Myanmar morning news for February 26

Myanmar morning news for February 26
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Myanmar morning newsImports of consumer goods hit US$1.261 billion
Myanmar’s import of consumer goods hit US$1.261 billion during the current 2018-2019 fiscal year, down by $110 million against the same time last 20172018 FY, according to state media.
— Mizzima

Is Myanmar ready for cryptocurrency?
The recent coverage of Chinese blockchain company Shellpay Internet Technology Co’s plan to issue digital coins in eastern Shan has sparked widespread social media attention on the cryptocurrency industry.
— Myanmar Times

Myanmar ethnic group wants greater role from China in peace process in the country
As the political reconciliation is underway in Myanmar, Shan State Army-South (SSAS) chair, Lieutenant General Yawd Serk, hopes China will play a greater role in the process of achieving peace in the country.
— Mizzima

Investors could channel up to US$4.9 billion into Rakhine this year
Foreign and domestic companies last week signed 28 expressions of interest (EOI) to conduct business worth a potential US$4.9 billion in the state this year.
— Myanmar Times

Singapore tops the investment list in Rakhine State
Investors from many countries including Singapore, South Korea, China and India took interested to make more investment in Rakhine State and Singapore topped the investment list in the state, said the state chief minister Nyi Pu.
— Eleven Myanmar

Businesses call for policy changes to enable smoother operations
A February 22 meeting between the Private Sector Development Committee led by Vice President U Myint Swe and entrepreneurs from the Union of Myanmar Federation Chamber of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI) saw the fisheries, steel-making, vehicle manufacturing and distribution and border trade promotion sectors call for policy changes to ease the challenges they face when doing business.
— Myanmar Times

Myanmar: EU monitoring mission evaluates progress on human and labour rights
A high-level mission of the European Commission and the European External Action Service (EEAS) returned last week (18-22 February 2019) to Myanmar as part of a broader engagement under the EU’s Everything But Arms (EBA) trade preferences scheme.
— European Interest

Dirty petrol: Yangon govt backtracks on secretive fuel deal
The Yangon Region government appears to be backtracking on a secret deal to lease 26 sites to a private company, Yangon Petrol, following widespread public criticism and pressure from regional lawmakers.?
— Frontier Myanmar

Myanmar Military Major Killed in Fighting With Arakan Army in Rakhine
The Office of the Commander-in-Chief said a Myanmar military major was killed during fighting with the Arakan Army (AA) in northern Rakhine State’s Buthidaung Township Friday night, near where the rebel group killed 13 border police officers in early January.
— The Irrawaddy

Chinese tech firm claims digital plans for Mong La SEZ
A Shanghai blockchain company claimed it intended to set up a special economic zone in a rebel-held border area of eastern Shan State where it would issue digital currencies and IDs to the local population.
— Myanmar Times

Lethal landslips and drug addiction: Myanmar’s toxic jade trade
At one of the jade mining pits that scar the mountains of northern
Myanmar’s Kachin state, a miner recalls how five of his friends died during a landslide two years ago. “I was so scared,” he says. While working in areas where there have been previous landslides, he says he has discovered dead bodies and buried them.
— The Guardian

Myanmar’s military files complaint against The Asahi Shimbun
Myanmar’s military has filed a complaint with the country’s press council against a respected Japanese daily newspaper for publishing an interview with the Southeast Asian nation’s commander-in-chief without allowing officials to read the text and approve it in advance, according to an RFA report.
— Mizzima

Prices of lablab pea, rice bean rise on Chinese demand
The prices of lablab pea and rice bean have increased in the Mandalay market on the back of Chinese demand coupled with competitive buying from local warehouses, according to traders in the Mandalay pulses market.
— Global Newlight of Myanmar

Chinese cultural troupe holds Spring Festival performances in Myanmar
A Chinese cultural troupe held performances in Myanmar’s former capital city of Yangon on Sunday night in celebration of Chinese Spring Festival.
— Xinhua

Hluttaw to debate response to human rights accusations
A proposal that the Myanmar government issue an official response to accusations of human rights violations will be discussed in the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (Assembly of the Union).
— Myanmar Times

Multiple projects to reduce traffic in city
Although overpasses have been built to reduce the traffic jams at some intersections along heavily trafficked Pyay Road, congestion still occurs, said U Zin Min Htwe, MP of Dagon Seikkan Constituency (2).
— Myanmar Times

Suu Kyi’s bid to alter law faces rebuke from military
MYANMAR’S military on Saturday said they would thwart attempts by leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s party to alter the “essence” of the country’s controversial constitution, putting the army and civilian administration on a collision course over the politically-charged issue.
— The Phnom Penh Post

