Myanmar morning news for June 19

Ministry reminds tourism operators to transact in kyat
The Ministry of Hotels and Tourism (MOHT) has issued a reminder to the airline and tourism industry to transact in the local Myanmar currency and apply for a local money changer license.
— Myanmar Times

Vietnam becomes ninth largest trade partner of Myanmar
Trade between Vietnam and Myanmar reached 860 million USD in 2018, making Vietnam the 9th largest trade partner of Myanmar, it was reported at a meeting between Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue and Myanmar Minister of Planning and Finance Soe Win on June 18.
— VietnamPlus

Govt set to relax alcohol import ban, licensing rules
The Ministry of Commerce has drafted regulations that would allow the import of foreign alcohol, a senior official says, and in the process overturn a decades-old ban that has encouraged rampant smuggling.
— Frontier Myanmar

Budget deficit and GDP ratio is now more than five per cent: President
In a bid to speed up the government’s tasks in 2019-2020 fiscal year, the Union government has allowed the ratio between the budget deficit and GDP at more than five per cent, said Myanmar President Win Myint who is the Chair of the finance commission, at the finance commission meeting 3/2019 at the meeting hall of the Union government office in the Presidential Palace on June 17.
— Eleven Myanmar

Restructuring, cost efficiencies needed to lift MNA out of the red
Despite launching new international routes and enjoying higher passenger load factors, Myanmar National Airlines (MNA) is still in the red.
— Myanmar Times

World Bank’s Economic Outlook for Myanmar in 6 Points
Despite a global economic slowdown, the latest World Bank report projects a positive outlook for Myanmar’s economy due to accelerated reform implementation, infrastructure spending and investment in and liberalization of sectors such as wholesale and retail, insurance and banking.
— The Irrawaddy

Myanmar, China discuss plan to promote economic and trade cooperation
The matters relating to promoting economic and trade cooperation between Myanmar and China and the use of Chinese currency in bilateral trade, were discussed at the 5th meeting of the Joint Committee for Myanmar-China Economic, Trade and Technical Cooperation, according to the Ministry of Planning and Finance.
— Eleven Myanmar

UN report condemns its conduct in Myanmar as systemic failure
A damning report by the UN on its own conduct in Myanmar has condemned the organisation’s “obviously dysfunctional performance” over the past decade and concluded there was a systemic failure.
— The Guardian

Myanmar Investments Rejects Offer From Fellow Myanmar Firm
Myanmar Investments International Ltd on Tuesday confirmed it has rejected a merger proposal from Myanmar Strategic Holdings Ltd and said that it will not enter into negotiations in relation to the proposal.
— Morning Star

IFC converts loan into equity to own 5% stake in Myanmar’s Yoma Bank
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, has converted a 2014 loan provided to Yoma Bank, the financial services arm of YSX-listed First Myanmar Investment Co Ltd, into equity to hold a 5 per cent stake in the institution.
— DealStreetAsia

Five charges brought against reporter
Channel Mandalay reporter Nanda, who broadcast a live video of a confrontation between villagers and police over a coal-fired cement factory in Mandalay Region, has been charged after being held in jail for 30 days.
— Myanmar Times

Myanmar state counselor to attend 34th ASEAN summit in Thailand
Myanmar State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi will visit Thailand soon and attend the 34th summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Bangkok, according to an official announcement published in state media Tuesday.
— Xinhua

NLD, PP meet for the first time
The ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) held a meeting with the People’s Party (PP) led by Ko Ko Gyi, at the NLD’s headquarters in Yangon on June 17.
— Eleven Myanmar

Some gold jewellery robbed from Taunggyi quadruple homicide case are still missing: police
Some gold jewellery including a gold bar and gold coins robbed from Taunggyi quadruple homicide case are still missing, according to the family of the people who were murdered.
— Eleven Myanmar

Myanmar Airways International – An airline with perfect safety record
AirlineRatings.com, a one-stop airline safety and product rating review website delivers safety ratings for more than 435 airlines around the world.
— The Global New Light of Myanmar

