Myanmar Business Today - Vol 2, Issue 36

September 11-17, 2014Myanmar Business Today

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mmbiztoday.com September 11-17, 2014 | Vol 2, Issue 36MYANMAR’S FIRST BILINGUAL BUSINESS JOURNAL

Contd. P 12...

Inside MBT

Your Myanmar Taxes (Part IV) – Corporate Tax P-7

in Yangon (Part II) P-23

May Soe San & Tin Mg Oo

Myanmar can ex-port up to 2 mil-lion tonnes of

rice this year as it makes progress on tapping the rising demand in China and pushing its giant neighbour to lift an im-port ban, industry insid-ers say.

The Myanmar Rice Fed-eration (MRF) recently met with Chinese Embas-

a bid to start negotiation regarding legalising rice imports into China from Myanmar. The meeting was prompted by a cam-paign led by the Chinese government seizing rice imported from Myanmar in the Chinese border town of Shweli and other places that nearly halted rice trade across the bor-der, hurting rice traders in Muse, the border town on Myanmar side.

Rice from Ayeyarwaddy, Bago, Sagaing, Magwe and Yangon regions is mainly exported through Muse, with an estimated 80 percent of Myanmar’s total rice exports going to China. However, while it

is legal for Myanmar trad-ers to export to China, it is illegal for Chinese buyers to import the rice.

“We need an agreement on health inspection. Then we’ll try to get a deal on export quota and tar-

Than Oo, president of Myanmar Rice and Pad-dy Traders Association (MRPTA), told MyanmarBusiness Today.

A Chinese team of four experts, including the deputy director general

of the Administration of Quality Supervision, In-spection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) visited Myan-mar during the last week of August, and inspected the production and dis-tribution chain of the rice industry as part of the ne-

exports.The team said it has

found satisfactory results and also that rice farm-ers in Yangon and Bago regions as well as Nay Pyi Taw are using a minimal

amount of chemical ferti-lisers and pesticides.

The agreement to legal-ise rice exports to China

the Chinese Minister for Agriculture during the ASEAN Agriculture Min-isters Meeting, which will be held from September 20 to 26 in Nay Pyi Taw, according to MRF. After the agreement is signed, a yearly export quota will be agreed on by the two sides, and exports will fol-low before the end of the

year.“We have been export-

ing rice to China so far based on the mutual un-derstanding but we can’t

there’s a deal with AQ-SIQ. Right now we can’t do anything if they block exports on the grounds of low quality,” U Chan Thar Oo, chairperson of Muse Rice Wholesale Board, told Myanmar Business Today.

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Soe Z

eya Tun/Reuters

The “Missing” Nine Million: Does it Matter? P-4


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Auto association to set up public companyMyanmar Automobile-Makers and Distributors Asso-

ciation will set up a public company with a startup capi-tal of K5 billion ($5 million), contributed by 50 leading members, local media reported quoting chairman Soe Tun of the Association. Soe Tun said the company plans to raise up to K20 billion ($20 million) through a public

Beans and pulses export reach $399 millionMyanmar garnered about $399.54 million by export-

ing 520,000 tonnes of beans and pulses from April 1 to August 15, according to the Ministry of Commerce. Green gram and green peas, also known as Mung beans, were the top export items in the category. Export via sea routes totalled $296 million, while through land to-talled $102.9 million.

Yangon to increase taxes on liquor makers, wholesalers

The regional parliament in the commercial city of Yangon is planning to increase taxes on local manufac-turers and wholesale distributors of foreign brand liq-uors by between 200 and 400 percent, a move that will impact the retail prices of alcoholic drinks, local media reported referring to industry sources.

Eight companies given the go-ahead to import LNG

The Ministry of Energy ministry gave permission to

local media reported. The eight companies are Asia World, Myanmar LPGG, Universal Energy, Kaung Htet

Standard Family and Forward General Trading.

MEB to grant collateral-free loans to SMEsMyanmar Economic Bank (MEB) is planning to dis-

burse loans to small-and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) without collaterals, deputy minister for Finance Dr Maung Maung Thein said. Under directives from the President, Myanmar Insurance Enterprise also imple-mented a loan disbursement scheme with private com-panies over the past two months.

Gap Inc reveals problems with working condi-tions at Myanmar factories

An audit conducted for American retail giant Gap Inc at two factories in Myanmar has discovered sev-eral problems for workers that the retailer says it has already begun to address. The report was submitted to the US Embassy in Yangon, where it is posted online, and conducted by Amherst, MA-based labor organi-zation Verité. Workers reported abuse by supervisors, inconsistent rules and enforcement, unpaid or inade-

health and safety violations, according to Verité. The

U.S. retailer to begin having clothes made in Myanmar.

South Korea promotes investment in Myan-mar

Korea and a delegation from Myanmar discussed the investment potential of the Southeast Asian nation in Seoul last week. They met organisers from the ASEAN-Korea Center and the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry at the 2014 Investment and Business Environ-ment Seminar on Myanmar. South Korea is already Myanmar’s fourth-largest foreign direct investor with over $500 million poured into the country as of June.

mar

cities – Yangon and Mandalay in early 2015, airline

of increased business undertakings in the Southeast Asian nation initiated by most of the Philippine citizens

lay. In December 2013, Myanmar and the Philippines signed an agreement on mutual visa exemption for the two countries’ visitors, updating their 1979 Air Services Agreement. There is a total of 24 international airlines

operating domestically.

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3LOCAL BIZ

Myanmar Summary

Htun Htun Minn

The company formed by local business-es to develop the

Kyaukphyu special eco-nomic zone (SEZ) will start selling its shares to the public later this year, a senior executive of the company said.

The shares of Myanmar Kyaukphyu SEZ Public Holding Co Ltd will be sold at a price of K10,000 each, U Tin Aung, secre-tary of the company, said.

However, exact details including the number of shares or when they will be sold were not made available.

“We are discussing the sale of shares to the pub-lic which will be carried out later this year. Well into its third year, the project is attracting pub-lic attention,” Kyaukphyu SEZ monitoring commit-tee chairman U Ba Shwe told Myanmar Business Today.

Kyaukphyu SEZ is planned to be developed

through collaboration between local and for-eign private businesses. Three developers for the port, industrial and con-struction projects respec-tively will be selected in December, according to U Myint Thein, chair of Kyaukphyu SEZ manage-ment committee, and also the deputy director of the Ministry of Rail Trans-portation.

The SEZ public hold-ing company, which was given the go-ahead by the Directorate of Investment and Companies Admin-istration (DICA) in July, will drive the SEZ devel-opment process through engaging in construction and tourism operations, industrial services, water infrastructure and resi-dential development pro-jects and deep-sea port construction, according

ment.The SEZ management

committee has said the developers must make sure to submit project

plans and designs by 2015 to carry on with the pro-ject development.

“Rakhine state has shortages of water, elec-tricity and transportation infrastructure which need to be developed on a pri-ority basis,” U Ba Shwe said.

However, he said as the

the public is expected to take a wait-and-see ap-proach for about four years.

“They will participate only when they are con-

have to see if this project can pique as much inter-est as Thilawa SEZ,” he added.

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euters


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Contd. P 8... Contd. P 8...

The provisional re-sults of Myanmar’s 2014 census, re-

leased on August 30, show that Myanmar has a population of 51.4 mil-lion, nearly 9 million few-er than the government’s long-standing estimate of 60 million.

Most analysis of the pre-liminary results of Myan-

30 years remains focused on where the “missing” 9 million people are. Ques-tions and hypothesis, from mass exodus during the years of political up-heaval to the government overestimating of the population count, con-tinue to emerge attempt-ing to explain the newly discovered population

But does the discovery that Myanmar’s popula-tion stands at just over 51 million really matter? Yes, a little, but in reality it’s not a devastating blow to the country and panic and criticism of the gov-ernment unwarranted. Perhaps most interest-ing – and troubling – is the high degree of mis-understanding as to what a lower population count means for the country’s future and economic de-velopment.

“The lower population calculation will have some real impact, but mostly it is an issue that will impact upon those too ready to accept data at face value than anything else,” Dr Sean Turnell, associate professor of economics at Australia’s Macquaire University and an expert on Myanmar’s economy, told Myanmar Business Today.

Aundrea Montaño & Htun Htun Minn

Is an increase in GDP per capita important?

“The increase in per capita income, due to the population being fewer than previous estimates,

-ernment can brandish around,” U Phone Myint Aung, a member of the upper house of parlia-ment, told MyanmarBusiness Today.

However, this logic ig-nores that fact that GDP per capita is an imperfect measure, and does not account for income dis-tribution or inequality, which plays into econom-ic measures of consump-tion.

will say that it will in-crease per capita GDP – by decreasing the denom-inator of the per capita GDP equation – that is aggregate GDP/popula-tion.

“However, the numera-tor itself is just a very im-perfect estimate, and one that is not independent of the population number anyway. For instance, one of the key components of aggregate GDP, aggregate consumption, is based on a representative con-sumption sample, which is then extrapolated ac-cording to the estimated population number. Like-wise though, some many other parts of the aggre-gate GDP number are just estimates, including measures of Myanmar’s

economy,” Turnell said.Another top govern-

under the condition of anonymity, said that as GDP per capita increases, Myanmar may graduate from the least developed countries (LDC) status and enjoy subsequent

However, Turnell said shedding the country’s LDC status is much more complicated than increas-

-ure.

“Myanmar’s status as an LDC should not change. The country was very poor a week ago, and it is very poor today.”

He said, “In any case, LDC status is a process that involves several UN agencies and the like. So, even if people shut their ideas to the country’s re-alities, it would take a long time for the status to change.

It is also unlikely that there would be any sig-

for lending organisations like the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

“Myanmar remains eligible for the IMF con-cessional lending to low-income countries,” Yu Ching Wong, IMF resi-dent representative in Myanmar, told MyanmarBusiness Today.

“In broad terms, a mem-ber country is eligible for

its annual per capita GNI is below the International Development Association

[$1,195 in FY 2013] and they do not have capac-ity to access international

durable and substantial basis,” she added.

ConsumptionSome believe the new

devastating to the eco-nomic development of the country. This is based on the rationale that if the population is lower, then consumption has de-creased and will detract from the country’s attrac-tiveness to foreign inves-tors.

“A lower population can impact foreign invest-ment because with fewer people consumption will decrease, while a larger population can contribute to rapid market devel-opment and also attract more foreign invest-ments,” U Myint Kyaing, director general of the Department of Popula-tion under the Ministry of Immigration and Popula-tion told Myanmar Busi-ness Today.

Another top government

the condition of anonym-ity, also said that a lower population will have the impact due to decreased consumption. He said, “Poverty is fuelled by the lack of consumption. Low consumption can lead to a drop in exports and foreign investment. A big population can attract in-vestments with its spend-ing power. China’s devel-opment is largely owed to its population.”

However, the new

impact on Myanmar’s -

ures – the fact is that 51.4 million people were con-suming before, and those same 51.4 million people continue to consume to-

day. Foreign investors might need to recalculate to accommodate their country strategies, but rest assured Myanmar is a piece of a larger ASEAN investment strategy for most investors – such as the ASEAN Economic Community, which is ex-pected to start to come online in 2015.

Also, in economic terms the consumption function is far more complex than

fact, it is well noted that poor individuals actually consume more than those in higher income catego-ries. This is because to

individual they must use the majority, if not all or

daily living expenses – hence they consume more whereas higher income people have the luxury to save and possess dispos-able income.

The other side of con-sumption that adds lay-ers of complexity is the consumption function takes into account an in-dividual’s propensity to

their ability to generate disposable income. So while it is true that fewer people are consuming at a given time in Myan-

ask question why people consume, and what keeps them from consuming. One reason individuals do not spend is because they lack security in being able to pay for emergency

Myanmar Summary

Minzayar/R

euters

“The lower population cal-culation will have some real impact, but mostly

it is an issue that will im-pact upon those too ready to

accept data at face value than anything else.”

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Myanmar Summary

Aye Myat

The Myanmar In-vestment Com-mission (MIC) has

eased some restrictions on economic activities for foreign businesses, re-moving 11 items from the prohibited list of econom-ic activities previously de-clared, according to the commission.

These economic activi-ties lifted for foreigners include jade and gem-stone prospecting, explo-ration and production, small and medium scale mineral production and distribution of newspa-pers, magazines and jour-nals in Burmese and other national ethnic languages.

The commission also cut the list of economic activities previously al-lowed only in the form of joint venture with local Myanmar citizens from 42 items to 30.

The commission has so far during this year permit-ted nearly 30 projects for investment by local entre-preneurs, while 60 for in-

vestment by foreigners.

ures show that Myan-mar attracted investment from 34 countries, total-ing $46.71 billion.

Myanmar Summary

Htun Htun Minn

Mandalay Inter-national Airport will be upgraded

into a logistics hub, ac-cording to the Depart-ment of Civic Aviation (DCA).

The upgrade is expected to improve the airport so that it can provide cargo and distribution services

for international and do-mestic goods.

“First, the airport build-ings and terminals will be upgraded. This will be followed by preparation

service,” said U Win Swe Tun, director general at DCA.

Mitsubishi-Jalux, a Jap-

Myanmar partner, SPA

Project Management, has been awarded the tender to upgrade and operate the airport for a 30-year term.

“We have sent the pro-posal for the project to the Myanmar Investment Commission. We are sure it will be approved within the year,” U Win Swe Tun said.

The total area of Man-

dalay International Air-port is 17,544 acres, while 3,682 acres are covered by runways and buildings. After the upgrade, the air-port will have the capacity to serve 3.5 million pas-sengers annually. Accord-ing to DCA, the project is expected to cost K10 bil-lion ($10.3 million).

The department plans to conduct upgrades to sev-en of Myanmar’s airports

This includes Thandwe Airport in Rakhine state, Tachileik Airport, Naung Mon and Maisat Airports in Shan state, Loikaw Air-port in Kayah state, Kalay Airport in Sagaing region and Koe Koe Island Air-port in Yangon region.

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Myanmar Summary

Htun Htun Minn

The Ministry of La-bour, Employment and Social Security

only 40 percent of unem-ployed individuals regis-tered with the ministry for job placement assistance

minister said.Over this period, the

ministry registered on average 75,000 people for employment assis-tance every month, with the government able to

30,000 individuals per

month, union minister for labour U Aye Myint said.

