Myanmar morning news for February 4, 2020

Chinese Visitor to Myanmar Tests Negative for Coronavirus, Released After Four Days of Quarantine
A 56-year-old Chinese man who quarantined in Yangon on Friday on suspicion of carrying the coronavirus after arriving on a flight from Guangzhou has been released from the hospital after his symptoms cleared up and test results showed him to be virus-free, according to Myanmar’s Health Ministry.
— Irrawaddy

Myanmar to hedge against slower China trade due to coronavirus
Myanmar wants to expand its exports to other markets to hedge against a potential dip in demand from China, where a new respiratory virus has infected more than 14,000 people and killed more than 300, mostly from Hubei province, where illnesses from the new type of coronavirus were first detected in the city of Wuhan in December.
— Myanmar Times

Myanmar Suspends Visas-on-Arrival for Chinese Travelers Over Coronavirus
Myanmar will stop issuing visas-on-arrival for Chinese citizens over concerns about coronavirus, suspending its two-year pilot visa program aimed at promoting tourism.
— Irrawaddy

Vehicle import incentive to be suspended
The authorities will suspend issuing car import permits to senior government officials, U Zaw Htay, spokesperson from the President’s Office, said during a press conference on January 31.
— Myanmar Times

Myanmar migrant workers pour in due to virus fears
A total of 153 Myanmar migrant workers arrived back in Muse on the evening of 1 February due to the mounting fears of Wuhan coronavirus in China.
— Eleven Myanmar

Myanmar earns over US$1 B from agricultural products
Myanmar is earned US$1.082 billion from agricultural products exports from October 1 to January 17 in this fiscal year and it is more US$141.18 million compared with the farming products exports in the same period last year, according to Ministry of Commerce.
— Eleven Myanmar

Myanmar to export 2.5 million rice tons in current fiscal year
Official media said on Monday that Myanmar aims to export 2.5 million tons of rice in the current fiscal year 2019-2020 which began in last October.
— Menafn

E-commerce startup Get acquires Daung Capital to provide one-stop fintech solutions to Myanmar’s micro-entrepreneurs
Myanmar-based e-commerce startup Get All Myanmar has acquired Burmese fintech firm Daung Capital in a mission to come up with a unified solution provider for micro-entrepreneurs in the country, says a DealStreetAsia report.
— e27

Youth hospitalized after torture during army interrogation
A 21 years old young man from Kam Hton Gyi sub-town under Meabon township was hospitalized with injuries after the security forces released him.
— BNI Online

In Myanmar, Betel Quid Chewing Remains Popular Despite Risks
Wai Htet Aung, age 27, waits for his turn at a crowded betel quid stand in downtown Yangon. Customers have lined up by the table to place their orders. “It’s tasty,” he says. “I have bad breath and I want my mouth to smell better.”
— VOA

Myanmar Update: Court Order tries to Protect Rohingya Muslims from Genocide
The Myanmar military’s years-long campaign against the Rohingya Muslims left hundreds of villages a smoldering pile of debris.
— National Interest

Myanmar appeals to Sri Lanka to stop elephant abuse
YANGON: Myanmar has appealed to Sri Lanka to stop the alleged abuse of an elephant it donated to a Buddhist temple six years ago.
— New Straits Times

Myanmar ‌adds rotavirus vaccine to regular vaccination program
As of 1 February, the Ministry of Health and Sports has added the rotavirus vaccine (RV) to the regular vaccination program.
— Eleven Myanmar

Myanmar Govt Asks Tour Operators to Suspend Travel Services for Chinese Visitors
The Ministry of Hotels and Tourism has met with tour operators and asked them to temporarily stop offering services to travelers planning to visit from virus-hit China.
— Irrawaddy

International organizations to help develop local export sector
The EU, DFID, USAID, JICA, the UNDP and other development partners will provide necessary assistance that helps support the priority works for Myanmar Export Industry Development Program, according to the Ministry of Commerce.
— Eleven Myanmar

Thai developer invests $1bn to put Myanmar industry on global map
Thai industrial estate developer Amata Corp. plans to build an industrial complex with an investment of $1 billion in Yangon, Myanmar’s biggest city. The complex will provide important industrial infrastructure in a nation with few global-standard industrial zones suitable for foreign companies.
— Nikkei Asian Review

Myanmar State Counselor Urges Yangon Govt to Be Transparent
De facto national leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has urged Yangon regional cabinet members–who have been accused of spending irregularities–to be transparent in their work.
— Irrawaddy

Two Rohingya women killed in Myanmar shelling
Two women, one pregnant, were killed and seven other people were wounded when shells hit a Rohingya village in Myanmar’s Rakhine state.
— CNA

Central Committee on coronavirus prevention holds first meeting
The Central Committee on Prevention, Control and Treatment of 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) held its first meeting yesterday in Nay Pyi Taw.
— The Global New Light of Myanmar

