Myanmar Investment Commission (MIC) has given its approval to several foreign businesses to invest in the country’s garment manufacturing sector in recent months.
This month two companies, one from the UK and another from Hong Kong, have been given permission to bring in hundred-percent foreign investment for setting up their own business of cutting, making and packing (CMP) apparel in the country, according to Eleven Myanmar.
Last month, MIC had granted permission to China-based SDI...
RANGOON—Burma’s government on Thursday denied reports that it holds up to US$11 billion worth of foreign reserves in several bank accounts in Singapore.
The figure was first mentioned by an independent financial researcher, who said that World Bank and Asian Development Bank (ADB) officials had provided him with estimates of Buma’s overseas reserves.
It is believed that the billions of dollars were stashed in Singapore by Burma’s former military junta, which for many years earned...
CATIC Beijing handed over a total of 19 dredgers and supporting vessels to Myanmar at the commissioning ceremony held at the Nanthida Jetty of Yangon on Saturday.
The dredgers and supporting vessels imported from China with assistance of a preferential loan provided by the Chinese government arrived in Myanmar in August.
The ceremony was attended by U Nyan Htun Aung, the country's minister of Transport and Yang Houlan, Chinese ambassador to Myanmar.
U Nyan Htun Aung said "because of...
Myanmar's two state-backed telecommunications operators are seeking investors to put in more than $1 billion as they prepare to compete with foreign newcomers, Norway's Telenor and Qatar's Ooredoo .
Telenor and Ooredoo won the bidding for two new licences in June to provide telecoms services in the country but are still waiting for final approval, expected this month, so they can start building their networks.
Meanwhile two state-backed firms - Yatanarpon Teleport (YTP) and Myanmar Post...
Myanmar's Union Parliament on Tuesday approved a bill to promote the country's telecommunication sector, according to parliament sources.
The telecommunications law calls for the development of the country with telecommunications technology and more participation by private sectors in developing the telecommunications sector.
In the approved telecommunications bill, foreign telecom companies are allowed to operate in the country with license duration periods from five years in minimum to...
Norwegian telecoms giant Telenor has clarified its investment plans for new market Myanmar, Reuters reports, with CEO Jon Fredrik Baksaas indicating that the total CAPEX figure is likely to be under USD2 billion. He told the news agency: ‘It is going to be less than what we invested in total in Pakistan. Some [analysts] have used Pakistan as a benchmark and implied that it could be as much as what we invested in Pakistan, but it will not be [that high]’.
Telenor, which was awarded one of...
Many in Myanmar will be getting affordable mobile services as soon as Ooredoo, Telenor and the local conglomerates begin to build up the country’s infrastructure, but the Internet may remain unattainable for most of the 60 million citizens, as the government has not let go of its tight grasp, and connection is still slow and spotty.
There are three Internet providers in Myanmar: Red Link Communications, Sky Net MPS and Yatanarpon Teleport. Red Link is owned by the sons of the former...
UK Government Offers Help for Burma’s Electricity Industry
The British government says it wants to encourage UK firms in the electricity industry to offer help and investment in Burma.
“Burma faces a huge power challenge as it seeks to harness its growth potential over the next few years. However, many parts of the country still face frequent blackouts, with current power generation capacity standing at 3,500 MW [megawatts],” said a London government statement following a visit to...
Telenor ASA (TEL) maintained its cost saving and cash-flow targets for 2015 as the Nordic region’s largest phone operator expands its emerging market operations to reduce its reliance on its home market.
Telenor, based in Fornebu near Oslo, maintained its goal of 5 billion kroner ($847 million) in cost savings and operating cash flow of 28 billion kroner to 30 billion kroner in 2015, it said in presentation slides published ahead of its capital markets day today.
“Continued growth...
RANGOON — At a street corner in Rangoon’s Kamayut Township, a young man does what would have been odd in his country just three or four years ago—he lowers his head, fixes his eyes on his smartphone, swipes the screen and smiles.
He is probably in his 20s, dressed casually in a black striped shirt and dark jeans, which makes him stand out in the crowd of people wearing traditional longyis. Still, with the phone in hand, he is not uncommon among the Burmese of his generation, especially...