During the same period, the government recorded that over 3 million My-anmar citizens worked abroad, with the ministry

only 5,000 of those indi-viduals.

“You have to try yourself to land a decent job over-seas. The government’s overseas job opportuni-ties are mostly for basic workers and are not avail-able for skilled labor,” Ko Yan Paing who is working in Singapore, told Myan-mar Business Today.

“Strong connections are required to access skilled job positions abroad,” he added.

Despite the relative in-crease in job opportuni-ties in recent years, many people without a network must increasingly rely on employment agen-

work based on the recom-mendation of family or friends.

Therefore, many people looking for job are in need of government guidance in terms of skills training, one banking manager ob-served.

Six out of 10 young peo-ple in Myanmar are facing unemployment, accord-ing to a report released by the Myanmar Youth As-sociation, which calls on the government to quickly address the many chal-lenges facing the coun-try’s youth.

The report was prepared based on surveys conduct-ed targeting local young adults within the age range of 16 to 35 from Yangon and Ayeyarwaddy regions, with data covering the years of 2012-2014.

“We saw many unem-ployed people during the survey period. If this con-tinues, the future of the country will not be that encouraging,” Ko Zwe Yan Naing, chair of the Myanmar Youth Associa-tion.

“A high unemployment rate will be a drag on the economy. The poverty sit-uation in the country will deteriorate further com-pared to other countries in the region,” he added.

Socioeconomic short-comings such as issues of land grabbing, poor transportation and lack of information are help-ing to drive the high un-employment rate among

young people. Young people who are trying to

situation are met with in-creased risks like human

illicit trade, according to the report.

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Phyo Thu

Three large whole-sale commodity markets are to be

established in Yangon and Mandalay, the two commercial cities of My-anmar, and Muse, the country’s biggest border trading hub, a minister said.

The Ministry of Com-merce is working towards setting up the commod-ity markets before 2015, when the ASEAN Eco-nomic Community (AEC)

-cording to U Win Myint, union minister for com-merce.

“A total of 52 whole-sale markets have been opened so far. We are try-ing to develop these mar-kets as well as to help spe-cialised companies,” he

said at the annual event of the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Indus-try (UMFCCI).

The ministry is also planning to establish an international trade center in cooperation with the state and regional gov-ernments, which will help increase trade volume by linking the country with global trade networks.

When the AEC is imple-mented, local businesses will be able to access the over 600 million popula-tion of the ASEAN mar-ket, but will also have to

-tion from other business-es in the region, U Win Myint said.

“The government needs to deliver on its promises. Although they are tout-ing changes, we are not

seeing them take shape. -

ing speed and a major ob-stacle is that it takes too long to engage with gov-ernment departments,” said U Zaw My0 Aung from the Myanmar Inter-national Freight Forward-ers Association.

Although licensing pro-cessing is getting faster, the Department of Com-merce and Customs De-partment are apparently not coordinating in the process of establishing prices and making sepa-rate decisions, he added.

Yangon, Mandalay and Muse are chosen as po-tential places for whole-sale markets as the places have a wide reach to both sea and land trade chan-nels, and the potential for increasing cross-border trade, experts say.

Myanmar Summary

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Reu

ters


mmbiztoday.com

7LOCAL BIZ

Myanmar SummaryWe’re sometimes

contacted by entrepreneurs

who want to start a busi-ness in Myanmar. Often

-gon, and without any con-tact with the Myanmar government, get a hotel room and start operating a business out of it. The

In fact, the Myanmar authorities don’t allow you to start a business in Myanmar without a cor-porate presence. Your options for this are quite simple:

owned by its shareholders and operated by its board of directors.

company, which is just a locally registered address of a foreign company.

which is similar to a branch but is not expected to pro-

foreign banks and insur-ance companies are limited

The procedures for reg-istering all of the above are similar. For foreign investors they take several months to create, but are allowed to operate on a temporary basis pending

delay easier to work with. Let’s assume your ob-

so you don’t want a rep-

do you choose between a branch and a company?

This decision is largely based on the tax rate. For

taxed at 25 percent while branches are taxed at 35 percent.

Given the higher tax rate, why would you ever want a branch? Branches are easier and cheaper to operate. With a branch you don’t have to have an annual general meet-ing. Additionally, the gov-ernment never expects a

so it could show a loss or break even for as long as you want it to.

If you want to enter the market and have a presence in the country

James Finch & Kyaw Swa Myint

in Yangon.

Soe

Zey

a Tu

n/R

eute

rs

without the expectation -

propriate to register as a branch. For example let’s say you want to maintain a presence in Yangon and hire a sales team. If your sales team meets with customers but those cus-tomers are buying direct

rather than the Yangon -

tion can be used to facili-tate this by allowing you

Keeping in mind the 10 percent lower tax rate for companies, if you want

want to register as a com-pany and not a branch. Also, for any kind of a big operation –manufac-turing, infrastructure or telecoms operation, for example – the Myanmar government may require you to have a company rather than a branch.

There is another con-sideration. You’ve prob-ably heard of the Foreign Investment Law of 2012 (FIL). Under this law

holiday, which means that if you register under this law your business doesn’t

years of its operation – if it’s the kind of investment

The FIL doesn’t explic-itly mention branches or

the rules to the FIL men-tion that all registrants must have companies. In practice the Myanmar Investment Commission “MIC” allows some indus-tries such as oil and gas to operate under the FIL as branches. The taxes af-

-day are the same for other companies under the FIL

Now every industry is

year tax holiday. The MIC has just issued a no-

business activities which won’t be allowed to claim the tax holiday. Here’s a sample of the barred in-dustries: any company that is involved with the production or selling of alcohol and cigarettes; companies that sell gaso-line, diesel oil and fuel; natural resource extrac-tion (excludes oil and gas exploration and drilling); and building construction for resale.

Doing business in My-anmar is not a simple process, and you should

carefully consider your options before entering the Myanmar market.

James Finch is a part-ner at DFDL Myanmar Limited, resident in Yan-gon. Kyaw Swa Myint is an advisor at DFDL My-anmar Limited’s Yangon Tax Business Unit.

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Myanmar Summary

From page 4...

From page 4...

May Soe San

Traders have sent a request to the Min-istry of Commerce

(MOC) to facilitate in re-moving a Chinese ban on

-ports from Myanmar to Yunan province in China, U Tun Lin Soe, general secretary of Muse-Nant-kham border trading hub, said.

The request for an ex-port licence for the prod-uct, which has been sub-mitted in May, has not met with any responses so far, while the govern-ment’s support is essen-tial to lift the Chinese ban on the product, U Tun Lin Soe said.

“This product has

through the border chan-nel in the past. But later it was banned by the Chi-nese central government on the grounds of bacte-rial contamination and foot-and-mouth disease,”

said U Htay Oo from the border trading hub.

Fine leather products are at risk of containing germs and also chemicals which are used to make it last longer, according to U Toe Aung Myint, direc-tor general of the Depart-ment of Export Promo-tion from MOC.

The ban from China

claiming it contains food-and-mouth disease risks can be lifted only through negotiations between the two sides, he added.

products ready to export to Yunnan, but we haven’t received an export licence

-cials to take the problems of traders into account,”

U Tun Lin Soe said.Rough goatskin, pro-

duced by mixing goat-skins with salt, has been exported to China in the past through the coopera-tion between the govern-ment’s now dissolved Ag-ri-business Department and private companies.

China is a major market for goatskin leather, but

clarifying the product is clear of germs that cause foot-and-mouth disease

-stock Breeding and Vet-erinary Department in Myanmar.

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expenses, such as a trip to doctor, loss of income or

-nancial burden – causing them to save for a rainy day, which decreases the potential for disposable income. If the Myanmar government wants indi-viduals to consume more,

-tive social safety nets that increase certainty in an individual’s overall well-being. This might include schemes for health and unemployment insur-ance. Also, developing a functioning and trusted

individual security. While it is true that

China’s population is a factor in its development prospects its rapid devel-opment has never been a function of domestic consumption, rather it

aggressive export-orient-ed growth strategy. Get-ting China’s population to consume continues to be a complex mix of ap-propriate social and eco-nomic policy combined with increased capacity in domestic governance –

the same will be true for Myanmar.

If Myanmar wants to increase consumption to a level that will have real economic impact, then fo-cus must be diverted away

and placed on increasing incomes.

So what does matter?If GDP per capita and

consumption are not im-portant factors, then what does matter in calculating the economic future of Myanmar? Productivity.

In order for productivity to increase – and hence incomes – the govern-ment should focus their

-vestment to sectors that will have high impact – namely the agriculture sector, which according to the CIA’s World Fact Book employees over 70 percent of the popula-tion, and manufacturing, which is a vital sector needed to absorb the in-crease in city populations due to rural-urban migra-tion.

In order to do this, more priority should be placed on the development of appropriate legislation to

create a friendly business environment that attracts foreign investment from a broad base of countries – this includes making

-ment from western coun-tries.

Moving forwardAt the end of the day,

the revelation that Myan-mar’s population is nine million people fewer than estimates once provided has virtually no impact on the country’s pros-pects for development. If anything, the census of-fers more legitimacy in a country that for the past 50 years has produced virtually no statistical data.

“The results of the 2014 population and housing

census, especially given the long lag since the last census was conducted in

providing important in-formation to form a more accurate snapshot of My-anmar today. Accurate and timely social-eco-nomic data are essential inputs to policymaking and monitoring develop-ment progress,” Yu Ching Wong said.

The government has the opportunity to now use

-tive economic and social policy that to create a

-creases productivity, con-sumption and long-term economic growth.

Yu Ching Wong said: “Foreign investors will continue to be attracted

“ Myanmar’s status as an LDC should not

change. The country was very poor a week

ago, and it is very poor to-day.”

by Myanmar’s long run growth potential, which remains substantial with its rich natural resources and low labour costs. In-vestors will generally be more attracted to and

country with macroeco-nomic stability and a con-ducive climate for doing business.”

Reu

ters

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Myanmar Summary

Htun Htun Minn

The Yangon regional government said it plans to collect

data on the earnings and expenses of labourers liv-ing in townships that con-tain industrial zones in a bid to set up a minimum wage.

The data collection will be completed within one month, and will empha-sise basic information such as household income and the number of house-hold members, U Zaw Aye Maung, Rakhine ethnic minister of Yangon re-gional government told a session of Yangon region-al parliament.

“We will collect data on how high the living cost is

and how much the labour-ers earn. Later the data will be submitted to the national assembly, which will use this to establish a minimum wage,” U Zaw Aye Maung explained.

Yangon regional gov-ernment and the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security will work together to collect data in 14 townships of Yangon that have indus-trial zones, he added.

The minister revealed the plan to collect data, in his response to the question of U Soe Win, a member of the regional parliament, over the conduct of the re-gional government to solve labour issues including se-curing compensation and taking legal actions.

“Adopting a minimum wage standard is very important. Many people have to work hard for very little returns. Many factory workers earn only K 1,000 ($1.1) a day and some earn even less,” U Htay, an attorney work-ing for the rights of work-ers, told Myanmar Busi-ness Today.

The minimum wage law was enacted on March 22 last year with the by-

laws laid down on July 12, 2013. The Ministry of Labour, International Labour Organization and other Non-Government Organizations, employers and labour union lead-ers are frequently hold-ing meetings regarding the adoption of minimum wage and committees are also being formed.

The ministry has es-tablished a temporary minimum salary stand-ard of K56,700 ($58) per month for industrial zone workers, along with the workers’ right to enjoy additional bonuses such as general allowances and no-leave bonus. The labourers have asked for a minimum wage of K 7,000 ($7.2) per day.

Daw San San Nwe, Yan-gon regional minister

budget of K5.506 million for the allowances, trans-portation and document fees for the data collec-tors, K798,000 for train-

ing and K6.59 million to

relating to the issue.

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May Soe San

Htun Htun Minn

Parami Energy Group has signed production sharing

contracts for two onshore oil blocks with the Myan-mar Investment Commis-sion (MIC), the group’s

Kwong Weng said.Parami Energy group

will enter into a partner-ship with Pakistan’s Pe-troleum Exploration (Pvt) Limited (PEL) and UK-based Siren Exploration and Production as a local partner to operate on the oil blocks where Parami will have 30 percent stake

hold the rest.“Our company will con-

duct EIA (Environmental

High quality taro being cultivated in Chin state has

the capacity to accom-modate up to 200,000

the increasing demand in countries such as Japan, Korea, China and Thai-land, a minister said.

Taro, native to Southern India and Southeast Asia, is a common name for the corms and tubers of sev-eral plants in the Araceae family. Of these, Coloca-

Impact Assessment) and SIA (Social Impact As-sessment). There won’t be any complication in get-ting the locals’ consent. But we have to be extra

careful as a foreign com-pany is involved,” U Ken Tun, founding chairman

of Parami Group said. The cost of the project

is estimated to be 20 per-cent higher than previ-ous projects as it aims to settle the concerns of the locals prompted by the in-

he added.The two oil blocks are

PSC O, which is located near Pathein, capital of Ayeyarwaddy region, and PSC J, which stretches from the town of Mudon in Mon state to Pha-An, capital of Kayin state.

Founded in 2014, the -

panded its business into oil and gas industry in 2009 and currently focus-es on oil and gas, energy and construction sectors.

sia esculenta is the most widely cultivated.

Due to low demand, the taro produced in Chin state is not exported to India or other regions within Myanmar. There-fore, local traders should connect with the Myan-mar Fruit, Flower and Vegetable Producers and Exporters Association

markets for the product, U Ohn Than, deputy un-ion minister for agricul-ture and irrigation, said.

“The Agriculture De-

partment should promote cultivating high-quality variety taro as a means to commercialise the prod-uct, he said.

Production costs for one acre of taro ranges from K300,000 to K500,000, while earnings from one acre can range from K1 million up to K1.5 million depending on the yield.

“It’s not only taro, but we are having a hard time selling other crops be-cause of scarce demand, which is worsened by the low incomes of the poor

and hard-to-access trans-portation networks,” said Ko Victor, a farmer from Htantalan township in Chin state.

