday
that the car maker might have
to consider cutting its sales out-
Iook Ior TIuIIund us u resuIL.
Thailand is one of our very
important strongholds glob-
ally and we have no change in
our stance to make vehicles and
conduct business there, he
suId.
Domestic soles plunge
TIe rougIIy o,ooo mosLIy
low-skilled sub-contractors
who Panus said had been laid
o LIIs yeur represenL ubouL
percenL oI LIe uuLo secLor`s
workIorce.
TIe Iuyos reecL u yeur oI
sliding domestic sales that has
sucked the life out of an auto in-
dustry that relies on local buy-
ers to consume about half of its
ouLpuL. Reuters
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. . . . :.. .q: .~:.. :.. :._ .
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May 15-21, 2014
Myanmar Business Today
mmbiztoday.com
26
INTERNATIONAL AND DOMESTIC FLIGHT SCHEDULE
Fliggh htss ffroom Yanggon (RGNN) to Bangkok ((BKK) Fliggh htss ffroom Banggkok (BKKK) to Yaangon (RGN)
Flight No. DDayss From To ETD ETA Operated by: Flight No. DDayss From To ETD ETA Operated by:
PG 706 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RGN BKK 7:15 9:30 Bangkok Airways DD4230 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 DMK RGN 06:30 07:55 NOK Airlines
DD4231 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RGN DMK 8:00 9:45 NOK Airlines 8M336 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 BKK RGN 6:40 7:25 MAI
FD2752 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RGN DMK 8:30 10:15 Thai AirAsia FD2751 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 DMK RGN 7:15 8:00 Thai AirAsia
8M335 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RGN BKK 8:40 10:25 MAI TG303 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 BKK RGN 8:00 8:45 Thai Airways
TG304 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RGN BKK 9:50 11:45 Thai Airways PG701 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 BKK RGN 8:50 9:40 Bangkok Airways
PG702 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RGN BKK 10:45 12:40 Bangkok Airways FD2755 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 DMK RGN 11:35 12:20 Thai AirAsia
Y5-237 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RGN BKK 18:05 19:50 Golden Myanmar Airlines PG707 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 BKK RGN 13:40 14:30 Bangkok Airways
TG302 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RGN BKK 14:45 16:40 Thai Airways Y5-238 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 BKK RGN 21:10 21:55 Golden Myanmar Airlines
PG703 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RGN BKK 15:20 17:15 Bangkok Airways FD2753 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 DMK RGN 16:35 17:20 Thai AirAsia
8M331 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RGN BKK 16:30 18:15 MAI PG703 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 BKK RGN 16:45 17:35 Bangkok Airways
FD2754 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RGN DMK 17:50 19:35 Thai AirAsia TG305 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 BKK RGN 17:55 18:40 Thai Airways
PG704 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RGN BKK 18:25 20:20 Bangkok Airways DD4238 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 BKK RGN 19:30 20:15 NOK Airlines
TG306 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RGN BKK 19:40 21:35 Thai Airways 8M332 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 BKK RGN 19:20 20:05 MAI
DD4239 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RGN DMK 21:00 22:45 NOK Airlines PG705 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 BKK RGN 20:00 21:15 Bangkok Airways
FFliggh htss ffroom m Yangoon (RGN)) to Chiaang Maii (CNX) FFliggh htss ffroom m Chiangg Mai (CCNX) to YYangon (RGN)
W9-9607 4 7 RGN CNX 14:50 16:20 Air Bagan W9-9608 4 7 CNX RGN 17:20 17:50 Air Bagan
Flligghtss ffroom Yanggon (RGNN) to Sinngapore (SIN) Flligghtss ffroom Singaapore (SIN) to Yangon ((RGN)
Y5-233 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RGN SIN 10:10 14:40 Golden Myanmar Airlines Y5-234 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 SIN RGN 15:35 17:05 Golden Myanmar Airlines
MI509 1 6 RGN SIN 0:25 5;00 SilkAir SQ998 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 SIN RGN 7:55 9:20 Singapore Airline
8M231 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RGN SIN 8:30 13:00 MAI 8M6231/3K585 1 3 4 5 6 SIN RGN 9:10 10:40 Jetstar Asia
