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Asahi to Launch New Myanmar Beverage Line in 2016

Japan’s Asahi Group Holdings said it will launch beverages under an original brand in Myanmar as early as 2016.

President and CEO Naoki Izumiya, who visited Yangon recently, unveiled the plan during an interview with The Nikkei.

The beverage giant set up a joint venture with Loi Hein, a major local beverage firm, in August and began producing Loi Hein’s Blue Mountain soft drinks.

“We aim to work with Loi Hein to develop sodas and other drinks,” Izumiya was quoted as saying.

Asahi hopes to achieve $83.9 million in sales in Myanmar by 2018 by conducting market research and expanding its product lineups.

Source: Myanmar Business Today

IFC Myanmar investment to rise to $1 bln in three years


Yangon, Myanmar, December 12, 2014
—IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is significantly scaling up its engagement in Myanmar in support of easier access to finance and better infrastructure that will enable the growth of small and medium enterprises, create jobs, and benefit the Myanmar people.

IFC’s total investment portfolio is expected to reach around $400 million for fiscal year 2015 (which ends June 30 2015), up from $92 million as of November 2014. Investments are expected to further rise to $1 billion over the next three years to support development of Myanmar’s private sector, the backbone of the country’s economic growth and job creation. IFC’s current 16 investment and advisory projects focus on improving the business climate and helping enterprises to save funds, insure their firms, and obtain loans to grow their businesses. They are also in support of critical infrastructure development.

“Building business-enabling infrastructure and expanding access to finance are critical to reviving Myanmar’s private sector which will generate much-needed jobs and economic opportunities,” said Vivek Pathak, IFC’s Director for Asia Pacific. “We will continue to work with the government and the banking sector to enhance Myanmar’s infrastructure and financial markets to boost sustainable growth that benefits more people.”

To modernize the power sector in Myanmar, where only around 30 percent of households have access to electricity, IFC is advising the government on the transformation of the state-operated Yangon Electricity Supply Board into a commercially viable corporation to extend reliable and affordable power to millions of people. IFC will consider financing YESB, if necessary, to further support the corporatization process.

IFC is also advising the government on a competitive selection process for an independent power producer to build the 250-megawatt combined-cycle Myingyan power plant to encourage public-private partnerships and attract more power developers to Myanmar.

In the future, IFC is set to scale up its support for infrastructure even more, with a focus on key sectors such as power, telecommunications and transport.

As lack of access to finance is one of the main barriers to growth for businesses, IFC has focused on helping local banks reach out to more customers, especially small and medium enterprises. We are advising Myanmar Oriental Bank and Yoma Bank, and microfinance institutions to improve corporate governance, risk management and trade finance while also providing capital to boost scale and expand services to those without banking connections.


At the regulatory level, a focus during the current fiscal year is to support Myanmar’s central bank in developing at least one credit bureau by June 2016, allowing lenders to access borrowers’ credit history, better evaluate loan risks, and thereby extending loans more quickly and on a larger scale than currently where too little information makes banks reluctant to lend.

To facilitate discussions for business reforms, IFC is working with the government and the Union of Myanmar’s Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry to establish the Myanmar Business Forum, a public-private dialogue platform to facilitate reforms that help companies grow and create jobs. IFC also supports the preparation of a new investment law and regulations that aim to create a level-playing field for local and foreign investors.

“What we are seeing currently is that many investors are eying the Myanmar market, but too many remain on the sidelines amid unclear rules and regulations,” said Vikram Kumar, IFC Resident Representative for Myanmar. “Improving the ease of doing business will help attract more domestic and foreign investment which Myanmar very much needs to develop.”

IFC is also exploring ways to support Myanmar’s agriculture and tourism sectors – the two largest generators of jobs globally. In fiscal year 2014, IFC committed $80 million to subsidiaries of Shangri-La Asia Limited to expand its hospitality business in Myanmar to address the shortage of hotel rooms as international arrivals in the country have been increasing by 30 percent annually since the economy opened. The project is expected to create about 1,000 direct jobs in addition to indirect ones.

About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector. Working with private enterprises in about 100 countries, we use our capital, expertise, and influence to help eliminate extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity. In FY14, we provided more than $22 billion in financing to improve lives in developing countries and tackle the most urgent challenges of development. For more information, visit www.ifc.org.
 
Asahi to Launch New Myanmar Beverage Line in 2016

Japan’s Asahi Group Holdings said it will launch beverages under an original brand in Myanmar as early as 2016.