Total Taro cultivation area in Chin state dur-

stood at 315 acres in Te-dim township, 1,162 acres in Tonzan, 150 acres in Kyeekha township, 235 acres in Htatalan town-ship, 65 acres in Phalam township, 10 acres in Reed Kawda township, 99 acres in Hakha township and 28 acres in Kanpatlat township.

The total taro cultiva-tion area is 2,562 acres in the state according to the

of Agriculture and Irriga-

tion. Among them, 1,687 acres were planted solely with taro while in the oth-er 875 acres taro is grown along with other crops in a multiple cropping method, according to the ministry’s data.

Due to an archaic or-dinance issued in 1967, where the land tax rate is charged at only K1 per acre of farmland in Chin state, only K1,687 in tax revenue is collected per year from the 1,687 acres

People of Chin state pri-marily participate in the subsistence farming of taro, sweet potatoes and some varieties of yams – providing ample opportu-nity for the commerciali-

sation of agriculture in the state.

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Myanmar Summary

Myanmar Summary

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OD;jynfh0xGef; (Ken Tun) u ajymonf/

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Reu

ters



Tin Mg Oo

Anight market is to be set up in Ma-habandoola Park

street in a bid to promote small food vendors and restaurants and attract foreign tourists, U Khin Aung Tun from Myanmar Tourism Federation.

“Yangon regional gov-ernment has agreed to our proposal for a night market in Mahabandoola Park street. It aims to pro-vide hygienic and healthy food to locals and foreign-ers and also help basic food vendors who sell at night.

“Foreigners can have Myanmar foods, buy souvenirs or sit and read books there. It will con-tribute to the tourism in-dustry,” he said.

A total of 14 small res-taurants, two each from the seven downtown townships, will be se-lected on the criteria set by Myanmar Restau-rant Owners’ Association (MWRA) from the pool of restaurants that ben-

help.“Those that have disci-

pline, can meet quality requirements and satisfy the customers will be ap-proved to run stalls at the night market. We have studied the factors con-tributing to the success of night markets in other countries,” U Kyaw Myat Moe, general secretary of MWRA said.

Currently, MWRA is working on helping small restaurants and will select 14 based on the folowing criteria: how much they understand the goals of the association and are willing to cooperate with it, whether they are do-ing business in places allowed by the City De-velopment Committee, if they are popular choices of the diners, and if they meet hygiene standards and are willing to undergo inspections.

“Many current food stalls have low hygiene practices and unattrac-tive settings, so a well organised night market can change that. The food doesn’t have to be cheap and as long as the food and the packing are clean and of good quality it will work,” said Daw Ohnmar

Oo, sales director of Gold-en Orbit Travel and Tours company.

“The stalls that don’t follow rules should be pe-nalised and will be shut down,” she added.

“Neighboring countries also have night markets. Thailand in particular boasts a two-mile long night market in Chiang Mai. The market, which is open from 6pm to 2am, does not litter the place leaving it clean after it is closed in the morning,” she said, adding that if such practice is applied here, the night market will be a success.

Myanmar has launched an E-Visa system on Sep-tember 1, part of a cam-paign to prompt tourist arrivals. Last year’s travel season recorded an annu-al increase of 50 percent in tourist arrivals and 3 million foreign tourists are expected to enter the country this year, accord-ing to Myanmar Tourism Federation.

“We appreciate support like this. We have almost always been having clashes with YCDC. We are allowed to set up shop only after

3pm,which is not a good time for selling food,” told a vendor selling steamed rice downtown.

Phyo Thu

The growth of My-anmar’s timber-processing industry

will rely more on timbers imported from abroad than those produced do-mestically, industry insid-ers say.

Despite heaving logging inside Myanmar, raw tim-ber from outside of the country will ensure more

-cessing plants, which have increasingly received for-eign investment, said U Bar Bar Cho from the My-anmar Timber Merchants Association.

“Timber-processing plants are not allowed to set-up near forest areas. So if you compare the quality of local raw timber and the transportation costs,

teak and other hardwoods from abroad.

“In the future, the in-dustry will rely more and more on timber imports. We have asked the gov-

ernment to issue the re-quired documents for timber imports in the near future,” he told My-anmar Business Today.

After the export of tim-ber logs were banned at the start of the current

processed timber prod-ucts has increased. How-ever, links to major mar-kets remain weak even

though Indian investors are planning to construct two timber-processing factories and the govern-ment is negotiating with the European Union for approval to freely export timber products.

Weak access to markets and poor quality over-shadows the progress made in the industry and will remain a hindrance

for the foreseeable future, local wood processing in-dustry insiders say.

Processed timber is used in making of lo-cally produced furniture; however, the design and quality of timber-based products in Myanmar are of poor quality, while pro-cessed teak and its acces-sories also remain sub par to meet demand.

If the country can in-crease its quality and export prospects, it will support the goals of the National Export Strategy, given that timber prod-ucts are expected to be a major export for the My-anmar.

Myanmar Summary

Myanmar Summary

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Reuters



Myanmar Summary

From page 1...

From page 1...

Kyaw Min

The Myanmar Or-ganic Association said it plans to

EM Company to promote organic farming in Myan-mar.

The plan is in response to growing demand for organic products in the international market, which Myanmar is poised to enter if it can increase investment and value-added capacity in the country’s large agricul-ture sector.

Local farmers have formed a temporary as-sociation for comprehen-sive development in the organic farming industry, which will cooperate with

has extensive knowledge and technical skill in or-ganic techniques, U Hnin Oo, spokesperson of the association, said.

Currently, the local base practicing organic farm-ing is too small to even meet local demand. The association will help lo-cal individuals interested in introducing organic farming techniques and incorporating new tech-nology into their practices so that they can gain in-

ternational accreditation, to quench demand both domestically and interna-tionally.

Even though the form-ing of an association and a partnership with EM Company will bring great value to the organic farm-ing industry, more sup-port is needed from the government to ensure its competitiveness and suc-cess.

“Locals who want to in-troduce organic farming techniques do not have enough land, while those

who have land are not in-terested in the practice. So the government should provide organic farmers with land and funding,” said U Hnin Oo.

Myanma Agricultural Enterprise has issued in-ternationally accepted accreditations to only 43 farmers, while Myanmar only has 1,500 acres of or-

“If we introduce organ-ic farming methods and receive international ac-creditation, we will have better export options. But

In 2013, Myanmar ex-ported about 746,000 tonnes of rice to China through informal border channels. Rice exports to China have increased by about 125 times since 2011, according to a June World Bank report.

“China has a high de-mand requiring 4 to 5 million tonnes of rice eve-ry year. This year’s rice export can reach up to 2 million tonnes,” said U Ye Min Aung, secretary gen-eral of MRF.

However, relying too much on a single market can create risks as any

-pact on the export coun-try, he said, adding that it is necessary to diversify the industry and its mar-ket opportunities.

“Currently the major ex-port destination is China followed by Africa. But

exports to Africa dip dur-ing the monsoon season. As for new markets, Eu-rope is providing good prospects as Myanmar has received GSP status,” Dr Soe Tun, joint secre-tary of MRF said.

Myanmar was able to export over 1 million tonnes of rice for three years in a row from 2011 and 2014 and expects to export 4 million tonnes by 2019-20. Currently Muse, the northern border town is seeing annual exports of 700,000 to 800,000 tonnes of rice across the border. After a bilateral agreement is reached, of-

be no less than the cur-rent volume. Vietnam and Thailand are exporting over 1 million tonnes of rice to China every year.

Myanmar has exported 1.2 million tonnes of rice

and has set a target of ex-porting up to 3 million

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for success, we will also need to address the issues of land and capital,” a farmer from Hlegu town-ship in Yangon said.

-cal. According to the Min-istry of Commerce, Myan-mar earned $196 million from April 1 to August 15 by exporting 530,000 tonnes of rice, up 41 per-cent from $138 million exported during the same

year.Regional rivals Vietnam

and Thailand are each ex-porting around 10 million tonnes every year. Myan-mar Rice Federation is also planning to do work-shops with Myanmar Rice and Paddy Traders As-sociation and Myanmar Rice Millers’ Association to ensure quality stand-ards in each stage of pro-duction and export.

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mmbiztoday.comREGIONAL BIZ 13

Myanmar Summary

Myanmar SummaryMichael Martina

Foreign companies are increasingly concerned they are

being targeted by Chinese regulators, a U.S. business lobby said, as a Chinese antitrust agency defended

as U.S. chipmaker Qual-comm Inc.

The American Chamber of Commerce in China is the latest business lobby to air its grievances over a series of investigations scrutinising at least 30

-na seeks to enforce a 2008 anti-monopoly law.

There are growing per-ceptions that multina-

“selective and subjective enforcement” using “legal and extra-legal approach-es”, the Chamber said in a report.

A survey of 164 mem-bers showed 49 percent of respondents felt foreign companies were being singled out in recent pric-ing and anti-corruption campaigns, compared to 40 percent in a late 2013 survey of 365 members.

they were uncertain, or did not know, and 26 per-cent said no.

Chamber Vice Chair-man Lester Ross told re-porters the major expan-sion of enforcement was

welcome in principle, but regulators were using “ex-tra-legal” means to con-duct investigations.

“They have taken what are, in many instances,

-visions in the law and moved to enforce them, and sought to enforce those means through pro-cesses that do not respect the notion of due process or fairness,” Ross said.

In an April letter to Secretary of State John Kerry and Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew, the U.S. Chamber of Com-merce urged Washington to get tough with Beijing on its use of anti-compe-tition rules.

China had seized upon competition law to ad-vance industrial poli-cies that nurture domes-tic companies, the U.S. Chamber, based in Wash-ington, said in the letter.

The European Union Chamber of Commerce in China in August ex-pressed its concern over the antitrust investiga-tions, saying China was using strong-arm tactics and appeared to be un-fairly targeting foreign

Xu Kunlin, director gen-eral of price supervision and the anti-monopoly bureau at the National Development Reform Commission (NDRC),

reiterated that local and foreign companies were being treated equally by the agency.

“Such accusations are groundless and baseless,”

Daily newspaper.“Some of the NDRC

monopoly investigations involve overseas multina-tionals, but that does not mean that we are target-ing them,” Xu said in an interview with the paper.

“Some business opera-tors in China have failed to adjust their practices in accordance with the anti-monopoly law,” he added. “Others have a clear un-derstanding of the laws, but they take the chance that they may escape pun-ishment.”

Xu said the NDRC, one of China’s three anti-trust regulators, was also handling cases involving

Chinese private sector companies.

The automotive indus-try has been in focus for the last two or three years, Xu said. Last month, the NDRC slapped a record

Japanese automakers it said had engaged in price manipulation.

The NDRC is investi-gating Qualcomm’s local subsidiary after it said in February the com-pany was suspected of

overcharging and abus-ing its market position in wireless communication standards, accusations that could lead to record

-lion.

Another antitrust regu-lator, the State Adminis-tration for Industry and Commerce, said on Mon-day it had given Microsoft Corp 20 days to reply to queries on the compat-ibility of its Windows op-erating system and Of-

its probe into the world’s largest software compa-ny. Reuters

C -dence in Thailand rose for a fourth

straight month in August, suggesting consump-tion may improve now that three months have passed since a military coup which halted Bang-kok street protests and re-duced political tensions.

-dence index of the Univer-sity of the Thai Chamber of Commerce rose to 80.1 in August, its highest level since July last year, from

Orathai Sriring & Kitiphong Thaich-areon

78.2 the previous month.Through April, the index

fell 13 straight months, reaching a trough of 67.8. From November, the de-clines were fuelled by prolonged unrest, which battered economic activ-ity and tourism.

“The consumer con-

-dence in the future econ-omy, suggesting people still have hope,” Thana-vath Phonvichai, an eco-nomics professor at the

current economy is still not that good, weighed

down by lower commod-ity prices.”

The unrest, together with weak exports, caused Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy to con-tract 0.1 percent in the

-lier, though it avoided a technical recession in April-June.

Exports, equal to more than half of the economy, have been sluggish this year, while imports have slumped and factory out-put has fallen for more than a year, showing that economic engines remain wobbly.

later?The military govern-

ment has settled delayed payments to rice farm-ers and is trying to get on track long-dormant spending plans, including infrastructure projects.

expected until next year or later.

Private consumption rose in July from June but investment fell again, ac-cording to the central bank.

Tourism, which ac-counts for about 10 per-cent of the economy, is not back to normal yet. Foreign arrivals dropped

11 percent in July from a year earlier, an improve-ment from June’s 24.4 percent slump. Reuters

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Caroline Ng

There’s an eerie si-lence at night in Sentosa Cove, the

man-made island resort billed as Singapore’s an-swer to Monte Carlo and the only place in the coun-try where foreigners can buy landed property.

Dozens of houses - complete with their own private yacht berths and multiple swimming pools - sit empty while few lights are on in the apart-ment blocks overlooking the marina, a few kilome-tres away from Sentosa’s giant casino.

Prices in the gated com-munity fell around 20 percent in the past year as lending restrictions and taxes on foreign buyers burst a bubble in

-nancial hub’s luxury real estate market.

Investors could see the value of their assets fall even further with devel-opers and investors still struggling to sell even af-ter the recent price falls. Real estate websites list

bungalows for sale, yet just 12 apartments and one house have changed hands all year on Sentosa, according to data from the Urban Redevelop-ment Authority (URA).

“The way prices have fallen in Sentosa, it’s as if

crisis,” said Alan Cheong, head of Singapore research

That could mean a tough 2015 for the city state’s banks unless policy restric-tions are eased soon. But that looks unlikely because government- imposed curbs are having the de-

broader market in check after private house prices rose more than 60 percent between 2009 and 2013.

Estate agent Knight Frank’s analysis of prop-erty prices in 32 cit-

ies around the world found Singapore’s prime residential market, de-

percent of properties, performed the worst in

prices falling 7.3 percent.For the luxury sector,

the government meas-ures have led to a sharp drop in foreign buyers, who accounted for over half of Sentosa sales be-tween 2010 and 2014.That means the number of distressed investors is expected to rise.

“Some of the earlier buyers are likely to have bought at prices 20 to

30 percent above current prices,” said Christine Li, head of research at property consultancy Or-angeTee.

“The rental can’t even cover the mortgage for these high-end invest-ments - they want to of-

-ers.”