SQ997 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RGN SIN 10:25 14:45 Singapore Airline 8M232 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 SIN RGN 14:10 15:40 MAI
8M6232/3K586 1 3 4 5 6 RGN SIN 11:30 16:05 Jetstar Asia MI518 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 SIN RGN 14:20 15:45 SilkAir
8M233 5 6 7 RGN SIN 13:45 18:15 MAI 8M235 5 6 7 SIN RGN 19:15 20:45 MAI
TR2827 1 6 7 RGN SIN 15:10 19:35 TigerAir TR2826 1 6 7 SIN RGN 13:00 14:30 TigerAir
TR2827 2 3 4 5 RGN SIN 17:10 21:35 TigerAir TR2826 2 3 4 5 SIN RGN 15:00 16:30 TigerAir
MI517 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RGN SIN 16:40 21:15 SilkAir MI520 5 7 SIN RGN 22:10 23:35 SilkAir
FFliightts frromm Yangonn (RGN) tto Kualaa Lumpuur (KUL) Fligghtts frro om m Kuala LLumpur (KUL)too Yangonn (RGN)
AK1427 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RGN KUL 8:30 12:50 AirAsia AK1426 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 KUL RGN 6:55 8:00 AirAsia
8M501 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RGN KUL 8:55 12:55 MAI MH740 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 KUL RGN 10:05 11:15 Malaysia Airlines
MH741 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RGN KUL 12:15 16:30 Malaysia Airlines 8M502 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 KUL RGN 14:00 15:00 MAI
Fligghtts frrom Yanngon (RGGN) to HHanoi (HHAN) Fligghtts frrom Hannoi (HANN) to Yanngon (RRGN)
VN956 1 3 5 6 7 RGN HAN 19:10 21:30 Vietnam Airlines VN957 1 3 5 6 7 HAN RGN 16:35 18:10 Vietnam Airlines
Flliggh htss ffroom m Yangon (RGN) to Ho CChi Minhh (SGN) Flliggh htss ffroom m Ho Chii Minh (SSGN) to Yangonn (RGN)
VN942 2 4 7 RGN SGN 14:25 17:10 Vietnam Airlines VN943 2 4 7 SGN RGN 11:40 13:25 Vietnam Airlines
Flligghtss ffrom Yanngon (RGGN) to TTaipei (TTPE) Flligghtss ffrom Taipei (TPEE) to Yanngon (RGN)
CI7916 1 2 3 4 5 6 RGN TPE 10:50 16:10 China Airline CI7915 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 TPE RGN 7:15 10:05 China Airline
BR288 2 5 6 RGN TPE 11:35 17:20 EVA Air BR287 2 5 6 TPE RGN 7:30 10:35 EVA Air
Flliggh htss ffroom Yanggon (RGNN) to Kunming(KMG) Flliggh htss ffroom Kunmming(KMMG) to Yangon ((RGN)
CA906 2 3 4 6 7 RGN KMG 14:15 17:35 Air China CA905 2 3 4 6 7 KMG RGN 12:40 13:15 Air China
MU2032 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RGN KMG 14:40 17:55 China Eastern MU2031 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 KMG RGN 13:30 14:00 China Eastern
MU2012 3 6 RGN KMG 12:20 18:10 China Eastern (via NNG) MU2011 3 6 KMG RGN 8:25 11:30 China Eastern (via NNG)
Flligghtss from Yanngon (RGGN) to BBeijing (BJS) Flligghtss from Beijjing (BJSS) to Yanngon (RRGN)
CA906 2 3 4 6 7 RGN BJS 14:15 21:55 Air China (via KMG) CA905 2 3 4 6 7 BJS RGN 8:05 13:15 Air China (via KMG)
Fliggh htss ffroom Yanggon (RGNN) to Naanning (NNG) Fliggh htss ffroom Nannning (NNNG) to Yaangon ((RGN)
Flight No. DDayss From To ETD ETA Operated by: Flight No. DDayss From To ETD ETA Operated by:
MU2012 3 6 RGN NNG 12:20 16:25 China Eastern MU2011 3 6 NNG RGN 10:15 11:30 China Eastern
FFliggh htss ffroom m Yangoon (RGN)) to Honng Kong (HKG) HHonng g KKoong (HKG) Flights from Yaangon ((RGN)
KA251 1 2 4 6 RGN HKG 1:10 5:35 Dragon Air KA250 1 3 5 7 HKG RGN 21:50 23:45 Dragon Air
*PPleaasee noote thee dday change for the deparrture time too Hong Kongg.
Flliggh htss ffroom m Yangon (RGN) to Guanng Zhouu (CAN) Flliggh htss ffroom m Guang Zhou (CCAN) to Yangonn (RGN)
8M711 2 4 7 RGN CAN 8:40 13:15 MAI CZ3055 3 6 CAN RGN 8:40 10:30 China Southern Airlines
CZ3056 3 6 RGN CAN 11:20 15:50 China Southern Airline 8M712 2 4 7 CAN RGN 14:15 15:45 MAI
CZ3056 1 5 RGN CAN 17:40 22:15 China Southern Airline CZ3055 1 5 CAN RGN 14:45 16:35 China Southern Airlines
FFlighhts ffroom Yanggon (RGN) to Koolkata (CCCU) FFlighhts ffroom Kolkkata (CCUU) to Yaangon (RRGN)
Flight No. DDayss From To ETD ETA Operated by: Flight No. DDayss From To ETD ETA Operated by:
AI228 5 RGN CCU 18:45 19:45 Air India AI227 1 5 CCU RGN 10:35 13:20 Air India
AI234 1 5 RGN CCU 13:40 16:55 Air India (via GAY) AI233 5 CCU RGN 13:30 18:00 Air India (via GAY)
Fliggh htss ffrom Yanngon (RGGN) to GGaya (GAAY) Fliggh htss ffrom Gayya (GAY) to Yanngon (RGGN)
8M 601 1 3 5 6 RGN GAY 10:30 11:50 MAI 8M 602 1 3 5 6 GAY RGN 12:50 16:00 MAI
