Briefs

Most Myanmar migrant workers |went to Thailand through recruitment agencies last year, according to |the Myanmar Overseas Employment Agencies Federation (MOEAF).
According to statistics collected from January-November 2016, Myanmar sent more than 97,000 workers to Thailand, 31,000 to Malaysia, 2,200 to Japan and 635 to Singapore.
Most went to work in factories.
“The easiest countries for them to work in are Thailand and Malaysia. They cannot afford to provide agent fees for the remaining countries,” said Kyaw Moe Naing, director of Aye Lin Latt Htut company.
The Myanmar government has temporarily stopped the sending of its migrant workers overseas.
“We have no problem sending workers officially and unofficially overseas. The workers are ready to go if the government allows them,” said Zaw Myo Min, a member of the central executive committee of the MOEAF.
The Labour Department under the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement announced on December 6 the temporary suspension of Myanmar workers’ migration to Malaysia because of sour relations between the two countries. – Myanmar Eleven

Indonesia slashes 
export growth target 
Indonesia has cut its export-growth target for non-oil-and-gas products from 11.9 per cent to 5.6 per cent because of the slow recovery of global demand.
“Because of the current global economic condition, we’ve set a realistic target this year of 5.6-per-cent export growth through more products and country diversification,” Trade Minister Enggartiasto “Enggar” Lukita said.
“We’ll approach local businesses to explore more products that can be exported,” he added.
With the 5.6-per-cent export-growth target, Indonesia expects to earn US$136.2 billion (Bt4.865 trillion), compared with $129 billion last year.
Government-projected exports in 2016 would go down by 14.14 per cent to $129 billion from $150.2 billion in 2015, hampered by weak global demand.
From January to November last year, earnings from exports amounted to $130.65 billion, down 5.63 per cent from the figure in 2015, although overall trade balance posted a surplus of $7.79 billion, according to the Central Statistics Agency.
Non-oil-and-gas exports, the largest contributor to overall exports, dropped |by 1.96 per cent to $118.8 billion during the period.
The World Trade Organisation has anticipated global trade growth to rise moderately at between 1.8 and 3.1 per cent, lower than its initial estimate in April last year. |– The Jakarta Post

Finance sought for
Laos-VN pipeline project
Many investors have expressed interest in the planned construction of pipelines that would transfer petrol and diesel from Vietnam to Laos, Dr Khammany Inthilath, Laos’ minister of energy and mines, has said.
Initially, Lao Petro Company was set to invest solely in the US$500-million (Bt17.8 billion) project. But many fuel companies later expressed an interest in joining the proposed project, which will be fully financed by investors.
Khammany told media recently that the investors were seeking finance to realise the 306-kilometre pipeline project, which will carry diesel and petrol from a wharf at the Hon La port in Vietnam’s Quang Binh province to Laos’ Khammuan province.
Veth Malavong, assistant president of Lao Petro Co, confirmed that many fuel companies had expressed interest in joining the development of the project, including Lao State Fuel Co. – Vientiane Times