Four more gateways to Thailand open

“We are planning to launch eight-to-10 week courses for tourist guides,” said Minister Htay Aung of the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism. “Applicants must have passed Grade 11 or else be fluent in English or Thai.”

An estimated 2 million tourists will visit Myanmar during the coming high season.

“Plans are being executed by the Kayin State Government to ensure the smooth onward travel of those entering by the Myawaddy border gate,” said Colonel Aung Lwin of the Border Security Affairs Ministry. “Measures for the security and aiding of foreign travellers are also being carried out. In that regard, locals have been encouraged to do their bit for visitors and raise their state’s prestige. The upgrading of hotels and guest houses is also necessary.

 

Mega-projects to be funded by $2.3bn China loan 

Myanmar is planning to borrow US$2.3 billion from China to finance 22 infrastructure projects covering the telecommunications, electricity and construction sectors, according to the government’s investment projection for 2013-14.

Other areas that Chinese loans are to be used for include agriculture, finance and industry. A total of $646 million is to be spent on infrastructure during the fiscal year 2013-14.

Projects for financial sector include a micro-credit project to provide loans for small and medium enterprises, and establishing an SME bank. The telecoms project will distribute mobile SIM cards in rural areas across the country.

Five power-line projects and a natural gas power plant are also to be funded with the loans from China. A new Yangon-Mandalay highway, public housing and other construction projects, including 16 new bridges, will also be financed by the same loan.

In addition, loans from China’s EXIM bank will be used to build two low-cost-housing projects in suburban Yangon.

 

Credit ratings firm AM Best to open branch

AM Best will open a branch office in Myanmar in 2015, says CEO of the credit-ratings and analysis firm Roger Sellek. 

“When Myanmar’s insurance companies have grown stronger in next two or three years, the company will open a branch office to issue financial strength ratings. We are here to analyse Myanmar’s market,” the CEO told a meeting on Friday in Yangon.

Financial ratings are important for local companies in their bid to compete with incoming firms from overseas, whose number will increase with the advent of the Asean Economic Community, scheduled for in 2015, said Deputy Minister for Finance Maung Maung Thein.

 The ratings would also encourage confidence in local companies, he added. AM Best was founded in 1899 and began offering financial strength ratings in 1906. It has regional offices in London and Hong Kong and bureau offices in Dubai and Miami. Myanmar Insurance Enterprise has allowed 12 private companies to work in the country’s insurance sector and has so far given licences to nine private companies.

 

Renowned troupe gives Japan taste of Myanmar puppetry

Five puppeteers and a vocalist from Myanmar’s renowned Daw Ma Ma Naing Troupe have returned after wowing the Japan-Myanmar-China Puppetry cultural exchange, held in Masuda, southern Japan, from August 21 to 26.

“This was our fifth visit to Japan,” said leader of the Mandalay troupe Daw Ma Ma Naing. “We joined five Chinese puppeteers and a Japanese troupe. The cultural exchange was very successful. We  discussed our art with the Chinese troupe.

The Myanmar troupe also visited Tokyo on the trip and performed traditional puppet dances at the capital’s Modern Foundation Puppet Centre.