MYANMARS FIRST BILINGUAL BUSINESS JOURNAL mmbiztoday.

com January 9-15, 2014 | Vol 2, Issue 2

Contd. P 6...(ASLA)
ASEAN Committee on Investment
to Meet in Myanmar
M
yanmar will host
the 62
nd
ASEAN
Coor di nat i on
Committee on Invest-
ment in Nay Pyi Taw this
weekend.
At the two-day meeting
from January 10 to 11,
dozens of investment
om cers Irom member nu-
tions of the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN) including host
Myanmar are expected to
discuss matters related to
the ASEAN Comprehen-
sive Investment Treaty
(ACIT).
Kyaw Min The discussion will
focus on amending the
ACIT and the unpermit-
ted accounts included
in the treaty, state-run
media said. The delegates
will also discuss the ongo-
ing work programs in
implementing the treaty,
it added.
The ASEAN Coordi-
nation Committee on
Investment carries out
promotion of investment
in the region, ensures for-
mulation of smooth and
relaxed rules and regula-
tions, and encourages
IurLIer ow oI InvesLmenL
from regional countries.
Myanmar Summary
The committee also acts
as a leading supervisory
committee for implemen-
tation of investment com-
mitment and cooperation
among ASEAN and dia-
logue partner countries.
The committee meeting
will be followed by the
hrsL Myunmur-IosLed
ASEAN foreign ministers
meeting (AMM) from
January 15 to 18 in Bagan,
Mandalay region.
Myunmur om cIuIIy us-
sumed the chairmanship
of the bloc from Brunei
on January 1.
Contd. P 6...(ASLA)
40 Private Cos Win Bids to
Develop Southern Myanmar
A
total of 40 private companies and entrepreneurs
have won bids for development of Dawei and the
entire southern Tanintharyi region of Myanmar,
uccordIng Lo om cIuI medIu reporL.
The development projects are funded by the Ministry
oI Border AuIrs.
Myanmar is also inviting international companies
to bid for Dawei Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in the
region following the pull-out of the sole developer,
Italian-Thai Plc.
The international developers were set to bid for the
SEZ tender starting December 20 last year for the ini-
tial phase of the project and the tender will be opened
on March 31.
The work for the ambitious development project,
wIIcI wus mIred In hnuncIuI concerns, Is seL Lo begIn
on May 15.
The initial phase will cover about 20 square kilometres
or 10 percent of the overall project which is estimated
Lo Luke hve yeurs Lo hnIsI.
Dawei region serves as the southern economic cor-
ridor of the Greater Mekong subregion.
Phyu Thit Lwin
Myanmar Summary
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Leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) hold hands as they pose for a group photo
during the 22
nd
ASEAN Summit in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei.
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January 9-15, 2014
Myanmar Business Today
mmbiztoday.com
2
LOCAL BIZ
MYANMARS FIRST BILINGUAL BUSINESS JOURNAL
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Myanmar President Supports Changing
Army-Drafted Constitution
Aung Hla Tun
M
yanmars pre-
sident gave his
backing on
Thursday last week for
amending a military
drafted constitution and
indicated support for
changes that would make
Nobel Peace Prize winner
Aung San Suu Kyi eligible
to lead the country.
Thein Sein, the reform-
ist general and former
top member of the army
regime that ruled My-
anmar for 49 years, said
changing the constitu-
tion could help national
reconciliation and he did
not support laws that bar
anyone from becoming
president.
I would not want re-
strictions being imposed
on the right of any citizen
to become the leader
of the country, Thein
Sein said in a monthly
televised address to the
nation.
At the same time,
we will need to have all
necessary measures in
place in order to defend
our national interests and
sovereignty.
The comments by the
president are likely to
be welcomed by opposi-
tion leader Suu Kyi, the
68-year-old leader of
a peaceful two-decade
struggle against military
dictatorship, who has in
recent months stated her
wish to become president.
For now, Suu Kyi is
ineligible for the top post
because her two sons are
British citizens.
The comments are the
latest show of openness
by a president who has
surprised the world with
an array of reforms that
were unimaginable under
the junta, like the release
of hundreds of political
prisoners, liberal invest-
ment laws, legalising
protests and scrapping of
media censorship.
Thein Sein, 68, has yet
to declare whether or not
he will retire from politics
after the next election in
2015, or seek a second
term. Other contend-
ers include parliament
speaker, Shwe Mann, 66,
another key reformer who
outranked Thein Sein in
the former junta.
According to Myanmars
constitution, the legisla-
ture, not the people, are
responsible for choosing
a president.
Three panels represent-
ing the lower house, the
senate and lawmakers
chosen by the military
each nominate a presi-
dential candidate. A vote
of the bicameral parlia-
ment then takes place,
where one of the three
candidates is chosen as
leader.
Myanmars parliament
has appointed a commit-
tee to draft recommenda-
tions about how to change
the constitution, which
critics say is too central-
Ised und oers Loo mucI
power to the military.
The committee said
last week it had received
323,110 suggestions via
28,247 letters ahead of
the December 31 deadline
for public feedback. It is
expected to submit its
report during the next
house session, which
starts on January 13.
Han Tha Myint, a senior
member of Suu Kyis
National League for De-
mocracy (NLD) party, said
the NLD had no immediate
comment on the presi-
dents speech. Reuters
Myanmar Summary
Myanmar's President Thein Sein speaks during a media brieng.
K
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3
January 9-15, 2014
LOCAL BIZ
Myanmar Business Today
mmbiztoday.com
Myanmar Summary
Cash-strapped Livestock Entrepreneurs
Face Foreign Competition
L
ocal livestock entrepre-
neurs have to extend their
reach beyond the local
market into global exports in
order Lo survIve LIe sLI compe-
tition posed by foreign players
coming into the industry, local
livestock industry insiders say.
Kyaw Min Foreign investors are now
penetrating Myanmars live-
stock industry. So, it would
become impossible for local
businesspeople to survive by
only doing business in the tiny
local market, U Win Sein,
a spokesperson of Myanmar
Animal Husbandry Federation,
said.
All the up and coming
companies are going to vie for
this small market. When this
happens, all businesses will
circle around the same space
and eventually be forced to
terminate their production, he
added.
He said the manufacturing
expenditure, especially meat
production costs, in the local
livestock industry is higher
than Brazil and Thailand, which
export to international markets.
We dehnILeIy Iuve u bIg
challenge at hand to compete in
the global market, U Win Sein
said.
Small livestock businesses
suId hnuncIng und uvuIIubIIILy
of modern equipment are one of
the biggest obstacles for them.
Local livestock and breeding en-
trepreneurs say that substantial
monetary support is required to
run their businesses.
We need a lot of capital if we
want to use high-tech equip-
ment. Now foreign companies
are coming in and its becoming
impossible for us to keep up. If
the government supports small
breeding enterprises, livestock
industry will be competitive,
said U Win Sann, a livestock
farmer from Hlegu township.
Currently, companies from
China and South Korea have
shown interest in investing in
Myanmars livestock and breed-
ing sector.
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F
ile
s
Italy to Give $27m
Rural Dev Loan
I
taly has pledged to provide $27 million to help My-
anmar carry out its rural development programs, U
OIn MyInL, unIon mInIsLer Ior IIvesLock, hsIery und
rural development, said.
An Italian aid organisation has proposed to give us
about 20 million in loan. They are interested to carry
out World Bank's rural development projects and they
asked us to choose the states and regions that need
help the most, the minister said at a press conference
following the coordination meeting on establishment
of development partnership for rural development in
Yangon.
The World Bank is providing $80 million in aid to 15
of the poorest townships based on recommendations
from the state and regional governments.
The minister said the World Bank is targeting the
states and regions in Myanmar that are deeply mired
in poverty.
The World Bank project has already been imple-
mented in three townships in Myanmar during 2013.
Five more townships will get aid allocations this year,
the minister said.
Kyaw Min
Myanmar Summary
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January 9-15, 2014
Myanmar Business Today
mmbiztoday.com
LOCAL BIZ
4
Contd. P 8...(Attitude)
The Need for Attitude Adjustment
Yu Jincui
I
was on a plane heading
for Mandalay, the second
biggest city in Myanmar,
kIIIIng LIme on LIe IgIL wILI
my seatmate. Mr Zhang, in his
50s, was an electrical engineer
working on a two-year contract
to train 30 technicians for a
local ceramic factory located in
the north of Mandalay.
He wus unsuLIshed wILI IIs
Myanmar apprentices and col-
Ieugues. TIey gooI o on LIe
job, often being late and acting
poorIy und IneecLIveIy. TIey
dont save money.
As one of the pioneers who
abandoned their stable and
lifelong positions in Chinas
state-owned companies in the
1990s to start his own business,
Zhang is perplexed as to why
Myanmar people are content
with living in the moment and
dont have a plan for long-term
development.
Zhang also said that the ce-
ramic factory cannot compete
with those in Chinas Yunnan
Province which provide exports
to Myanmar, thanks to the lat-
Ler`s poor producLIvILy conhned
by a lack of skilled workers and
power shortages that locals suf-
fer several times a day.
Later when I interviewed
people involved in Chinese-
invested projects in central
and northern Myanmar, some
munugerIuI sLu uIso com-
plained that local workers were
often absent from work after
getting one months salary, and
that they wont show up asking
for a second chance until they
consume all the money. On
some ongoing projects, locals
can also be easily motivated to
take part in protests, blocking
smooth proceedings.
Coming back to the country
after two years of democratic
transition, I didnt sense too
many changes except in the
biggest city of Yangon, where
the roads have been reno-
vated and broadened, various
Western brands have poured
in, and newer models of used
Japanese cars have replaced
the rust-buckets that once ran
on the roads for decades. The
city looks more like a modern
metropolis.
But outside the downtown of
Yangon, people are still mired
in poverty and shabby life. The
development of several special
economic zones invested in by
foreign companies and some
mega-projects that exploit nat-
ural resources are hindered by a
variety of reasons, including lo-
cal protests over compensation
and the unwillingness of the
locals to change their lifestyle.
Based on my conversations
with some of the locals, they
long for a better life, but are
conIused ubouL Iow Lo IuIhI LIIs
and how they should participate
in and contribute to urging the
countrys reforms.
The country does have a long-
term development plan. Presi-
dent U Thein Sein declared his
ambition to build Myanmar
into a developed country by
2030 in a 45-page Framework
on Economic and Social Re-
forms. But weak support from
the grass roots, a lack of social
consensus, poor quality human
resources and poor infrastruc-
ture all promise gloom for the
future.