President and CEO Naoki Izumiya, who visited Yangon recently, unveiled the plan during an interview with The Nikkei.

The beverage giant set up a joint venture with Loi Hein, a major local beverage firm, in August and began producing Loi Hein’s Blue Mountain soft drinks.

“We aim to work with Loi Hein to develop sodas and other drinks,” Izumiya was quoted as saying.

Asahi hopes to achieve $83.9 million in sales in Myanmar by 2018 by conducting market research and expanding its product lineups.

Source: Myanmar Business Today

IFC Myanmar investment to rise to $1 bln in three years


Yangon, Myanmar, December 12, 2014
—IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is significantly scaling up its engagement in Myanmar in support of easier access to finance and better infrastructure that will enable the growth of small and medium enterprises, create jobs, and benefit the Myanmar people.

IFC’s total investment portfolio is expected to reach around $400 million for fiscal year 2015 (which ends June 30 2015), up from $92 million as of November 2014. Investments are expected to further rise to $1 billion over the next three years to support development of Myanmar’s private sector, the backbone of the country’s economic growth and job creation. IFC’s current 16 investment and advisory projects focus on improving the business climate and helping enterprises to save funds, insure their firms, and obtain loans to grow their businesses. They are also in support of critical infrastructure development.

“Building business-enabling infrastructure and expanding access to finance are critical to reviving Myanmar’s private sector which will generate much-needed jobs and economic opportunities,” said Vivek Pathak, IFC’s Director for Asia Pacific. “We will continue to work with the government and the banking sector to enhance Myanmar’s infrastructure and financial markets to boost sustainable growth that benefits more people.”

To modernize the power sector in Myanmar, where only around 30 percent of households have access to electricity, IFC is advising the government on the transformation of the state-operated Yangon Electricity Supply Board into a commercially viable corporation to extend reliable and affordable power to millions of people. IFC will consider financing YESB, if necessary, to further support the corporatization process.

IFC is also advising the government on a competitive selection process for an independent power producer to build the 250-megawatt combined-cycle Myingyan power plant to encourage public-private partnerships and attract more power developers to Myanmar.

In the future, IFC is set to scale up its support for infrastructure even more, with a focus on key sectors such as power, telecommunications and transport.

As lack of access to finance is one of the main barriers to growth for businesses, IFC has focused on helping local banks reach out to more customers, especially small and medium enterprises. We are advising Myanmar Oriental Bank and Yoma Bank, and microfinance institutions to improve corporate governance, risk management and trade finance while also providing capital to boost scale and expand services to those without banking connections.


At the regulatory level, a focus during the current fiscal year is to support Myanmar’s central bank in developing at least one credit bureau by June 2016, allowing lenders to access borrowers’ credit history, better evaluate loan risks, and thereby extending loans more quickly and on a larger scale than currently where too little information makes banks reluctant to lend.

To facilitate discussions for business reforms, IFC is working with the government and the Union of Myanmar’s Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry to establish the Myanmar Business Forum, a public-private dialogue platform to facilitate reforms that help companies grow and create jobs. IFC also supports the preparation of a new investment law and regulations that aim to create a level-playing field for local and foreign investors.

“What we are seeing currently is that many investors are eying the Myanmar market, but too many remain on the sidelines amid unclear rules and regulations,” said Vikram Kumar, IFC Resident Representative for Myanmar. “Improving the ease of doing business will help attract more domestic and foreign investment which Myanmar very much needs to develop.”

IFC is also exploring ways to support Myanmar’s agriculture and tourism sectors – the two largest generators of jobs globally. In fiscal year 2014, IFC committed $80 million to subsidiaries of Shangri-La Asia Limited to expand its hospitality business in Myanmar to address the shortage of hotel rooms as international arrivals in the country have been increasing by 30 percent annually since the economy opened. The project is expected to create about 1,000 direct jobs in addition to indirect ones.

About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector. Working with private enterprises in about 100 countries, we use our capital, expertise, and influence to help eliminate extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity. In FY14, we provided more than $22 billion in financing to improve lives in developing countries and tackle the most urgent challenges of development. For more information, visit www.ifc.org.
very nice but careful... you also need domestic companies too, otherwise you will be too much dependable on foreign companies
 
Myanmar extends eVisa
JANUARY 7, 2015 BY THIHA


YANGON, 6 January 2015: Myanmar’s Ministry of Immigration and Population officially included another 32 nationalities that are now eligible for an eVisa, effective 2 January, 2015.