CHID Bank to introduce 30-year installment system
With the aim of enabling all to buy houses, the department has started working on a 30-year installment system of Construction, Housing and Infrastructure Development Bank (CHID), after taking a Housing ODA Loan with the assistance of Japan, said Min Htein, Director-General of Urban and Housing Department yesterday at the opening of Yangon City Gallery at Yangon Region Urban and Housing Department.
— eleven Myanmar

A centre of hope for the blind in Myanmar
From the outside, it looked like any ordinary school; children were shrieking, giggling, teasing each other, running around its playpen.
— Myanmar Times

Concerns Persist About Myanmar Speech Freedoms
Activists and rights workers in Myanmar say the government’s increased crackdown on the media, free speech and peaceful assembly has created a climate of self-censorship and fear within the country. Steve Sandford has this report.
— VOA

Economic Corridor to benefit people of China, Myanmar
At a fruit market in Wanding, Ruili, a county on the China-Myanmar border, workers are transferring watermelons and muskmelons from Myanmar to heavy trucks which will soon leave for Beijing, Shanghai and other cities in China.
— Myanmar Times

J&M Steel to up output to 30,000 tons a year to meet local, export demand
The Public Works Department of the Ministry of Construction and JFE Engineering Corporation of Japan set up J&M Steel Solutions Co. Ltd as a joint venture in 2014. Under the JV, a steel factory was set up on a 16-acre plot in Thakayta, Yangon, in July the same year. Myanmar invested 40 per cent and Japan 60 per cent in the project, with the permission of the Myanmar Investment Commission.
— Global Newlight of Myanmar

The gloom about Myanmar’s economy
Talking to business owners across a variety of sectors in Yangon in January this year, the mood was universally glum.
— Lowy Institute

Concerns Persist About Myanmar Speech Freedoms
In the busy streets of Yangon, access to communication appears to be expanding as mobile phone users can be spotted making calls, sending messages and reading news stories from the Internet.
— VOA

New Committee Maps Out Plans to Amend Myanmar’s Constitution
The new parliamentary joint committee tasked with amending Myanmar’s constitution will review 48 basic principles of the charter, including the powerful military’s role in politics, amid ongoing objections by the armed forces, the head of the panel on Monday.
— Radio Free Asia

Thunes connects Singtel Dash m-wallet to payout partners across Myanmar
Thunes, a global cross-border payments network for emerging markets, has partnered with Singapore operator Singtel to enable Myanmar diaspora in Singapore to send money back to their beneficiaries through their mobile devices.
— Telecompaper

Myanmar’s Milling Industry Devastated by New Logging Policies They are crying foul after the impact of a one-year logging ban and restrictive policies.
Myanmar’s Timber Merchants Association is crying foul over what they say are the devastating impacts from a one-year logging ban and new, restrictive government policies. Soe Win, secretary of the Association, told domestic media Voice Daily that approximately 80 percent of wood processing plants have been forced to close their doors for lack of timber.
— Goodmen Project

Death toll in Shwepyitha plywood factory fire rises to six
The death toll of a fire that broke out at the plywood factory of Honda (Myanmar) Co Ltd on the night of February 18 has reached six, according to Shwepyitha Township Fire Station in Yangon Region.
— Eleven Myanmar

Stay safe under the rule of law
It is important for a country to ensure the rule of law and security for each of its citizens. If they are only assured in some parts of the country, rather than the whole, then, not only would this be a cause for concern for most people, it would also undermine national stability and development.
— Global Newlight of Myanmar

President U Win Myint receives Vietnamese Public Security Minister
President U Win Myint received a delegation from the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam led by the Minister of Public Security, General To Lam, at the Presidential Palace in Nay Pyi Taw yesterday.
— Global Newlight of Myanmar

Asia Frontier Capital – Myanmar Travel Report
To quote a friend in the Myanmar mining industry, “If you want to find elephant-sized mineral deposits, then go hunting in elephant country”. Without a doubt, Myanmar is elephant country.
— Seeking Alpha

Myanmar not acting as per deal, says PM
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday said Myanmar is not working as per its commitment with Bangladesh on the repatriation of Rohingyas to their homeland in Rakhine.
— The Independent

 

Feature photo Soggydan Benenovitch

This week’s Myanmar morning news photo acknowledges World Wildlife Day, March 3.

 

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.

 

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Sreypov Men recently completed a course of study in International Relations at the Institute of Foreign Languages.

She commenced as an intern at AEC News Today and was appointed as a junior writer/ trainee journalist on April 2, 2018

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