Some Chinese hold that Myan-
mar needs a strong democratic
government or greater resolu-
tion to promote reform from the
top down given its peoples poor
education, an underdeveloped
civil society and the democratic
frenzy in the country. This is
L
iu

R
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i/
G
T
open to discussion.
BuL IL sIouId be noLIhed LIuL
decades of life under the philos-
ophy of living for today make the
Myanmar people accustomed to
a plain and meagre living. This
is also one of the reasons why
some ethnic-Chinese Burmese
have accumulated a certain
amount of wealth in Myanmar.
Chinese are usually seen
as diligent, which provides a
driving force for reform and
economic boom. In the past
years, over 1 billion Chinese
have been actively engaged in
striving for modernisation. Chi-
nese productivity is still low per
head compared to developed
Contd. P 8...(Attitude)
Myanmar Summary
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LOCAL BIZ
5
January 9-15, 2014
Myanmar Summary
Myanmar Business Today
mmbiztoday.com
A view of oiI weIIs in Myanmar's viIIage of Chauk, home to one of the Iongest producing oiI eIds in the worId.
Interra Starts Drilling New Well in Myanmars Chauk
Sherpa Hossainy
S
ingapore-based oil
and gas exploration
company Interra Re-
sources Ltd said its jointly
controlled entity, Gold-
petrol Joint Operating Co
Inc, has started drilling
a new development well
in Myanmars Chauk oil
heId.
The well, CHK1177,
will be drilled to a depth
oI ,oo IeeL us un InhII
development well and
u souLIern oseL Lo
CHK1171, another well
which was completed as
an oil producer in August
last year at an initial rate
of 125 barrels of oil per
day, the company said.
Interra said its primary
objective is to accelerate
production from the oil
reservoirs that produce
from the wells in this fault
block.
Following a fruitful year
in drilling in Myanmar last
year, CHK1177 became
LIe hrsL weII Lo be drIIIed
as part of the companys
2014 Myanmar drilling
campaign.
In central Myanmar,
Interra holds 60 percent
of the rights and interests
to two of the onshore pro-
ducIng oII heIds In CIuuk
and Yenangyaung under
two Improved Petro-
leum Recovery Contracts
(IPRCs).
The two Myanmar
concessions extend over
a total area of about
1,800 square kilometres
and are located along the
Ayeyarwaddy river, about
580 kilometres north of
Yangon.
Goldpetrol, the operator
oI CIuuk oII heId, suId
it will continue to use
three drilling rigs simul-
taneously in its drilling
campaign.
Interra estimated that
the results of the drilling
and completion should
be available in about six
weeks.
CHK1177 is being drilled
by using Goldpetrols
ZJ450 rig, thus drilling
costs are expected to be
relatively low, Interra
said. Interras share of
the cost of drilling will
be funded from existing
funds on hand, it said.
Interra is an investment
holding company engaged
in oil and gas production,
heId deveIopmenL und
exploration. It also owns
participating interest in
oII heIds In ndonesIu.
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Goldpetrol - ZJ 450
~..e:.~_e CHK1177
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January 9-15, 2014
Myanmar Business Today
mmbiztoday.com
LOCAL BIZ
6
Myanmar Summary
During Myanmars one-
year term of the ASEAN
chairmanship, more than
280 bloc meetings includ-
ing two major summits
are scheduled to be held
in Nay Pyi Taw, Yangon,
Mandalay and Bagan,
From page ...(ASLA)
according to the press de-
partment of the Ministry
of Information.
The major events on the
2014 calendar are the 24
th
and 25
th
ASEAN summits
which will be held in May
and October respectively.
Myanmar is scheduled
to host 36 meetings in
January, 11 meetings in
February, 80 meetings
in March, 20 in April, 13
in May, 12 in June, 26 in
July, 27 in August, 11 in
September, 17 in October
and 25 in December, the
press department said.
ASEAN adopted its
Vision-2020 in 1997 and
is set to establish the
ASEAN Economic Com-
munity (AEC) in 2015.
ASEAN comprises Bru-
nei, Cambodia, Indonesia,
Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar,
Philippines, Singapore,
Thailand and Vietnam.
Myanmar became an
ASEAN member in 1997.
From page ...(ASLA)
In Myanmar, Newly Free Media
Stroggle to Torn u Prot
Thomas Fuller
M
yanmars journalists
celebrated last year
when the government
IIILed u hve-decude bun on prI-
vate newspapers.
But six months after a dozen
dailies rushed into production,
journalists who had withstood
the wrath and cruelty of a mili-
tary dictatorship are struggling
against something much more
mundane: market forces.
Despite expectations of pent-
up demand, publishers say
LIey ure suerIng Irom u Iuck
of advertising and competition
from the Internet.
Every publisher is bleed-
ing, said U Sonny Swe, chief
executive of the Mizzima Media
Group, which publishes a daily.
You Iuve Lo be reudy Lo hgIL.
And ready to lose.
Three of the 12 dailies intro-
duced this year have already
shut down, and none of the
remaining nine are reporting
prohLs, pubIIsIers suy.
Some of the challenges fac-
ing Myanmars new dailies are
the same as those that have
confronted the news busi-
ness globally for years, like
declining readership for print
publications.
But Myanmars new dailies are
also operating in an impover-
ished country where the legacy
of military rule is pervasive. The
private dailies are competing
with state-run newspapers that
were the mouthpieces of the
junta and remain in business.
Distribution in big cities is
still unreliable for the private
papers, especially during the
rainy season, and nearly nonex-
istent in the countryside. And a
typical cover price of 20 cents a
copy for the private papers is too
high for many readers, publish-
ers say. State-run publications
sell for a fraction of that.
Private newspapers were
banned in Myanmar, formerly
Burma, by a military govern-
ment in the 1960s. A junta
that took over in 1988 allowed
private weekly publications, but
only under heavy censorship.
The civilian administration that
came to power in 2011 abolished
censorship last year and al-
lowed dailies to start publishing
in April after obtaining licenses.
Daw Nyein Nyein Naing,
the executive editor at The
7 Day Daily, one of the new
newspupers, suId hndIng good
reporLers Iud been dImcuIL.
Her reporters are addicted to
Facebook, she said, and often
post scoops to their Facebook
puges, ruLIer LIun hIIng sLorIes
to their editors.
She also lamented that many
readers appeared to prefer
dailies and weeklies that she
said ran sensational articles of
dubious veracity. People are
not buying quality, she said.
It was our dream to have
a daily paper, Nyein Nyein
Naing said. Sometimes I feel
that maybe it was too early for
Myanmar to have daily newspa-
pers. We are not giving the best
quality to readers. Maybe we
were not ready, especially on
the human resources side.
With Myanmars future still
uncertain, troubled by sectarian
violence and questions about
LIe mIIILury`s power und Inu-
ence, editors say there is a great
need for high-quality reporting
from around the country.
This was evident during bouts
of violence between Buddhists
and Muslims this year, says U
Than Htut Aung, the chairman
of the Eleven Media Group,
which has both a daily and a
weekly.
When the central city of
Meiktila erupted in sectarian
violence in March, one of his
photographers was chased away
by a mob of angry Buddhists.
A second photographer was
dispatched from a nearby city,
but he too was confronted by a
marauding mob and forced to
seek shelter in a police station.
A third photographer was sent
and posed as a businessman,
discreetly taking photos of the
city, where dozens of homes
were burned and at least 44
people were killed. The Daily
Elevens photos were among
LIe hrsL Imuges senL Irom LIe
city after the carnage.
Than Htut Aung said he
printed about 85,000 copies of
The Daily Eleven, which is not
yeL prohLubIe despILe beIng LIe
largest private daily newspaper.
TIe puper Is eecLIveIy
subsidised by a weekly sports
journal, which began publish-
ing 13 years ago and which has
consistently made money.
But smaller newspapers do
Contd. P 26...(Media Struggle) Contd. P 26...(Media Struggle)
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Finding good reporters had been difficult.
Reporters are addicted to
Facebook, and often post scoops
to their Facebook pages, rather than
filing stories to their editors.
7
January 9-15, 2014
Myanmar Business Today
mmbiztoday.com
January 9-15, 2014
Myanmar Business Today
mmbiztoday.com
LOCAL BIZ
8
From page ...(Attitude)
Mangrove Rehabilitation to
Get $5.54m Japanese Grant
Phyu Thit Lwin
M
yanmars Ministry of Environmental Conservation
and Forestry in cooperation with Japan Interna-
tional Cooperation Agency (JICA) has launched a
Mangrove Rehabilitation Project to enhance disaster pre-
vention in the Ayeyarwady delta region in Myanmar.
JICA will provide $5.54 million for the project through
its Grant Aid program, according to an agreement signed
between the government and JICA in 2012.
The project site is located in the Kadonkani Reserve Forest,
Bogale township in Ayeyarwady region, and will be imple-
mented in four years until October 2017.
The project includes building mangrove forest plantation,
constructing a cyclone-shelter with watch tower, providing
support materials and drawing a mangrove management
plan as well as surveying aquatic species to analyse the im-
pact of the project on species diversity and population.
Myanmar Summary
Myanmar, France Agree to Cooperate in Media Development
Su Su
M
yanmar and France have agreed to cooperate in
deveIopmenL oI medIu und hIm IndusLry.
The cooperation agreement was initiated between
Myanmars Ministry of Information and Frances Ministry of
Culture and Communications.
It is a fruitful result coming out from the cooperation
project that has started last two years, French Minister
Aure` Ie IIIppeL suId, uddIng LIuL runce Is reudy Lo oer
technical assistance.
The agreement also covers technology transfer in broad-
cusLIng und joInL producLIon oI hIms.
Myanmar Summary
countries, but people are ambi-
tious and look to the future.
Of course, Chinese are also
criticised for having lost touch
with anything but material
goals, and for their unhappy,
rat-race driven lives. For the
Burmese content to live in the
moment, progress in becom-
ing a factory line worker might
not seem that appealing. But if
the country is to modernise, ul-
LImuLeIy benehLIng LIe peopIe,
this kind of determination is
needed.
The author is a reporter with
the Global Times. yujincui@
globaltimes.com.cn.
From page ...(Attitude)
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JICA to Finance Yangon-Mandalay
Railroad Upgrade
T
he Japan International
Cooperation Agency
(JICA) has pledged to
extend a loan of $200 million to
upgrade the Yangon-Mandalay
railroad, according to a JICA
om cIuI.
The deal is expected to be
signed in March.
