Myanmar Morning News For September 21

Crisis puts more pressure on Rakhine’s troubled economy
AS A grim humanitarian crisis continues to put a spotlight on Rakhine State, plans are continuing for an economic development zone in conflict-hit Maungdaw Township, officials said.
— Frontier Myanmar

Suu Kyi treads fine line on Rohingya tragedy
Faced with a powerful military keen to have martial law declared in Rakhine State where there has been an exodus of nearly a half-million people in three weeks, Myanmar’s leader, State Counselor Aug San Suu Kyi avoided any mention of ethnic cleansing of Muslim Rohingya while broadly condemning human rights violations in her first major address on the issue.
— UCA News

APNewsBreak: US to give $32M for Myanmar’s Rohingya refugees
The United States will contribute nearly $32 million in humanitarian aid to help Rohingya Muslim refugees, the State Department said Wednesday, in the Trump administration’s first major response to the mass exodus from Myanmar.
— Miami Herald

Myanmar ponders ways to make bamboo forests more profitable
The government is looking at ways to improve revenues from its thousands of acres of bamboo forests, which have remained extremely low compared with neighboring countries.
— Myanmar Times

The truth behind Myanmar’s Rohingya insurgency
While Myanmar’s emergent Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) claims it’s like other ethnic armed groups fighting for self-determination across the country and should not be branded as a terrorist organization, the realities on the ground tell a different tale.
— Asia Times

Persecution fuels radicalization of young Rohingya
The lush green hills of Maungdaw in northern Rakhine State of Myanmar, washed afoot by the Naf River that divided the country from Bangladesh, have always fascinated Muhammad Yusuf (not his real name), 23, a Rohingya whose family has lived in the area for generations.
— UCA News

China, Myanmar discuss establishment of border economic cooperation zone
The establishment of China-Myanmar border economic cooperation zone is being discussed between the two governments.
— Eleven Myanmar

Rohingya refugees denounce Aung San Suu Kyi speech
Despite Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi condemning all human rights violations in troubled Rakhine State in her first public speech on the situation, many of the 410,000 Rohingya who have fled the violence have little faith in her words.
— UCA News

Rohingya refugees: Myanmar market sellers react to Aung San Suu Kyi speech condemning rights violations
In Myanmar’s capital Naypyidaw, sellers at a morning market give their opinions of Aung San Suu Kyi’s speech and the crisis in Rakhine state.
— ABC

PPB disposes of Myanmar packaging business for US$2.4m
PPB Group Bhd is disposing of its entire equity interest in Tefel Packaging Industries Co Ltd in Myanmar for US$2.4 million (RM10.06 million).
— The Edge Markets

Does Myanmar need a deep-sea port?
MYANMAR is one of the fastest growing economies in the Southeast Asia region, with GDP having risen by an average of 7 percent in the past decade.
— Myanmar Times

Myanmar’s neighbors cold-shoulder Suu Kyi’s address
Asian countries have continued to call on Myanmar to take immediate action to resolve the Rohingya refugee crisis.
— Nikkei Asian Review

Myanmar to export rice to Sri Lanka
Myanmar is negotiating with Sri Lanka to export rice under a government-to-government agreement, according to the Ministry of Commerce.
— Eleven Myanmar

Nga Moe Yeik Bridge completed, but property prices to remain stable
Even though construction of the Nga Moe Yeik Bridge is now complete, prices for properties located nearby are not expected to change, said Daw Moh Moh Aung, general secretary of the Myanmar Real Estate Services Association.
— Myanmar Times

Respect Myanmar’s sovereignty
On September 19, Myanmar State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi gave a State of the Union Address on terror attacks in Rakhine State.
— Eleven Myanmar

Lack of investment throttles transport infrastructure
THE country’s transport sector demands US$60 billion in investment in the next 15 or 20 years, according to the Ministry of Transport and Communications.
— Myanmar Times

Nay Pyi Taw needs to ensure investors aren’t misled over Rakhine crisis
THE responsibility lies squarely with Nay Pyi Taw to ensure that foreign investors are not misled over the Rakhine crisis, according to a manufacturer association.
— Myanmar Times

Myanmar exports 2m tonnes of oil via pipeline over 4 months
OVER 2 million tonnes of crude oil has been exported to China through the Myanmar-China pipeline, according to U Toe Aung Myint, permanent secretary of the Ministry of Commerce (MOC).
— Myanmar Times

Japan to offer $4m to help Rohingya refugees
Japan plans to offer up to $4 million to help the Rohingya, Foreign Minister Taro Kono told reporters here on Tuesday.
— Nikkei Asian Review

Feature photo FAO/Hkun Lat
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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.