They join a list of 68 countries that were eligible for eVisas when the scheme rolled out 1 September 2014.

The eVisa costs USD50 paid for by Visa or American Express, but applicants should be aware there are other web services that compete for attention; one paying Google to have a top ranking (Myanmar-visa.org).

They have similar internet addresses that could give applicants the impression they are contacting the official website for eVisas. Fees charged by the sites are much higher possibly exceeding USD100.

The official site is evisa.moip.gov.mm, while information on restricted no-go areas can be found at mip.gov.mm.

Also, effective 2 January, the eVisa is now available for travellers entering the country at Yangon, Mandalay and Nay Pyi Daw airports (first point of entry).

This is particularly useful for travellers flying to Mandalay and Nay Pyi Daw directly from Bangkok and Singapore.

Despite assurances by the Myanmar government last year, not all ASEAN citizens are eligible for visa-free entry for up to 14 days.

That privilege is available to citizens of Laos, Vietnam, Philippines, Brunei, Indonesia and Cambodia.

Surprisingly, the big three investment countries for Myanmar (Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia) are not on the visa-free list.

According to the ASEAN charter all member countries are expected to offer visa-free travel to citizens of the 10 member bloc. Myanmar is the last country to comply with that requirement and it was thought it would introduce visa-free travel across ASEAN before it relinquishes the ASEAN chair at the end of January. That is now unlikely.

Travellers applying for an eVisa, must complete the online form, provide a 4.8 cm x 3.8 cm colour photo that can be attached to the online file and have a valid passport of more than six months.

They have to identify they are staying in a registered hotel, or guesthouse, to meet visa conditions and the visa is limited to tourism purposes excluding business, event or seminar related trips. This is again counter productive for a country that is keen to attract quality visitors. Business tourism is a top earner with much higher daily spend than registered by leisure travellers.

Once the online process is approved the applicant receives an approval letter that is valid for just 90 days and must be presented to immigration officials at the first point of entry.

An eVisa is valid for a stay of just 28 days and cannot be extended.

An application is confirmed within one hour of filing online and it usually takes three days for the ministry to email the confirmation or rejection. Fees are non-refundable, whatever the outcome.

The following 32 countries were added to Myanmar’s eVisa facility list 2 January 2015:

1.Albania 17. Iceland
2.Algeria 18. Jamaica
3.Belarus 19. Jordan
4.Bhutan 20. Kazakhstan
5.Bolivia 21. Kenya
6.Bosnia 22. Kyrgyzstan
7.Cameroon 23. Maldive
8.Costa Rica 24. Mauritius
9.Côte d’Ivoire 25. Monaco
10.Ecuador 26. Morocco
11.Eritrea 27. Qatar
12.Fiji 28. South Africa
13.Georgia 29. Uganda
14.Ghana 30. Ukraine
15.Guatemala 31. Uruguay
16.Guinea 32. Uzbekistan
Original list of 68 countries and Taiwan that eligible to apply eVisa:

1. Argentina 35. Latvia
2. Australia 36. Lithuania
3. Austria 37. Luxembourg
4. Bangladesh 38. Malaysia
5. Belgium 39. Malta
6. Brazil 40. Mexico
7. Brunei 41. Mongolia
8. Bulgaria 42. Nepal
9. Cambodia 43. Netherlands
10. Canada 44. New Zeland
11. Chile 5. Norway
12. China 46. Pakistan
13. Colombia 47. Panama
14. Croatia 48. Peru
15. Cyprus 49. Philippines
16. CZECH 50. Poland
17. Denmark 51. Portugal
18. Egypt 52. Romania
19. Estonia 53. Russia
20. Finland 54. Saudi Arabia
21. France 55. Serbia
22. Germany 56. Singapore
23. Greece 57. Slovakia
24. Hungary 58. Slovenia
25. India 59. Spain
26. Indonesia 60. Sri lanka
27. Ireland 61. Sweden
28. Israel 62. Switzerland
29. Italy 63. Thailand
30. Japan 64. Turkey
31. Korea, DPR 65. United Kingdom
32. Korea, Republic 66. United States of America
33. Kuwait 67. Venezuela
34. Laos 68. Vietnam
Source: MYANMAR TIMES

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very nice but careful... you also need domestic companies too, otherwise you will be too much dependable on foreign companies

Yeah.. Mate.. It should be fully aware of the risk that permitting foreign corporations alone which is strong in fund can destroy local SMEs.. But we has lessons of formers.. So we only grant the permission to the ones who has JV agreement in local companies.. On the other hand.. We give financial and technical support to local SMEs.. But it just lunched a year ago with help of Norway ., Germany ., EU and we still need more fund..
 
