Myanmar morning news for March 27, 2020

China provides $6.7m for 22 projects in Myanmar
China will provide US$6.78million (K9.45 billion) to Myanmar for 22 projects under the Mekong-Lancang cooperation initiative, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Monday.
— Myanmar Times

Myanmar urged to restore Internet during virus crisis
Townships in Rakhine and Chin states need access to critical information during the Covid-19 pandemic.
— Asia Times

Myanmar confirms third COVID-19 case
The Health Ministry confirmed another COVID-19 case in Myanmar on Tuesday, the third in two days.
— Myanmar Times

Trade Department to launch online services as of 1 April
The Department of Trade under the Ministry of Commerce will provide online services for export and import licences as of 1 April, aiming to reduce person-to-person contacts in preventing the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (Covid-19).
— The Global New Light of Myanmar

Myanmar Orders Half of Govt Employees to Stay Home Over COVID-19
The government has told half of its employees to stay home as it ramps up efforts to combat COVID-19. The order excludes health treatment providers at government hospitals.
— Irrawaddy

Fuel prices continue falling in Myanmar
As world oil prices have plunged due to the coronavirus outbreak in January causing a supply glut as the demand slows and Russia and Saudi Arabia are set raise production to grab a greater share of the market and fuel price has decreased by about K400 per litre since the start of the year.
— Myanmar Times

Myanmar moves to increase COVID-19 test kit stockpile amid coronavirus battle
Myanmar is set to have 40,000 more COVID-19 test kits in the country to help it cope with the virus, days after it detected at least three positive cases.
— CNA

Myanmar govt considering renewables: energy minister
The National League for Democracy-led government says it is now considering a number of renewable energy proposals.
— Myanmar Times

Factories remain open in Thilawa SEZ
Over 80 factories in Thilawa Special Economic Zone are operating as usual despite the Covid-19 pandemic, according to Dr Than Than Nwe, Secretary of the Thilawa SEZ Management Committee, state media reported.
— Mizzima

Online shopping sees rising sales due to virus news in Myanmar
Since the announcement by the government this week that three confirmed cases people infected by the new coronavirus that causes the COVID-19 disease, online-shopping businesses in Myanmar say they have seen an uptick in sales.
— Myanmar Times

Bean market in Mandalay going strong amid global pandemic
The spread of COVID-19 across the globe has caused Myanmar’s crop sales to come to an almost complete standstill but Chinese demand has kept the trade of lima beans, mung beans, rice beans and peanuts thriving in Mandalay, according to local merchants.
— The Global New Light of Myanmar

Myanmar’s EME, Japan’s UMJ invest $750k in baby products e-tailer Kyarlay
Myanmar-based early-stage investment firm Emerging Markets Entrepreneurs (EME) and United Managers Japan Inc (UMJ) have jointly invested $750,000 in baby products e-commerce and delivery provider Kyarlay, according to an announcement.
— DealStreetAsia

YBS helps students to go home
The Yangon Bus Service (YBS) will assist over students residing in hostel rooms at Yangon University to return to their native towns across the country, said U Hla Aung, the joint secretary of the Yangon Region Transport Association (YRTA), on March 24.
— Myanmar Times

ANA reduces some of its flights in Myanmar
All Nippon Airways (ANA) is reduced some of the daily direct flights between Myanmar and Japan due to COVID-19.
— Eleven Myanmar

Myanmar baby products e-tailer built by ex-Garena staff gets funding
While the Covid-19 outbreak is putting some investments on hold, Kyarlay, an ecommerce platform in Myanmar that sells and delivers baby products, announced it just secured US$750,000 in funding.
— Tech In Asia

11 of 92 jailed Myanmar nationals returning from Thailand put in hospital quarantine
Thailand handed 92 Myanmar citizens who finished their jail terms in various Thai prisons and 11 of them are being watched and treated at Tachilek People’s Hospital as they had high body temperature, according to the Ministry of Health and Sports.
— Eleven Myanmar

Uni students respond to COVID-19 announcement
It’s confirmed. It’s here. The invisible serial killer, a threat to every human being in earth has finally made its way to one of the two remaining survivors in ASEAN. Myanmar citizens were praying hard but alas, their prayers were not answered.
— Myanmar Times

Bridges construction completes more than half in Sagaing Region
Construction of the under-180-feet bridges was completed 63 per cent in 2019-2020 fiscal year (FY).
— The Global New Light of Myanmar

Myanmar Army Seizes Shan State Militia Chiefs Over Drugs Bust
Militia leaders and weapons in northern Shan State have been seized by Myanmar’s military in response to a huge drugs bust earlier this month.
— Irrawaddy

Amid Coronavirus Pandemic, Myanmar’s Armed Forces Soldier on
Amid the COVID-19 outbreak, the Tatmadaw had to postpone its 75th anniversary celebrations. But don’t let that distract from its still-central role in the nation.
— The Diplomat