Distress SignalsUnited Overseas

Bank, Singapore’s third-biggest lender, last month reported a doubling in its bad debt charges for the second quarter, saying a group of investors was struggling to service high-

end property loans.The number of residen-

tial properties being put up for sale at auction by banks after buyers de-faulted on mortgages, known as mortgagee sales, quadrupled to 64 in

from 16 in the second half of 2013, according to real estate agency Colliers.

previous years, when owners’ sales dominated auctions,” said Joy Tan, head of auctions at DTZ.

“The tables have turned and we expect more mort-gagee sales on the way.”

Some in the luxury property industry fear foreign buyers have gone for good.

City Developments Ltd, Southeast Asia’s second-largest residential property developer, said in its latest results state-ment that foreign buyers have “shifted and are still shifting their investments to markets outside Singa-pore”. Reuters

Khettiya Jittapong

Top Thai energy

it would make a proposal to the Vietnam-ese government to build

petrochemical complex, revised down from an ear-lier project discussed two years ago.

State-controlled PTT will meet with Vietnam’s prime minister this month to present its pro-ject proposal, PTT Chief Executive Pailin Chuchot-taworn told reporters.

The complex has been designed to help meet Vi-

etnam’s domestic demand for oil products and boost its exports.

PTT has studied the possibilities of investing in central Vietnam for over two years. The value of the project was reduced from a previous estimate of $28.7 billion after the Vietnamese government issued a licence for a new

-nam. The planned capaci-

been cut by 40 percent from an initial 660,000 barrels per day.

The project, which re-quires investment of about 600 billion baht

($18.8 billion), now in-cludes a 400,000 bpd

aromatic petrochemical plants, Atikom Terbsiri, PTT senior executive vice president, said.

The construction of the

be completed by 2021, and most of products will serve domestic demand in Vietnam, Atikom add-ed.

The petrochemical com-plex will have an annual production capacity of 2.9

and 2 million tonnes of aromatic products, and most of the petrochemical

products will be exported.

products in Vietnam is expected to rise by 5-6 percent a year from about 300,000 bpd now, Atikom said, adding that PTT will hold about 40 percent of the project, while the rest will be owned by strategic partners. Reuters

Myanmar Summary

Myanmar Summary

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Myanmar Summary

Myanmar Summary

Orathai Sriring

AThai shippers’ group expects ex-ports to grow no

more than 1 percent this year, another worrying sign for a trade-depend-ent economy struggling after months of political unrest that led to a mili-tary coup in May.

Exports are crucial to Thailand, equivalent to

more than 60 percent of its economy each year, and the Commerce Min-istry is banking on export growth of 3.5 percent this year.

But that may be ambi-tious, as shipments in the

0.42 percent from a year earlier, while imports fell for the 13th straight month in July; many imported materials are assembled

into goods that are shipped out again, so the drop im-plies weak demand from exporting sectors.

1 percent (export growth) this year after an unex-pected drop in July ex-ports,” Nopporn Thep-sitthar, chairman of the National Shippers’ Coun-cil, told Reuters.

The council’s latest fore-cast was for 1.0-1.6 per-

cent. It has cut its projec-tion steadily from 5 percent made late last year.

Exports fell 0.85 per-cent in July from a year earlier, according to Com-merce Ministry data.

“We are very concerned about global markets as there are several risks such as international ten-sions, the Ebola outbreak

markets,” Nopporn said. “We want to warn export-ers and the public to get prepared for all the risks.”

Traders have also said Thailand faced delays in exporting millions of tonnes of rice because of a labour shortage at ports after hundreds of thou-sands of foreign workers

-tary crackdown on illegal immigrants.

However, Nopporn said that was not an industry-wide problem.

The Bank of Thai-land has forecast export growth of 3 percent for this year but is expected to trim that when it re-leases new economic fore-casts on Sept. 26.

“Although export growth

will not meet our forecast,

our GDP growth projection as we have other things helping, such as domestic demand and investment,” Assistant Governor Math-ee Supapongse told report-ers on Tuesday.

“We are keeping our 2014 economic growth forecast of 1.5 percent for now.”

The Finance Minis-try has estimated export growth of 1.5 percent for this year and economic growth of 2 percent.

However, Gundy Cahy-adi, an economist with DBS Bank in Singapore, said: “For growth to pick up above 2 percent, we need exports at around 6-7 percent, given the current situation.”

The economy grew 0.9 percent in the second quarter from the previous three months. The mili-tary government is ex-pecting a rebound in the second half, helped by a

the army’s intervention put an end to months of street protests. Reuters

Ratnajyoti Dutta

India’s soybean har-vest will be delayed by a month this year,

pushing back new-crop soymeal shipments to Southeast Asia until No-vember, traders said.

The late arrival of this year’s monsoon in the main soybean growing areas of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra states pushed back planting of the crop by more than

three weeks.The late monsoon this

year in Maharashtra state also led some farmers to shift completely to soy-beans from corn because the oilseed needs less wa-ter and matures in three months as compared to four for corn.

-ducer of soybeans, the crop is usually sown from the second half of June with the spread of the monsoon rains, with the planting

usually over by mid-July.“This year soybean ...

planting spilled over until

Srivastava, head of the state-run Directorate of Soybean Research, told Reuters over the phone from Indore, a soybean hub in central India.

“Periodic rains have so far ensured good soil moistures for a healthy growth of the soybean crop,” added Srivastava, the country’s leading soy-

bean scientist.India’s soybean crop

area stood at 11.03 mil-lion hectares (27.3 million acres) against 12.18 mil-lion hectares last year, ac-cording to the latest farm ministry update.

This year’s area is 6.3 percent more than the average area of 10.38 mil-lion hectares for the past

the ministry’s update. Reuters

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mmbiztoday.comINTERNATIONAL BIZ 16

Henning Gloystein

The European Un-ion could ban gas exports and limit

industrial use as part of emergency measures to protect household energy supplies this winter, a source told Reuters, as it braces for a possible halt in Russian gas as a result of the Ukraine crisis.

Russia is Europe’s biggest supplier of oil, coal and natural gas, and its pipelines through Ukraine are cur-rently the subject of po-litical manoeuvering - not

-rope and Moscow clash over the latter’s military action in Ukraine.

Kiev is warning that Russia plans to halt gas supplies while Mos-cow says Ukraine could

-tined for the European Union - which has just threatened new sanctions if Moscow fails to pull its forces out of Ukraine.

While buyers of oil and -

pliers relatively quick-ly, southeast Europe re-ceives most of its gas from Kremlin-controlled Gazprom.

Tankers from Qa-tar and Algeria bring liq-

to Europe via ports along the Atlantic and Mediter-ranean oceans, but Euro-pean buyers often re-sell those cargoes abroad for higher prices rather than supplying their domestic market.

A source at the EU

Commission said it was considering a ban on the practice of re-selling to bolster reserves.

“In the short-term, we are very worried about winter supplies in south-east Europe,” said the source, who has direct knowledge of the Com-mission’s energy emer-gency plans.

“Our best hope in case of a cut is emergency measure 994/2010 which could prevent LNG from leaving Europe as well as limit industrial gas use in order to protect house-holds,” the source said.

European Union Regu-lation number 994/2010, passed in 2010 to safe-guard gas supplies, could include banning gas com-panies from selling LNG tankers outside of Eu-

rope, keeping more gas in reserve, and ordering industry to stop using gas.

Cutting industrial con-sumption would hurt an already shaky European economy, while banning utilities from selling liq-

tanker cargoes overseas would hurt their reve-nues.

European utilities have been preparing for a sup-ply cut by injecting as much gas as possible into storage and as a result, the region’s storage facili-

-cent, or 70 billion cubic metres (bcm), equivalent to 15 percent of Europe’s

Myanmar Summary

annual demand.Whatever the bloc does,

it will struggle to com-pensate fully if Russian gas stops coming to Eu-rope, political and in-dustry sources say. Gas prices have risen 35 per-cent since July due to this threat.

Russia meets around a third of EU demand for oil, coal and natural gas, according to EU data. In return it receives some $250 billion a year, or around two-thirds of gov-ernment revenue.

Gazprom insists it has been a reliable sup-

to Europe were in the

past disrupted only af-ter Ukraine took some gas intended for the EU to meet its own demand.

“We believe the Ukrain-ian situation will not be resolved without a transit interruption (and) prices would be likely spike,” said analysts at French bank Societe Generale. Reuters

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mmbiztoday.comINTERNATIONAL BIZ 17

Myanmar Summary

Tom Miles

The European Union is becoming more competitive but

Switzerland, Singapore and the United States are the three economies to beat, according to an an-

nual survey by the World Economic Forum.

The Global Competitive-ness Report published by the Geneva-based body, which is most famous for gathering politicians and billionaires for an an-nual exchange of views at

the Alpine resort of Da-vos, showed the same 10

spots for at least the third year running.

Switzerland’s slick ef-

macroeconomic stability kept it on top for a sixth

year in a row, although it was marked down for the

-

“A potential threat to Switzerland’s competitive edge might be the increas-

businesses and research

talent they need to pre-serve their outstanding capacity to innovate,” the report said.

The United States mus-cled into third place ahead of Finland and Germany, while Japan leapfrogged Hong Kong and the Neth-erlands to take sixth spot.

EU states such as Roma-nia, Portugal and Latvia were among those rising up the ranks of competi-tiveness. Greece, which is still bringing up the rear for the EU, in 81st place globally, jumped 10 plac-es up the rankings from 91st last year.

China climbed one rank to 28th, Russia jumped 11 to 53rd spot, while India

slid 11 to 71st and became the least competitive BRIC economy, 14 places behind Brazil.

Bottom-ranked this year was Guinea, lately in the news for being the source of the world’s most deadly Ebola outbreak.

The Forum bases its as-sessment on a dozen driv-ers of competitiveness, including institutions, infrastructure, health and education, market size and the macroeconomic environment. The report also factors in a survey among business leaders, assessing government

-ency. Reuters

Overheating wor-ries at home are driving Canada’s

homebuilders south of the border where they buy up rural land, betting on a re-covery in the U.S. subur-ban housing market even as many local players re-main on the sidelines.

Homebuilders such as Mattamy Homes and

Properties Inc are buy-ing undeveloped land in Florida, Texas and other states where prices tum-

-nancial crisis and remain well below pre-crisis lev-els.

The companies said that by moving now they give themselves enough time to prepare the land and build homes so they will be ready for sale once the U.S. recovery gains mo-mentum in a couple of years.

Sweta Singh & Ashutosh Pandey

“We are probably a good two years away before we are at a normalized U.S. housing market and so it is actually a good time to go and buy in the U.S.,” Mattamy Homes Chief

Johnston told Reuters.He said the company

was focusing on suburban areas, where more and far cheaper land is available than in the cities, allowing them to build on a bigger scale.

Mattamy and its peers also expect to hit a sweet spot with retirees and af-

-ers who want amenities like shopping, dining and entertainment, and “snowbirds” -- Canadians who migrate to southern US states for the winter.

Some analysts warn Ca-nadian builders could end up waiting much longer than they expect for re-turns from those invest-ments and many of their US rivals appear not sold

yet on the idea of subur-ban market revival.

“There is little bit of a timing risk. You can go buy the land now but it will be sometime before demand really bounces back,” said Ryan Severi-no, an economist at real

The contrast between the Canadian’s vigorous push into the U.S. market and caution of their lo-

conditions in which they operate.

Canadian house pric-es have doubled in the past 11 years and house-hold debt to GDP ratio is around the all-time high of 164, fuelling concerns that the market might be overheating. In the Unit-ed States that ratio is clos-er to 80 percent according to data published by the St. Louis Federal Reserve and the market is still at early stages of a tentative recovery after buckling in

the second half of 2013.New housing starts

bounced in July and the National Association of Home Builders expects a 26 percent rise next year while the nation’s real-tors’ association is fore-casting new home prices to rise 4 percent by mid-2015. But new home sales fell for the second straight month in July and just like north of the border there are concerns about

in the light of stagnating incomes.

US builders are also working through a back-log of unsold homes, which limits their ability

Inventory of new houses reached an equivalent of 6 month’s sales in July, the highest level since Oc-tober 2011, according to the U.S. Commerce De-partment. Reuters

Myanmar Summary

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mmbiztoday.comINVESTMENT & FINANCE 18

Myanmar Summary

Aung Hla Tun

Authorities in My-anmar’s biggest city have backed

down on plans to award an $8-billion construc-tion contract to a barely

a public outcry over its transparency in a coun-try notorious for graft and vested interests.

The Yangon region gov-ernment said an open tender would be held for a huge low-cost housing project, one of the biggest of its kind in Myanmar, just days after the city’s mayor stunned lawmak-ers by announcing a deal had been struck in secret

nine months ago.“We were all caught by

surprise when we heard this,” Yangon region law-maker Nyo Nyo Thinn told Reuters.

“We later realised that they had been carrying out this project secretly without the knowledge of parliament, and were far from seeking approval.”

It was unclear what prompted the decision to open up bidding or if the central government was involved, or even aware of the initial deal with Myanmar Say Ta Nar Myothit Public Co Ltd, which was registered as a business in December last year and unheard of until Mayor Hla Myint’s

announcement.The government of re-

formist president and for-mer general Thein Sein

and promote transpar-ency to lure foreign invest-ment and help address urgent employment and infrastructure needs. Many

remain hesitant about making big commitments.

Under the military’s 1962-2011 rule, business deals and concessions

related to energy, infra-structure, land and min-ing were often extremely opaque, awarded without tenders to cronies of the generals whose kleptocra-cy deterred competition.

The project, covering three townships in the west of Yangon, seeks to address a shortage of af-fordable accommodation in a city expected to swell far beyond its six million residents as business and tourism grows, construc-

tion booms and investors arrive from Thailand, Sin-gapore, India and Japan.

It aims to provide 20,000 low-cost housing

-nect the area to the rest of Yangon, a school and a home for the elderly.

“We just can’t under-stand who is behind this and why they did it secret-ly,” said a minister with the Yangon region gov-ernment, who declined to

Wai Linn K

yaw

Myanmar SummaryWai Linn Kyaw

Thailand’s Depart-ment of Inter-national Trade

Promotion (DITP) in col-laboration with public-private sectors is to or-ganise the 11th Thailand International Logistics Fair 2014 (TILOG 2014) in a bid to showcase Thai-land’s logistics capabili-ties.