Asahi to Launch New Myanmar Beverage Line in 2016

Japan’s Asahi Group Holdings said it will launch beverages under an original brand in Myanmar as early as 2016.

President and CEO Naoki Izumiya, who visited Yangon recently, unveiled the plan during an interview with The Nikkei.

The beverage giant set up a joint venture with Loi Hein, a major local beverage firm, in August and began producing Loi Hein’s Blue Mountain soft drinks.

“We aim to work with Loi Hein to develop sodas and other drinks,” Izumiya was quoted as saying.

Asahi hopes to achieve $83.9 million in sales in Myanmar by 2018 by conducting market research and expanding its product lineups.

Source: Myanmar Business Today

Excellent news ! :)

Myanmar extends eVisa
JANUARY 7, 2015 BY THIHA


YANGON, 6 January 2015: Myanmar’s Ministry of Immigration and Population officially included another 32 nationalities that are now eligible for an eVisa, effective 2 January, 2015.

They join a list of 68 countries that were eligible for eVisas when the scheme rolled out 1 September 2014.

The eVisa costs USD50 paid for by Visa or American Express, but applicants should be aware there are other web services that compete for attention; one paying Google to have a top ranking (Myanmar-visa.org).

They have similar internet addresses that could give applicants the impression they are contacting the official website for eVisas. Fees charged by the sites are much higher possibly exceeding USD100.

The official site is evisa.moip.gov.mm, while information on restricted no-go areas can be found at mip.gov.mm.

Also, effective 2 January, the eVisa is now available for travellers entering the country at Yangon, Mandalay and Nay Pyi Daw airports (first point of entry).

This is particularly useful for travellers flying to Mandalay and Nay Pyi Daw directly from Bangkok and Singapore.

Despite assurances by the Myanmar government last year, not all ASEAN citizens are eligible for visa-free entry for up to 14 days.

That privilege is available to citizens of Laos, Vietnam, Philippines, Brunei, Indonesia and Cambodia.

Surprisingly, the big three investment countries for Myanmar (Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia) are not on the visa-free list.

According to the ASEAN charter all member countries are expected to offer visa-free travel to citizens of the 10 member bloc. Myanmar is the last country to comply with that requirement and it was thought it would introduce visa-free travel across ASEAN before it relinquishes the ASEAN chair at the end of January. That is now unlikely.

Travellers applying for an eVisa, must complete the online form, provide a 4.8 cm x 3.8 cm colour photo that can be attached to the online file and have a valid passport of more than six months.

They have to identify they are staying in a registered hotel, or guesthouse, to meet visa conditions and the visa is limited to tourism purposes excluding business, event or seminar related trips. This is again counter productive for a country that is keen to attract quality visitors. Business tourism is a top earner with much higher daily spend than registered by leisure travellers.

Once the online process is approved the applicant receives an approval letter that is valid for just 90 days and must be presented to immigration officials at the first point of entry.

An eVisa is valid for a stay of just 28 days and cannot be extended.

An application is confirmed within one hour of filing online and it usually takes three days for the ministry to email the confirmation or rejection. Fees are non-refundable, whatever the outcome.

The following 32 countries were added to Myanmar’s eVisa facility list 2 January 2015:

1.Albania 17. Iceland
2.Algeria 18. Jamaica
3.Belarus 19. Jordan
4.Bhutan 20. Kazakhstan
5.Bolivia 21. Kenya
6.Bosnia 22. Kyrgyzstan
7.Cameroon 23. Maldive
8.Costa Rica 24. Mauritius
9.Côte d’Ivoire 25. Monaco
10.Ecuador 26. Morocco
11.Eritrea 27. Qatar
12.Fiji 28. South Africa
13.Georgia 29. Uganda
14.Ghana 30. Ukraine
15.Guatemala 31. Uruguay
16.Guinea 32. Uzbekistan
Original list of 68 countries and Taiwan that eligible to apply eVisa:

