THURSDAY, March 28, 2024
nationthailand

Week in Review: Myanmar

Week in Review: Myanmar

Volkswagen gets distributor

Volkswagen appointed Yoma German Motors, a subsidiary of Yoma Strategic Holdings, its official distributor of a range of passenger cars and SUVs in Myanmar.

Since October 2013, the group has provided after-sales, service and Volkswagen spare parts distribution.
It also has a contract to represent Mitsubishi Motors in the servicing and distribution of passenger vehicles and light commercial vehicles. It also operates a service centre for Hino trucks and buses.

MPT targets business clients
MPT launched IP-VPN (Virtual Private Network) service for businesses, having CB Bank as the first client.
The new service is provided, using the nationwide IP network, also used for its 3G network, the largest in Myanmar.
It said the new service is more flexible, easier to expand and less expensive to operate.

Domestic investment
Local companies invested 726 billion kyats during April and September, the first half of the 2015-16 fiscal year, according to the National Planning and Economic Development Ministry.
Hotels and tourism sector won the highest sum, 199 billion. This was followed by 157 billion in manufacturing, 150 billion in housing development and 149 billion in transport. About 28 billion was invested in livestock breeding and fisheries.
In the 2014-15 fiscal year, domestic investment amounted to 1.2 trillion kyats.

Industrial development
The Myanmar Industries Association and South Korea’s Jelloabukdo Industries Association signed a bilateral agreement to promote Myanmar’s industrial sector.
Twenty-seven Korean businessmen visited the country and another group schedules its visit for next month. Technological aid will be also provided.
At the end of 2015, South Korean companies had invested US$3.3 billion in the country.

Farmers plough land seized in 1970s
Mandalay farmers ploughed in protest on fields that were seized by the army in the 1970s to mark "Peasants’ Day" in Katatchin village.
The Central Command seized more than 200 acres of land during the Revolutionary Council government in the 1970s and eventually permitted Tin Maung, the proprietor of the Great Wall Company, to rent it back to other farmers.

Rohingya left behind
John Ging, director of operations at the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), said he was shocked to see the state of the Rohingya refugee camps during his February visit, according to AFP.
He mentioned that the Rohingya continue to languish in "dreadful conditions" with children dying because they are refused healthcare. He added that the Muslim minority risked being forgotten in the afterglow of recent elections.

SME loan scheme fails
Myanmar Insurance Enterprise (MIE) announced zero success in the credit insurance scheme for SMEs, which was launched in June 2014.
Banks were reluctant to lend under the Credit Guarantee Insurance, MIE spokesperson said.
Under the scheme, MIE is tasked to assure lenders of partial repayments should the borrowers fail to honour debt obligations.

Mandalay commemorates 17 martyrs killed in ‘1300 Revolution’
A ceremony to commemorate the 17 martyrs who were killed in the ‘1300 Revolution’ was held at the Martyrs’ Mausoleum in Mandalay Region.
The 1300 Revolution was a movement in which oil workers went on strike to demand better wages and working conditions in 1939. While marching down 26th Street Mandalay’s Eaindawyar Pagoda on February 10 that year, British colonial authorities shot into the crowd, killing seven Buddhist monks and 10 others.

RELATED
nationthailand