The event will take place from September 24-27 at Building 101-102, Bang-kok International Trade

& Exhibition Centre (BITEC), Bangna, and is expected to encourage networking between en-trepreneurs and logistics professionals, DITP said.

As the leading trade fair for logistics in the region, TILOG 2014 will show-case innovations and ef-fective logistical solutions which help entrepreneurs reduce operation costs ef-fectively and allow busi-nesses to gain competitive advantages to stay ahead of the competition as a re-sult of ASEAN trade liber-

alization, DITP said.Nantawan Sakuntan-

aga, director-general of DITP, Ministry of Com-merce, said: “This fair is one of the key strategies to develop capabilities of logistics services in Thai-land and to present local

as to showcase innovative technologies and solu-tions from the industry to local and international entrepreneurs.”

She said TILOG 2014 has established itself as a leading networking plat-

form for all logistics sec-tors in ASEAN+6 coun-tries.

“TILOG 2014 is an ex-cellent opportunity for all

the right products, ser-vices, technologies and innovations to maximise

operations and to gain competitiveness. It is an important bridge for local and overseas enterprises to cross national bounda-ries and expand business-es to international mar-ket,” said Nantawan.

News group Eleven Me-dia lashed out at the pro-ject last week in several of its publications and posted an article on its English-language website headlined: “Do you think the entire nation stupid?”

Eleven cited public con-cern over the secrecy of the plan and lack of infor-mation about Myanmar Say Ta Nar Myothit, in-cluding the identity of its owner. Reuters

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Myanmar Summary

Myanmar Summary

David Mayes

Iam a big fan of invest-ing in real estate. I am often asked by clients

living and working in this region how they can in-vest in real estate, and unfortunately it is never as cut and dry here as it is in many other places, for reasons I will discuss be-low. That said, if you are living in this region long term, and would like to diversify your investment portfolio to include some real estate, what should you do?

love real estate is because you can actually “have” something real, and in many cases something you can even use yourself. In terms of the laws of sup-ply and demand, God isn’t making any more of the

bet that it will appreciate over time. As long as you don’t leverage it or buy it under dodgy or question-able circumstances and you hold a proper title, it cannot be taken away from you usually. In the long run, even though it is not very liquid, land or property, as long as it not bought in the midst of a bubble, is one of the safest asset classes on the planet and the upside can be as-tronomical.

In Myanmar it is not le-gal for foreigners to own

land. This is the law and I could not, should not, and never will advise anyone to break the law, ever. For those with deep pockets, there are busi-ness opportunities where you can legally get gov-ernment approval to have a joint venture own or

period of time, but this is not personal ownership in the Western sense of the world. Unfortunately that is just the way it is.

So what can an average Joe do about diversifying their portfolio if they are likely to spend the next 10-20 years in Myanmar or a similar country that prohibits foreign owner-ship of land? One option is to use real estate funds, and if you have read many of my previous articles you know I generally ad-vise avoiding them like the plague. If there is a run on the fund, i.e. everyone asks for their money back at the same time, then the manager may be forced to

sale prices and you lose simply because of the ac-tions of other investors. That pretty much negates the glowing recommen-dation of the safety of real estate that I just wrote about above, doesn’t it?

Well, there is a very easy and frequently over-looked option. Buy real estate somewhere else. There are many places in the world that allow for-eign ownership of land, and many are in places

that not only would make great holiday destinations for your family, but also

for appreciation. Many places will even extend credit to foreigners to

land to use as collateral. A friend of mine just re-cently got back from a trip to Fiji where they will do this. In the end he didn’t like the plots he was look-ing at, but that is just one example.

I myself am considering a trip to Ecuador in the near future to look at land. For-eigners there can hold the title in their own name, and there are many towns

that have plots very near to the beach at extremely low prices. As with most of the developing world, fami-lies have more children and therefore population growth tends to be faster, which in my opinion is a reason to avoid the devel-oped world.

Whatever your budget is, you can diversify the same amount across more properties or even countries by choosing the developing world over the developed. The down-side is that there is usu-ally a weaker legal struc-ture, but that personally doesn’t bother me so long as I am able to diversify. Don’t rule out direct real estate investment just be-cause you live in a country that doesn’t allow you to own land as a foreigner. Just broaden your hori-

zons. Your net worth will thank you for it.

David Mayes MBA provides wealth man-agement services to ex-patriates throughout Southeast Asia, focusing on UK Pension Trans-fers. He can be reached at [email protected]. Faramond UK is regulated by the FCA and provides advice on pen-sions and taxation.

Zwe Wai

The Taiwan Electri-cal and Electronic Manufacturers’ As-

sociation (TEEMA) said it will spend about $468.39 million (NT$ 14 billion) to develop an industrial park in Myanmar’s south-ern Ayeyarwady region in a bid to tap the lucrative growth potential of the re-cently opened country.

According to industry insiders, TEEMA has al-ready signed a letter of intent with its local coun-

terpart to solicit 1,400 hectares of land from the Myanmar government, according Taiwanese me-dia reports.

The association has also commissioned Taiwan-based Sinotech Engineer-ing Consultants Inc, a corporate consultant, to assess the feasibility of the project.

At a meeting with Tai-wan’s Chinese National Association of Industry and Commerce, Econom-ics Minister Woody Duh

-

ject and said that the pro-tection of Taiwanese in-vestment in Myanmar is

progress in the next two months, CENS reported.

Guo Tai-chiang, chair-man of both TEEMA and the Cheng Uei Precision Industry Co, a leading contract maker of electri-cal connectors and adap-tors, said that Japan and Korea are the most active countries in encouraging

Myanmar.He said the Japanese

government provides

in association with local

developing business in Myanmar.

Once the planned in-dustrial park is in opera-tion, Guo said, a thorough supply chain will likely be built, making it easier

to explore the Myanmar market. This is especially

lack of membership in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the

stalemate over the sign-ing of a cross-strait agree-ment on trade in goods and services with China.

Guo said investment in Myanmar can be a good alternative to investment in China and Vietnam, as labour shortages and the recent anti-China rioting have aroused concerns among overseas Taiwan-

those countries.Cheng Uei’s subsidiary,

Foxlink, will see the Tai-wanese migration into the planned industrial park by setting up a fossil-fuel power station there to help alleviate Myanmar’s power shortages.

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Aundrea Montaño

Muang Thai Life Assurance Pub-lic Company

LTD has opened a repre-

life insurer in the South-east Asian country.

Even though the insur-

limits to foreign compa-nies, Muang Thai Life As-surance is the latest for-eign insurance company to open a representative

the hopes of cashing in on the mostly untapped mar-ket.

Founded in 1951, Muang Thai Life Assurance in-tends to bring decades of experience to bear on the Myanmar insurance market, according to president and CEO Sara Lamsam. Myanmar is the

Muang Thai Life Assur-ance has setup a repre-

“By having a representa--

ted and ready to share our experience with the providers in Myanmar. Right now there are quite a number of companies in Myanmar that have a licence and of course we

want to share in the mar-ket potential,” said Sara in an exclusive interview with Myanmar Business Today.

According to the com-pany, Thai Muang Life Assurance the repre-

as a center in providing cooperation, informa-tion sharing, supported in spreading knowledge regarding the value and

-ance and strategy for the various services to be pro-vided to the general pub-

lic, operators and govern-ment agencies.”

In early 2013, the Myan-mar government issued 12 private insurance licences to Myanmar companies, which are allowed to pro-vide life, comprehensive

-ity insurance. State-run Myanma Insurance of-

insurance. According to KPMG Myanmar, Myan-mar is also host to 10 lo-cal insurance brokers and approximately 600 in-

surance agents that have been trained by Myanma Insurance. Even the in-dustry has been minimal-ly liberalised it still has a long way to go in order to meet potential demand.

Despite restrictions that

fully entering the insur-ance industry, foreign-owned companies con-tinue to remain interested in Myanmar’s underde-veloped market. The My-anmar government once hinted the insurance industry could be liber-

alized as soon as 2015. However, pushback from

has brought this time-frame into question.

However, in the face of objection from domes-

government should con-sidering allowing foreign

-ate in the country sooner, rather than later.

the capacity to properly develop the market, and even if they could, they do not possess the required capital to cover the un-derwriting of the market potential – which accord-ing to Reuters could be as high as $1.6 billion.

Given this lapse in ca-pacity, it makes sense to

to enter into joint venture agreements with the most

Partnership between do-mestic and foreign insur-ance companies will aid Myanmar’s nascent in-dustry through informa-tion sharing, technology transfer, strategy devel-opment, and educating an entire population on

insurance products.

Myanmar Summary

Aung Phyo

US-based Cummins Power Genera-tion has secured

a contract to supply hy-brid power solutions to Irrawaddy Green Towers (IGT) in Myanmar, the

Under this contract, Cummins will supply so-lar hybrid, battery hybrid and diesel generator solu-tions to over 750 cell-tow-er sites that IGT will roll out in Myanmar during the next twelve months.

“While there are no shortages of renewable hybrid solution providers, we chose Cummins Power Generation for their tech-nical expertise as well as their local service capa-bility and coverage,” said Charbel Abou-Jaoude, CEO of IGT, during the

contract signing in Yan-gon.

“Additionally, we were looking for a partner who is as committed to the growth of this country as we are,” he added.

Irrawaddy Green Tow-ers has been selected by Telenor Myanmar to build and operate tele-com towers for their large scale, countrywide mobile network.

In June 2013, Telenor and Ooredoo won a li-cence to launch a mobile network in Myanmar. Cummins is already one of the leading suppliers to Ooredoo and with this new supply contract with Irrawaddy Green Towers, two of the nation’s largest mobile service providers’ networks will be powered by Cummins.

Cummins said its ad-

vanced hybrid power sys-tems are engineered to optimise capital expendi-ture while lowering total cost of ownership and ensuring uninterrupted operations.

“Leveraging our proven experience in hybrid pow-er, we designed a hybrid

the telecom industry to provide the best value to our customers,” said Alan Zhao, director of telecom business at Cummins.

Myanmar remains one -

portunities in telecom-munications industry and Cummins said it has es-tablished a strong service and support network to meet the unique challeng-es of the country.

“Cummins Power Gen-eration appreciates that our customers like Ir-

rawaddy Green Towers and Ooredoo recognise our ability to innovate and deliver unique prod-ucts and strong service to meet their needs,” said Antonio Leitao, vice pres-ident, Cummins Power Generation.

“Cummins Power Gen-eration is committed to continue to invest in

Myanmar Summary

Phy

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hu

products and services that are designed to serve our customers even bet-ter.”

-ited.

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Myanmar Summary

Stefanie Siegfried

With the opening of the country in 2012, the

European Union (EU) reinstated its trade pref-erences to Myanmar in July last year. EU invest-ments in Myanmar re-main limited as a result of the former imposed EU sanctions. Following the approval of the EU Mem-ber States in March, new rounds of negotiations launched by the EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht with Dr Kan Zaw, union minister for nation-al planning and economic development, to establish an Investment Protection Agreement (IPA) between the two entities.

negotiations for the es-tablishment of and IPA took place. Currently, no investment treaty exists between the EU, or any EU member state, and Myanmar. If agreed upon and enacted, the invest-ment agreement will be a step forward to improve the protection and fair treatment of investors from both sides and will contribute to attracting investment into Myanmar and the EU.

In the past several years, the Myanmar gov-ernment has undertaken major steps to improve and reform its economy in order to attract foreign investment. According to the EU Trade Commis-sioner, the EU welcomes and acknowledges My-

anmar’s progress and is committed to support the

An investment treaty will allow both parties to continue to pursue their strong commitment to sustainable development in economic, social and

both countries, as well as to promote a high level of protection in these ar-eas. It also shows a com-mitment to responsible corporate conduct, ac-cording to internationally recognised principles and guidelines. Furthermore, both parties will ensure a transparent dispute settlement system and a commitment that the sys-tem will not be used to en-courage unsubstantiated and frivolous claims, as

well the assurance by the arbitrators respect a code of conduct.

The agreement will en-sure a balance between the government’s regula-tion and legitimisation objectives and the protec-tion of investors in Myan-mar. However, the invest-ment agreement does not interfere with the right of the state to regulate and pursue public policy objectives as well as to contribute to the develop-ment of the country and its people.

The key guarantees that could be granted to EU investors under a EU-Myanmar Investment Protection Agreement in-clude: protection against discrimination; protec-tion against expropria-tion without compensa-tion; protection against unfair and inequitable treatment; protection for the possibility to transfer capital.

The provisions of the agreement will ensure fair and equal treatment of a company’s investment on the same level as any other investor. By creat-ing and improving legal certainty and predictabil-ity, Myanmar will main-tain and likely increase foreign direct investment in its country to under-pin its development. As Myanmar continues to undergo its reform pro-cess, it is expected that the agreement could have

a positive impact on the process. With focus on the ongoing legislative changes in Myanmar, such as a desired merger of the foreign and domes-

hope that this agreement will contribute to the de-veloping economy.

As other developing countries implement poli-cies that deter foreign in-vestment, such as when Indonesia terminated their IPAs with most of the Eu-ropean countries, Myan-mar’s ambition is viewed as investor friendly.

Myanmar needs in-creasing amounts for for-eign investment to reach its development goals, and in order to do this,

the development of more IPAs and the avoidance of double taxation.

Stefanie Siegfried is a legal consultant at Stro-hal Legal Group, a law

-sonalised services spe-cialising in international and cross border busi-ness. SLG enjoys a well-established reputation across Europe, Southeast Asia and the Middle East. In Myanmar, SLG pro-vides services under the name U Min Sein & Stro-hal Associates Law Firm.

The views and opinions expressed here are the author’s own and do not

-anmar Business Today’s editorial opinion.

Myanmar Summary

Aung Phyo

Russian Minister for Economic Devel-opment Alexei Uly-

ukayev said Russia is eye-ing to gradually increase its trade with Myanmar to $500 million a year by 2017 after he signed an agreement with his My-anmar counterpart to set up a bilateral trade and economic commission.

At a time of deteriorat-ing relations between Russia and the West over the Ukraine crisis, the Kremlin has been look-ing to build economic and

Establishes bilateral economic commission

diplomatic relationships with developing Asian na-tions.

Russia’s current trade levels with Myanmar sit at about $114 million a year.