1. Argentina 35. Latvia
2. Australia 36. Lithuania
3. Austria 37. Luxembourg
4. Bangladesh 38. Malaysia
5. Belgium 39. Malta
6. Brazil 40. Mexico
7. Brunei 41. Mongolia
8. Bulgaria 42. Nepal
9. Cambodia 43. Netherlands
10. Canada 44. New Zeland
11. Chile 5. Norway
12. China 46. Pakistan
13. Colombia 47. Panama
14. Croatia 48. Peru
15. Cyprus 49. Philippines
16. CZECH 50. Poland
17. Denmark 51. Portugal
18. Egypt 52. Romania
19. Estonia 53. Russia
20. Finland 54. Saudi Arabia
21. France 55. Serbia
22. Germany 56. Singapore
23. Greece 57. Slovakia
24. Hungary 58. Slovenia
25. India 59. Spain
26. Indonesia 60. Sri lanka
27. Ireland 61. Sweden
28. Israel 62. Switzerland
29. Italy 63. Thailand
30. Japan 64. Turkey
31. Korea, DPR 65. United Kingdom
32. Korea, Republic 66. United States of America
33. Kuwait 67. Venezuela
34. Laos 68. Vietnam
Source: MYANMAR TIMES

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Yeah.. Mate.. It should be fully aware of the risk that permitting foreign corporations alone which is strong in fund can destroy local SMEs.. But we has lessons of formers.. So we only grant the permission to the ones who has JV agreement in local companies.. On the other hand.. We give financial and technical support to local SMEs.. But it just lunched a year ago with help of Norway ., Germany ., EU and we still need more fund..


Good to see these developments @Aung Zaya .
 
Excellent news ! :)




Good to see these developments @Aung Zaya .

:D hope to get more aid from Japan (JICA), especially technology... :D





Xinhua News Agency January 9, 2015 10:45am
Roundup: Myanmar upgrades civil aviation business to boost air transport


Roundup: Myanmar upgrades civil aviation business to boost air transport

by Feng Yingqiu

YANGON, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar is upgrading its civil aviation business in a bid to boost the air transport sector amid growing tourist arrivals in the country year-on-year.

As part of the move, it has recently corporatized Myanmar National Airlines (MNA) in operation to facilitate investment in air transportation technology and services.

The corporatization of the MNA, which was renamed from Myanma Airways (MA), is aimed at reinvigorate the country's aviation industry and improving the MNA's aviation hospitality.

MNA is making preparation to launch new domestic flights and services soon to provide an integrated airline management system and online reservation and ticketing system and departure control system as part of its transformation program to meet international standard.

The airline plans to expand its current fleet with new Boeing aircraft to modernize its flight services.

The Ministry of Transport announced that it will lease 10 new Boeing aircraft, including six Boeing 737-800s and four Boeing 737- 8 MAX models from U.S.-based GE Capital Aviation Services.

The first plane is expected to arrive in June this year to add to the currently operating nine aircraft, while the remaining will arrive within five years, said the MNA.

The MNA plans to launch its first ever international routes to China, China's Hong Kong and Taiwan in April this year.

It plans to upgrade major international airports in the country and build one more modernized international airport as an expansion of its aviation infrastructure.

In October-December 2012, the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) of Myanmar invited bid from the private sector to upgrade the Yangon International Airport in the form of public private partnership with private sector financing.

Before the bidding, the DCA conducted a pre-qualification for local and foreign investors. Of the 11 qualified, seven organizations submitted the tender.

Of the seven organizations, a Myanmar private company -- Yangon Aerodrome won the tender opened in December 2014 and was awarded to take up work for upgradation of the Yangon International Airport and its services.

The concession agreement was signed between the two sides.

The Yangon International Airport, which now handling 2.7 million passengers per year, is said to be able to accommodate up to 6 million passengers after upgradation at a cost of 150-170 million USD.

Meanwhile, a Japanese company -- MC Jalux Airport Services Co Ltd had also signed a concession agreement with DCA in November 2014 to upgrade the Mandalay International Airport in the north into a logistic hub at a cost of 100 million USD, aimed at creating direct transportation of goods to other countries in Asia and Europe.

Moreover, Myanmar awarded in October 2014 the Singapore-listed Yongnam Holdings consortium a 1.5 billion U.S. dollars' contract to build the new Hanthawaddy International Airport in central Bago region, which is set to replace the Yangon International Airport in the future.

The airport, estimated to cost about 1.5 billion U.S. dollars, will be built on 3,645 hectares of land where then Japanese invasion army built an airport during World War II.

The project is targeted to complete within three to four years and be operational by 2019 to handle 12 million passengers per year.

