Myanmar morning news for April 5, 2019

ADB Says Myanmar’s Economy Gets Back On Track
Myanmar’s economic growth, which has been slowed down by sluggish government reforms, lack of confidence of foreign investors in a sound business environment and internal tensions and conflicts in the past, seems to be on the road to recovery, according to an assessment by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in its newly released Asian Development Outlook 2019.
— Investvine

Myanmar Media Outlets Threatened over Rakhine Coverage
The Irrawaddy and several other independent media outlets in Myanmar have received anonymous threats since late last week over their coverage of the ongoing fighting between the Arakan Army (AA) and government troops.
— The Irrawaddy

Local fuel prices continue to go up
Local fuel prices have continued to increase by K135 to K185 per liter over the past three months as global oil prices reach over US$62 per barrel despite little fluctuation of Myanmar’s Kyat against dollar reaching a little over K1,500, according to local filling stations.
— Eleven Myanmar

UK aid agency invest $1m to improve Myanmar inclusive businesses ecosystem
DaNa Facility, a programme funded by the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID), has made a joint investment of US$1 million with two development organisations to strengthen Myanmar Inclusive Businesses (IBs).
— Myanmar Times

SMEs are integral to the economic growth of Myanmar
Over 90 per cent of all business in Myanmar is classified as Small and Medium Sized Enterprises, and the government has recognized that SMEs are main driver for the country’s future national economic development.
— Global Newlight of Myanmar

Efficient energy use from one person to all people: the promoting development of the nation
One can measure a country’s success by observing individual use of electricity. Only the citizens of wealthy countries are able to enjoy electricity while poorer countries are not able to produce as much for its inhabitants. Myanmar, likewise, is striving towards bringing electricity to all citizens of Myanmar.
— Global Newlight of Myanmar

Growth prospects turn positive on higher FDI, reform progress
Growth momentum in Myanmar is expected to pick up in 2019 and 2020, according to forecasts released by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) yesterday.
— Myanmar Times

Floor price set for rice as demand plummets
The price per pack of long grain rice has been set at a floor of K19,500, said U Aung Than Oo , president of Myanmar Rice and Paddy Traders’ Association. Traders arrived at the decision on Monday.
— Myanmar Times

US development fund providing micro lending to small farmers
The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), the U.S. Government’s development finance institution, has committed $8 million to Proximity Finance to support expanded micro lending to rural borrowers, primarily smallholder farmers, in Myanmar.
— Mizzima

Myanmar river cruising in instalments
Strand Cruise announced details this week of a new cruise option for its end-of-season sailings between Bagan and Yangon.
— TTR Weekly

Steel plant commissioned to manufacture 3,000 metric tons of products per month
As part of investments from Europe, a ceremony to open a steel plant namely PEB Steel Myanmar which will have 3,000 tons of steel products per month of production capacity took place at Pullman Hotel in Yangon on 29 March evening, with investors and construction entrepreneurs in attendance.
— Global Newlight of Myanmar

Australian Firm Seeks to Reassure Locals on Gas Drilling off Rakhine
Australian energy giant Woodside is stepping into war-torn Rakhine State with a plan to begin drilling in two oil-and-gas blocks in the Bay of Bengal. This week the company sought to reassure residents in southern Rakhine State’s Kyaukphyu that there was a need for the projects, citing the potential economic benefits and pledging to minimize the environmental impacts on the site, located about 52 miles offshore.
— The Irrawaddy

Nowhere to go: Myanmar farmers under siege from land law
The Myanmar government has tightened a law on so-called ‘vacant, fallow and virgin’ land, and farmers are at risk.
— Aljazeera

Facebook’s Efforts ‘Not Nearly Sufficient’ in Genocide-Torn Myanmar, UN Investigator Says
It’s been nearly two years since the bloody peak of a social media-fueled genocide in Southeast Asia, but Facebook is still not doing enough to prevent the ongoing promotion of violence and hate in Myanmar on its social network, according to a member of the United Nations team that found the Silicon Valley company for years failed to stop its platform from being used to incite genocide in the Asian nation.
— Gizmodo

Prices of mung beans, pigeon peas rebound after India announces quota
The prices of mung beans and pigeon peas (red gram) have bounced back in the Yangon pulses market after India announced its quota for pulses importation on 29 March.
— Global Newlight of Myanmar