“The agreement signed today will be the basis for further long-term co-operation within trade, economy and science,” the minister was quoted as saying by the Russian news agency RIA Novosti.

Following the estab-lishment of the bilateral trade and economic com-mission, Dr Kan Zaw, un-ion minister for national planning and economic

development, said: “We believe that coopera-

economy and investment with Russia from this day will gain new impetus for comprehensive and rapid development.

“Russia and Myanmar have a long history of friendship and coopera-tion, which began with the establishment of dip-lomatic relations between the two countries in 1948. Soviet Union, and later Russia, has provided us with much help in the de-velopment of our country

-

ing economics.”.Ulyukayev said Russia

considers Myanmar to be “one of its prospective partners” and that the new commission will give Russia-Myanmar rela-tions a new dynamic.

newly formed bilateral trade commission was at-tended by representatives from over 60 Russian companies, including oil producer Bashneft, state-owned United Aircraft Corporation and its sub-sidiary, Sukhoi Civilian Aircraft.

Both sides have dis-

cussed bilateral coop-eration in trade and investment and the de-velopment of sectors such as energy, industry, avia-tion, agriculture, infor-mation, technology, com-munications and tourism.

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Aye Chan Wynn

Switzerland-based Kempinski Hotels, Europe’s oldest lux-

ury hotel company, an-nounced that it will open

-anmar, Kempinski Hotel Nay Pyi Taw in Novem-ber.

The 141-room and suite hotel will begin welcom-ing guests on November 1,

-AN Summit to be held in the country. Reserva-tions can now be made via Kempinski’s website, the company said.

The newly-built proper-ty is located near the My-

anmar International Con-vention Center (MICC), a short drive from the capi-tal’s international airport.

Spread over four vil-las, the hotel features 141 rooms and suites, includ-ing the Grand Royal Suite, which, at 1,000 square meters, is the largest in the country, the company claimed.

The hotel design was conceived with the herit-age of Myanmar in mind and an emphasis on local arts, crafts and furnish-ings. High ceilings and broad windows overlook the extensive gardens, creating a soothing en-vironment in which to

relax. The internal room features are controlled by individual iPads. The ho-

-tary wireless Internet ac-cess to its guests.

-rants and bars will feature

-vours complemented by European culinary tradi-tion. Six meeting rooms including the Kispanadi Ballroom can accommo-date up to 400 guests for a variety of private and business-related func-tions.

A full-service busi-ness centre will address business and secretarial needs, while leisure fa-

cilities include an outdoor swimming pool, tennis

Kempinski The Spa will be added in 2015, the ho-tel chain said.

In keeping with local tradition, Kempinski Ho-tel Nay Pyi Taw features a teakwood Royal Pavil-ion inspired by the archi-tecture of the early Kone Baung dynasty of the 18th century. In ancient times, pavilions in Myan-mar were the welcoming lounges of palaces and provided relaxation for visiting diplomats, kings and royalty.

“Our mission and our promise is to make the

Myanmar Summary

Myanmar Summary

Reviving tourism a priority for military government; China is Thailand’s single biggest source of visitors

Orathai Sriring & Pairat Temphairojana

To make vacation-ing in a country still under martial law

a little more attractive, Thailand’s military junta

China free visas.Chinese are the biggest

visitors to Thailand, ac-counting for 18 percent of total arrivals in July, but they also proved among the most nervous, with numbers slumping more than other nationalities after May’s military coup.

Tourism accounts for about 10 percent of the Thai economy, and the imposition of martial law in May after the coup hit the industry hard. Win-ning back the Chinese visitors is imperative - spending by mainland tourists jumped 80 per-cent to $6 billion in 2013 from 2012.

The slump in tourist numbers after the coup was much more pro-nounced among visitors from East Asia than from Europe.

Chen Wei, the manager of an outbound travel department for Asia at Shanghai Huating Over-seas Tourist Co, said his

of 20 tourists a week travelling to Thailand this month, compared with two to three groups a week of more than 30 tourists each last year.

The number of visitors from China fell 41 per-

full month under military rule – from Hong Kong 46 percent, Japan 25 per-cent, and Korea 29 per-cent, while arrivals from Europe fell by three per-cent.

The Tourism Author-ity of Thailand said its new tourism promotion measures included a 30-day extension of stay for visitors from 48 countries and one territory, in ad-dition to the free visa for Chinese guests, although tourists from many other countries don’t need holi-day visas.

The return of some nor-mality to Thailand, and possibly the 1,000 baht ($30) visa saving, could be starting to work with visa applications from China rising, while tour-ism operators say visitor numbers picked up last month.

With less than half their

with occupancy rates of 60 to 65 percent in July 2013, Thailand’s hoteliers are impatient for martial law to be lifted now that political unrest has sub-sided.

“It was eerily quiet in June and July,” said Boonchai Suwatsakulsa-wasd, general manager of the Centara Duangta-wan Hotel in Chiang Mai, which targets Chinese tourists. “It only got bet-ter in August.”

The fall in Chinese tour-ist numbers was keenly felt in Chiang Mai. The

northern city became a favourite with Chinese tourists in 2012 after fea-turing in the Chinese box-

in Thailand”, which por-trayed the travel adven-tures of two Chinese men.

Tatcha Riddhimat, gen-eral manager of the Dusit D2 Chiang Mai hotel, said the number of Chinese guests at his hotel fell nearly 90 percent in June and July.

Martial lawWhile the number of

Chinese visitors appears to be on the rise again, the total for this year is forecast to fall short of the record 4.6 million who visited in 2013.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has re-vised up its estimates for mainland visitor numbers this year to 4.3 million from about 4 million, said Thawatchai Arunyik, gov-

ernor of the TAT.That would still be down

over 6.5 percent on the year. In January-July this year, Thailand had 2.2 million Chinese visitors, down about 24 percent from last year. The agen-cy expects a total of 25.5 million tourists this year, about a million less than in 2013.

Foreign tourists may have ruled out Thailand because most travel in-surance policies have ex-emptions specifying that claims will not be paid if they are a result of mar-tial law or civil unrest, and many countries have maintained travel warn-ings on Thailand.

But from late July, in-ternational tourists visit-ing Thailand can buy spe-cial insurance coverage known as the “Thailand Travel Shield” set up by the TAT in cooperation with four well-known

Thai insurance compa-nies, which might have helped with the recovery.

The military govern-ment said it was consid-ering lifting martial law, particularly in areas that attract a lot of tourists, a junta spokesman said on Wednesday.

“We need to lift martial law to get business going quickly,” said Surapong Techaruvichit, president of Thai Hotels Association.

Thai tourism has bounced back before, re-covering quickly from protests in 2010 that closed parts of central Bangkok for weeks before a military crackdown.

Credit Suisse forecast a sharp rise in tourist num-bers for 2015, and conse-quently increased its 2015 economic growth forecast to 4.5 percent from 3.9 percent. It sees growth of only 0.9 percent for this year. Reuters

property the most luxu-rious hotel in Myanmar,” said Franck Droin, gener-al manager of Kempinski Hotel Nay Pyi Taw.

Nay Pyi Taw will soon be a popular destination with international leisure and business travellers seeking a relaxing alter-native to Yangon.”

Kempinski Hotel will -

tomobiles to explore sur-rounding sites such as the Bagan temple complex, Inle Lake, Mount Popa, the Poe Kyar elephant camp and other Nay Pyi Taw and Mandalay cul-tural heritage sites.

Reuters

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mmbiztoday.comPROPERTY & REAL ESTATE 23

Myanmar Summary

Contd. P 24... Contd. P 24...

Kevin Heng

Tpart of the article will present more

analysis on the serviced

scope of future supply and prices and alternative to standard commercial space.

Low occupancyIn our research we have

found that despite the limited supply of prime

-

running at full occupancy.

be because of they have been in the market for only eight months. We were informed that Keier received 200 inquiries in the past year and half but is only running at 50 per-cent occupancy. This, we were told, was because new companies wishing to do business in Myan-mar had severely under-estimated the conditions here and its impact on

-erations, forcing them to leave for other SE Asian markets like Vietnam and Cambodia. Apparently

the high cost of serviced

factor.

Lack of information -

ers to gather informa-tion here, about anything let alone what serviced

market. The serviced of-

stated that they choose not to advertise. While there are certainly some advertisements in expat oriented publications like Myanmore, perhaps the

have calculated that the circulation of these pub-lications or websites does not justify the cost of ad-vertising.

Scope of future supply

expanding – for exam-ple, Keier Group has put its plans for expansion (Keier 1, 2 and 3) on hold. One of the reasons could

-

predict future demand. One of the reasons for the relatively low occupancy

because they were for-

which came in during the telecoms bidding process. The same happened with the oil and gas tenders. As it is impossible to predict when the government will take similar actions in the future, it is impossible to plan for such spikes in de-mand.

Another reason could be the impending entry of larger and more power-

into Yangon. Rumours that Regus PLC is moving into Yangon are unset-tling some of the existing players. Regus will posi-tion itself to be a major player in the market, pro-viding the highest qual-

Regus prices themselves, the smaller serviced of-

maybe 10 to 20 percent lower in order to hold on to their customers, and

the market, it is likely that they will price themselves on par with the existing players in order to quickly build a customer base. Although most service

-

cated in downtown Yan-gon, Dagon City has been slated as an area for ser-

Should Regus build their -

tract clients who are tired -

gestions in the downtown area.

Other serviced of-

talked to were sceptical about the entry of new-comers into the market, citing the high cost of property and the steep learning curve of doing business in Myanmar.

could continue to main-tain their current rates for the next two years.

Future property prices

Despite their rates, the opinion of veteran devel-opers is that serviced of-

-rent market situation but that their high prices are a necessity for them to re-coup the exorbitant costs they are paying to their land lords.

-

ers have no intention of undercutting each other as they believe that the market is large enough so that they do not have to aggressively compete with each other.

It is inaccurate to pro-ject the percentage in-crease in rent from 2012-2013 to 2013-2014 and beyond. 2013 and 2014 were exceptional year be-cause of the telecoms and oil and gas tenders being held. There was a spike in demand due to various companies coming in to participate in the tenders such as Telenor, Ooreedo, and SingTel in telecoms and Shell, Woodside and ENI in oil and gas. After the award of the tender a wave of consultan-cies and sub-contractors from these two industries would enter the Myanmar

following the whales

The telecoms, and oil and gas tenders, in addition to other aspects of market liberalisation in the last three years, is the reason for the 150-200 percent increase in property pric-es over the same period.

In any case, foreign in-vestors whom we have interviewed have stated that prices are approach-ing the tenant’s thresh-old. Any further increase will simply push invest-ment away, with negative results for Myanmar’s economic development.

Alternatives to StandardCommercial Space

Working from hotel The option pursued

by most SME’s and sole proprietors who have re-cently arrived in Yangon. With the spike in hotel prices (Sedona hotel has

Wai Linn K

yaw

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mmbiztoday.com

24

From page 23...

PROPERTY & REAL ESTATEincreased its room rate from $50 a night in 2012 to $200 a night in 2014); many businesspeople feel that it is impossible to pay for both a place to live and a place to work. In the past, major companies were also based in hotels, as these were the only places with a regular sup-ply of power, internet and other amenities. Since the spike in demand for prop-erty in Yangon began, ho-tels are not renewing their leases with such compa-nies and are converting their premises back into ball rooms and meeting rooms. The result of this is that the companies af-fected are now adding ex-tra pressure on property prices as they are back in the market. Hotels are still renting out space for board meetings but these rooms can cost $100/hr.

Converting Condo-miniums and Villas

The usage of villas and

a popular option; villas have been used by both MNC’s like Unilever as well as the multitude of NGO’s based in Yangon. Myanmar does not have the same zoning laws as other countries whereby commercial activities cannot be undertaken in residential areas. This is the most popular option

to worry about constant streams of visitors.

villa option is its second-ary function of providing accommodation to expa-

-pany in question has less than 10 expatriate em-ployees, then renting and converting a condo/villa

ideal. In the case of Tel-enor or Ooredoo, with a head count of over 2,000 employees each, most of whom are local, it makes more sense to secure their own 8-10 storey building

prestige and security. For companies whose visitors are mostly suppliers and not end customers, it is convenient to be based in a less accessible part of Yangon where property prices are lower.

The downside is the initial capital required. While the price of a villa in Pyay Road is lower than one of the few pur-

Yangon, it is still high by international standards. When dealing with local landowners, it is normal and expected to have a one-year lease which is fully paid up front. Most

to deliver $300,000 up-front to a landlord with little to no prospect of short term revenue.

The residential design of villas and condominiums does not usually make for a conducive working en-vironment. While these

industries more than oth-ers, it is still worth noting that renovating or ret-

between $500,000 and $1,000,000 and is not tax deductable.

To summarise, demand

come in two waves: dur-ing the telecoms, and oil and gas tenders and after. The nature of demand has been a sharp spike as for-eign companies rush in to bid, then leave when they fail, or move into a

they secure the bid. When -

rive, they need to set up

preference for serviced of-

After the tender has been secured by the op-erator, its suppliers and subcontractors follow. For these companies im-age is not a priority – as customers do not visit of-

therefore they don’t nor-mally go for serviced of-

opt for a three to four year

There are certain clients who have secured rela-tively long leases with ser-

years in fact. However we can assume that serviced

term solution given their costs.

The most likely con-

would be industries that are image conscious. Tel-enor is a good example of the behaviour of indus-tries. During the telecoms tender they rented most of the space at My Yan-

the ground running but they have now moved into their own premises once they have been awarded their telecom licence.

Industries which are im-age conscious but do not necessarily have the mon-ey to spend on their own

villas in the short term. Those with high volumes of customers however,

may be subtly rejected by

disruption this will cause -

cupants as well as the se-curity of the premises.

We can conclude that the primary source of rev-

comes from industries that are image conscious. However, this source is transient until companies

explains the high price of

its low occupancy rate. For companies which do not fall into that category, we recommend alterna-

converting residential

home.Kevin is studying Poli-

tics and International Relations at the Universi-ty of York in the UK. This article is a result of a pro-ject that Kevin was in-volved in while working at Consult-Myanmar Co Ltd in Yangon. Any views or opinion expressed in this article is the author’s

-anmar Business Today’s editorial opinion.

From page 23...