The project, which will be
implemented in 2014, requires
$500 million in total to upgrade
the rundown railroad connect-
Yasumasa Hisada ing Yangon and Mandalay.
TIIs Is LIe hrsL buLcI oI puy-
ment for the project and JICA
wIII IIkeIy conLInue hnuncIng
the project with additional
loans, Tanaka Masahiko, chief
representative of JICA, said.
The loan is extended with
almost no interest and the re-
payment period is 14 years, he
added.
The Yangon-Mandalay rail-
road is 595km (370 mile) long
and under the ramshackle con-
dition, travel time between the
two cities take up to 15 hours.
AccordIng Lo un om cIuI Irom
the Ministry of Rail Transporta-
tion, the project could take up
to three years and upon com-
pletion, the travel time could be
reduced by three hours.
Myanma Railways (MR)
under the ministry will open
a tender for local and foreign
developers to upgrade the rail-
roads, Tanaka said.
A junction on Yangon-Mandalay railway.
T
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Myanmar Summary
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LOCAL BIZ
9
January 9-15, 2014
Myanmar Business Today
mmbiztoday.com
L
ocal private bank Coop-
erative Bank (CB) has
launched its mobile bank-
CB Bank Launches Mobile Banking
Phyu Thit Lwin ing service in the country, its
Lop om cIuI suId.
Banking transactions such
as remittance, payment and is-
suing cheques can be done with
mobile phone, U Kyaw Lin,
executive vice chairman of CB
Bank, said.
He said although internet
connection in Myanmar is
not good, the mobile banking
servIce wIII noL be uecLed by
it. We have tested this, and it
works, U Kyaw Lin said.
To provide its mobile bank-
ing services the bank is using
Temenos banking software,
which claims higher security
and protection from hackers.
The interface will also provide
service map for the closest ATM
machines and money changers
to the customer. They will be
able to check account balance,
know currency exchange rates
and pay bills through the sys-
tem, the bank said.
Money transfer and remit-
tance to CB Banks Easi Travel
Master Card and MPU card will
also be possible through this
service, CB Bank said.
CB Bank mobile banking
service will be accessible via
internet, SMS or USSD, the
bank said.
The bank said it will open
ugenL om ces uII over Myunmur
to make sure that remittance
charges are the same.
Myanmar Summary
Panasonic to Sell Solar
Lanterns in Myanmar
J
apanese electronics giant Panasonic said it will start selling solar lanterns in
Myanmar from this month.
Panasonic will sell its new product through its authorised local dealers, Hi-
sukuzu Muedu, cIIeI represenLuLIve oI PunusonIc AsIu PucIhc`s Myunmur bruncI,
said.
The product will be sold at K50,000 each.
The lanterns can also be used to charge small mobile devices such as mobile phones
via a USB port on the product.
With its adjustable brightness setting, the lantern can be used for six to ninety hours
when fully charged, the company said.
It has 3.5 Watt solar panel and built-in rechargeable battery to generate and store
renewable energy in the daytime.
The solar lantern is designed and developed to solve the electricity shortage prob-
Iem In Myunmur wIere LIe eIecLrIhcuLIon ruLe Is puInIuIIy Iow compured Lo oLIer
countries in the region.
Panasonic is also in collaboration with various social institutions to provide the
lanterns in rural areas with no electricity supply.
According to a World Bank report, over 70 percent of the residents in Myanmar
have no access to electricity.
Shein Thu Aung
Myanmar Summary
P
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CB Bank ofciaIs at the Iaunch of the bank's MobiIe Banking services in Yangon.
January 9-15, 2014
Myanmar Business Today
mmbiztoday.com
LOCAL BIZ
10
Mangrove Ecosystems Being
Obliterated in Myanmar
Rhett Buttler
M
angrove cover in
Myanmars Ayeyar-
wady Delta declined
by nearly two-thirds between
1978 and 2011, leaving coastal
areas more vulnerable to disas-
ters like Cyclone Nargis, which
killed 138,000 people in 2008,
hnds u new sLudy pubIIsIed In
the journal Global Environmen-
tal Change.
The research, led by a team
of scientists from the National
University of Singapore and the
Mangrove and Environmental
Rehabilitation Network in
Yangon, is based on remote
sensIng und heId duLu. L hnds
that dense mangrove cover in
the Ayeyarwady Delta declined
from 2,623 square kilometers in
1978 to less than 1,000 sq km in
2011, indicating an annual de-
forestation rate of three percent
over the period. Most of the
mangrove loss is attributed to
agricultural expansion, primar-
ily for rice production.
TIe hndIngs, Luken In conLexL
wILI LIe ucceIeruLIng Inux oI
foreign investment in Myan-
mar, portend a dire future for
the countrys mangrove forests
unless policies are quickly put
into place, warn the authors.
The centrality of agriculture
to the Myanmar economy
indicates that emerging poli-
cies are likely to tip the scales
towards agricultural expansion,
agroindustrial investment and
potentially greater rates of de-
forestation due to the introduc-
tion of well-funded investors,
InsumcIenL Iund Lenure ugree-
ments, and low governance
eecLIveness, LIe uuLIors wrILe.
The broad national challenge
is to initiate environmental
governance reforms (including
safeguards) in the face of sig-
nIhcunL pressures Ior Iund grub-
bing and opportunistic resource
extraction.
Under a business-as-usual
scenario, the researchers pro-
ject that unprotected Ayeyar-
wady Delta mangrove forests
could be completely deforested
by 2026.
Business-as-usual defor-
estation scenarios suggest that
most, if not all of the unprotect-
ed Ayeyarwady mangroves will
be lost in the next few decades
at a rate faster than other man-
grove deforestation hotspots in
the region, such as the Mekong
Delta from 19651999.
But the authors say that the
fate of Myanmars mangroves
is still far from sealed. Land
tenure reform, improved land
use planning, the establish-
ment of protected areas, and
the implementation of new
environmental laws could help
ensure the survival of these
forests, which provide critical
ecosystem services to the deltas
7.7 million human inhabitants.
As Myanmars government
takes steps toward political
and economic reform and is
rewarded with increased inter-
national engagement, private
investment and overseas aid, it
also potentially faces increased
environmental pressures.
These necessitate proactive en-
vironmental safeguarding and
precautionary management.
Myanmar Summary
AIS Launches First Data
Roaming Service in Myanmar
T
hailands leading tele-
communications services
provider Advanced Info
Service Plc (AIS) has become
LIe worId`s hrsL operuLor Lo
provide a data-roaming service
in Myanmar in a bid to tap the
growing number of Thai visitors
in the country.
The service is provided in
collaboration with state-run
Myanmar Posts and Telecom-
munications (MPT), following
AISs launch of roaming servic-
es for voice calls in 2011 and for
text messaging in December.
It is essential to have a roam-
ing service in Myanmar due to
the large number of Thais and
foreign visitors through Thai-
land visiting the country, said
Pratthana Leelapanang, senior
vice president, digital products
and services of AIS.
With AIS Data Roaming
Service, our customers can now
stay online while travelling in
Myanmar. Moreover, our cus-
tomers can enjoy data roaming
service in Myanmar with great
savings, he said.
In the early stages, AIS targets
200,000 to 300,000 customers
to use its service in Myanmar.
AS oers LIree puckuges uL
Htet Aung a price of 6 baht (20 cents) per
megabyte 50 MB for one day
of use, 150 MB for three days
und zo MB Ior hve duys. PosL-
paid customers can subscribe to
the packages right away, while
the service will be available
for prepaid mobile users from
January 14.
The company said it also has
a system to alert users when
quotas have nearly been used to
prevent bill shock.
True Move, Thailands third
largest mobile operator, is also
in the process of testing a roam-
ing service in Myanmar.
Myanmar Summary
Myanmar, US Universities to
Cooperate in Education
U
niversities of Myanmar
and the United States
are seeking cooperation
In LIe heId oI educuLIon und u
memorandum of understanding
between the Yangon University
and the Johns Hopkins Uni-
versity is expected to be signed
soon, state media reported.
Discussions have been made
between acting Education Min-
ister Myo Myint and visiting
Director of the Asian Studies
Program at the Johns Hopkins
University of the US with regard
to the cooperation.
TIeIr dIscussIons specIh-
cally covered opening of MRES
(Master of Research) course
for international relations at
the International Centre of
Excellence (ICE) in Yangon
university campus, learning
Myanmar course by students
of the Johns Hopkins Univer-
sity at the Yangon University of
Foreign Language and opening
of electronic library at the ICE.
In February last year, Myan-
mar Medical Science Depart-
Aye Myat ment (MSD) of the Ministry
of Health signed a MoU with
the Johns Hopkins Univer-
sity on cooperation in medical
technology.
The technical cooperation cov-
ers giving training to medical
sLu oI LIe Yungon UnIversILy
of Medicine for human resource
development, advancement of
teaching methods of medicine
and programs for capacity
building.
Under the MoU, US Bart
Liberal Art College will also be
opened in Myanmar this year
with four-year degree courses
to be conducted for Myanmar
students.
Universities of Northern Iowa
and Western Illinois will also
open their overseas campuses
for some post-graduate courses
in Myanmar in the middle of
this year, local media reported
last week.
Besides US universities, My-
anmar is also cooperating with
those of Japan, Australia and
Germany to develop its educa-
tion system, human resources
and cultural sectors.
Myanmar Summary
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LOCAL BIZ
11
January 9-15, 2014
Myanmar Summary
Myanmar Summary
Myanmar Business Today
mmbiztoday.com
Myanmars Border
Trade with China
Jumps More than
200pc
Yasumasa Hisada
B
order trade between
Myanmar and China has
increased 228 percent
during the current 2013-14
hnuncIuI yeur, recenL govern-
ment data shows.
According to the Department
of Commerce and Consumer
AuIrs (DCCA) under LIe MIn-
istry of Commerce, during April
to December 2013, border trade
soared to $2.88 billion from
$879 million in the same period
oI LIe IusL hscuI yeur.
Exports from Myanmar ac-
counted for $1.94 billion worth
of trade, while imports from
China stood at $940 million,
data shows.
Om cIuIs uLLrIbuLed LIe Iurge
increase in trade volume to
the governments measures to
curb illegal border trade and
the increased trading activities
of small business with Individ-
ual Trading Cards (ITC), which
were implemented to encourage
individuals with limited capital
to engage in trading.
Muse, Chin Shwe Haw, Lwae
Jae and Kan Pite Tee are the
four checkpoints that are cur-
rently available for Myanmar
China border trade.
