Briefs

The Myanmar government should take international development loans as it may face high-interest commercial loans in the future. 
This is the best time to take soft loans for the country’s infrastructure development projects, said Dr Zaw Oo, executive director of the Centre for Economic and Social Development (CESD).
The former administration took huge commercial loans and did not get low-interest loans. Only the power plant project in Myingyan Township was implemented with the assistance of the IFC. 
The government should think about necessities and risk management before taking commercial loans, added Dr Zaw Oo who served as an economic advisor to the Thein Sein administration. 
 The country’s foreign debt has exceeded US$ 9.5 billion (Bt334 billion). The parliament has already approved the proposals to take oversea loans of more than $500 million, 25 million euro and more than 125 billion yen, said Maung Maung Win, Deputy Minister for Planning and Finance. 
    “Before 1988, the country’s oversea debts amounted to $4.575 billion, $2.981 billion from 1988-1989 to 2010-2011 and $ 1.978 billion from 2011-2012 to 2015-2016. The loan agreements approved by the parliament during the last administration and signed during the incumbent government are: the ADB loans of $ 240 million for three projects, the AIF loans of $20 million for one project and the AFD loans of 40 million euo for one project,” the deputy minister added. – Myanmar Eleven

AirAsia X gets licence 
to fly to all US cities 
AirAsia X has obtained a licence from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to fly to the United States, AirAsia X CEO Datuk Kamarudin Meranun has said.
    With this achievement, AirAsia X becomes the first Asian budget airline to hold a licence to fly to the US, said Kamarudin.     “It is an extraordinary achievement. Our expansion so far only focused on Asia, Australia and the Middle East. We are in high spirits to expand farther than just the Asia-Pacific,” he said.
    With such a licence, AirAsia X planes would be able to fly to any place in |the country, said Kamarudin.
— The Jakarta Post 

Pertamina uses gross-split scale to run oil and gas blocks

The Indonesian Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry has given authority to state-owned PT Pertamina to manage eight oil and gas blocks whose third-party are set to expire in 2018. Pertamina upstream director Syamsul Alam said his company would use a gross-split sliding scale production sharing contract to manage the blocks.
“The block contracts that would be terminated would be managed using the gross split,” said Syamsu as reported by tempo.co yesterday. 
The eight are the Tuban Block, the Sanga-Sanga Block, the Southeast Sumatra Block, the Ogan Komering Block, the North Sumatra Offshore Block, the Central Block, the East Kalimantan Block and the Attaka Block. 
– The Jakarta Post