Saeed Azhar, Rachel Armstrong & Aradhana Aravindan

Singapore state inves-tor Temasek Hold-

JTC Corp are in talks to merge four of their real estate and urban plan-ning subsidiaries, aimed at creating a larger group that could expand in Asian cities.

Under the proposed merger, JTC’s Ascendas Pte and JURONG Inter-national Holdings Pte Ltd (JIH) will combine with Temasek’s Surbana In-ternational Consultants Holdings and Singbridge Group, the two compa-nies said in a statement.

JTC, Singapore’s state-owned industrial prop-erty developer and plan-ner, and Temasek will be in exclusive discussions

the merger, the statement said.

The potential tie-up would create a giant ur-ban planning and proper-ty company, which Singa-pore will use to capitalise on the city-state’s reputa-

-tained economic growth.

“The enlarged group, with its complementary

scale, will be well-posi-tioned to provide end-to-end solutions for urbani-sation needs in Asia and other markets,” the state-

ment said.The two companies did

not state the potential size of the deal but added that Ascendas, which runs a number of business and industrial parks across Asia, has S$15.1 billion ($12.06 billion) of as-sets under management. Ascendas also has three listed trusts.

JIH advises cities on the development of their industrial areas, while Singbridge has helped de-velop a number of indus-trial parks and eco-cities in China.

Surbana advises on town planning and de-velopment in Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

“The merged group

will have the scale, capa-bilities and resources to participate in the entire urbanisation value chain, deepen its presence in existing markets and de-velop new ones,” said Png Cheong Boon, CEO of JTC.

Temasek also owns a 39

“Despite their rates, the opin-ion of veteran developers is that serviced offices are not

necessarily profiteering from the current market situation but that their high prices are a necessity for

them to recoup the exorbitant costs they are paying to their land lords.”

percent stake in CapitaL-and, Southeast Asia’s big-gest property developer, as well as a 100 percent stake in Mapletree Invest-ments Pte Ltd.

Myanmar Summary

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Reuters


mmbiztoday.comAUTOMOBILE 25

Myanmar Summary

Myanmar Summary

Htun Htun Minn

TBus Rapid Tran-sit (BRT) system

will soon be operated on Waizayandar Road in Yangon, according to a recent announcement at a Yangon Regional Parlia-ment session.

Omni Focus Co was granted approval t0 op-erate the bus system and currently, assessments and measurements for the necessary space and lanes are being conducted, said U Aung Khin, transport minister of the regional government.

“Over the next three months, BRT will run on Waizayandar road on a trial basis. During this time, other bus lines will not be allowed to oper-ate on the road,” U Aung Khin said. The service is expected to be fully opera-tional in November.

The regional govern-ment mentioned the plan in response to a question posed by U Aye Thin, par-liament representative for Tamwe township, over the prospect of running bus lines on Waizayandar road, which stretches from Tamwe township to the town of Bago.

Omni Focus Co submit-ted a proposal to the My-anmar Investment Com-mission to invest in and operate the BRT system, said U Kyaw Nay Win,

head of the company and the grandson of the late military general U Nay Win.

The company’s proposal includes an investment of $7 million (K7 billion) with expected monthly expenditures of K15 mil-lion to run the central management system, K15

-trol department, K10.8 million for supervising department, K20 million to maintain the dedicated lane for BRT buses and

company said it has also paid income taxes.

According to the Yangon City Development Com-mittee, since 2013, the

regional government has been conducting research that supports the imple-mentation of the BRT sys-tem as part of the greater development scheme for Yangon.

The Ministry of Trans-port, the Ministry of Rails and the Japan Interna-tional Cooperation Agen-cy (JICA) are also work-ing together to implement the system, which will work to install support-ing infrastructure such as the building of roads, an International Transporta-tion System (ITS) and bus stops.

The system, which is used internationally, uses dedicated lanes for buses and has only a few stops

along the route. The sys-

on a trial basis and will run

The system plans to use 10 buses, which will charge a fare of K400 per passen-ger. The aim of BRT system is to improve transporta-tion infrastructure, which is strained with the rapid economic development of the country.

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Elzio Barreto

China Auto Rent-al Inc last week launched an up to

$468 million Hong Kong -

ting car ownership restric-tions and higher spending on travel in the world’s second-largest economy will fuel demand for hire vehicles.

The company, backed by -

burg Pincus and Hertz Global Holdings Inc, is

shares, said a source with direct knowledge of the plans, citing details from a term sheet.

The shares are being -

tive range of HK$7.50 to

HK$8.50 each, putting the total deal at HK$3.62 billion, said the source, who was not authorised to speak publicly on the IPO plans and declined to be named. The IPO is set to be priced on September 11, with shares starting to trade on the Hong Kong stock exchange on Sep-tember 19.

China’s car rental mar-ket is forecast to surge to 65 billion yuan ($10.6 billion) by 2018 from 34 billion yuan in 2013, the company said in its draft IPO prospectus citing estimates from industry consultancy Roland Berg-er.

Long-term rentals of more than 90 days, which are mostly used by corpo-

rate customers unwilling

accounts for about 60 percent of the market but are expanding at a slow-er pace than short-term rentals.

China’s market for short-term self-drive car rentals is expected to grow at an average of 27 percent a year from 2013 to 2018, more than dou-ble the 13 percent growth in Brazil and far outpac-ing the 6 percent expan-sion in the United States and 2 percent in Japan, the company said. Long term rentals are forecast to grow 11 percent a year through the same period.

China Auto Rental, the country’s largest auto

70 percent of the IPO proceeds to expand its

to 60,000 vehicles, add-ing to the 55,000 cars it had at the end of March, according to its draft IPO prospectus.

It said 20 percent of the funds would be used to pay down loans and 10 percent would be set aside for working capital.

The company received commitments worth $160 million from six corner-stone investors, includ-ing $30 million each from U.S. fund manager Waddell & Reed Finan-cial Inc, Hillhouse Capital Management, hedge fund Falcon Edge and Hertz. Davis Selected Advisers and China Chengtong

agreed to invest $20 mil-lion each.

The investment pledges should help it secure de-mand for the IPO after China Auto Rental pulled

-ing in 2012, citing poor market conditions.

Reuters

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Aung T

hant


mmbiztoday.com

26IT & TELECOM

Dan Levine

Four technology com-panies including Apple and Google

blasted a US judge for re-jecting a proposed $324.5 million settlement over hiring practices in Silicon Valley and asked an ap-peals court to intervene,

-cused Apple, Google, Intel and Adobe in a 2011 law-suit of conspiring to avoid poaching each other’s em-ployees.

Last month US District Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose, California, rejected the proposed class action settlement, saying the amount was too low.

week, the companies asked the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals to over-rule Koh’s decision.

Koh “committed clear legal error” and “imper-missibly substituted the court’s assessment of the value of the case for that

of the parties who have been litigating the case for more than three years,” they wrote.

Adobe declined to com-ment, as did an attorney

-sentatives for the other

-mediately be reached for comment.

Tech employees alleged that the conspiracy limit-ed their job mobility and, as a result, kept a lid on salaries.

The case has been close-ly watched because of the possibility of big damages being awarded and for the opportunity of a glimpse into the world of some of

allegations of conspiracy largely on emails circu-lated among Apple’s late co-founder Steve Jobs, former Google Chief

Schmidt, and some of their rivals.

-gued Koh should approve

the deal because the workers faced the risk of losing the case in an ap-peal.

In rejecting the pro-posed settlement, Koh cited “substantial and compelling evidence” that Jobs “was a, if not the,

-leged conspiracy.”

Koh repeatedly referred to a related settlement last year involving Disney and Intuit. Apple and Google workers got proportionally less in the latest deal com-pared to the one involving Disney, Koh wrote.

To match the earlier set-tlement, the latest deal “would need to total at least $380 million,” Koh wrote.

Google, Intel and Adobe said Koh’s approach was “rigid and formulaic.”

Instead of approving the deal, Koh “dismissed the parties’ analysis of the tri-al risks, suggesting that, unless the settlement was larger, the court had - in

years on this case.’” Reuters

Gerry Shih

Huawei Technolo-gies Co Ltd un-veiled last week a

slate of new devices meant to showcase the Chinese company’s hardware technology, just days be-fore Apple Inc releases its highly-anticipated iPhone 6 on Sept 9.

Huawei, which began as a telecom equipment com-pany in 1987, has rapidly transformed itself in recent years into the world’s No.3 smartphone maker behind Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and Apple.

Today it markets its devices as comparable to Samsung and Apple products, which are often viewed by consumers as the technological cutting edge.

Huawei said it would release a limited edition of its high-end Ascend P7 phone with a sapphire glass display – the cost-ly but durable material

that’s been the subject of industry chatter follow-ing reports this year that Apple would begin mass producing devices with sapphire.

Huawei also said at an electronics trade show in Berlin that its Ascend Matenew Ascend P7 phone7 “phablet” would

smartphone on the mar-

sensor, a technology that

iPhone 5s, announced last September. Reuters

Myanmar Summary

Myanmar Summary

Foo Yun Chee

Google’s antitrust deal with EU regu-lators was criti-

cised by Microsoftand other competitors in a last-ditch attempt to in-

-petition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia before

of October.The Competition Com-

missioner is preparing to decide whether to wrap up the case or hand it over to his successor when his mandate ends, after spending three years ex-amining whether Google squeezes out rival services in online search results.

Almunia reached a pre-liminary deal with the world’s most popular In-ternet search engine in February. He has told 18 complainants that he

grievances and is now ex-amining their responses.

Microsoft’s director of competition law, Jean-

Yves Art, said the US soft-ware company was par-ticularly concerned about Google’s contractual curbs on advertisers mak-

to switch to other online platforms. Reuters

Myanmar Summary

Reuters

Reu

ters

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mmbiztoday.comIT & TELECOM 27

Myanmar SummaryOor

edoo

Mya

nmar

May Soe San

Qatar-based tel--

doo announced a

its customers in Myan-mar, slashing internet us-age price by 60 percent.

Ooredoo’s internet charges on the “Pay As You Go” service now will be available for K10 per megabyte (MB), reduced from K25 earlier, said Ross Cormack, CEO of Ooredoo Myanmar, while

during a press conference in Yangon.

-duction” is for Ooredoo customers who want to spend more time brows-ing the web via their smartphone devices.

The news follows the recent announcement that Ooredoo added over 1 million customers to its network, since launching services commercially on August 15.

Myint Zaw, Ooredoo’s national sales director, said

simpler for more custom-ers to enjoy a better value browsing experience.

MB is actually lower on some of our internet packs but we have noticed that not all customers are opt-

will make sure that we are delivering better value to all of our customers.”

Cormack said: “We’ve listened to our customers and analysed their feed-

back. We want to ensure that we make it simple for everybody to enjoy the very best value and be-

exactly that. “At the same time, our

network optimisation is picking up pace and with

even more customers to trial the incredibly fast internet service our next generation technology de-livers.”

At the press conference, Cormack demonstrated the progress in the on-

going network rollout and stressed that recent steps to optimise the network would translate into a much better experience for customers.

“We’ve been upfront about the enormous up-take in demand and some network challenges that we have faced in areas of downtown Yangon,” said Cormack.

“We have deployed the right technology and em-ployed the right people for us to overcome these chal-

we will continue to deliver

both in coverage and sig-nal strength to our existing customers.”

The Ooredoo Myanmar network covered 7.8 mil-lion potential custom-

launched on August 15,

press event revealed this number has increased to over 9 million customers within the last two weeks. As well as the addition

of over 20 base stations in Yangon, new towns and cities now covered by the Ooredoo network include: Thayet, Thayar-wady, Taungoo and Pyi-

“We’re really motoring ahead now,” Cormack said. “It’s just amazing to be rolling out our ... services to more and more people and communities.”

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mmbiztoday.com

28

Fligghhtss ffroom Yanggon (RGNN) to Bangkok ((BKK) Fligghhtss 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 AirlinesDD4231 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 MAIFD2752 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 AirAsia8M335 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 AirwaysTG304 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 AirwaysPG702 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 AirAsiaY5-237 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 AirwaysTG302 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 AirlinesPG703 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 AirAsia8M331 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 AirwaysFD2754 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 AirwaysPG704 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 AirlinesTG306 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

FFligghhtss ffroomm Yangoon (RGN)) to Chiaang Maii (CNX) FFligghhtss ffroomm 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 AirlinesMI509 1 6 RGN SIN 0:25 5;00 SilkAir SQ998 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 SIN RGN 7:55 9:20 Singapore Airline8M231 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 AsiaSQ997 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 SilkAir8M233 5 6 7 RGN SIN 13:45 18:15 MAI 8M235 5 6 7 SIN RGN 19:15 20:45 MAITR2827 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RGN SIN 19:05 23:40 TigerAir TR2826 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 SIN RGN 17:05 18:25 TigerAirMI517 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 frroomm 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 AirAsia8M501 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 AirlinesMH741 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

Flligghhtss ffroomm Yangon (RGN) to Ho CChi Minhh (SGN) Flligghhtss ffroomm 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 AirlineBR288 2 5 6 RGN TPE 11:35 17:20 EVA Air BR287 2 5 6 TPE RGN 7:30 10:35 EVA Air

Flligghhtss ffroom Yanggon (RGNN) to Kunming(KMG) Flligghhtss 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 EasternMU2012 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)

Fligghhtss ffroom Yanggon (RGNN) to Naanning (NNG) Fligghhtss 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

FFligghhtss ffroomm Yangoon (RGN)) to Honng Kong (HKG) HHonngg 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.