However, the government is
preparing to open more border
check points along the China
and Thailand borders in order
to boost trading activities, the
DCCA said.
The Ministry of Commerce
has projected total trade earn-
ings of $25 billion for the entire
zo1-1q hscuI yeur, oI wIIcI
20 percent is expected to come
from border trade and the rest
from sea trade routes.
Tourist Guide Fee Still Varies Depending on Language
Htet Aung
A
s Myanmars tourism
high season kicked
into gear in November
last year a daily tour guide fee
wus hxed by LIe Tour GuIdes`
Association.
However, tour guides and
industry insiders say the basic
servIce cIurge Is sLIII dIerenL
depending on the foreign lan-
guages the tour guides speak.
We InLroduced u hxed duIIy
fee for all tour guides around
Myanmar to be fair on them.
But now as tour guides serve
the thronged globe trotters in
Myanmar, tour guide fees are
being determined based on
the languages they speak. For
example, an English speaking
Lour guIde`s cIurge dIers Irom
that who speaks German or
French, tour guide trainer U
Day Yar said.
Tourism sector is now ben-
ehLLIng our counLry more LIun
ever. We Iuve u hxed Lour guIde
fee per day. But this is not being
followed, Ko Ye Naing, an Eng-
lish speaking tour guide, said.
Now we receive many tour-
ists from Germany, France and
Italy. And, guides speaking
languages from those countries
charge $5 or $10 more than
English speaking tour guides.
All tour guides serve with
goodwill, so everyone should
get the same fee, Ko Ye Naing
said.
Current basic daily tour guide
fee is $35 for German and
French speaking tour guides
and $30 for English speaking
guides, he added.
However, U Than Ko, another
tour guide trainer, thinks that
the basic tour guide fee should
be set based on the tour guides
language abilities.
Myanmar attracts tourists
from all around the world, and
French and Japanese-speaking
tour guides are particularly in
high demand. So, guides who
speak those countries languag-
es can charge more, he said.
Myanmars tourism high sea-
son begins in early November.
As LIe counLry`s prohIe us u
tourist destination continues to
grow, LourIsm hgures ure IIkeIy
Lo reucI record hgures once
again this year. In 2012, arriv-
als reached more than 1 million
Ior LIe hrsL LIme und uuLIorILIes
Iope LIuL hgure wIII reucI
million in 2014.
Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon.
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January 9-15, 2014
Myanmar Business Today
mmbiztoday.com
LOCAL BIZ
12
Myanmar Summary
Japan to Build Tech Education
Centre in Kayin State
Shein Thu Aung
J
apan will build a technical
education and training
school in Myanmars
southeastern Kayin state in a
bid to create youth employment
In LIe conIcL-rIdden sLuLe.
A memorandum of un-
derstanding (MoU) on the
construction of the centre in
Hpa-an, capital of Kayin state,
was signed between the Educa-
tion and Training Department
under the Ministry of Border
AuIrs und BrIdge AsIu Jupun
(BAJ).
According to the MoU, the
scIooI wIII oer IndusLrIuI
maintenance, electrical, con-
struction and welding courses
to 180 trainees for a year at a
cost of $1.5 million.
Myanmar Summary
Indigenous medical practitioners selling traditional medicine at the golden rock
pagoda in Kyaiktyio, Myanmar.
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President Calls for Development of
Traditional Medicine Industry
Su Su
P
resident U Thein Sein
has called for the devel-
opment of traditional
medicine and pharmacy within
the framework of related laws.
He made the call during
his speech on the occasion of
the 14
th
Myanmar Traditional
Medicine Practitioners confer-
ence held in Nay Pyi Taw. The
conference has been held annu-
ally since more than a decade
ago.
U Thein Sein said Myanmars
traditional medicine industry
has a great potential to tap
Southeast Asias growing tradi-
tional medicine market, which
is coiled to leap as an increas-
ingly health-conscious middle
class rises in the region.
The market for traditional
medicine in Southeast Asia is
projected to grow to $3.9 bil-
lion by 2017, nearly 50 percent
more than 2013, according to
reseurcI hrm EuromonILor
International.
Global pharmaceutical
compunIes Irom Phzer nc Lo
Roche Holding AG have long
pinpointed Asia as a source of
future growth as incomes rise.
In Myanmar, an Institute of
Traditional Medicine was estab-
lished in 1976 and a University
of Traditional Medicine was set
up in 2001. The president said
these institutions have fostered
quuIIhed proIessIonuIs In My-
anmar traditional medicine.
Myanmar also enacted a Tra-
ditional Medicine Law in 1996
and the Traditional Medical
Council Law in 2000.
Starting form 2007, Myanmar
LrudILIonuI medIcIne hrsL-uId
kits have been distributed to
rural villages. During 2012 and
2013, Myanmar hosted confer-
ences and meetings on tradi-
tional medicine in the ASEAN
region.
Yet the traditional medicine
sector has come under scrutiny
from global health regulators.
Several ingredients in some
medicines are alleged to contain
high levels of toxins or chemi-
cals despite being promoted
as natural. In August, a UK
regulator warned people not
to use a number of unlicensed
traditional Chinese medicines
after they were found to contain
dangerously high levels of
lead, mercury and arsenic.
Some traditional Chinese
medicines have also come
under hre Irom unImuI rIgILs
groups as they use ingredients
from endangered animals such
as bear bile, crocodile penis and
deer antler.
Myanmar Summary
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Unilever Food Solutions
Looks to Double
Myanmar B2B Business
U
nilever Food Solutions
aims to double its busi-
ness-to-business deals
every two years in Myanmar,
said Prasith Preechachalieo,
managing director for Thailand,
Indochina and Vietnam.
He said the company, which is
a unit of Unilever Thai Trading
Ltd, began doing business in
Myanmar in 2010, focusing on
the restaurant market. Serving
200 restaurants in 2011, that
number has grown to 1,000
this year. It targets doubling
its operations every two years
after joining with the Myanmar
Restaurant Association (MRA)
to promote its products.
We joined with the MRA to
train chefs in Myanmar about
how to cook and how to use the
products and also be concerned
about cost management, food
quality, convenience, and nutri-
tion for customers. This will
support our business growth in
this country, he said.
After forming a strong re-
lationship with the MRA, the
company has succeeded in
becoming a major sponsor of
the upcoming SEA Games. It
cooperated with the association
to train up to 400 people to
cook for up to 4,000 athletes
und sLu uL LIe gumes.
Myanmars restaurant market
shows signs of growing every
year, Prasith said. This is a
result of the countrys economic
growth and the expanding num-
ber of investors and tourists.
Unilever has a plant in Myan-
mar to produce Knorr Rostip
seasoning powder, primarily for
households. The main products
for restaurants are still im-
ported from Thailand.
Thailand is still our pro-
duction base for Indochina
including Myanmar, Laos and
Cambodia in the business-to-
business market, but when the
market grows the company may
set up a new plant in Myanmar
in the future, he said.
Currently, Indonesia is the
largest market in ASEAN for
the food business and accounts
for about 30 percent of Unilever
Food Solutions regional market
value. Thailand ranks second at
about 25 percent, followed by
the Philippines and Malaysia.
In Southeast Asia, the food-
service industry is valued at
$27.9 billion, covering 500
million people who eat out at
least once a year. A total of 1.3
million food-service businesses
exist throughout the region, the
Aye Myat majority of which are roadside
food stalls and food carts.
MRA secretary-general Kyaw
Myat Moe said Myanmar now
had more than 5,000 restau-
rants, but only 1,400 were
members of his organisation.
However, the MRA believes that
its collaboration with Unilever
Food Solutions will help it in-
crease the number of members
and also raise the standards of
the country's restaurants.
Most of the raw materials
Myanmar restaurants use are
acquired locally, but some
ingredients are imported from
Thailand, Kyaw Myat Moe said.
Unilever Food Solutions .
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REGIONAL BIZ
13
January 9-15, 2014
Myanmar Summary
Contd. P 26...(Chinese Farmers)
Myanmar Business Today
mmbiztoday.com
For Chinese Farmers, A Rare Welcome in
Russias Far East
David Stanway
F
ourteen years ago, Chi-
nese businessman Li
Demin was asked to help
bail out a struggling pig farm
in the Russian trading city of
UssurIysk, cIose Lo LIe PucIhc
coast in the Far East.
Li, chairman of the Dongning
Huaxin Group, a private trad-
Ing hrm bused In HeIIongjIung
province across the border,
reluctantly agreed but on one
condition.
At the time I was trading and
wasnt at all interested because
I knew nothing about raising
pigs. So I said I would only buy
if they threw in 500 hectares,
Li told Reuters.
In the end, the local govern-
menL oered Lo Ieuse I more
land than he asked for, and more
was to come. Now stretching
40,000 hectares and expected
to expand further, Lis farm
near Ussuriysk is the biggest in
Russias Far East and one of the
largest foreign-invested agricul-
tural projects in the country. It
raises 30,000 pigs a year and
grows soybeans and corn that is
sold in local markets or shipped
back to China.
L seems Lo be u nuLuruI hL.
Russias Far East Federal Dis-
trict, a region two-thirds the
size of the United States, has a
population of just 6.3 million
and wide swathes of unfarmed
fertile land.
China is next door, its 1.4 bil-
lion people have an insatiable
appetite for crops and produce,
and its companies have gone as
far as Australia, South America
und LIe PucIhc IsIund oI Vu-
nuatu to lease farmland.
Unlike most other parts of the
world, the local population, cut
o Irom RussIu`s wesLern-IucIng
economy, mostly welcomes
Chinese investment, which has
provided a lifeline following the
collapse of the Soviet Union.
CIInese hrms uIreudy Ieuse
or control at least 600,000
hectares of land in the Far East,
which is equivalent to the size of
a small US state like Delaware.
The investments could surge if
the political masters in Moscow
were more accommodating.
When the Soviet Union col-
lapsed, the local people didnt
really know what to do, so they
started encouraging us to take
over the land at very cheap
prices, Li said. They would
pay us to clear the forests they
gave us a lot of support.
Pavel Maslovsky, who rep-
resents the Amur region near
the Chinese border in Russias
upper house, the Federation
Council, said the region needs
investment and fears of an in-
ux oI CIInese were mIspIuced.
To fear that investors would
come to the wrong sector and in
a manner which we do not like
is like selling a bears skin be-
fore you have caught the bear,
he said.
But there remains consider-
able ambivalence in Moscow
about the regions growing de-
pendence on China. Relations
between the two nations have
been improving since a border
war in 1969, but some tensions
remain.