City Loft apartment sales gallery opened to the public
City Loft @ StarCity is being built on a 22-acre master-planned site at StarCity in Yangon’s Thanlyin Township. The project is said to target the underserved middle-income market in Yangon and combines a competitive price point with mortgage repayment terms of up to 25-years, making homeownership accessible to many who would traditionally be priced out of property ownership.
— Mizzima

Myanmar’s farmers fighting a losing battle
When the National League of Defence (NLD) won the general elections in 2015, paving the way for Myanmar’s first non-military president in over half a century, many farmers sensed a renewed hope for the nation. In fact, Aung San Suu Kyi’s pledge to tackle the issue of land grabbing and to protect farmers in the country was one of the reasons for her victory.
— The Asean Post

Myitsone Dam protests will impact Myanmar economic development: expert
A campaign aimed at putting an end to the Myitsone Dam project is reportedly to be held in Myanmar’s Yangon on Monday, which Chinese experts said will exert a negative influence on the Southeast Asian country’s economic development.
— Mizzima

Japanese hotel opens in Thilawa SEZ
Japan’s Super Hotel chain has opened the first lodgings in Myanmar’s Thilawa Special Economic Zone outside Yangon, anticipating demand from business travelers as foreign companies build factories in the region, according to Nikkei Asian Review on 4 April.
— Mizzima

Floor price set for rice as demand plummets
“The rice market has cooled because the EU resurfaced the import tariffs and traders are seeing lower demand from China at the border. As such, stockpiles of rice have been accumulating domestically, prompting us to purchase these inventories at a minimum price,” U Aung Than Oo said.
— Myanmar Times

Myanmar drafts national strategy for disabled
Myanmar held a two-day workshop in the capital Nay Pyi Taw to draft a national strategy for people with disabilities, the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement said on Thursday.
— Xinhua

The challenges and beauties of traveling to Myanmar
Rudyard Kipling brought worldwide attention to Myanmar – then part of colonial British India – in a famed 1890 poem called “Mandalay.” Kipling extolled the beauty of this mysterious, off-the-beaten path land and its people.
— Azcentral

Responding to the Rohingya Crisis
CBM and the CDD respond to the Rohingya refugee crisis, providing healthcare, mental health, psychosocial and rehabilitation support, especially for marginalized persons and those with disabilities.
— Reliefweb

Myanmar villagers, lawmaker say ‘helicopter attack’ kills five Rohingya, wounds 13
Villagers and a lawmaker in Myanmar’s troubled Rakhine state said on Thursday (Apr 4) that a military helicopter attacked a group of Rohingya Muslims gathering bamboo, killing five and wounding 13, but a military spokesman declined to comment.
— Channel NewsAsia

MR to run special trains during Thingyan Festival; tickets to be sold at regular rates
The Myanma Railways announced it will operate special trains to ensure smooth transportation for passengers returning to their hometowns for the Thingyan holidays.
— Global Newlight of Myanmar

Flamboyant funeral sees off Myanmar monk in costly style
Thousands of devotees flocked to a mock palace of kaleidoscopic colours in Myanmar this week to dance, sing and pay their final respects at the lavish cremation of a local celebrity monk.
— New Straits Times

Myanmar and Nepal sign infrastructure MoU
The Federation of Contractors’ Association of Nepal and Myanmar Licensed Contractors Association signed a memorandum of understanding to move ahead in collaboration for the infrastructure development, setopati reported.
— Mizzima

Translating feminism: the Vagina Monologues in Myanmar
Colourful, heart shaped Post-it Notes were awaiting my fearless, powerful and yet somehow also vulnerable and feminine reply.
— Frontier Myanmar

Sagaing Region invites manageable-scale gems mining
A person may apply for three blocks to engage in a manageable-scale gems mining in Sagaing Region, according to a press release issued by the region’s government on April 3.
— Eleven Myanmar

WWII fallen Chinese expeditionary forces commemorated in Myanmar
The Chinese embassy in Myanmar organized a tour to Toungoo in Myanmar’s Bago region Thursday to pay respect to fallen members of the Chinese Expeditionary Forces (CEF) in commemoration of their sacrifice in helping Myanmar fight against Japanese aggression during the World War II.
— Xinhua

Feature photo Myanmar Autism Association

This week’s Myanmar morning news photo features World Autism Awareness Day, April 2.

Find our previous morning news feature photos in the AEC News Today Morning News Feature Photos gallery where you will find a pictorial display of daily life throughout the Asean Economic Community (AEC).

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.