Flligghhtss ffroomm Yangon (RGN) to Guanng Zhouu (CAN) Flligghhtss ffroomm 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 AirlinesCZ3056 3 6 RGN CAN 11:20 15:50 China Southern Airline 8M712 2 4 7 CAN RGN 14:15 15:45 MAICZ3056 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 IndiaAI234 1 5 RGN CCU 13:40 16:55 Air India (via GAY) AI233 5 CCU RGN 13:30 18:00 Air India (via GAY)

Fligghhtss ffrom Yanngon (RGGN) to GGaya (GAAY) Fligghhtss 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 MAIAI234 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

FFligghhtss ffrom Yanngon (RGGN) to SSeoul (ICCN) FFligghhtss 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

Flligghhtss ffroomm Yangon (RGN) to Nay Pyi Taww (NYT) Flligghhtss ffroomm 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 CharterFMI-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 CharterFMI-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 CharterFMI-A1 6 RGN NYT 8:00 9:00 FMI Air Charter FMI-A2 6 NYT RGN 10:00 11:00 FMI Air CharterFMI-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 AirlinesYH 909 2 4 6 7 RGN MDY 6:30 8:10 Yangon Airways YH 910 1 3 MDY RGN 7:40 10:30 Yangon AirwaysYH 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 AirwaysYH 727 1 5 RGN MDY 11:15 13:25 Yangon Airways YH 728 1 5 MDY RGN 9:10 11:05 Yangon AirwaysYH 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 AirwaysW9 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 BaganK7 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 KBZYJ 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

Flight No. DDayss From To ETD ETA Operated by: Flight No. DDayss From To ETD ETA Operated by: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

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

Mann Yadanarpon Airlines


mmbiztoday.comIT & TELECOM 29

Myanmar Summary

Tin Mg Oo

Khan Academy Bur-mese Translation (KABT) and Oore-

doo Myanmar hosted

Translate-a-thon event in Yangon on August 10, followed a week later by a second event in Mandalay on August 16.

Hosted at Ooredoo’s of-

-dalay, the purpose of the Translate-a-thon was to gather volunteers to translate as many of the Khan Academy’s educa-

tional videos as possible into the Myanmar lan-guage, making these ma-terials more accessible to the people of Myanmar.

Khan Academy is a -

tion founded by Sal Khan with the goal of changing education by providing free, world-class educa-tion for anyone through educational videos. Khan Academy has over 6,000 videos, which covers K-12 math, biology, chemistry,

-tory, among others. Over 10 million people around the world view the videos

each month.Yangon’s 65 translate-

a-thon volunteers trans-lated 140 Khan Academy videos, Ooredoo said. With the 36 videos trans-lated at Mandalay’s event, attended by 47 volun-teers, the overall num-ber of videos translated reaches 355, more than double the 160 videos that existed in the Myanmar language prior to this.

Thiri Kyar Nyo, Ooredoo Myanmar’s Community Engagement spokesper-son, said: “We are de-lighted by the success of these two events. This is

Oor

edoo

Mya

nmar

only the start of our work to make education more accessible to the people of Myanmar, helping sup-port the country’s huge appetite for learning.

“Soon these educational materials will be readily available to our custom-ers, in their pockets at all times, on their mobile phones. We look forward to hosting more of these events along with Khan Academy Burmese Trans-lation.”

Ashley Takami from KABT said: “Until re-cently only 179 Khan Academy videos were available in the Myanmar language. Following both these events we now have 355 videos on subjects including math, science, computer programming,

-lated into the Myanmar language.

“Our work doesn’t stop here, following the in-credible success of these events we plan to host fu-ture Translate-a-thons to continue these translation

free, world class educa-tion available to everyone in Myanmar.”

Both events marked the start of a partnership be-tween Ooredoo Myanmar

together they will help en-sure the Khan Academy’s educational materials be-come freely available in

the Myanmar language. The companies said their overall objective is to bring the opportunity for a world-class education to the nation at no cost.

The partnership will also support the roll-out of these videos as a re-source for education pro-viders across Myanmar with Ooredoo’s network providing online access to these materials in both rural and urban areas.

Ooredoo jrefrmESifY Khan

(KABT)wdkY yl;aygif;íjrefrmjynf \ yxrqHk;aom jrefrmbmom odkY bmomjyefqdkyGJudk &efukefNrdKU wGif Mo*kwfv 10 &ufaeYESifY rEÅav;NrdKUwGif Mo*kwfv 16 &uf aeYwdkYwGif toD;oD;atmifjrifpGm usif;yjyKvkyfcJhMuonf/

&efukefNrdKU Ooredoo jrefrm\ ½kH;csKyfESifh rEÅav;NrdKU Jefferson

wdkYwGifusif;yjyKvkyfcJhMu aom,if;jrefrmbmomodkYbmom jyefNydKifyGJrsm;\ &nf&G,fcsufrSm Khan Academy tifwmeuf pmrsufESmay:wGif&Sdaom ynm a&;ESif hywfoufaomAGD'D,dkzkdifrsm; EkdiforQrsm;rsm;udk jrefrmbmom odkY bmomjyefqdkjcif;jzifh jrefrm jynfrS oHk;pGJol rdbjynfolrsm; ,if;ADG'D,dkzkdifrsm;u ay;aom tusKd;xl;rsm;udk&&SdEkdifMurnfjzpf onf/

&efukefNrdKUwGif usif;ycJhaom jrefrmbmomodkY bmomjyefqdkyGJ

wGif 65 a,mufaom apwemY 0efxrf;vkyftm;ay;rsm;onf Khan Academy \ADG'D,dkaygif; 140 udk Acer rS yHYydk;aom uGefysLwmrsm;ESif h0ifa&muf,SOfNydKif cJhMuonf/ rEÅav;NrdKUwGifrl 47 a,mufaomapwemY0efxrf;rsm; onf Khan Academy &Sdynm a&;AGD'D,kdzkdifaygif; 36 zdkifudk jrefrmbmomodkY bmomjyefqdk cJhMu&m vuf&Sd jrefrmbmomodkY bmomjyefNyD;om; 160ESifhqdkvQif Khan Academy wGif jrefrm bmomodkY bmomjyefqdkNyD;om; ynma&;ADG'D,dkzkdifpkpkaygif; 336 zdkif&SdoGm;NyDjzpfonf/

Ooredoo jrefrm\vlrIqufqH a&;ESifh jyef Mum;a&;refae*sm a':oD&dMumndKu ]]'DNydKifyGJESpfck vHk;&JU atmifNrifrIawGtwGuf tifrwef0rf;omtm;&rdygw,f/ 'g[m uRefrwdkYtaeeJY wdkif;jynf &JUtvGefoif,lcsifaewJhtmoDo udkulnDjznfhqnf;wJhtaeeJY jrefrm jynfu rdbjynfolawGtwGuf ynma&;udkvG,fvifYwul&atmif aqmif&Gufjcif;udk tpysKd;vdkuf wmyJjzpfygw,f/aemifrsm;rMum awmYr,fhumvtwGif;rSm uRefr wdkYoHk;pGJol rdbjynfolarmifESr rsm;[m 'Dvdkynma&;eJYywfouf wJh oif,lrItaxmuftulawG udk olwdkYtdwfuyfxJu vufudkif zkef;awGuwpfqifh &,lEkdifawmh rSmjzpfygw,f/ Khan Academy

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Htun Htun Minn

Myanmar’s E-Visa program, which was launched

on September 1, was im-plemented with an in-vestment of $17 million, said U Kyaw Moe Naing, managing director of My-anmar Ease Net Co, the company contracted to operate the system.

The company, working in a joint venture with the Ministry of Immigration and Population, has been approved to run the sys-tem for a total of 10 years

with an automatic exten-

term.“The company will

mainly provide technol-ogy and IT equipment. We have hired two foreign IT technicians, one based in Myanmar and other in Singapore,” U Kyaw Moe Naing told Myanmar Business Today.

The company bore the expenditure of the joint venture, while the earn-ings will be divided as the terms state in the tender, U Maung Maung Than, director general of the Department of Immigra-

tion said. “The database for the

E-Visa program will be stored inside the country, while back up servers are located abroad for secu-rity measures, which also lends to the protection against loss of data,” U Khin Yi, union minister for immigration and pop-ulation, said.

Originally, 41 countries were approved for the E-Visa program, and two more countries were add-ed at the request of the Union of Myanmar Trav-el Association (UMTA). Currently, holders of an

E-Visa are only allowed to enter through Yangon International Airport, but eventually points of entry will be expanded to include airports in Man-dalay and various other towns and cities soon, U Khin Yi said.

Myanmar issues six types of visas compris-ing: tourist, business, en-try, transit, diplomat and multiple entry visas. In June 2012, the govern-ment started easing visa restrictions by allowing visa on arrival for busi-ness, entry and transit visas. The launching of

E-Visa program is a con-tinuation of the govern-

-try restrictions for those wishing to visit Myanmar.

“E-Visa has been need-ed for a long time. There’s no doubt the tourism sec-

it. It will be better if all of the countries in the Euro-pean Union are included,” U Hla Aye, member of the central executive commit-tee at UMTA, told Myan-mar Business Today.

According to the minis-try, applicants for E-Visa are required to have a valid passport for at least six months, photos tak-en within the past three months and pay a non-refundable fee of $50 be-fore the application is ap-proved.

Myanmar Summary

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pepftwGuf tar&duef a':vm 17 oef; &if;ESD;jr§KyfESH xm;aMumif; Myanmar Ease

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,if;ukr ÜPDonfenf;ynm ESifh IT ypönf;twGuft"du vkyfaqmifoGm;rnfjzpfaMumif; od&onf/


mmbiztoday.comSOCIAL SCENES 30

Myanmar HRD Forum at Sedona Hotel

Opening Remarks By Gunhong Int’l Co.,Ltd. HRD Strategic People Resourcing Presentation at the Myanmar HRD Forum. HRD Spearkers of the Myanmar HRD Forum. HRD

Participants at the Myanmar HRD Forum. HRD Question & answer section at the Myanmar HRD Forum. HRD Group Photo at the Myanmar HRD Forum. HRD

Pisanu Suvanajata, Ambassador of Th ailand to the Union of Myanmar, gives his speech at the event. Phyo Th u

U Khin Tun, managing director of Capital Automotive Ltd. Phyo Th u

Sara Lamsam, President and Chief Executive Offi cer, Muang Th ai Life Assurance Public Company Limited. Phyo Th u

Muang Th ai Life Assurance Public Company Limited grants a scholarship to the Yangon University of Economics. Phyo Th u

Dr Maung Maung Th ein, Deputy minister of Finance. Phyo Th u

Attendees pose for a Photo. Phyo Th u Ribbon cutting. Phyo Th u

Staff pose for a photo. Phyo Th u

A lucky draw prize is awarded. Phyo Th u

Grand Opening Ceremony of Muang Th ai Life Assurance, Yangon Representative Offi ce

Celebrating the 111 years of Ford Heritage,Lucky Draw Opening Ceremony


mmbiztoday.comCLASSIFIEDS 31


mmbiztoday.com

32ENTERTAINMENT

crown, at a restaurant in Yangon.

Soe

Zey

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rs

Dethroned Myanmar Beauty Queen and Pageant

Aye Win Myint & Narae Kim

South Korean organisers

World pageant threatened to call in the police last week in their row with dethroned My-anmar beauty queen May Myat Noe, demanding she return a gem-studded tiara from her home country.

Pageant founder Choi Youn accused May Myat Noe of absconding with the tiara, which media have said is worth $100,000 and which she won in South Korea in May, becom-

tional beauty queen.She was dethroned because

she was ungrateful, untrust-worthy and had lied, the pageant organisers said in a statement reported by Asian media.

“It is now a matter of national image and reputation and she should be held accountable for (the tiara),” Choi told Reuters in Seoul.

He said organisers planned to

May Myat Noe told a packed news conference last Tuesday in Yangon, Myanmar’s biggest city, that she was still queen

when she returned home with the tiara. It was only after arriving back home that she received a letter informing her she had been dethroned.

May Myat Noe added that she would give back the tiara only after receiving an apology

from organisers who she said had spread lies about her that “damaged the integrity of my country”.

“Once such remorse becomes apparent, I shall return the crown willingly, without trace of reservation,” she said.

May Myat Noe accused the pageant’s organizers in Myan-mar of falsifying her age from 16 to 18. She said organisers in South Korea attempted to coerce her into having breast augmen-tation surgery, but she refused.

Among other allegations, May

Myat Noe said organisers told her she would need to “escort some business tycoons when-ever they require my company” in order to raise money to produce her music album.

Choi denied the allegations.

not true.”Choi said the former beauty

queen had chosen to undergo surgery in Busan on August 20 and was legally allowed to do so despite her age, because her mother had consented.

He accused May Myat Noe of lying about her age on her application, but said organis-ers allowed her to participate anyway once they discovered she was actually 16.

Fans of the former beauty queen have posted messages of support on her Facebook page.

“Sue them for defaming sis!” posted Vivienne Wang. “You are naturally gorgeously beau-tiful! You do not need a single plastic surgery whatsoever!”

“The truth is on your side,” posted Lwan Chit Wai.

Some Facebook users were less supportive.

“Just return the tiara and stop all this nonsense in your life,” posted Mi Mi Naing.

Reuters

Morley J Weston

Years ago in China, I was helping a friend’s little brother on an English

essay, when my friend said to me in a hushed tone, “Your left hand… don’t write with your left.”

She continued, “He some-times writes with his left hand. I don’t want him to see you do it, he might think it’s OK.”

In the United States, we take it for granted that we can use either hand. My grandfather had told me stories of being forcibly switched to using his right hand in grade school, and seemed pleased that education had changed to allow me to write with whichever hand was more natural.

Growing up, I was scolded for my slanted handwriting, but I was never encouraged to use my right.

Over the years, I’ve learned to use many tools right handed, such as chainsaws, scissors, can openers, computer mice, and sewing machines. I worked

as a carpenter for several sum-mers, and dreaded using some tools, with their safety guards inevitably placed on the wrong side, rendering me clumsy and vulnerable. Still, I found it useful sometimes to hit nails

that nobody else could hit, leaning way out to the left side on a ladder, or elbow in a deep corner.

When I left the US, I found that I was regarded as an anomaly throughout Asia,

where most people are forced to use their right hand from a young age. I adapted where I needed to, using my right to tear chapattis in South Asia or accept money in China. Locals have been curious about why

I used my left hand for just about everything, and a few mentioned various supersti-tions about me being mentally

luck, or a genius.It seems strange that people

would be jealous either way, People I’ve met who were switched, seemed perfectly well-adapted to tool use by adulthood. Being allowed to use either hand is regarded as a personal prerogative in the United States, a choice that only we are allowed to make. However, we make that choice by about six years old, too young to understand the consequences of this lifelong decision. In the end, staying left handed and being switched

dom, and both options have their advantages.

Lefties are better boxers, worse tailors, more likely to be competent artists, but also more likely to injure them-selves with a chainsaw. I’m happy to use my left hand, but if I were switched, I feel I

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