It is no longer necessarily the
fears that the Russians are go-
ing to be swamped by gazillions
of Chinese, said Bobo Lo, asso-
ciate fellow at Chatham House
and an expert in Sino-Russian
Contd. P 26...(Chinese Farmers)
Some say China is swamping or yellowfy-
ing Russias Far East but this isnt actually
happening the Chinese just want to do
business and go home.
An employee works on the Armada farming project run by Dongning Huaxin Group near the far eastern Russian town of
Ussuriysk. Ussuriysk, about 100 km (62 miles) north of Vladivostok and 60 km (37 miles) east of the Chinese border, was once
controlled by a succession of Chinese dynasties and built over the last century from the proceeds of logging and food produc-
tion. Une of the rst areas in Russia to open up to Chinese business in the 198Us, it has aIso beneted from the estabIishment
of a free trade zone that has brought investment from 2 Chinese rms since its foundation in 2UU.
Y
u
r
i
M
a
lt
s
e
v
/
R
e
u
t
e
r
s
relations.
Now IL Is sIIgILIy dIerenL,
and more that the Chinese are a
rising economic power, that part
of Russia is struggling and China
will inexorably take over.
Fear s of Chi na
Russian fears of Chinese en-
croachment in its underpopu-
lated Far East have eased since
the 1990s, but while Russia has
vowed to rejuvenate the impov-
erished region, it is still reluc-
tant to rely entirely on China.
Unfortunately for Moscow, the
Chinese remain the only ones
willing to invest.
There is already a feeling
(from the Russians) in the
bilateral relationship that they
are being outmatched, and this
makes them anxious, said Lo.
It is bad enough being a
resource appendage to the West
and it is worse if you are a re-
source appendage to a country
to which you have felt superior
for the last 300 years.
The Far East received $9.9
billion of foreign investment
in 2011, according to Russias
Federal Statistics Service, ac-
counting for just 5 percent of
the amount received by Russia
as a whole. More than three
quarters of the total was spent
on the development of oil and
gas in Sakhalin, a resource-rich
IsIund o LIe ur EusL cousL,
north of Japan.
Ussuriysk, about 100 km (62
miles) north of Vladivostok
and 60 km (37 miles) east of
the Chinese border, was once
controlled by a succession of
Chinese dynasties and built
over the last century from the
proceeds of logging and food
production.
One oI LIe hrsL ureus In RussIu
to open up to Chinese business
in the 1980s, it has also ben-
ehLed Irom LIe esLubIIsImenL
of a free trade zone that has
brought investment from 26
CIInese hrms sInce ILs Ioundu-
tion in 2006.
Widespread fears about the
regIon beIng ooded by CIInese
migrants have not come to pass.
The city has a permanent
population of around 150,000
und u ouLIng popuIuLIon oI u
few thousand Chinese traders
and workers selling textiles and
electronic goods. There is no
Chinatown, and no indication
that the Chinese want to settle
permanently.
Some say China is swamp-
ing or yellowfying Russias Far
East but this isnt actually hap-
pening the Chinese just want
to do business and go home,
said a Chinese businessman
who has been based in Ussuri-
ysk for more than a decade.
But the population imbalance
still causes anxiety. The Far
Easts population is smaller
than an average Chinese city
and just a fraction of the 90
million living in Chinas three
border provinces of Jilin, Hei-
longjiang and Inner Mongolia.
Dongning Huaxins Li said
his company has been doing its
utmost to ease the concerns and
ensure that local labour is used
on farms. He said local Russian
farmers now make up around
60 percent of a total workforce
of 600.
. , . ..: ~, . . ., ~ ~, ~ . .. :.
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._ ,q:.- ~,.e.q._.~.._e.
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, ~ ~:.~._:,. ._.:_~:.. ._ .
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._ . e. ~.| ._ .~~ e ~~, .
e~~: ,~~~~ ~ ..,...:
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. :.. q, ._ . ..: . , .:.._ .
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January 9-15, 2014
Myanmar Business Today
mmbiztoday.com
REGIONAL BIZ
14
South Korea Raises
Domestic Gas Prices
by 5.8pc
Jane Chung
S
outh Korea raised domes-
tic natural gas prices by an
average 5.8 percent from
Wednesduy IusL week Lo reecL
costlier imports and to meet
rising demand following the
shutdown of some nuclear reac-
tors, Korea Gas Corp (KOGAS)
said.
TIe IIke, LIe hrsL sInce ebru-
ary this year, is projected to in-
crease average annual consum-
er InuLIon by o.1z percenLuge
points, as city gas accounts for
2.06 percent of the consumer
prIce Index, un omcIuI uL sLuLe-
run KOGAS said.
Asias No.4 economy, which
relies heavily on oil and gas im-
ports, has been trying to secure
stable long-term power supplies
In u bId Lo curb InuLIon Ied by
higher energy costs.
However, a series of nuclear
plant shutdowns has forced it
into the more expensive spot
market to ensure adequate
power supplies.
South Korea has 23 nuclear
reactors, which generate about
a third of its electricity. Six units
ure currenLIy omIne, IncIudIng
three halted since late May to
replace control cables that were
suppIIed wILI Iuke cerLIhcuLes.
KOGAS said in a statement
that the shutdown of the trou-
bled three reactors had forced it
to buy about 1.85 million tonnes
more gas on the spot market.
I we keep noL reecLIng
changes in import cost, it can
lead to an increase in Korea
Gass payments receivable
and create problems of stable
natural gas supply. Thus it was
inevitable that we increase do-
mestic gas rates, the statement
said.
KOGAS, the worlds largest
corporuLe buyer oI IIquehed
natural gas, said selling gas
beIow uL urLIhcIuIIy Iow prIces
would cost it 5.1 trillion won
($4.83 billion) in 2013, down
from 5.5 trillion won a year
earlier.
Its debt-to-equity ratio stood
at 385 percent in 2012, up from
348 percent in 2011, the state-
ment noted.
KOGAS planned to announce
specIhc pIuns Lo Improve ILs
hnuncIuI sLrucLure by LIe
end of January, it added.
Reuters
Myanmar Summary
Japans Whisky Makers Drum Up
Global Market for Their Drams
Sophie Knight and
Ritsuko Shimizu
A
fter years of being over-
shadowed at home and
practically unheard of
overseas, Japans whisky dis-
tilleries are expanding capacity
as their malts become serious
contenders against Scottish and
Irish brands.
Exports are booming at Nikka,
owned by Asahi Group Hold-
ings, and at Suntory Holdings,
which is ramping up produc-
tion at its Yamazaki distillery
Ior LIe hrsL LIme In q yeurs us
domestic sales recover from a
prolonged slump.
But some are concerned the
distilleries may be caught out
if the enthusiasm for whisky
changes as it did in the 1990s,
when several smaller players
shut down as Japanese drinkers
shifted to beer, clear spirits and
imported liquor.
At the moment, no one can
see this boom busting. The dif-
hcuILy Is LIuL you`re mukIng IL
today for 20 or 50 years time,
said Marcin Miller, an importer
of small-batch Japanese whisky
with his British company Num-
ber One Drinks.
The drop in demand during
the 1990s meant Suntory and
Nikka had to cut production,
industry experts say, leaving
distilleries with a shortage of
stock for their youngest single
malts when whisky made a
comeback in 2008.
Last year, Suntory stopped
making its 10-year Yamazaki
and Hakushu single malts and
introduced no age versions
instead. Nikka is expected to
phase out its 12-year Taketsuru
single malt after releasing a no
age variety this year.
The slump had more a serious
impact on minor distilleries
such as Karuizawa, Mars and
Hanyu. All three were moth-
balled by 2000 and their stock
left dormant until a run of
international awards for Japa-
nese whisky brought buyers
knocking.
Bootleg to blockbuster
In its earliest incarnation,
Japanese whisky was a bootleg
adulterated with spices and
perfume. Lacking strict regula-
tions of the Scottish and Irish
varieties, it was largely ignored
by foreign connoisseurs for
much of its 90-year history.
I thought going to drink Jap-
anese whisky would be a bit like
drinking a Welsh claret, Miller
suId oI IIs hrsL LrIp Lo Jupun
in 1999, when he was editor of
Whisky Magazine. I wondered
'WIII my IosLs be oended II
drink gin and tonic?.
Miller was soon converted but
he found no one to share his en-
thusiasm with back in Britain,
where Japanese whisky exports
were practically non-existent.
The turning point came in
2001, when Nikkas 10-year
Yoichi single malt won Best of
the Best at Whisky Magazines
awards.
Japanese makers have
stormed competitions ever
since, with Suntory winning
Distiller of the Year at the
International Spirit Challenge
for the third time in July and
the Trophy prize for its 21-year
Hibiki blend.
The acclaim nudged Japans
distilleries to market overseas
and sales jumped. Nikkas ex-
ports grew 18-fold between 2006
and 2012, while Suntory is look-
ing to double overseas shipments
to 3.6 million bottles by 2016.
They grew 16 percent in 2012.
While that is still a wee dram
compared with sales of more
than 72 million bottles at home,
Suntory and Nikka export
only premium varieties to the
United States and Europe. In
Japan, premium bottles make
up 6 percent of sales.
A matter of ti me
Distillers and blenders toiled
for years to replicate traditional
techniques, following notes
brought from Scotland in 1920
by pioneer Masataka Taket-
suru, who worked for Suntory
before founding Nikka.
Japans mountain water
and icy winters proved ideal.
Foreign fans rave about the
authentic taste of Japanese
whisky, a result of attention to
every part of the process from
imported peat to the blending.
While Scotch is about main-
LuInIng LIe uvour oI u cerLuIn
brand or label, Japanese distill-
ers think mainly about increas-
Ing uvours, suId ALsusII Ho-
rigami, owner of the Zoetrope
bar in Tokyo, which specialises
in Japanese whisky.
Horigami said most Japanese
drinkers go for blended whisky
but the leftover stock from the
mothballed distilleries sold
as single casks has been a hit
with foreigners.
Contd. P ,...(]apan's \hisky)
After years of being overshadowed at home and practically unheard of overseas, Japans whisky distilleries are expanding
capacity as their malts become serious contenders against Scottish and Irish brands.
a
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.
p
l
A general view of the new Shin Kori No.3 reactor of South Korea's state-run utility
Korea Electric Power Corp (KEPCO) in Ulsan. A series of nuclear plant shutdowns
has forced South Korea into the more expensive natural gas spot market to ensure
adequate power supplies.