AI234 1 5 RGN GAY 13:40 15:00 Air India AI233 5 GAY RGN 15:00 18:00 Air India
Fligghtts frrom Yanngon (RGGN) to TTokyo (NNRT) FFliightts frrom Tokkyo (NRTT) to Yaangon (RRGN)
NH914 1 3 6 RGN NRT 22:00 06:40+1 ALL NIPPON Airways NH913 1 3 6 NRT RGN 11:10 17:05 ALL NIPPON Airways
FFliggh htss ffrom Yanngon (RGGN) to SSeoul (ICCN) FFliggh htss ffrom Seooul (ICN)) to Yanngon (RGGN)
KE472 1 3 5 7 RGN ICN 0:05 8:00 Korean Air KE471 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 ICN RGN 18:40 22:55 Korean Air
OZ7463 4 7 RGN ICN 0:50 8:50 Asiana OZ4753 3 6 ICN RGN 19:30 23:40 Asiana
Flligghtss ffrom Yanngon (RGGN) to DDoha (DOOH) Flightts frrom Dohha (DOH) to Yangon (RRGN)
QR619 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RGN DOH 8:00 11:45 Qatar Airways QR618 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 DOH RGN 21:05 06:29+1 Qatar Airways
Flliggh htss ffroom m Yangon (RGN) to Nay Pyi Taww (NYT) Flliggh htss ffroom m Nay Pyyi Taw (NNYT) to Yangonn (RGN)
Flight No. DDayss From To ETD ETA Operated by: Flight No. DDayss From To ETD ETA Operated by:
FMI-A1 1 2 3 4 5 RGN NYT 7:30 8:30 FMI Air Charter FMI-A2 1 2 3 4 5 NYT RGN 8:50 9:50 FMI Air Charter
FMI-B1 1 2 3 4 5 RGN NYT 11:30 12:30 FMI Air Charter FMI-B2 1 2 3 4 5 NYT RGN 13:00 14:00 FMI Air Charter
FMI-C1 1 2 3 4 5 RGN NYT 16:30 17:30 FMI Air Charter FMI-C2 1 2 3 4 5 NYT RGN 18:00 19:00 FMI Air Charter
FMI-A1 6 RGN NYT 8:00 9:00 FMI Air Charter FMI-A2 6 NYT RGN 10:00 11:00 FMI Air Charter
FMI-A1 7 RGN NYT 15:30 16:30 FMI Air Charter FMI-A2 7 NYT RGN 17:00 18:00 FMI Air Charter
FFliightts frrom Yangoon (RGN) to Manndalay ((MDY) FFliightts frrom Manddalay (MDDY) to YYangon (RGN)
Y5-234 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RGN MDY 6:15 7:30 Golden Myanmar Airlines Y5-233 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 MDY RGN 8:10 9:25 Golden Myanmar Airlines
YH 909 2 4 6 7 RGN MDY 6:30 8:10 Yangon Airways YH 910 1 3 MDY RGN 7:40 10:30 Yangon Airways
YH 917 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RGN MDY 6:10 8:30 Yangon Airways YH 918 1 2 3 4 6 7 MDY RGN 8:30 10:25 Yangon Airways
YH 727 1 5 RGN MDY 11:15 13:25 Yangon Airways YH 728 1 5 MDY RGN 9:10 11:05 Yangon Airways
YH 731 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RGN MDY 15:00 17:10 Yangon Airways YH 732 1 2 3 4 5 6 MDY RGN 17:10 19:15 Yangon Airways
W9 501 1 2 3 4 RGN MDY 6:00 7:25 Air Bagan W9 502 1 2 3 4 MDY RGN 16:10 18:15 Air Bagan
K7 222 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RGN MDY 6:30 8:40 Air KBZ K7 223 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 MDY RGN 9:00 11:05 Air KBZ
YJ 201 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RGN MDY 11:30 12:55 Asian Wings YJ 202 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 MDY RGN 16:00 17:25 Asian Wings
Days - (1) Monday (2) TTueesdaay (33) WWeddnessdaay (4) Thursdayy (5) Friday (6) SSaturday (7) Suunday Days - (1) Monday (2) TTueesdaay (33) WWeddnessdaay (4) Thursdayy (5) Friday (6) SSaturday (7) Suunday
May 15-21, 2014
Myanmar Business Today
mmbiztoday.com
IT & TELECOM
27
Myanmar Summary
Myanmar Summary
Ooredoo and Rocket Internet Join
Hands to Tap Online Businesses
O
oredoo Myanmar has
formed a partnership
with German internet
incubator Rocket Internet to
jointly develop eCommerce and
other digital services in Asia,
LIe QuLurI LeIecoms hrm suId.
Ooredoo and Rocket Internet
will become equal partners in
Asia Internet Holding, a joint
venture that will create and de-
velop online businesses in the
region, Ooredoo said, adding
that eCommerce is part of the
hrm`s sLruLegy Lo InvesL In new
businesses that provide growth
opportunities and develop new
revenue sLreums.
Ooredoo and Rocket said both
the companies are keen to ben-
ehL Irom LIe Lrend oI IncreusIng
disposable income and internet
penetration in Asia, which are
seen as key drivers for eCom-
merce growLI In LIe regIon.
Growing smartphone pen-
eLruLIon und IImILed hxed IIne
infrastructure are reinforcing
mobile as the preferred medi-
um Ior eCommerce In AsIu.
Ross Cormack, CEO of Oore-
doo Myanmar said, A fun-
damental shift is happening
across our markets especially
in Myanmar and more people
would buy goods and services
online through their mobile
pIones.
He said Ooredoo aims to har-
ness Rockets knowledge and
experience gained elsewhere
into making the joint venture
an eCommerce market leader
ucross AsIu.