Lying 80 km northeast of Yangon, the airport, which will be the country's fourth and largest of its kind, is set to become the primary gateway to Myanmar.

The contract to build the airport was originally won by South Korea's Incheon Airport Consortium. However, negotiation broke down in January last year after disagreement between Myanmar's DCA and the Incheon Group over certain aspects of the South Korean proposals, prompting the government to reopen the tender in February of the year.

The Hanthawaddy International Airport will draw more foreign direct flights to Myanmar and increase tourist arrivals as Bago region lies on ASEAN highway.

Myanmar has been carrying out a plan of privatization of all domestic airport management businesses to promote the civil aviation industry.

Besides the three existing international airports -- Yangon, Mandalay and Nay Pyi Taw, there are also 30 regional airports in Myanmar totaling 33.

Domestic private airlines in operation in Myanmar comes to eight, while foreign airlines that fly Myanmar remain as 24.

According to statistics, the number of tourist arrivals has increased year by year, reaching 1.06 million in 2012 and 2.04 million in 2013 and 3.05 million in 2014.

The country expects to 5 million tourists in 2015.

Copyright 2014 Xinhua News Agency.
 
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Lol.. :D


Myanmar Named World’s Most Generous Country
Author: Zin Thu Tun |


MW-CZ411_world__20141117150402_NS.jpg

CAF
Myanmar placed first in this year’s World Giving Index. The score of 64 percent achieved is the highest on record.
Myanmar came out as the most generous country in the world, along with the United States, beating out top global economies when it comes to giving, according to the World Giving Index 2014.

Myanmar and the US shared a 64 percent generosity rating, followed by Canada, Ireland, New Zealand and Australia, Charities Aids Foundation (CAF), a British charity organisation, revealed in the recently published index.

Only five countries in the G20, a bloc of the world’s largest economies, made it to the top 20 of the index.

Respondents of the survey were asked if they donated money, volunteered with an organisation or helped a stranger in the past month and the answers were averaged to determine a final score. The report was based on Gallup data collected across 135 countries.

Myanmar improved on its joint second place reported in 2013, with an increase from 58 percent to 64 percent in the index.

Myanmar’s lead ranking is mainly due to an extraordinarily high incidence of donating money, which has seen a further uplift this year to stand at 91 percent from 85 percent revealed in last year’s report.

Nine out of ten people within Myanmar follow the Theravada school of Buddhism, under which the lives of the Sangha (ordained monks and nuns) are supported by dana (charitable giving) by lay followers of the religion. This translates into a strong culture of charity, with Myanmar ranked first for donating money and 13 percentage points ahead of the second placed country, CAF said. Sri Lanka, another country with a strong Theravada Buddhist community, also ranked within the top 10 of the index (placed 9th).

The United States is the only country to rank in the top 10 for all three kinds of giving covered by the index: helping a stranger (1st), volunteering time (joint 5th) and donating money (9th).

The report reveals that the trend of giving is not tied to the wealth of a country, and a prosperous economy also does not guarantee higher levels of giving money. Despite the growing economies of “BRIC” countries – Brazil, Russia, India and China – only the latter has seen an increase in donating money to charity since last year, although all four saw an increase in volunteering.

The countries which comprise the top 10 remain largely the same as those reported in 2013. Of most significance is the entrance of Malaysia in seventh place, from a 2013 reported ranking of seventy-one, reflecting a 26 percentage point increase in its World Giving Index score.....
 
NATIONAL
Japan’s technology sought to turn Myanmar into major rice exporter
BY KO HIRANO
KYODO

Myanmar agricultural experts are eager to use a Japanese fertilizer that could help them grow better rice and significantly increase output, if only their farmers could afford it.

After the experts studied the fertilizer manufacturing process during a visit to Katakura Chikkarin Co.’s plant in Chiba Prefecture on Aug. 25, they said they wanted Japan to build plants in Myanmar to provide farmers with an effective fertilizer to replace the Chinese one they currently use.

Along with richer fertilizer, the introduction of advanced rice milling, storage and post-harvest technology, as well as the expansion of irrigation systems, are key to boosting the competitiveness of Myanmar’s farm sector as it seeks to become a major rice exporting country like neighboring Thailand and Vietnam, they said.

“We need technology. For example, we can grow rice twice and even three times a year if an irrigation facility is available to more farmers,” Myo Kywe, vice rector at Yezin Agricultural University in Myanmar’s capital, Naypyitaw, said in Tokyo after wrapping up the weeklong mission on Aug. 26.