R
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REGIONAL BIZ
15
January 9-15, 2014
Myanmar Summary
Myanmar Business Today
mmbiztoday.com
China, South Korea Alarmed as Yen
Slide Threatens Exporters
Jungmin Jang & Lee
Shin-hyung
C
hina and South Koreas
anxiety over the rapidly
falling yen came to the
Iore us senIor omcIuIs suId
their exporters could be hurt
by Japans attempts to pull its
moribund economy out of a
two-decade slump.
Beijing and Seoul understand
the need for Tokyo to revive its
$5 trillion economy and escape
persIsLenL deuLIon.
But they are worried that the
mussIve moneLury und hscuI
stimulus championed by Japa-
nese Prime Minister Shinzo
Abe has sharply weakened the
yen and put their exporters at a
disadvantage in global markets.
So far, Chinese and South
Koreun omcIuIs Iuve reIruIned
from direct action to maintain
competitiveness, such as in-
tervening by buying dollars in
currency markets, but there is a
risk of a response if their export
sectors are severely hampered.
(Japan) will look to keep the
economy growing by boost-
ing exports through the yens
depreciation, Xu Shaoshi,
chairman of Chinas National
Development and Reform
Commission, said at a meeting
wILI LIe SouLI Koreun hnunce
minister in Seoul.
TIIs Is u poIIcy LIuL wIII uecL
South Korea and China, and
therefore needs to be monitored
closely, Xu said.
The remarks failed to move
the holiday-thinned foreign
exchange markets in the region,
with an analyst in Seoul say-
ing the overall direction of the
currencies would not be turned
around if the speed could be
slowed.
Plumbi ng Lows
TIe yen IeII Lo u hve-yeur Iow
against the dollar on Monday
last week, and has plunged 26
percent over the past 15 months.
With the Chinese yuan and
Korean won both gaining
against the dollar this year, the
impact has been even more pro-
nounced on the exchange rates
between three of the worlds top
seven exporting nations.
On Monday last week, 100 yen
hit a 15-year low of 5.7490 yuan
and the Japanese currency
touched a 5-year low of 9.9983
won. Over the past 15 months,
it has weakened by nearly 30
percent against both currencies,
Thomson Reuters data shows.
South Korean Deputy Finance
Minister Eun Sung-soo told Re-
uters that Seoul was concerned
by the yens fall at a time when
the won was strengthening.
Yuna Park, a currency and
bond analyst at Dongbu Securi-
ties in Seoul, said she expects
the trend of yen weakening
against the won may not be
changed even though the au-
thorities will be able to slow the
pace.
South Korean authorities have
in the past been spotted buying
dollars when they wanted to
keep the won moving in step
with the yen vis-a-vis the dollar
because trading of the yen/won
pair was almost non-existent.
One prong of Abes policies,
known as Abenomics, has
been to stoke demand to gener-
uLe InuLIon. As purL oI LIuL,
the Bank of Japan is increasing
base money, or cash and de-
posits at the central bank, at an
annual pace of 60 trillion yen to
70 trillion yen ($570 billion to
$665 billion).
Competi ti on among
power houses
In the three north Asian
powerhouses, manufacturers of
products ranging from cars to
electronics goods and ships are
In herce compeLILIon Ior exporL
markets. Big names in the com-
petition and ones whose sales
are sensitive to exchange rates
include Samsung Electronics,
Toyota Motor, Hyundai Motor,
and Huawei Technologies.
China was the worlds largest
exporter, Japan the fourth and
South Korea the seventh during
LIe hrsL nIne monLIs oI LIIs
year, World Trade Organization
(WTO) data shows. Reuters
AhcIonudos und specuIuLors
alike await the releases of
batches of the Karuizawa stock,
which was bought by Millers
Number One Drinks in 2011.
Miller says most bottles are
snapped up within seconds,
going for as much as 12,500
($20,700).
But with just two years of
auctions left and the remaining
bottles from Hanyu and Mars
also in short supply, some won-
der where Japanese whisky lov-
ers ure goIng Lo hnd LIeIr sIngIe
cask kicks in years to come.
We may be on the crest of a
From page ... (]apan's \hisky)
wave now and in a few years see
u compIeLeIy dIerenL scene,
said Stefan van Eycken, editor
of Nonjatta, a blog on Japanese
whisky.
Thats where Suntory and
Nikka hope to step in. But
time will tell whether they can
sustain the fashion for their
brands for the decade or more it
will take to produce their famed
single malts. Reuters
Myanmar Summary
China and South Korea expressed concerns over the rapidly falling yen, saying their exporters could be hurt by Japans at-
tempts to pull its moribund economy out of a two-decade slump.
B
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- Yamazaki ~.~.~..,.
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January 9-15, 2014
Myanmar Business Today
mmbiztoday.com
REGIONAL BIZ
16
Indonesia Regulator Sees
Gas Exports Up 14pc in 2014
Wilda Asmarini
I
ndonesias natural gas exports are expected to increase by 14
percent in 2014 to 3.85 billion cubic feet per day compared
to shipments this year, the countrys energy regulator SK-
KMigas said.
Natural gas production for 2014 was forecast at 7.175 billion
cubic feet per day, or 1.24 million barrels of oil equivalent per
day. That would be an increase of about 3 percent from 6.981
billion cubic feet per day, or 1.204 million barrels of oil equiva-
lent, in 2013.
Of Indonesias total gas output, 2.4 billion cubic feet per day
wIII be Lurned InLo IIquehed nuLuruI gus (NG) und sIIpped
overseas.
Around 54 percent of natural gas production will be for do-
mestic use, the regulator said. Reuters
Myanmar Summary
Traders Squeezed As Indian
Farmers Turn Stockpile Gamblers
Rajendra Jadhav
F
armers such as 68-year-
old Ghanshyam Gokale
are quietly shaking up
agricultural commodity trading
in India, forcing the likes of top
soybean processor Ruchi Soya
to shift its business model away
from futures contracts and
towards the spot market.
Gokale, and other prosperous
growers like him, has stopped
selling his crops immediately
after harvesting. Instead, he has
converted his old house into two
warehouses, where he stores his
produce and waits for prices to
rise when supplies dwindle.
Rising wealth due to a rally in
agricultural crop prices, a jump
in farm loan disbursement at
more favourable interest rates
and larger houses with space for
storage are giving millions of
farmers the freedom to decide
when to sell their harvest.
That is disrupting seasonal
supply patterns and squeezing
processors and exporters, who
have been left unsure whether
they will get enough supplies
on LIme Lo IuIhI LIeIr conLrucLed
obligations.
Money gives you the power
to hold crops, said Gokale, who
kept back his entire harvest of
350 quintals (1,295 bushels) of
soybeans from 30 hectares (75
acres). Farmers are getting
higher prices. They are becom-
ing rich.
Soybean, rubber, rice and
sugar cane prices have more
LIun doubIed In hve yeurs, wIIIe
wheat and corn prices have
surged more than 60 percent,
boosting earnings of farmers.
Usually small farmers rush
Lo seII LIeIr crops In LIe hrsL
three-four months after har-
vesting and prices fall, said
Gokale, who plans to build a
cold storage for potatoes at his
farm in Piwdai village, near the
central Indian city of Indore,
600 km (370 miles) north-east
of Mumbai.
I started selling crops after
six months. By that time sup-
plies fall and I garner higher
prices.
Supply cycle di sr upted
The number of farmers mov-
ing away from the traditional
supply cycle is rising every year,
forcing traders and exporters to
adjust.
We have changed our busi-
ness model with more spot
month basis soymeal sales than
longer term, Nitesh Shahra,
presIdenL oI LIe rehnery dIvI-
sion at Ruchi Soya, told Reuters.
It is a step back from what is
happening in the world, but we
have to live with the situation.
Spot sales are conducted for
immediate settlement, whereas
futures contracts involve selling
goods for delivery some months
ahead.
The shift does bring some ad-
vantages for Ruchi Soya, which
crushes soybeans bought from
farmers to produce oil and meal
that it mainly exports.
Since now it is more spot-
to-spot trade, you dont need
to keep inventory. So cost of
inventory and risk of carrying
inventory will go down ... hedg-
ing requirement is also going
down, Shahra said.
In August and September oil
mills aggressively struck deals
to export soymeal as soybean
prices were around 3,400
rupees per 100 kg, and were
expected to fall with new season
supply starting from October.
But when the mills started to
execute exports orders, soybean
prices jumped above 3,900
rupees as farmers held back
supplies.
JusL Lo IuIhI soymeuI exporL
obligations some oil mills
bought soybean at a higher
price, but they incurred losses
from the deals, said Rajesh
Agrawal, coordinator of the
Soybean Processors Association
of India (SOPA).
Nasty sur pr i se
Indias imports and exports of
farm goods have become more
volatile as a result of the shift-
ing supply patterns.
Soybeun suppIIes In LIe hrsL
half of the 2012/13 marketing
year ended on Sept. 30 fell 7
percent from a year ago in top
producing Madhya Pradesh
state, while in the second half
they jumped 85 percent. Conse-
quently Indias soymeal exports
In LIe hrsL quurLer oI LIe yeur
fell nearly 27 percent from a
year ago, but in the last quarter
of the year jumped 157 percent.
Indias natural rubber im-
ports in the September quarter
more than doubled from a year
ago due to a domestic supply
crunch.
You dont know when you
will get nasty surprise, said an
omcIuI uL LIe AuLomoLIve Tyre
Manufacturers Association. In
July tyre companies were not
getting enough rubber despite
paying a nearly 10 percent pre-
mium over global prices. They
were forced to increase rubber
imports.
In September and October,
farmers holding back of sup-
plies of onions, a staple of many
Indian dishes, forced the gov-
ernment to organise emergency
supplies from China and Iran
to calm record prices ahead of
eIecLIons In hve sLuLes.
With the exception of highly
perishable commodities such
as some vegetables, farmers
have started holding back
almost every crop, from pulses
to cotton to rubber, says Nitin
Kalantri, a pulses miller based
at Latur in the western state of
Maharashtra. As a result, he
struggles to operate his mills at
full capacity. Reuters
Myanmar Summary
A labourer unloads sacks of onions from a supply truck at a vegetable wholesale market in the southern Indian city of Chennai.