Asia Internet Holding will cov-
er 1 murkeLs In AsIu IncIudIng
Myanmar, Thailand, Singapore,
Vietnam, the Philippines and
Htun Htun Minn
Australia, with ventures ranging
from online retail and market-
pIuces Lo puymenL servIces.
Several ventures were
launched over the last two years
IncIudIng Duruz.pk, umudI.
com, CurmudI.com, Kuymu.
com, PrIcepundu.com und
EusyTuxI.com.
Oliver Samwer, co-founder
of Rocket Internet, said, By
bringing ecommerce models
that have worked well else-
wIere In LIe worId Lo AsIu ... we
can jointly bring better services
Lo cusLomers.
Our partnership will accel-
erate the development of Asia
Internet Holding in the region
and help our businesses suc-
ceed.
This investment is subject
to the approval of the regula-
tory authorities in the countries
where the service will be pro-
vided, and it is expected to be
concluded in the second quarter
oI zo1q, LIe hrms suId.
Ooredoo, after winning its
bid for one of the two telecom
licences in Myanmar in June
last year, is currently rolling out
telecoms infrastructure in the
SouLIeusL AsIun counLry. On-
IIne reuI esLuLe pIuLIorm House.
com.mm, u purL oI RockeL n-
ternet, recently claimed that it
is now the leader in Myanmars
onIIne reuI esLuLe murkeLpIuce.
S
h
u
t
t
e
r
s
t
o
c
k
/
P
r
e
s
s
m
a
s
t
e
r
~:q ~ ~ ~ eCommerce . . .
~e~,..:..:. ..~..:q~q,
~~ ~ Rocket Internet . . ...|..
._~:. Ooredoo ~ ._~_:.._.
Ooredoo . RocketInternet ~
._ AsiaInternetHolding ~ ~~ .
~...:.e~.:._e..:.__e._.. ,.
~ . ~ ._ ...~ .~ , . .. . , .
.:. e, ~ ...: q ~ ._ e~ .. . . , .
_e.._.
Ooredoo Myanmar - CEO Ross
Cormack ~ ~._.. ~~ ._.: .. ~:
.~e: ~,.~:~ ...~~~..:.
.: ~.._e _.,.:_._.:_e..,_..
. .~ e: . ~ . .e , ..~ ~~. .
~,.._..~, ~,..:..~~ ~e
.:_~. . .e ..|e: ~, .~: ~ q ~:q
...~ ~ .~ . :. _. .. .:~e .~, .~:
~ ~.,, eCommerce ~, ..: . .~
~ ...~:e: . q ~.~ ~ _~e ~
.._. .. ~ ~, .~: ~ q q_ . , ..~ ~
. _. .~.:~ ~~ _.. :_e. .|~e .Rocket
, . ...| ...: q ~ . .~ .~ . . .
~,.~:~~.,, ~.~, ~...:.|
~e ._. ..~: . ~ q ~. ._:, ~.~
~_~.~~ ..|..._.. ~,.~:~q
e~ .. . . , . ~ ~:q ~. . :. . :
eCommerce ...~~...:._e.
.:e ..:..|~e''e ._.:.|._.
Huawei Seeks to Move
Up Smartphone
Food Chain With New
Ascend P7
C
hinas Huawei Technolo-
gies launched its second
ugsIIp smurLpIone, LIe
Ascend P7, last week as part of
ILs eorL Lo cruck LIe upper LIer
of the mobile market where Ap-
pIe und Sumsung sLIII ruIe.
The mobile billed as the
worId`s sIImmesL pIone uL 6.
mm LIIck - wIII go on suIe In 1
markets, including Britain, Ger-
many and China, starting this
monLI Ior Cqqq ($6o).
Huawei, best known as a
maker of telecom network gear
where it competes with Swe-
dens Ericsson, has become the
worlds third-biggest smart-
phone manufacturer behind
Samsung and Apple only three
years after launching its own
brunded mobIIes und LubIeLs.
Its global smartphone market
sIure grew Lo q.q percenL Irom q
percenL In zo1z, buL sLIII Iugs Iur
beIInd Sumsung`s 1. percenL
und AppIe`s 1. percenL, suId
murkeL reseurcI hrm DC.
TIe P; Ius u hve-IncI LoucI-
screen, us weII us un 8 megupIx-
eI IronL-IucIng cumeru und u 1
megapixel rear-facing camera
designed for low-light condi-
LIons.
Kyaw Min
~, ~ . - Huawei Technologies
~.,_e , .~ -. ~ e._.:~ ~.~: .
..e,.~_e. Ascend P7 ~:. e.
~.~~ .q:..._.. Apple .
Samsung ~ _~ .. ..,._ e , ....~ ~
~ ~.q:~.,q:e.q, _~....
.~q._.
~.:~.|.~.:..e,.~_e. ~
'.... . . ~:q ..:~. .|e , .~:.
e. .~~ ..q: ... :.._ _e. ._ .
May 15-21, 2014
Myanmar Business Today
mmbiztoday.com
28
IT & TELECOM
Chinu's Alibubu Iiles in LS Ior Whut Muy Be Biggest Tech IPO
A
libaba gave investors a
closer look at the scale
and growth of the Chinese
e-commerce juggernaut in an
InILIuI pubIIc oerIng (PO) pro-
specLus hIed IusL week, LIe hrsL
step in what could be the largest
LecInoIogy debuL In IIsLory.
