AEC Feed

Myanmar ranked 137 among 160 countries in the transportation index in 2014, giving it the lowest position among Southeast Asian countries.
Myanmar has the weakest transportation and infrastructure in Southeast Asia, according to a report by the World Bank Group.
Myanmar ranked 137 among 160 countries in the transportation index in 2014, giving it the lowest position among Southeast Asian countries.
Moreover, only 33 per cent of households in Myanmar have access to electricity, while 60 per cent have electricity access in Bangladesh and 99 per cent do in Vietnam.
Myanmar experienced 35 per cent yearly growth in tourism between 2009 and 2015, which is lower than its neighbours in the region.
The Myanmar government still has many reforms to enact to make most of the country’s geographical advantages, the report advises.
Investment in the services industry and agriculture can ease poverty and promote tourism, which will be beneficial for people in rural areas, the report says. – Eleven Myanmar

Malaysian property
invites Vietnamese buyers
The Star Residences Two, a five-star apartment and commercial project under development in Malaysia's Kuala Lu pur city centre, attracted keen interest from people in HCM City when it was launched in the city on Sunday by sales conssultant Anpha Holdings.
Eleven potential customers registered their purchases on that day.
Michael Dang, chairman of Anpha Holdings highlighted the location right in the financial and commercial heart of the capital city from which it takes less than a two-hour flight to reach HCM City.
This 57-storey tower with 482 units of 65 to 276 sqm, next to the 200m-long star walk of fame, the first one in Southeast Asia, are priced at US$5,700 per square metre (Bt190,000) , around the same of the high-end ones in HCM City and the first group of 30 fine-dining restaurants in the city.
Developped by Malaysia's two leading firms – UMLand and ProNex, the project is expected to be completed in late 2017. — Viet Nam News

Property deregulation
to cut licensing cost
Indonesia's government eyes a 70 per cent cut in the property licensing cost through the 13th economic policy package, to further support the national programme dubbed as "The 1 million houses".
 Three months after the previous economic package, the government finally announced the 13th installment in Jakarta on Wednesday. Unlike the past 12 packages that aimed to create stimulus for businesspeople, the latest package is aimed at incentivising low-income people (MBR).
 “With the reduction, revocation and acceleration of the licensing process for the construction of MBR housing, the cost of licensing will be only 30 percent of the current cost, down by 70 per cent," Coordinating Economic Minister Darmin Nasution said.
 The newly unveiled policy is focused on simplifying red tape to build affordable houses for the low-income market, from the existing |33 stages to only 11 stages and cutting the time to process the permits from 769 to 981 days to only 44.
 The presidential regulation on the new policy would be signed within the next 10 days and was expected to take effect soon after the regulation's issuance, Darmin said, adding that the government had involved developers with Real Estate Indonesia (REI) during the regulation's drafting.
 The Public Work and Public Housing Ministry's directorate general of housing finance Maurin Sitorus said the deregulation would significantly lower MBR housing prices. However, the ministry was yet able to calculate to what extent this deregulation would have on lowering property prices. – The Jakarta Post

Philippines phone-based
lotto proposed to Pagcor
Embattled gaming technology service provider Philweb Corp has proposed to the state-owned Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (Pagcor) a mobile phone-based lottery platform that could generate between 50 billion and 100 billion pesos in potential annual revenues.
The proposal is a revival of a similar project proposed years ago when PLDT Inc owned a 27-stake in Philweb and was pitched as a way to compensate for revenues lost in the scrapping of a nationwide network of e-Games.
A revenue-sharing arrangement of 70 per cent for Philweb and 30 per cent for Smart was proposed to be maintained. Philweb also intends for Globe Telecom to join the platform if the mobile operator is amenable to the 70-30 revenue-sharing arrangement.
The existing Lotto, which is operated by the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office through the sale of thermal paper-printed tickets |in some 4,000 outlets nationwide, earns for PCSO about 30 billion peso a year, Philweb president Dennis Valdes said in a letter to Pagcor recently. – Philippine Daily Inquirer