BRAC partners with Ongo to digitise microfinance repayments
Ongo, a local digital payment service provider, last week announced a partnership with BRAC Myanmar Microfinance Company (BRAC) to fully digitise the latter’s loan repayments.
— Myanmar Times

Myanmar official says runaway monk ‘incited hatred’ against Suu Kyi
A Myanmar official on Tuesday (Jun 18) told a court that a nationalist Buddhist monk, Wirathu, who has evaded arrest on sedition charges, “incited hatred” against leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her government.
— Channel NewsAsia

Myanmar to reduce use of child labour at workplaces
THOUGH more than 600,000 children are still engaged in work that harms their health, safety and well-being, Myanmar is trying to implement a national-level project to eradicate child labour, Nyunt Win, director-general of the factories and general labour laws inspection department, said.
— Eleven Myanmar

Senior General observes rendering healthcare services to local people
Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services Senior General Min Aung Hlaing and wife Daw Kyu Kyu Hla, and party went to Kaungpinsi Village and its environs, NyaungU Township, Mandalay Region, where they observed the Tatmadaw’s mobile medical team providing healthcare services to the local people yesterday morning.
— The Global New Light of Myanmar

Myanmar: Hundreds of dengue cases reported in Yangon
The Yangon Region Public Health Department has reported 670 dengue fever cases since the beginning of the year, including eight deaths, according to a Eleven Myanmar report.
— OutBreak News Today

Chairman of Committee for Supporting Peace and Stability in Rakhine State meets with members of state-level committees in Sittway
Chairman of the committee for Supporting Peace and Stability in Rakhine State and Deputy Speaker of Amyotha Hluttaw U Aye Tha Aung met with members of the Rakhine State committees on supporting peace and stability at the Rakhine State Government Office in Sittway yesterday.
— The Global New Light of Myanmar

Yangon Govt Drops $10 Million Spending Proposals
Proposed ferry purchase and construction of courthouse and police HQ canceled after President urges development spending; some see Union intervention in Yangon budget.
— Irrawaddy

Development planning bill tabled in Amyotha Hluttaw
A bill titled Urban and Regional Development Planning for more systematic development of the country’s urban centres has been submitted on June 5 to the Amyotha Hluttaw.
— Myanmar Times

Chinese banana plantation workers deported from Myanmar
Ten Chinese nationals were deported from Myanmar last month after having been discovered illegally staying in the country in connection with their work on banana plantations in Kachin state.
— Fresh Plaza

Kaladan Bridge (Paletwa) inauguration slated for Feb 2020
Construction work on the Kaladan Bridge (Paletwa) will be resumed as soon as possible so that it can be inaugurated as per schedule on 20 February, 2020, said U Zaw Naing, Director-General, Myanma Insurance, yesterday.
— The Global New Light of Myanmar

Myanmar Designer showcases her creations in ASEAN Week
YANGON-Myanmar Designer Ma Pont and her designs were featured in ASEAN Week-2019 held in Seoul Plaza, South Korea, from June 14th to 16th.
— Eleven Myanmar

Over 3,000 dengue cases, 12 deaths recorded nationwide since January
In the six months since January, 3,144 cases of dengue fever and 12 deaths have been reported across the nation. Of the total number of deaths, 8 have been recorded in Yangon Region, according to the region’s Public Health Department.
— The Global New Light of Myanmar

Help for older Myanmar refugees is ‘falling short’
The rights and needs of thousands of older people forced to flee atrocities committed by Myanmar’s military are not being adequately addressed by the humanitarian system, according to rights group Amnesty International.
— UCA News

Experts discuss illegal satellite dishes, Online TV Channel issues
A workshop on Illegal Satellite and Online TV Channel was held at Thingaha Hotel in Nay Pyi Taw at 9 am yesterday.
— The Global New Light of Myanmar

Buddhist Nationalists Urge Voters to Shun NLD at Ballot Box
Successor organization to Ma Ba Tha accuses govt of failing the ‘country, race and religion’; ruling party spokesman says voters won’t be swayed by religious extremism.
— Irrawaddy

Feature photo UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency

This week’s Myanmar morning news photo feature acknowledges World Refugee Day, June 20.

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.