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd,
wIIcI powers 8o percenL oI uII
online commerce in the worlds
second-largest economy, is ex-
pecLed Lo ruIse more LIun $1
bIIIIon, und couId Lop LIe $16
billion pulled in by Facebook
nc wIen IL IIsLed In zo1z.
The bulk of the proceeds will go
Lo YuIoo nc - wIIcI bougIL u qo
percenL sLuke In AIIbubu In zoo
Ior $1 bIIIIon und wIIcI musL seII
more than a third of its current
zz.6 percenL sLuke LIrougI LIe
PO. AIIbubu uIso pIuns Lo seII
new shares, people familiar with
the plans have said, to bulk up a
cash war chest depleted by a rash
oI recenL ucquIsILIons.
While the Alibaba brand is
less well known in the United
States than internet companies
sucI us Amuzon.com und u-
cebook, the Chinese companys
listing has stirred the most ex-
citement in Silicon Valley and
Wall Street since Facebooks re-
cord PO. AIIbubu wIII become
the largest Chinese corporation
to list in the US on either the
New York Stock Exchange or
LIe Nusduq.
Alibaba will debut later this
year in a market where high-
yIng LecI sLocks IIke TwILLer
and Amazon have fallen in re-
cenL weeks In u seII-o LIuL Ius
divided analysts and investors,
reviving doubts about soaring
LecI vuIuuLIons.
Still, estimates of Alibabas
market value have soared in
recent months, to even beyond
$zoo bIIIIon, underscorIng
Alexei Oreskovic and
Deepa Seetharaman
Wall Streets eagerness to take a
crack at a massive Chinese com-
puny wILI robusL growLI.
AIIbubu IundIed more LIun 1.
LrIIIIon yuun - ubouL $zq8 bIIIIon
- oI LrunsucLIons Ior z1 mIIIIon
active users across its three main
Chinese online marketplaces in
zo1, more LIun Amuzon und
eBuy nc combIned. L dId so wILI
zo,88q IuII-LIme workers, Iewer
LIun eBuy.
If its able to transport that
kind of power to outside China,
it has the potential to become a
true global e-commerce power-
house, said Roger Entner, lead
analyst and founder of Recon
AnuIyLIcs. Everybody LIougIL
Amazon could do it, but now we
have to re-think Amazon in the
light of being the most success-
IuI compuny In LIuL heId In LIe
US - buL noL In LIe worId.
Alibaba did not give any hints
in its IPO prospectus about po-
tential plans for the US e-com-
merce murkeL. AnuIysLs suId IL
was unlikely Alibaba would adopt
the model favoured by Amazon,
which sells goods directly to con-
sumers using a sprawling net-
work oI wureIouses.
At least 102 years
AIIbubu, Iounded 1 yeurs ugo
in a one-room apartment in
Hangzhou and controlled by a
z8-member purLnersIIp, bousLs
of building a company that will
IusL uL IeusL 1oz yeurs.
After the IPO, Alibaba said,
the partnership will have the
exclusive right to nominate a
simple majority of the members
oI ILs bourd oI dIrecLors.
Alibaba operates an online
messaging service as well as a
cloud computing business, but
more LIun 8o percenL oI ILs
revenue comes from its Tao-
bao, Tmall and Juhuasuan on-
IIne murkeLpIuces. Top ILems
sold on Taobao include prepaid
phone and game cards as well
as lottery tickets, home furni-
ture and baby products, the
compuny suId.
ToLuI revenue Increused 6z per-
cenL Lo 18.; bIIIIon yuun ($.o1
bIIIIon) In OcLober-December oI
zo1 Irom u yeur eurIIer, wIIIe
net income more than doubled
Lo 8.z; bIIIIon yuun, uccordIng Lo
LIe prospecLus.
Some analysts say Alibabas
rapid pace of revenue growth
muy be unsusLuInubIe.
They got into the e-commerce
space when there werent any
other players in China, said
Forrester analyst Kelland Willis,
adding Alibaba has been losing
murkeL sIure yeur over yeur.
By zozo, onIIne reLuII suIes
In CIInu wIII reucI $qzo-$6o
billion, as much as the United
States, Japanese, UK, German
and French markets combined,
according to a recent analysis
by McKInsey GIobuI nsLILuLe.
Mohile future
Alibaba said Chinas mobile
Internet arena, where it is bat-
tling Tencent Holdings for su-
premacy, is the next growth
IndusLry. CIInu wIII Iuve un
esLImuLed ;o mIIIIon mobIIe
nLerneL users by zo1;, uccord-
ing to data from China-based
consuILuncy IReseurcI.
RougIIy one-hILI oI uII pur-
chases in the last quarter of
zo1 were mude on mobIIe de-
vIces, up Irom ;.q percenL u yeur
eurIIer. BuL AIIbubu udded LIuL
for now these sales were less
prohLubIe LIun LIose mude on
ILs websILe.
Already this year, Ma has
been involved in acquisitions
worLI more LIun $. bIIIIon
buying a stake in department
store operator Intime; a ma-
jority shareholding in movie
producer ChinaVision Media;
conLroI oI onIIne muppIng hrm
Autonavi; a stake in Chinas
Wasu Media Holding Co Ltd for
online content and internet TV;
and a stake in Youku Tudou Inc,
an online video business akin to
GoogIe nc`s YouTube.