RANGOON — Even with the slow-motion connections, it’s still possible to get addicted to the Internet in Burma. And those who like to get their fix more quickly usually turn to a mobile phone, which in this country inexplicably allows faster online access compared to other devices.
But first, of course, one must have a smart phone. And even before that, a SIM card, or a subscriber identity module card.
That first step stops many local Internet addicts from taking the smart phone...
The Ministry of Telecommunications and Information Technology is seeking partner companies to bid on tenders for building of 400 telecommunication stations across the country.
As part of the government's business expansion plan, tenders are invited from local and international companies for building radio stations, site requirement and survey, technical buildings, mobile cell towers, power systems, supply and installation of air conditioners in these stations, installation of advanced...
The second Myanmar Real Estate Summit (MRES), to be held in Yangon from September 30 to October 1, will hone in on pivotal issues, critical for investing in that country's real-estate development and property sector.
The sector is booming as investors respond positively to the country's economic and political reforms. Burgeoning demand and new opportunities are attracting investments from around the world.
The extent of this can be judged by the fact that Yangon enjoys the highest...
When he visited Myanmar earlier this month, United States Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications and Speechwriting Ben Rhodes laid out the US vision for Myanmar in one sentence: “We see the story as just beginning.”
But Mr Rhodes and his colleagues in Washington are more than aware that Myanmar’s story is not beginning now, in 2013. Nor did it begin in November 2012, when President Barack Obama swept into Yangon to plant a kiss on the cheek of Daw Aung San Suu...
Myanmar, Indian businesses may need to stay sharp, perhaps more than play sharp.
The World Economic Forum meeting this past June in Myanmar’s capital Nay Pyi Taw may have been prophetic about its concern over what some in media described as “greedy land grabbing and displacement, especially in ethnic areas with tentative and fragile peace processes”.
This thought, attributed to David Mathieson, a senior Myanmar researcher with New York-based Human Rights Watch, appears realistic...
Japanese industry minister Toshimitsu Motegi told Myanmar President Thein Sein on Thursday that Japan will offer electric power knowhow, Japanese government officials said after their talks in the capital.
"I hope your country will use Japan's technology," Motegi was quoted as telling the president, who spoke of wanting to build a coal-fired power station that is also environmentally friendly.
The president told Motegi that not only power generation using domestically produced natural...
A power and natural gas tender to supply electricity to 15 industrial zones has been extended to August 15, according to the reports from the Ministry of Electric Power.
Natural gas will be used in power plants operated under the Ministry of Electric Power and purchased through gas pipeline owned by Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise.
The Ministry of Electric Power will purchase between 150 million and 200 million cubic meters of natural gas per day in this year and between 500 million cubic...
ELEVEN Source: Myanmar to use Indian bank loans for development - (28/08/2013)
Myanmar will implement several projects with loans from the Export-Import Bank of India according to a government report.
The Export-Import Bank of India (EXIM Bank) has provided loans of up to US$ 500 million which will be used on infrastructure projects including communications and transport. Details were released in the Myanmar government’s 2013-2014 fiscal year report.
Some of the projects include the construction of a microwave station linking the southern and northern parts of...
RATCHABURI Electricity Generating Holding under its new president will adjust its business strategies to boost growth, teaming up with others in the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) group and tapping the Myanmar market.
According to Ratch president Phongdit Photchana, who was appointed in July, company executives will brainstorm next month to formulate strategic plans and set a more challenging course.
Ratch will continue to focus on both primary-fuel and renewable...
Fearful its skyrocketing real estate prices could prevent foreign firms from entering and investing in Myanmar, the government is considering new property taxes to stabilize the market, deter land speculation and increase state income, despite experts urging the government not to meddle.
Land prices in Myanmar’s commercial center Yangon, have risen to higher than prices in Manhanttan – the price of one square foot of real estate along Yangon’s main road ranges from $1,000 to $1,500....
Myanmar lies on the crossroads of two of the world's great civilizations – China and India . Its culture is a blend of both interspersed with Myanmar native traits and characteristics. Buddhism has great influence on... ... More