Myanmar Army Seizes Drugs, Detains Leaders in Raid on KIA Offshoot Group
The Myanmar Army raided the headquarters of an offshoot of the rebel Kachin Independence Army (KIA) in northern Shan state on Thursday, seizing illegal drugs, interrogating leaders, and confiscating about 1,000 weapons, an officer in the militia told RFA’s Myanmar Service.
— Radio Free Asia

Myanmar’s Nurses, Doctors Face Eviction as Landlords Panic Over COVID-19
Health care workers are being evicted by landlords concerned about the spread of COVID-19 but other local residents of Mandalay have opened their doors to them.
— Irrawaddy

MoHS continues daily COVID-19 coord meeting
The daily central coordination meeting on preparedness and response to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) held meeting No. 41/2020 yesterday.
— The Global New Light of Myanmar

Myanmar Says ‘Terrorist’ Arakan Army Is Losing Chance to Join Peace Process
The rebel Arakan Army fighting the national army in western Myanmar’s Rakhine state has “very little chance” to join the country’s struggling peace process now that the government has designated the 11-year-old force an unlawful, terrorist organization, a military spokesman said Thursday.
— Radio Free Asia

Myanmar parliament approves IDA loans
Myanmar parliament approved to get US$350 million of loan from the World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA) for the Ministry of Electricity and Energy at the meeting on Thursday (March 26).
— The Star Online

The Rohingyas: Global threat or national asset?
The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of The Khaama Press News Agency .
— Menafn

Inflation continued to rise in January, officials say
Inflation continued to rise in January 2020, according to the latest available data released by the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO).
— Myanmar Times

Voice of Myanmar nationals returning from Thailand
The Kayin State government has arranged free transportation for Myanmar nationals returning from Thailand via Friendship Bridge 2 in Myawaddy to their hometowns.
— The Global New Light of Myanmar

Returnees from Thailand can face action unless reporting to authorities under disaster law
Union Minister for Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement Dr Win Myat Aye called on officials of the ministry’s departments in regions and states for cooperating with regional authorities in fighting the COVID-19 in their regions respectively.
— The Global New Light of Myanmar

Message of Greetings from Commander in Chief of Defence Services Senior General Min Aung Hlaing on the occasion of the 75th Anniversary Diamond Jubilee of Armed Forces Day on 27 March 2020
Citizens of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, ethnic national brothers and sisters, born of this Union, The 27 March 2020 is the 75th Diamond Jubilee Anniversary of Armed Forces Day.
— The Global New Light of Myanmar

Myanmar Medics Volunteer to Combat COVID-19 Menace
As a health worker, we just go where we need to be,” said a doctor who volunteered to go to Chin State, where one of Myanmar’s first COVID-19 cases was reported.
— Irrawaddy

Baby products e-commerce startup Kyarlay raises US$750K from EME Myanmar, United Managers Japan
Baby products e-commerce startup Kyarlay snags US$750K from EME, United Managers Japan Inc. Kyarlay, a Myanmar-based baby products e-commerce and delivery provider, has raised US$750,000 in funding from Myanmar-based VC firm EME, United Managers Japan Inc., which marked its largest investment to date.
— e27

Pyidaungsu Hluttaw approves JICA, IDA, EDCF loans on final day of 15th regular session
Pyidaungsu Hluttaw held its 29th meeting on the final day of 15th regular session, where international loans for the electricity, energy, transport and communications sectors were approved.
— The Global New Light of Myanmar

Myanmar blood bank appeals for donors
The National Blood Centre of Myanmar on Wednesday issued an urgent appeal to all healthy people to donate blood, as the number of donors had fallen amid the worsening COVID-19 pandemic.
— Myanmar Times

Ten arrested over factory protest
Myanmar police fired their guns during a raid on a village in Mandalay region Wednesday and arrested more than 10 residents who had protested against a Chinese-backed coal-powered cement factory, RFA reported.
— Mizzima

Latha Township sprays disinfectants to fight coronavirus
The 19th Street and 20th Street in Latha Township implemented a collective disinfectant measure on 25 March to fight against the coronavirus.
— The Global New Light of Myanmar

Community rallies as panic buying hits Myanmar over COVID-19 fears
The confirmation of Myanmar’s first COVID-19 cases sparked almost immediate panic buying of basic commodities in Yangon, despite warnings that gathering at crowded markets could increase the risk of infection.
— Frontier Myanmar

Thingyan talk-show continues filming
Filming for ‘Thingyan Yin Khone Than’ talk-show continued on 25 March with a discussion on the classic film ‘Maung Doe Cherry Myay’ at MRTV studio in Yangon.
— The Global New Light of Myanmar

China Reports Second Consecutive Day of No New Local Coronavirus Transmissions, Imported Cases Rise
Mainland China reported no new locally-transmitted COVID-19 cases for the second day in a row and Hubei Province, where the pandemic began, has started to lift restrictions.
— Irrawaddy

Feature photo IOM UN Migration

This week’s Myanmar morning news feature photo focus on World Tuberculosis (TB) Day, March 24.

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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