Alibaba is also launching a US
e-commerce websILe, 11 MuIn,
and has taken stakes in US re-
tail site ShopRunner Inc, Lyft,
a US ridesharing service, and
1sLdIbs, un onIIne murkeL pIuce
Ior unLIques und IuxurIes.
Also this year, Ma has set up
a charitable trust estimated to
be worLI $ bIIIIon, poLenLIuIIy
Asias biggest, focusing on the
envIronmenL und IeuILI. L`s
impossible for me to be a doc-
tor, but I can have my own way
to save lives, Xinhua quoted
Mu us suyIng.
Ounership ond risks
Some analysts have pointed to
a less-than-transparent decision-
making process after Alibaba
spun o IusL-growIng AIIpuy In
zo1o - u move LIuL cuused con-
sternation at major shareholders
Yahoo and Japanese telecoms
hrm SoILBunk Corp.
Alibabas prospectus also laid
out a raft of regulatory risks it
Iuces uL Iome. TIe compuny
stressed that Beijing could im-
pose additional restrictions on
the use of Alipay, the payment
service that powers the majority
oI ILs onIIne LrunsucLIons.
Unlike many prominent US
tech IPOs of recent years, Ali-
bubu`s IIsL oI sIgnIhcunL sIure-
IoIders Is sIorL. By conLrusL,
Facebook and Twitter each
broke out shareholdings from
more than a half dozen individ-
uuI prIncIpuI sIureIoIders.
Former English schoolteach-
er and lead founder Jack Ma
owns 8.q percenL oI AIIbubu.
Joseph Tsai, a co-founder and
executive vice-chairman, is the
only other individual with a
dIscIosed sIureIoIdIng, oI .6
percenL. YuIoo und SoILBunk,
respecLIveIy, own zz.6 percenL
und q.q percenL oI AIIbubu on
u IuIIy dIIuLed busIs.
Fai r value
Alibaba estimated its fair val-
ue as of this month could reach
$o per sIure, un Increuse oI
more than six times from the
$8 u sIure vuIue esLImuLed In
June zo11, uccordIng Lo LIe pro-
specLus. TIIs cuIcuIuLIon IeIps
determine employee compen-
sation and does not necessarily
represenL u IIkeIy PO prIce.
At the most recent fair val-
ue estimate, Yahoos stake in
AIIbubu Is worLI $z6.z bIIIIon
und SoILBunk`s uImosL $qo bII-
IIon. Mu`s sLuke wouId be worLI
$1o. bIIIIon.
The fair value estimate puts
AIIbubu`s sIze uL $116.1 bIIIIon,
weII beIow LIe $1z bIIIIon uv-
eruge Irom z unuIysLs In u Reu-
Lers survey.
While Yahoo and SoftBank
may be among the biggest bene-
hcIurIes oI LIe PO, neILIer wIII
exercise much control of Aliba-
bu. L Ius uIreudy been ugreed
that Yahoo Chief Development
Omcer JucqueIIne Reses wIII re-
sign from Alibabas board upon
the listing, while SoftBank will
have the right to nominate just
a single director to a new, nine-
member bourd.
Alibabas decision to list in
the United States was a blow to
the Hong Kong stock exchange,
which was initially its preferred
IPO venue, but the citys regu-
lators balked at any potential
violation of the one-share-one-
voLe prIncIpIe.
Citigroup, Credit Suisse,
Deutsche Bank , Goldman Sachs,
JP Morgan, and Morgan Stanley
wIII underwrILe LIe AIIbubu PO.
Reuters
AIibaba headquarters in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province.AIibaba Croup HoIding Itd, which powers 8U percent of aII onIine com-
merce in the worId`s second-Iargest economy, China, is expected to raise more than $15 biIIion, and couId top the $1 biIIion
pulled in by Facebook Inc when it listed in 2012.
B
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r
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If its able to transport that kind of power

to outside China, it has the potential to
become a true global e-commerce power-
house. Everybody thought Amazon could
do it, but now we have to re-think Amazon in the
light of being the most successful company in
that field in the US but not in the world.
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Myanmar Summary
May 15-21, 2014
Myanmar Business Today
mmbiztoday.com
IT & TELECOM
29
Myanmar Summary
Myanmar Summary
An attendee hoIds a Samsung EIectronics Co CaIaxy S4 smartphone, Ieft, next to an AppIe Inc iPhone 5 during an event at
Radio City Music HaII in New York.
A
US jury last week left the
total damages Samsung
Electronics Co Ltd must
pay Apple Inc unchanged at
$11q.6 mIIIIon, uILer uddILIonuI
deliberations in a trial where
the South Korean smartphone
maker was found to have in-
IrInged LIree AppIe puLenLs.
During the month-long trial
in a San Jose, California federal
court, Apple accused Samsung
of violating patents on smart-
phone features including uni-
versal search, while Samsung
denIed wrongdoIng.
The jury ordered Samsung to
puy AppIe $11q.6 mIIIIon Ior
infringing the iPhone makers
puLenLs. BuL AppIe uLLorneys
argued at the time that the ju-
rors made a technical mistake
in awarding Apple damages on
a patent covering one of Sam-
sung`s pIones. TIe jury wus
ordered back to court to resolve
LIuL Issue.