Myanmar has exported an estimated 1.30 million tons of rice so far this year, up from 1.16 million tons in 2013, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. But the figures lag Myanmar’s target of 4 million tons in 2020.

The country’s rice is exported mainly to comparably low-end markets such as Africa, Bangladesh, China and India.

“Farmers in our country cannot afford to invest,” Myo Kywe said. “The government needs to give them incentives like subsidies, machinery and fertilizer. We would like countries like Japan and foreign investors to help us develop the agriculture sector as well.”

During the mission, 19 Myanmar officials and leaders from its agriculture industry met with Japanese experts on agricultural technology and toured the plants of several farm-related companies to learn about advanced technology and innovation. These included the Tsukuba plant of farm equipment maker Kubota Corp., and a plant run by Satake Corp., a manufacturer of rice-processing equipment in Hiroshima Prefecture.

The mission was funded by the Japanese government and organized by the Asian Productivity Organization, a Tokyo-based regional development body that groups 20 economies.

Mitsuo Nakamura, a program officer at the Agriculture Department of APO, hailed the experts’ eagerness to learn from Japan and said most of the companies and research institutions they visited showed interest in conducting research and business in the newly democratizing country’s emerging, yet untapped market.

Because rice production provides jobs for about 70 percent of Myanmar’s population, an increase in exports and incomes would help reduce poverty in a country whose per capita gross domestic product is the lowest in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Japanese companies have been piling into Myanmar to access its cheap labor force ever since it got rid of its junta-led government.

In the latest step to help Myanmar boost rice output, the Japanese government on Sept. 5 offered up to ¥14.87 billion in low-interest loans for an irrigation project in the Bago region, north of Yangon.

Japanese officials called for increased government-private sector tie-ups to raise the competitiveness of Myanmar’s rice industry, saying official development assistance alone is not sufficient to achieve such a goal.

Citing the need to modernize Myanmar’s milling sector, which is stuck with obsolete processing units that cause losses of about 15 to 20 percent in quality and quantity, the World Bank said its average paddy yields of 2.5 tons per hectare are only half those achieved by other exporters in the region.

“Myanmar has the potential to more than double its rice exports by diversifying and increasing rice production, opening its rice milling sector to direct foreign investments, and reducing export procedure costs, and thereby helping many rural poor to escape poverty,” the bank said in a report on Myanmar’s rice export strategy.

Japan Offers $250m for Development Projects
Author: Zayar Nyein |
5

TPbje20141113135.jpg
TPbje20141113135.jpg

Ma Ping/Xinhua
Myanmar's President U Thein Sein (R) welcomes Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe ahead of the 9th East Asia Summit in Nay Pyi Taw..
Japan has offered Myanmar ¥25.8 billion ($258 million) in loans to help the country carry out its development projects.

The loan was announced by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe when he met with Myanmar President U Thein Sein on the sidelines of the 25th ASEAN Summit in Nay Pyi Taw last week.

The Japanese government wants the loan to be used to improve infrastructure of a port and power facilities in Thilawa, 25 kilometres from Yangon, reinforce the country’s electricity distribution network and help lenders for small and medium enterprises.

In his bilateral meeting with U Thein Sein, Abe voiced support of Myanmar’s democratisation and peace making process.

Abe attended the 17th ASEAN-Japan Summit and 6th Mekong-Japan Summit last Wednesday and the 9th East Asia Summit and 17th ASEAN+3 Summit last Thursday.

The 17th ASEAN-Japan summit discussed promotion of ASEAN-Japan tourism, full implementation of ASEAN-Japan Free Trade Area, and regional cooperation through Thilawa Special Economic Zone, in which Japan is a major investor.


First Pinoy investment in Myanmar.....

Philippines Card Mri expands micro financing business into Myanmar


Burmese nationals who are considered “unbanked” will soon get microfinancing services of a Filipino company that recently expanded in Myanmar.

Card Myanmar Company Limited (CMCL), a $150,000 expansion of the Center for Agriculture and Rural Development Mutually Reinforcing Institution (Card MRI), got its permanent license to operate as a service company last July.

“CMCL is a service company, and one part of it is the microfinance operations. The microfinance operation of the company is based on our practices and technology in the Philippines, it’s like we brought CARD’s best practices and technology from the Philippines to Myanmar,” said Card MRI founder and managing director Jaime Aristotle B. Alip.

