More live cattle smuggled out to China and Thailand, Myanmar police say

The police force says it made several arrests recently due to a rise in smuggling, after China recently suspended beef imports from Myanmar.

“The flow of traffic in cows is going up. Legal exports are relatively lower. We have laws to restrict butchering the cows according to age. A chapter of border trading for cows is ended now,” said Dr Than Hla, an adviser for Myanmar Livestock Federation.

Bulls, as well as goats, are also popular items for trafficking into those countries. The meat, as well as the cows used for ploughing, is getting in short supply as a result. The traffic in live cows has risen significantly in border areas since the Chinese suspension.

Licensed butchers also abused their licenses to butcher more cattle than they’re officially allowed to, sources say.

Although the country is in the process of changing from manual agriculture to more high-tech farming, most areas still rely on cows for their agricultural work. So the illegal trade of the cattle should be cracked down on more strictly, an official from the federation said.

 

Old law could restrict foreign firms keen to list on stock exchange: Soe Thein

 

Foreign firms will find difficulties to list on the upcoming Myanmar Stock Exchange because of restrictions in existing laws, Soe Thein, executive director of Myanmar Securities Exchange Centre, said.

Myanmar is planning to launch a stock exchange by 2015 with technical assistance from Japan. The parliament is also working on a Security Exchange Law for this (and expected to pass it in July).

Soe Thein said: "At the beginning of the Stock Exchange, foreign companies will find difficult it to participate, because the Myanmar Companies Act (1914) will place restrictions on them. I hope when the Securities Exchange Law comes out, it won’t block participation of foreign firms [in the Stock Exchange].”

He advocated allowing foreign companies on the planned stock exchange to help it develop. He suggested the Companies Act, passed in 1914, should be reviewed to reflect current conditions.

Stock analysts said only a few local companies will list when the stock exchange starts. Small and medium enterprises will follow later.

Shinsuke Goto, director of Daiwa Securities Group, said: “A criterion for listing on the stock exchange is that a company must be profitable for two consecutive years to be listed on the market. Therefore, new companies will not be considered, with the exception for those new ones possessing highly organised management systems. We want to build trust for the Myanmar Stock Exchange.”

Daiwa Securities Group is providing technical assistance to create the new exchange market.