Juror Margarita Palmada, a
6q-yeur-oId reLIred IIgI-scIooI
Spanish teacher, said she
wished the two sides had been
able to work out their issues
wILIouL resorLIng Lo IILIguLIon.
It would have been so much
simpler for all involved, she
said in an interview after the
jury wrupped.
Some of the jurors had initial-
ly been in favour of awarding
Apple more but eventually ar-
rived at the consensus verdict,
sIe suId, buL decIIned Lo oer
more deLuIIs.
Apple and Samsung have been
litigating around the world for
Dan Levine
Jury Leaves Damages Samsung Must Pay
Apple Unchanged at $119.6m
V
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LIree yeurs. Jurors uwurded
LIe IPIone muker ubouL $qo
mIIIIon uILer u zo1z LrIuI In Sun
Jose, but Apple failed to per-
suade US District Judge Lucy
Koh to issue a permanent in-
junction against the sale of
Samsung phones in the United
SLuLes.
TIe currenL cuse InvoIves hve
Apple patents that were not in
LIe zo1z LrIuI und LIuL cover IP-
hone features such as slide-to-
unIock und seurcI LecInoIogy.
Tit for tot
Apple is seeking to ban sales
of several Samsung phones, in-
cluding the Galaxy S III, as well
us moneLury dumuges. L wIII
now be up to Judge Koh to de-
cide whether a sales injunction
is warranted, though legal ex-
perLs deem LIuL unIIkeIy.
In the San Jose trial, the jury
found that Samsung had in-
fringed two patents, and the
judge had ruled before trial that
Sumsung Iud InIrInged u LIIrd.
The jury also found Apple had
infringed on one of the Korean
compuny`s own puLenLs. Sum-
sung, wIIcI usserLed u $6 mII-
lion damages claim, was award-
ed $18,qoo.
During the trial, the two tech
leaders also sparred over how
Google Incs work on the soft-
ware used in Samsung phones
uecLs AppIe`s puLenL cIuIms.
Samsungs phones run on the
Android mobile operating sys-
Lem deveIoped by GoogIe.
Google was not a defendant
in the case, but during the trial
Samsung pointed out that some
of the features Apple claims to
own were actually invented by
Google, and called a handful
of executives from the internet
search company to testify on its
beIuII.
But last week, jury foreman
and International Business
Machines Corp executive Tom
DunIum, q, suId In un InLer-
view that Googles role had not
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factored much in the jurors de-
IIberuLIons. Reuters
A screenshot of ReadyMyanmar.com website.
Thailands ReadyPlanet to Venture into Myanmar Web services
T
hailands web service
provider ReadyPlanet
said it will expand its
readymade website services
InLo Myunmur.
TIe hrm uIms Lo grow o per-
cent this year by expanding its
services in emerging markets,
purLIcuIurIy Myunmur.
ReadyPlanet provides ser-
vices such as readymade web-
sites, online ads, training and
online marketing, and will
launch two more services this
year Baidus online ads and
Facebooks ads while boost-
ing its readymade website ser-
Aye Myat vices to help its customers de-
sign responsive websites, CEO
Songyot Kanthamanon told
TIuI medIu.
He suId LIe hrm wIII Luke ILs
readymade website services
to Myanmar, where the online
business is expected to grow
rupIdIy. L Is now IormIng u
team to oversee ReadyMyan-
mur.com.
TIIs yeur, LIe hrm uIms Lo
sign up new customers with
more LIun q,ooo new websILes.
We uIm Lo Iuve q,ooo new
customers in Thailand and get
uL IeusL oo cusLomers In My-
anmar, Songyot was quoted as
suyIng.
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May 15-21, 2014
Myanmar Business Today
mmbiztoday.com
SOCIAL SCENES
30
Myanmars First Ever K-Pop Concert in Yangon
K-Pop stars perform at Tuwunna Indoor Stadium. U Aung/Xinhua
K-Pop stars perform at Tuwunna Indoor Stadium at a cultural exchange
program between South Korea and Myanmar in Yangon. U Aung/Xinhua
K-Pop stars perform. U Aung/Xinhua
K-Pop stars perform at Tuwunna Indoor Stadium. U Aung/Xinhua
Official Opening of Mercedes-Benz Showroom
Delegates pose for a photo. Wai Linn Kyaw
Wolfgang Huppenbauer, president & CEO of Daimler South East
Asia Pte Ltd, gives his speech at the opening ceremony.
Wai Linn Kyaw
U Win Myint, U Myint Swe and U Aung Moe Kyaw open the
showroom. Wai Linn Kyaw
U Aung Moe Kyaw (M) . Wai Linn Kyaw
Phyu Phyu Kyaw Tein. Wai Linn Kyaw A model pose for a photo. Wai Linn Kyaw
Models pose for a photo. Wai Linn Kyaw
U Win Myint, union minister for commerce. Wai Linn Kyaw
Tourist Guide Brefng Session
of International SOS
Dr Tun Tun Lynn gives speech at the event. SOS
International SOS
International SOS
International SOS
May 15-21, 2014
Myanmar Business Today
mmbiztoday.com
CLASSIFIEDS
31
May 15-21, 2014
Myanmar Business Today
mmbiztoday.com
32
ENTERTAINMENT
Active Travel Asia Introduces Myanmar Adventure Tours
Kyaw Min
V
ietnam-based travel com-
pany Active Travel Asia,
the adventure brand of
Holiday Indochina, has put a
new website live on the web
focusing on active travel and
adventure tours to Myanmar to
explore unique activities in the
Southeast Asian country and
experience Myanmars culture
und nuLure, LIe hrm suId.
