AGD Bank to sell shares within six months, chairman says

He said the sale would serve the public interest and that the bank had consulted valuation firms, law firms and auditors about the move, which follows a change in registration on February 18 from a private to a public company. 

Than Yi reiterated that AGD had no links to the arms or drug trades and that it complied with the central bank’s rules and regulations, as well as international banking standards. 

The bank was founded by the Htoo Group of Companies, which is controlled by Tay Za, a business associate of the previous military regime. Than Yi said numerous figures and organisations, including heads of state, ministers and diplomats, were working to ease the effects of United States sanctions on the Htoo Group.

 

Agencies recruiting people for work  overseas warned they face ‘penalties’

Overseas employment agencies face heightened scrutiny and those that fall short of contractual obligations or the law will be penalised, Deputy Minister Myint Thein warned the Federation of Overseas Employment Agencies on Sunday.

His sharp words followed a recent visit by ministry staff to Chiang Mai to investigate working and living conditions of Myanmar workers there. They found many did not have passports or identification cards and that some did not even have copies of the documents.  

“Employment agencies will have to face the consequences of their absence of accountability,” Myint Thein told the federation. He also urged its members to show greater caution when sending workers to Thailand and Malaysia.

The ministry has been working to ensure that workers from Myanmar in Thailand receive the documents they need to work there legally. It has approved documents for 1.23 million workers, while another 1.2 million remain undocumented. 

There are an estimated 2.5 million migrant workers from Myanmar in Thailand, about half of them illegal. Myanmar has 159 registered overseas employment agencies.

 

Cosmetics top list in Myanmar’s first crackdown on illegal imports from China 

Border trade patrol agents seized more than US$350,000 worth of illegal imports from China last month, the first month they began seizing such goods, the Ministry of Commerce said.

About 95 per cent of the seized goods were consumer products, mainly cosmetics, food and personal-care products, the ministry said.

The goods were seized on the highway between Muse on the border with China in Shan State and Mandalay in central Myanmar.

The seizures are part of an effort by the illegal trade control committee to curb illegal imports and protect consumers. The committee was formed by the President’s Office late last year to monitor and curb illegal trade at every trading point: airports, seaports and border crossings. It began by forming mobile teams to monitor the highway from Muse to Mandalay.

The mobile teams began issuing warnings late last year to traders who did not have authorisation to import. Last month they began seizing goods. The commerce minister chairs the committee and its vice-chairs are deputy ministers for commerce, home affairs, and finance and revenue. The committee said it was acting on growing public concern over a reported a surge in illegal trade that some say has resulted in illegal imports exceeding legal goods.  

 

Canada offers to help Myanmar with governance and accountability  

The Canadian government pledged to assist Myanmar in developing parliamentary practices Canada during a visit by a parliamentary delegation from the country last week.

Deepak Obhrai, parliamentary secretary to the Canadian minister of foreign affairs and the leader of the delegation, told reporters at the end of the weeklong visit that Canada’s long experience with parliamentary democracy made it well-placed to assist Myanmar develop its Parliament.

The Canadian delegation comprised members of parliament, political advisers, and officials of several institutions, including its House of Commons. They arrived in Yangon on February 16. 

They met government officials and MPs to discuss governance, accountability and related issues. 

The delegation was sponsored by the Canadian Parliamentary Centre at the recommendation of Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird who visited Myanmar for the first time last March.

Canada imposed economic and trade sanction on Myanmar in 2007, but lifted most of them last April.