Week in Review: Myanmar
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HK Express set to operate A low-cost airline, HK Express, is starting flights to Yangon and Mandalay in February.
It said it would operate four flights a week to Yangon and two flights a week to Mandalay.
“We are thrilled to open up these new links to Myanmar, which is one of the most
talked-about countries in the world right now,” said HK Express CEO Andrew Cowen.
The airline believes that while Myanmar is certainly generating a lot more buzz these days, the country is still an emerging hot spot that attracts travellers looking for an off-the-beaten path adventure.
AEC Blueprint
Myanmar and countries in the CLMV group (Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam), have shown progress in cutting import duties in their tariff lines under the AEC Blueprint.
Having reopened just four years ago, Myanmar has performed significantly in catching up with its neighbours in facilitating the integration, according to the Asean Integration 2015 Report released last week.
CLMV has already cut 72.6 per cent of tariff lines to promote the free flow of goods in the region. The rate is expected to increase to 90.8 per cent at the end of this year.
Meanwhile, Asean-6 nations (Thailand, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore) have cut 99.2 per cent of their tariff lines at the end of 2014.
Investment law amendments
The Ministry of National Planning and Economic Development submitted amendment bills for the Foreign Investment Law and Myanmar Citizens Investment Law to the Lower House.
Deputy Minister Lei Lei Thein said the changes would delegate power to the states and regions to provide more investment and economic-growth opportunities.
He said delegated powers would enable businesses, natural resources and employment opportunities to be controlled at the regional level.
Thein Tun Oo from the bill committee said: “Both laws are centralised. Now they are to be delegated to the states and regions in line with the Constitution so that there will be more business, job and investment opportunities.”
JICA loan for enterprises
The Japanese International Cooperation Agency’s (JICA) Ks5 billion (Bt135.4 million) loan to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Yangon, Pathein and Mandalay will be allocated in December, according to the Small and Medium Industrial Development Bank (SMIDB).
The amount will be loaned to Yoma and Kanbawza banks and SMIDB for relending to SMEs. JICA charges 0.01 per cent for the interest rate, but end-borrowers will be charged 8.5 per cent, compared to over 10 per cent other commercial banks are charging.
According to the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, there are more than 120,000 registered SMEs in the country, which account for 99 per cent of the nation’s economy.
Suu Kyi meets Chinese envoy
Aung San Suu Kyi, chairperson of the National League for Democracy, held talks with Chinese Ambassador Hong Liang, promising to maintain friendly relations with all nations.
She stressed the importance of China gaining the trust of Myanmar’s people when investing in the country. Relations between the two countries would improve if people understood that trade would benefit them, Suu Kyi said.
Developing Bagan tourism
Up to 16 initial projects will be implemented under the Bagan Region Tourism Development Project, according to the Directorate of Hotels and Tourism (Bagan sub-office).
With help from JICA experts, among the 16 projects include establishing a Bagan tourism website, building tourism information centres and constructing view points and tourism routes.
From January to the end of September 2015, over 160,000 tourists visited Bagan, and the area is expected to see more tourists in 2015 than it did in 2014, said Khin Maung Kyi, director of the Directorate of Hotels and Tourism (Bagan sub-office).
Right now, there are 78 hotels and guest houses in the Bagan area, with a total of 2,565 rooms.
112 political prisoners still behind bars
The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) said Myanmar has 112 political prisoners in its jails and 486 activists currently awaiting trial for activities as at the end of October.
The AAPP’s monthly report said 10 political activists were arrested in total, eight of whom were detained in October, adding that nine political prisoners were reported to be in bad health.
In the month, 13 land rights activists in Yangon Region were sentenced by the court
to four months for a protest demanding the return of their seized lands or compensation. It was taken by the military in the 1990s.
Five environmental activists were sentenced to five months for allegedly destroying mangrove trees, the report said.
Four students, Naing Ye Wai, Aung Hsan Oo, Git Too and Nyan Linn Htet, who were arrested on July 1 for anti-education law graffiti, were sentenced to between three and six months imprisonment.
