Myanmar Morning News For October 2

Myanmar approves over $4bn FDI in first half of current fiscal
MYANMAR has approved US$4.35 billion (Bt145 billion) in foreign direct investment (FDI) in the first six months of fiscal year 2017-18 which started April 1, and hopes to receive much more in the second half, according to San Myint, deputy director general at the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration.
— The Nation

Myanmar refugee exodus tops 0.5 million
He trekked to Bangladesh as part of an exodus of a half million people from Myanmar, the largest refugee crisis to hit Asia in decades. But after climbing out of a boat on a creek last Friday, Mohamed Rafiq could go no further.
— Business Mirror

More investments are left to allow: DICA
Myanmar Investment Commission (MIC) is left to allow up to 15 foreign investments worth of US$400 million, said Deputy Director General San Myint from the Directorate of Investment and Companies Administration (DICA).
— Eleven Myanmar

Overview of new Myanmar labour law guide
THE International Labour Organization (ILO) published its guide to Myanmar labour law on September 28. The project was funded by the European Union, Norway, Switzerland United States and the ILO.
— Myanmar Times

World Food Program seeks 75 million dollars for Rohingya crisis
The World Food Program (WFP) appealed on Sunday for 75 million dollars in emergency aid over the next six months to help alleviate the suffering of Rohingya Muslims fleeing violence in Myanmar.
— Reuters

Myanmar manufacturing PMI below 50 for 4th month in September
The Nikkei Myanmar Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index, or PMI, undershot a break-even level for the fourth consecutive month in September, signalling a further contraction in manufacturing activity.
— Nikkei Asian Review

Rakhine crisis leads Europe to put off IPA ratification
THE inking of the investment protection agreement (IPA) between the European Union and Myanmar has been put off until an unknown date.
— Myanmar Times

Ajinomoto concerned with counterfeit
IT is risky for Ajinomoto to expand into Myanmar because there are a lot of counterfeit food products in the domestic market, which might damage the company’s brand image, according to Takaaki Nishii, president and chief executive officer of Ajinomoto.
— Myanmar Times

Savings interest rate to reach 8pc
The Myanmar Banks Association says the interest rate for all its deposit accounts will increase from 6 to 8 per cent from tomorrow, Sunday.
— Eleven Myanmar

Myanmar foot-dragging leaves Rohingya in limbo
Myanmar’s worsening Rohingya refugee crisis is drawing increasing fire from the international community, but the government continues to drag its feet in verifying the residency of those who have fled, leaving displaced people to languish in squalid camps along the border with Bangladesh.
— Nikkei Asian Review

This forest in Myanmar has survived a 68-year civil war. Now its future is uncertain
If you drive to the edge of a river and hop in a long wooden blue-and-red boat, you can travel across the muddy, fast-flowing river that separates Thailand from Myanmar in minutes.
— ABC

Rohingya migrants can’t be allowed to stay: Bhaiyyaji Joshi
RSS general secretary Suresh Bhaiyyaji Joshi said today that the Rohingya migrants escaping a military crackdown in Myanmar cannot be allowed to stay in India as they may pose a threat to the country’s security.
— Business Standard

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Myanmar morning news by AEC News Today is your one stop source for Myanmar news on matters of governance and policies affecting Asean business communities. It is published M-F by AEC News Today: Governance, not government; policies not politics.