Chinese Visitor to Myanmar Tests Negative for Coronavirus, Released After Four Days of Quarantine 
A Chinese visitor quarantined in Yangon since Friday does not have the coronavirus, lab tests show; he has been released along with two locals on the same flight.
— Irrawaddy

Second coord meeting for implementing JICM resolutions to be held in mid-February
Government officials and representatives of ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) in Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) could make three agreements and take two records after the second day of the 8th Joint Implementation Coordination Meeting (JICM) on Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement yesterday.
— The Global New Light of Myanmar

Cement Cargo Ships Destroy Riverbanks, Mon State Locals Say
Locals are attributing land degradation along the banks of the Attaran River in Mon State’s Kyaikmayaw Township to traffic from cargo ships with in the cement factories.
— BNI Online

UEC Chairman receives MYNFREL delegates
Union Election Commission Chairman U Hla Thein received the delegates of Myanmar Network Organization for Free and Fair Elections (MYNFREL) at his office in Nay Pyi Taw yesterday.
— The Global New Light of Myanmar

KNU denies direct responsibility for land mine that killed Tatmadaw Officer
A Myanmar military (Tatmadaw) officer has been killed in a landmine blast that occured between Thandaunggyi and Hpapun Township in Karen State. The landmine exploded in the vicinity of the Karen National Union Brigade No. 5, but they have denied allegations of being directly responsible for the fatality.
— BNI Online

Deputy Minister U Aung Hla Tun opens IPRD Capacity Building Training 1/2020
Deputy Minister for Information U Aung Hla Tun attended the capacity building training 1/2020 held at the training hall of the Information and Public Relations Department in Nay Pyi Taw yesterday morning.
— The Global New Light of Myanmar

Union Minister U Soe Win receives Vietnamese Ambassador
Union Minister for Planning, Finance and Industry U Soe Win received Ambassador of Viet Nam Mr Ly Quoc Tuan at the minister guest hall in Nay Pyi Taw yesterday.
— The Global New Light of Myanmar

Burmese digital commerce startup Get acquires local fintech Daung Capital
Myanmar-based digital commerce platform Get, also known as Get All Myanmar, said it is acquiring local fintech firm Daung Capital to offer a unified solution to micro-entrepreneurs in the country.
— DealStreetAsia

Myanmar Court Grants Bail to Lawyer and Poet Sued by Military
A Tanintharyi Region court has granted bail to lawyer U Kyi Myint and poet U Saw Wai in a defamation case brought by the military over their comments about charter amendment.
— Irrawaddy

China to Supply 1.2 Trillion Yuan to Money Markets Amid Virus Spread
In a bid to stabilize markets amid the spread of the coronavirus, China’s central bank vowed to inject some 1.2 trillion yuan into the country’s financial system.
— Irrawaddy

VP U Henry Van Thio attends peace summit in ROK
A Myanmar delegation led by Vice President U Henry Van Thio and accompanied by Union Minister for Religious Affairs and Culture Thura U Aung Ko and officials to attend the Peace, Security and Human Development World Summit 2020 left for the Republic of Korea on 2 February and arrived Seoul at 7:15 am local time.
— The Global New Light of Myanmar

Amyotha Hluttaw organizes 3rd day meeting of 15th regular session
The 15th regular session of Second Amyotha Hluttaw held its 3rd day meeting yesterday.
— The Global New Light of Myanmar

Health services monitoring 59 Myanmar students in Mandalay
Health services personnel are closely monitoring 59 Myanmar students, who were brought back from Wuhan city of China, to the isolation rooms of Kandawnadi Hospital in Mandalay, state media reported.
— Mizzima

Millions invested as NTT commits to Myanmar
NTT Myanmar is officially in business following a multimillion-dollar capital investment, a new wholesale government licence and the opening of an office in Yangon.
— Channel Asia

Govt suspends visa privilege for Chinese, mulls border shutdown
The government has temporarily suspended visa-on-arrival privileges for Chinese travellers to the country and is considering closing the border with China to prevent the entry of the new coronavirus.
— Myanmar Times

Exports rise even as kyat strengthens against US dollar
The Myanmar kyat has strengthened against the greenback and is now trading at K1465 per US dollar, according to the Central Bank of Myanmar. In comparison, the exchange rate was more than K1500 per US dollar in November 2019.
— Myanmar Times

Kayah dance take centrestage at Myanmar Ethnic Cultures Festival
Standing next to the Second Vice-President Henry Van Thio, himself an ethnic Chin, the State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi gave an inspiring speech on February 1 at Kyaik Ka San Road, to officially open the Myanmar Ethnic Culture Festival to the public.
— Myanmar Times

Loan OK’d for Yangon waste-to-energy plant
Parliament has approved a €50 million (K80.6 billion/US$55.05 million) loan from Poland to finance Yangon’s waste-to-energy biofuel plant project.
— Myanmar Times

Feature photo Global Newlight of Myanmar

This week’s Myanmar morning news feature photo focus on the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak.

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).

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About Myanmar morning news.

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