We hope that our travellers
will now have more choices of
taking part in active adventures
in Asia, said Bobby Nguyen,
manager of Active Travel Asia
and project supervisor of Ac-
LIveTruveIMyunmur.com.
Myanmar is now a very at-
tractive destination in Asia, and
with its longstanding history
and cultural diversity we believe
Myanmar will soon become the
top pick for active adventures in
AsIu In LIe nexL Iew yeurs.
AcLIveTruveIMyunmur.com
including a wide range collec-
tion of Myanmar adventures
such as easy discoveries to div-
Ing und ruILIng In u rIver. TIIs
will surely bring customers
unforgettable experiences of
ucLIve udvenLures, Ie suId.
The website contains prod-
ucLs or ucLIvILIes rungIng In hve
main categories:
Myanmar Easy Adventures
and Beach: This includes
tours that require low level of
pIysIcuI ucLIvILIes. TIe muIn
itineraries allow passengers to
explore Myanmar culture as
well as nature on good roads
and with comfortable accom-
moduLIons. MosL oI LIe Lours
in this category often end up
travellers relaxing at a beach to
recoup LIeIr energy.
Myanmar Culture Focused
AdvenLures: TIIs secLIon oers
tours that explore Myanmars
thousand-year-old culture and
the history of Buddhism ad-
ventures designed for history
und cuILure Iovers.
Myanmar Trek and Hill Tribe
Encounters: The great Hima-
Czech politician and writer Vaclav
Havel.
Czech Embassy to Launch Vaclav Havels
Childrens Book in Burmese
Wai Linn Kyaw
T
he Embassy of the Czech
Republic in Yangon will
organise a book launch
of the Burmese translation of a
childrens book by the former
Czech president and playwright
VucIuv HuveI.
The launching ceremony of
Pizhduks will take place at
GuIIery SIxLy-hve on 1q Muy,
Wednesday from 5 to 7pm,
accompanied by picture pres-
entation and reading of pas-
sage from the book by former
Burmese dissident U Min Ko
NuIng. TIe book, wIIcI Is
sometimes described as for
children but not only for chil-
dren, was illustrated by U Min
Ko NuIng.
Vaclav Havel wrote only
LIIs one book Ior cIIIdren. He
wroLe IL In 1q;, wIen commu-
nists ruled Czechoslovakia and
many writers were not allowed
to publish their books, includ-
Ing HuveI.
Pizhduks is Havels criti-
cism of self seeking people,
usuuIIy poIILIcIuns. MuInIy, IL`s
criticism of communism, but
sensitively written for chil-
dren to let them know how the
communIsL regIme wus. TIe
fairytale has three parts: The
Conspiracy, The Telephone and
TIe OuLdoorsmun.
Vaclav once wrote: Dear
children, I dont usually write
for children, and that is why I
dont know if this tale of mine
about the Pizhduks is going to
make sense to you, and if you
ure goIng Lo IIke IL. I noL, don`L
throw it away wait and see
Iow IL Is wIen you ure oIder.
The Pizhduks is the second
book of Vaclav Havel after the
book The Power of the Power-
less, which was also trans-
IuLed InLo Burmese.
The book The Pizhduks in
Burmese language was pub-
lished by Seikku Cho Cho
Publishing House and Burmese
translation was done by Maung
Duy.
Vaclav Havel was a Czech
playwright, essayist, poet, dis-
sIdenL und poIILIcIun. HuveI
was the ninth and the last
president of Czechoslovakia
(1q8q-1qqz) und LIe hrsL
president of the Czech Republic
(1qq-zoo). He wroLe more
LIun zo pIuys und numerous
non-hcLIon works, LrunsIuLed
InLernuLIonuIIy.
Min Ko Naing, a dissident,
u Ieuder oI GeneruLIon 88
movement, a poet, a painter, a
playwright and one of the most
ImporLunL hgures In Loduy`s
cIvII socIeLy In Myunmur.
W
M
C
layan ranges tail parts are
In Myunmur. AcLIve TruveI`s
udvenLures In LIIs secLIon oer
encounters with ethnic groups
and introduce travellers with
LIeIr dIerenL IIIesLyIes. MosL
of those adventures in this sec-
tion will require average physi-
cuI hLness, LIe hrm suId.
Myanmar Biking Tours:
Exploring Myanmar in pedals
is a great way to interact with
IocuIs. AcLIveTruveIMyunmur.
com wIII oer boLI bIkIng Lours
overland as well as short biking
excursIons uL eucI sILe.
Myanmar Cruise and Water
activities: Myanmar has one
face toward the sea and two
gIunL rIvers owIng Irom norLI
Lo souLI. Myunmur`s wuLer
activities include river cruise
journeys, diving or kayaking in
ocean or even rafting in moun-
LuInous rIvers.
AcLIveTruveIMyunmur.com Is
a member of Active Travel Asia
managed by Holiday Indochina
Company, which has been pre-
sent at the Myanmar market
Ior some yeurs.
A screenshot of ActiveTravelMyanmar.com website.
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