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INTERNATIONAL BIZ
17
January 9-15, 2014
Myanmar Summary
Myanmar Business Today
mmbiztoday.com
Berkshire Hathaway to Buy
Phillips 66 Lnit Ior $1.qb
Michael Erman &
Jonathan Stempel
W
urren BueLL`s
Berkshire Hathaway
Inc struck a deal to
buy a Phillips 66 business that
makes chemicals to improve the
ow poLenLIuI oI pIpeIInes Ior
around $1.4 billion of stock.
Phillips 66 said last week that
Berkshire will pay for the unit,
Phillips Specialty Products Inc,
using about 19 million shares
of Phillips 66 stock that it cur-
rently owns.
I have long been impressed
by the strength of the Phillips
66 business portfolio, Buf-
fett said in a statement. The
ow Improver busIness Is u
high-quality business with
consIsLenLIy sLrong hnuncIuI
performance.
The exact number of shares
Berkshire will pay for the unit
will be determined by their
price on the closing date, the
companies said.
James Hambrick, CEO of
Berkshires specialty chemicals
unit Lubrizol Corp, will oversee
LIe busIness, BueLL suId. Berk-
shire bought Lubrizol for about
$9 billion in 2011.
Phillips 66 CEO Greg Garland
said the company decided to sell
the business because Berkshire
HuLIuwuy mude u sLrong oer.
He said the company will now
focus its growth on its oil and
natural gas transportation and
processing business, as well as
its other chemicals businesses.
Phillips 66 said it expects the
Phillips Specialty Products unit
to have about $450 million of
cash and cash equivalents on
its balance sheet at closing. It
expects the deal to close in the
hrsL IuII oI zo1q.
Berkshire favours larger com-
panies with consistent earnings
power and easy-to-understand
businesses.
In June, it paid $12.3 billion
for half of ketchup maker HJ
Heinz Co, and in May said it
paid $2.05 billion for the 20
percent it did not already own
of Israeli toolmaker Iscar.
Reuters
Condent Consomers Brighten
Economic Outlook
Lucia Mutikani
C
onsumer sentiment hit
u hve-monLI IIgI Ieud-
ing into the end of the
year and spending notched
its strongest month since the
summer, the latest signs of sus-
tained vigour in the economy
that are fostering hopes of a
strong 2014.
Consumer spending rose in
November at the fastest pace
since June and an upbeat senti-
ment reading for December
suggests consumers will keep
shopping despite tepid income
growth.
Next year is shaping up to be
the better tomorrow we have
wanted to see ever since the re-
cessIon ended uImosL hve yeurs
ago, said Chris Rupkey, chief
hnuncIuI economIsL uL Bunk oI
Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ in New
York.
Consumer spending rose 0.5
percent after gaining 0.4 per-
cent in October, the Commerce
Department said last week. The
rise matched economists ex-
pectations and was the seventh
consecutive monthly increase.
WIen udjusLed Ior InuLIon,
consumer spending, which ac-
counts for more than two-thirds
of US economic activity, also
increased 0.5 percent, the most
since February 2012.
The data indicates that spend-
ing in the last three months
of 2013 will almost certainly
accelerate from the third quar-
ters 2 percent annual rate,
despite signs that last-minute
Christmas sales may have been
disappointing.
Gr owth not fanni ng

The reports added to

other fairly strong data, such
as employment and industrial
production, in suggesting the
economy retained some of its
third-quarter momentum and
was poised for faster growth in
2014.
TIey uIso hL In wILI LIe ed-
eral Reserves upbeat view on
growth, which prompted the
central bank to announce in
December that it would start
trimming its monthly bond
purchases.
The US economy grew at a
4.1 percent clip in the July-
September period, the fastest
pace in nearly two years, after
expanding at a 2.5 percent rate
in the second quarter.
Despite the signs of strength,
InuLIon remuIns benIgn.
A price index for consumer
spending was unchanged for a
second straight month. Over the
past 12 months, prices rose 0.9
percent. The index had gained
0.7 percent in October.
Stronger growth supports
ed LuperIng buL modesL Inu-
tion means the pace of tapering
will be slow, said Jennifer Lee,
a senior economist at BMO
Capital Markets in Toronto.
Reuters
Myanmar Summary
Boeing Wins Deal Worth
Up to $750m
Andrea Shalal-Esa
B
oeing Co has won a con-
tract valued at up to $750
mIIIIon over hve yeurs Ior
continued work on the US Air
orce`s eeL oI B-1 bombers, LIe
Pentagon announced last week.
The contract, which includes
a one-year base period and
four one-year options, covers
integrated engineering services
such as computer network sup-
porL, LecInIcuI unuIysIs, IgIL
safety analysis and possible
work on enhancements, the US
Defense Department said in its
daily digest of major contracts.
Myanmar Summary
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January 9-15, 2014
Myanmar Business Today
mmbiztoday.com
INTERNATIONAL BIZ
18
Myanmar Summary
Linkedin, Pinterest More Popular Than Twitter: Study
Eddie Chan
M
ore US adults use
LinkedIn and Pinter-
est than Twitter, but
that website attracts a greater
proportion of blacks and young
adults than do its social me-
dia peers, a Pew Research
Center study released last week
showed.
Photo pin-up site Pinterest
spiked in popularity over the
past year, according to the
survey, a poll of 1,445 internet
users aged 18 and older. About
21 percent of respondents said
they employ the service, up
sharply from 15 percent in a
similar survey conducted a year
ago.
TIe hgure wus zz percenL Ior
LinkedIn and 18 percent for
Twitter, holding roughly steady
from a year ago. About 29 per-
cent of the blacks surveyed by
Pew made use of Twitter, well
above 16 percent for whites and
Hispanics, the study showed.
Twitter ranks higher than
Pinterest in terms of engage-
ment, however: 46
percent of users
surveyed go onto
the online messag-
ing service daily,
versus 23 percent
for Pinterest and
just 13 percent for
LinkedIn.
Industry experts
have said Twitter
is less intuitive
than Facebook and
LIus cun Lurn o
users, curtailing its
growth as a main-
stream social media
platform.
The Pew study
polled users of Fa-
cebook, Instagram,
Twitter, LinkedIn
und PInLeresL - hve oI LIe Iurg-
est US social media services.
About 71 percent of respond-
ents said they used Facebook,
up from 67 percent a year ear-
lier and granting it the highest
popularity ranking. But some
analysts speculate that younger
users are gravitating away from
Facebook, the worlds largest
social network, and toward
newer services such as Snap-
Chat or Instagram.
Facebook is the dominant so-
cial networking platform in the
number of users, but a striking
number of users are now diver-
sifying onto other platforms,
the Pew study read.
Pinterest holds particular
appeal to female users (women
are four times as likely as men
to be Pinterest users), and
LinkedIn is especially popular
among college graduates and
Internet users in higher-income
households. Reuters
Netix Hikes CIO Sulury to $6 million
for 2014
Daisuke Lon
N
eLIx nc ruIsed LIe suI-
ary of its Chief Executive
Reed Hastings by 50
percent to $6 million for 2014,
u reguIuLory hIIng sIowed, us ILs
stock quadrupled in value this
year amidst new programming
and a growth in subscriber base.
Hastings will receive $3 mil-
lion each in cash and stock
options for the year, according
Lo LIe hIIng wILI LIe US SecurI-
ties and Exchange Commission
made last week.
Other top executives including
CIIeI InuncIuI Omcer DuvId
WeIIs und CIIeI ConLenL Omcer
Ted Sarandos will also get a pay
hike in 2014, it said.
The internet movie and TV
show streaming service has
been trying to lure subscribers
with original programming.
Its success with a series of
programs such as political
satire House of Cards and
dark prison comedy Orange is
the New Black helped its US
customer base rise to 31.1 mil-
lion streaming subscribers last
quarter.
n November, NeLIx udded
four new television series and
one miniseries from Disneys
Marvel unit, and in December
it secured the rights to make
new epIsodes oI u spIno oI
the Breaking Bad television
series, available within days to
US December Auto Sales
Seen Up 4pc
Bernie Woodall
D
ecember US auto sales,
spurred by end-of-the-
year bargains, likely rose
about 4 percent from a year
earlier, industry analysts said.
I conhrmed, LIuL wouId meun
2013 will end as the best for US
auto sales since pre-recession
2007, at around 15.6 million
new cars and trucks sold, which
would be an increase of about 8
percent from 2012.
US consumers are expected
to spend more than $34 billion
on new vehicles in December,
a historic high for the month,
said JD Power & Associates,
which said the annual sales haul
would also be a record at more
than $370 billion.
Auto sales continue to outpace
the recovery of the US economy.
While auto sales are expected to
rise again in 2014, the pace of
the sales climb is expected to
slow.
Factors that contributed to
higher sales throughout 2013
were at play again in December,
including low interest rates on
loans, attractive lease deals and
consumers wanting to replace
older vehicles.
Plus, in December, there
were manufacturer discounts
us sIoppers Iud LIme o
during the holidays to visit a
dealership, said Alec Gutierrez,
unuIysL wILI uuLo reseurcI hrm
Kelley Blue Book.
December is one of the strong-
est months for US auto sales,
in part because of the bargains
available, but also because
consumers have developed over
decades behaviours that favour
end-of-the year buying, said
Thomas King, senior director at
JD Power & Associates.
Decembers typical rise in
auto sales is often followed by
a drop in sales in January. This
past January, US retail auto
sales were down 40 percent
from December.
Myanmar Summary
Myanmar Summary
NetHix CEU Reed Hastings gestures whiIe speaking at the Facebook f8 BeveIopers
Conference in San Francisco.
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customers in Latin America and
Europe, starting in 2014.
The logo for LinkedIn Corporation is pictured in Mountain View, California.
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INVESTMENT & FINANCE
19
January 9-15, 2014
Myanmar Summary
Myanmar Business Today
mmbiztoday.com
The Magic of Dollar Cost Averaging
David Mayes
D
espite the uncertainties
in the current global
economic environment,
with low interest rates and his-
torical stock market valuations
pointing to dangerous times
ahead for both stock and bond
investors alike, there is still a
strategy that can help get you to
retirement in great shape.
It takes a bit of discipline to
follow but is mathematically as
close to a sure thing as exists
in the world of investments.
Would you believe that you
could start investing today and
still make positive gains even
in an environment where the
murkeL Is Iower In hILeen yeurs
than it is today?
I can prove it mathemati-
cally and will give a very basic
exumpIe In u mInuLe, buL hrsL
let me explain how and why
the strategy works. Dollar cost
averaging basically involves
investing a certain amount
of money consistently over a
long period of time in regular
intervals. For example you
could invest a thousand bucks
every month into the markets
over hILeen yeurs, und uL LIe
end your total cost basis will be
the average monthly price over
LIose hILeen yeurs.