Card has been operating in the Philippines for more than 20 years now, with businesses in microfinance, microinsurance, SME banking and capacity building. Its headquarters is in Laguna, with presence all over the Philippines.

Alip said Myanmar is Card’s first microfinance operation outside the Philippines.

However, he said the company has already extended its services to countries like Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam since 2007 through the Card MRI International Group.

“We have seen a huge potential and opportunities in Myanmar since it is now an open country and many foreign investors are already coming in,” Alip said.

As a service company in Myanmar, CMCL is implementing savings mobilization products that will enable the marginalized sector in Myanmar to save for future investments, the company said.

Loans released

Alip reported that as of last November, CMCL already released loans worth Kyats 6.7 million, which is equivalent to around P270,000. At present, CMCL has covered one township with eight centers. It currently has 175 members, with 142 of them having received loans.

“Since CMCL is just starting, the first loan is $50 to $100 per client, depending on the size of business,” Alip said.

CMCL loans have a 100 percent repayment rate, the company said.

By next year, Alip said they are targeting 6,640 clients to be served by at least seven Card experts from the Philippines and 44 local staff. Part of the goal, he added, is to open five more branches in 2015.

At present, CMCL has eight staff trainees consisting of one interpreter, one finance staff and six account officers. Alip said there are currently six other applicants who are undergoing trainings in preparation for staffing needs in 2015. In 2017, CMCL is targeting to serve more than 26,000 Burmese clients.

Aside from microfinancing, Card is also providing technical assistance to other MFIs in Myanmar.

“Microfinance is relatively new in Myanmar as most of the microfinance regulations are just being attended to by the government,” Alip said.

Long way to go

While Myanmar and the Philippines share some characteristics like having low income and marginalized families who are in need of financial access, the latter is considered a more mature microfinancing ecosystem.

“There is a long way to go to be able to follow what the Philippines has achieved so far,” Alip told Sun.Star Cebu.

Aside from microfinance, the official said Card will be bringing its other services like micro insurance and SME baking to Myanmar, among many other locations.

Expansions in the other countries outside Myanmar are also being considered by the company with feasibility studies geared next year, Alip said.
 
2nd largest Vietnam investment in Myanmar...

HANOI/YANGON — Vietnam’s Viettel Global and Myanmar’s state-backed Yatanarpon Teleport are awaiting approval for an investment of at least US $800 million to build Yatanarpon’s telecoms infrastructure, officials from both companies said on Friday.

Myanmar—where communications were tightly controlled by the former military junta—is one of the world’s last telecoms frontiers, with just a small minority of the 53 million population having a mobile phone.

Last month, Viettel Global, the investment arm of Vietnam’s military-run Viettel Group, announced plans to contribute $800 million to developing telecoms with an unnamed partner in Myanmar, and told Reuters on Friday it will likely announce the decision of its shareholders on Dec. 15.

An official in Hanoi with direct knowledge of the negotiations confirmed that Yatanarpon was the Myanmar partner.

Yan Win, a member of Yatanarpon’s board of directors, told Reuters the board had finalized talks with Viettel and was waiting for Yatanarpon’s management to approve the deal.

The total investment for the deal will rise to between $1.8 and $2 billion, said the official in Hanoi who declined to be identified because he is not authorized to speak to the media.

Viettel Global said the additional funds would be raised by its foreign partner and a joint venture, to be established by both firms, the Vietnamese company said in the plan published in November.

Aung Tha, CEO of Khine Thit Sar, a Yangon-based company helping to upgrade the state-owned Myanmar Posts and Telecommunications (MPT), said he was aware of talks between Viettel and Yatanarpon, which has primarily been an Internet service provider until now.

“It will be tough for them to compete with the existing operators,” he said. “They have no infrastructure; they will have to start from scratch.”

Swedish telecoms giant Ericsson said that in 2012 less than 4 percent of the country’s population had mobile phones.

That number has risen dramatically over the past few months as Norway’s Telenor and Qatar’s Ooredoo have begun selling SIM cards after the reformist government, which took power in 2011, granted the companies telecoms licenses.

MPT, formerly the country’s sole provider, has also scaled up distribution of SIM cards and has partnered with Japanese firms KDDI Corp and Sumitomo Corp, which have said they will invest $2 billion.

Yatanarpon reportedly holds the fourth telecoms license and its chief executive told Reuters last year that it would seek at least $1 billion from investors to expand its operations.
 
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