AirAsia CEO says talks on opening Burma airline ‘have stopped’
Talks between AirAsia Group Bhd and a partner to open an airline in Burma have stopped, the group’s chief executive told reporters on Tuesday.
Category: Business
As Burma’s economy rebounds, sanctions risk gives some investors pause: IMF
Aung San Suu Kyi’s government is opening the economy and growth is rebounding in Burma, though the possibility of broader Western sanctions over the Rohingya crisis is nevertheless giving some foreign investors pause, according to a senior IMF official.
Govt adviser calls for ban on overland Chinese visitors
We need to control those coming to Myanmar, and make sure they follow the rules.”
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Uber sells Southeast Asia business to Grab after costly battle
Ride-hailing firm Uber Technologies Inc. has agreed to sell its Southeast Asian business to bigger regional rival Grab, the firms said on Monday, marking the US company’s second retreat from an Asian market.
AirAsia in talks to set up airline in Burma
Tony Fernandes’ AirAsia Bhd is in talks with a potential partner to open an airline serving Burma, in a move that would help the low-cost carrier cover up to 95 percent of the Southeast Asian travel market.
Business Lead Story News Yangon
Consortium chosen to turn Yangon’s main railway station into modern transport hub
Myanma Railways has selected a consortium led by Singapore-based Oxley Holdings to carry out a $2.5 billion redevelopment of the Yangon Central Railway Station. The project is expected to turn the station and surrounding area into a futuristic transportation hub along with commercial amenities and housing.
Business Electricity Energy Lead Story News
Burma targets doubling electricity capacity by 2021 to fill power shortages
Burma is planning to double its electric power capacity by 2021 by building natural gas-fired power plants, two senior officials say, in an ambitious move to tackle chronic power shortages in the energy-starved country.
Business Economy Lead Story News
Economic growth falling short of targets
Burma has fallen short of its projected economic growth rates for the past two fiscal years, Minister for National Planning and Finance Kyaw Win acknowledged during a joint session of Parliament on Monday.
Govt’s economic policies failing to win investor confidence
Burma’s short-term business confidence dropped to 49 percent in 2017 from 73 percent a year ago, according to a survey.
Govt delays foreign investment law
The delay of the much-anticipated reform comes as Suu Kyi faces criticism that she has neglected economic reforms.
Business Economy Lead Story News
IMF sees stronger growth in Burma
The International Monetary Fund on Friday forecast an economic rebound in Burma this year, but said the Rohingya refugee crisis may dampen investment as the country faces international pressure over its treatment of the Muslim minority.
Japan’s ANA ditches Burma’s Asian Blue airline project
Japan’s ANA Holdings Inc has dropped a plan to form a joint venture in Burma, the airline said on Monday, after its application for an air operator’s certificate (AOC) was rejected by Burmese authorities.
Business Economy Lead Story News
IMF visits Burma for annual economic checkup
An International Monetary Fund delegation visits Burma this week for an annual economic checkup of a country whose treatment of its Rohingya Muslim minority has put it in the international spotlight.
Business Labour Issues Lead Story News
Labour union to seek major increase in minimum wage
A major labour union in Burma plans on proposing an increase in the daily minimum wage that would nearly double the current figure, citing rising costs of living in the country.
China agrees to 70% share in Kyaukphyu sea port
Burma had pushed for a bigger slice of the roughly US$7.2 billion deep sea port in western Arakan State.
Arakan crisis dents Burma’s hopes of Western investment boom
Western trade and investment in Burma is small, but there were hopes that reforms would prise open an economy stunted by international sanctions and decades of mismanagement under military rule. That now appears to be on hold.
Business Economy Lead Story News
Tycoon Serge Pun says economy neglected by NLD government
Burmese tycoon Serge Pun, one of the wealthiest men in Asia, says the government led by Aung San Suu Kyi has neglected the nation’s much-needed economic reform.
ASEAN Business Lead Story News Technology & Science
ASEAN the ‘next frontier’ for e-commerce boom
E-commerce in Southeast Asia is ripe for fast-paced growth given the region’s huge population and growing middle class, but countries need to address existing challenges to help the business reach its full potential, says a Google executive.
China seeks up to 85% stake in strategic Kyaukphyu port
China is looking to take a stake of up to 85 percent in a strategically important sea port in Burma, according to documents reviewed by Reuters, in a move that could heighten tensions over China’s growing economic clout in the country.
Aussie panel offers mixed outlook on Burma’s economic prospects
Australian investors keen to access Burma’s mining industry and replicate lessons learned from the island nation’s mining boom years raise questions about taxation, policy constraints and bureaucracy at a panel discussion in Rangoon.
Business International Relations Lead Story News
Bank in anti-money laundering drive after ties to Kokang fighters revealed
Agricultural Bank of China (AgBank), the country’s third-biggest lender, said it will spend three years building an anti-money laundering (AML) centre to improve and centralise AML control.
Business International Relations Lead Story News
Beset by delays, Burma-China oil pipeline nears start-up
Nearly a decade in the making, a project to pump oil across Burma to southwest China is set for imminent start-up, with a supertanker nearing the port of Kyaukphyu, marking the opening of a new oil trading route.
Business Labour Issues Lead Story News
H&M factory in Burma damaged in violent labour dispute
Workers demanding better conditions and benefits have destroyed the production line of a Chinese-owned factory making clothes for Swedish fashion retailer H&M, in one of the most violent labour disputes in Burma in years.
Business Lead Story News Politics
Legal advocacy group urges halt to SEZ expansion
An international legal association is calling for a moratorium on expansion work at Burma’s special economic zones (SEZs), a key component of the country’s development agenda.
Business Dawei Infrastructure Lead Story News SEZ
Dawei SEZ development loan on track
Plans for the Dawei special economic zone have inched ahead after the Burmese government agreed to borrow 4.5 billion baht ($128 million) from Thailand to finance the construction of a road from Dawei’s proposed deep-sea port to Thailand’s Kanchanaburi province.
Thais seek closer ties through bilateral business council
Thai businesses are ramping up ties with their Burmese counterparts in five main areas — agriculture, border trade, energy, industrial development and tourism — to tap into vast investment opportunities in the neighbouring country.
Business Interview Lead Story News
INTERVIEW: Branding organic coffee in Burma
Genuis Shan Highlands Coffee founder Ngwe Tun discusses organic coffee growing, marketing, and the challenges for Burma’s coffee industry.
Thai developer seeks update on Dawei plan
Thai firm ItalianThai Development Plc (ITD) says it is ready to restart construction of the longdelayed Dawei deepsea port and special economic zone over the next few months if the Thai and Burmese governments approve continuation of the megaproject at a joint meeting on 10 February.
Thai companies urged to invest in Burma
The Thai private sector is being urged to set up industrial estates or special economic zones (SEZs) in Burma as the neighbouring country emerges as a magnet for foreign investment.
Thai deputy PM to lead business delegation to Burma
Thailand’s deputy prime minister, Somkid Jatusripitak, will be leading major Thai businesses to meet a team of Burmese officials and businesses to seek further cooperation in developing industrial estates in Burma and border trade operations on 3-4 February.