As long as the ending market
levels are higher than the aver-
age over the time period, you
come out ahead. Over the last
one hundred years, you could
not pick a 15 year time frame
where this strategy would not
have worked.
It works even better if you
average out as well, say over
unoLIer hILeen yeurs. TIIs
makes a lot of sense, since if
you start saving at age 40 and
retire at 55, you do not need
your entire nest egg liquidated
right away. You could start
selling a little bit every month
and get the average price over
the coming decade or so. Since
there is a long term uptrend in
the markets, even the shakiest
periods would not have been
able to cause this strategy to
fail. The idea here is to index, so
you ure dIversIhed und geL LIe
market return.
To keep the numbers simple
to illustrate the idea, imagine
you save $1,000/month for
hve yeurs und LIe S&P oo, or
FTSE, DAX, or MSCI World
Index, whichever you fancy,
starts at $1,000 and you buy
one unit per month with your
InvesLmenLs Ior LIe hrsL yeur Lo
end up with 10 units. Lets say
the markets then drop suddenly
to $500 and you spend the next
three years buying units at this
level, which now gives you 20
units/year because the market
is essentially on sale.
At the end of the fourth year
you would have 70 units, and
then lets imagine that the mar-
ket rises to $750 and spends the
hnuI yeur uL LIIs IeveI und ends
there. This year you would have
purchased 15 units to bring your
grand total to 85 units.
Keep in mind you saved
$12,000/year to total $60,000
invested at an average price
of $705.88. You would have
u prohL oI uImosL $q per unIL
or $3,750 total. This is a 6.25
percent gain over a period
where the markets ended down
25 percent from where they
started.
Obviously the big gain in
LIe hnuI yeur exuggeruLes LIe
point, but I hope this clearly
demonstrates how you can
make money even in a period
where the ending level is lower
than the starting point. When
markets exhibit the kind of be-
haviour they always have over a
Iong perIod oI LIme sucI us hI-
teen years, this strategy will do
amazing things for your retire-
ment account, but it requires
you to be disciplined and keep
contributing despite what the
account is worth at any given
point in time. There will always
be periods where the current
value is less than the contribu-
tions total and this causes many
to make the foolish mistake of
abandoning the strategy at the
worst possible time.
The great thing about this
strategy is that there is never
a bad time to start. Even if
markets crash in early days,
you simply end up buying more
units at the lower prices. Dont
let the fear of a coming crisis
keep you from starting to save
towards retirement and/or your
childrens university fees. The
sooner you start the greater the
Iong Lerm eecL oI compound-
ing will have on your overall
wealth.
David Mayes MBA provides
wealth management ser-
vices to expatriates throughout
Southeast Asia, focusing on
UK Pension Transfers. He
can be reached at david.m@
faramond.com. Faramond UK
is regulated by the FCA and
provides advice on pensions
and taxation. iS
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Taiwan Manufacturers to Tap Myanmar, Laos Market
Phyu Thit Lwin
T
aiwans top trade promo-
tion body said last week
that it will organise tours
to explore business opportuni-
ties in Myanmar and Laos in
March, targeting the indus-
trial product market in the two
countries, where demand for
machinery and power supplies
is high.
In Myanmar, demand for
imported machinery is high in
the agricultural and industrial
sectors, the Taiwan External
Trade Development Council
(TAITRA) said.
Demand for power supplies
is especially high given the
frequent electricity outages in
the business districts in the
Southeast Asian country with a
population of over 60 million,
which means huge business
opportunities for quality Tai-
wanese products, according to
TAITRA.
Laos is another niche market
for Taiwan, and that country
has been pushing trade and
hnuncIuI reIorms und IurLIer
opening its market. The coun-
trys economy has been expand-
ing at an annual average rate
of over 6 percent since 2002,
TAITRA said. Laos joined the
World Trade Organization in
2013.
The delegation on the March
3-12 trip will include manufac-
turers of agricultural machin-
ery, power supplies and auto
parts.
Myanmar Summary
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January 9-15, 2014
Myanmar Business Today
mmbiztoday.com
INVESTMENT & FINANCE
20
FDI Crosses $53 million in September
M
yunmur suw un Inow oI $.q mIIIIon worLI oI
contracted foreign direct investment in September,
bringing the total FDI into the country to over
$qq.z1 bIIIIon, recenLIy reIeused hgures Irom LIe CenLruI
Statistical Organization show.
The FDIs in September came in from nine countries,
with manufacturing sector receiving the highest amount of
investment worth $37.6 million. Agricultural sector saw the
second-IIgIesL D Inow oI $6.61 mIIIIon, wIIIe $.z mII-
lion came into tourism and $4.04 million to mining.
Hong Kong runked hrsL durIng LIe monLI by pourIng In
$12.45 million, followed by the UK, South Korea and France.
As of August last year, China had invested $14.19 billion
in Myanmar, while Hong Kong channelled in $6.45 billion,
South Korea $3.04 billion, Singapore $2.44 billion, Malaysia
$1.63 billion and Japan $274 million.
The current quasi-civilian government enacted a new for-
eign investment law in November 2012 in a bid to lure more
foreign direct investment into the formerly-isolated country.
However, soaring real estate prices and decrepit infrastruc-
ture has been a major headache in recent times for investors.
According to Myanmar Economic Indicators released by
the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Myanmars gross
domestic product (GDP) grew 5.5 percent in 2013, with
consumer prIce InuLIon uL ;. percenL.
IMF said Myanmars GDP is projected to grow 6.2 percent
In zo1q, wILI consumer prIce InuLIon eusIng Lo 6.6 percenL.
Aye Myat
Western Companies Too Slow Into Myanmar,
Warns Adviser
Michael Peel
W
estern companies risk
losing out to rivals
from China and other
Asian countries because they
are too slow to invest in Myan-
mars fast-opening economy, a
presidential economic adviser
has warned.
Professor Aung Tun Thet
complained that some US and
European businesses kept
changing the goalposts,
through continual demands for
more attractive terms to come
to the country as it reforms after
50 years of dictatorship.
I know they have to manage
their businesses, but if they err
on the side of caution they have
another problem, Prof Aung
Tun Thet told the Financial
Times. If theres a gap thats
attractive, people will come and
hII IL.
His remarks highlight a grow-
ing tension between companies
still cautious on Myanmar and
a government that is anxious
to show real economic progress
before national elections due
in 2015. Many international
investors have held back from a
frontier market seen as having
great potential because of con-
cerns including infrastructure,
political stability and the rule of
law.
For a long time internation-
ally, there has been a lot of
suspicion about Myanmar,
said one foreign investor in the
country. Its a nation being
born, so it will take time.
While the professor praised
the few US and European
companies which have bet on
Myanmar since the military
handed over power to a quasi-
civilian government in 2011, he
said many others risked missing
out on an opportunity at a time
when China already accounted
for more than 40 percent of
foreign investment.
He LoId u hnuncIuI conIerence
in Yangon organised by TCX,
the currency exchange fund,
that western investment was
still very small and had come
more slowly than expected
since President Thein Sein took
power in March 2011.
He said that Myanmar was
responsive to investor requests
und uIreudy oered IuvourubIe
Lerms In ureus sucI us prohL
repatriation and tax holidays,
but it had still been hit with
a succession of demands for
further changes to rules on in-
vesting and resolving business
disputes.
One of the things I notice
is that foreign investors keep
changing the goalposts, he
said. There is a limit to what
we will do, because we need to
protect our national interest,
too.
Chinese companies active in
sectors from power to natural
resources dominate existing
approved foreign investment in
Myanmar, with $14.1 billion, or
41.7 percent of the total as of the
end of last month, according to
the Directorate of Investment
and Company Administration.
WIIIe LIe UK runked hILI
wILI $z. bIIIIon, LIe hgure Is
distorted by investment via
British overseas territory tax
havens, with Frances $470
million being the next highest
western country total.
Multinationals with existing
or planned investments in man-
ufacturing in Myanmar include
Coca-Cola, British American
Tobacco and Nissan, the Japa-
nese carmaker. But many other
companies have stayed away
because of concerns such as
remaining US sanctions and the
property bubble driving prices
in Yangon way above the levels
in Bangkok and other regional
peers.
The reticence has frustrated
some business leaders and
dIpIomuLs, wILI Roger GIord,
Lord Mayor of London, declar-
ing on a visit to Myanmar in
October that British companies
were late into a market of an
estimated 60 million people
and an economy McKinsey has
estimated could grow to $200
billion by 2030.
Prof Aung Tun Thet said he
was sure western companies
would come, but questioned
why more were not following
the example of the early arriv-
ing multinationals.
Companies such as Coca-
Cola, companies such as Nissan,
they came through the same
routes, the same regulations,
the same constraints, he said.
If they can come, I just wonder
why others cant.
The professor said foreign
investment was crucial not just
to building the economy, but
to addressing pressing social
problems in a country where ba-
sic services have been hollowed
out by years of dictatorship,
isolationism and sanctions.
He urged multinational
pharmaceuticals and medical
equipment companies to in-
vest, partly to help counter the
impact of counterfeit drugs ar-
riving from India and Thailand.
This is a crying need for us,
he said. FT
Myanmar Summary
A Coca-cola delivery truck in Yangon, Myanmar. Unlike Coca-cola western companies are still skeptical about investing in
Myanmar.
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INVESTMENT & FINANCE
21
January 9-15, 2014
Myanmar Summary
Myanmar Business Today
mmbiztoday.com
Investment & Finance Update
Myanmar , J apan to I nvest $30.4m i n Stock Exchange J V
Myanmar and Japans Daiwa Securities Group will invest K30
billion ($30.43 million) in a joint venture stock exchange project
In Yungon, U Muung Muung TIeIn, depuLy mInIsLer Ior hnunce,
said.
Myanmar government will hold 51 percent stake in the JV while
Daiwa will hold the rest.
The minister said a total of 105 public companies are under
scrutiny for listing on the stock exchange, scheduled to come up
in October 2015.
Chi nas CPI Asks Myanmar to Honour Hydr opower Pr oj ect
Chinas China Power Investment Company (CPI) has urged the
Myanmar government to honour the halted contract for the con-
struction of a hydropower project on the Ayeyarwady river signed
wILI LIe Iormer Myunmur governmenL, u senIor CP om cIuI suId.
However, President U Thein Sein will not change his decision to
halt the controversial mega dam project, the 7Day Daily reported
quoting a Presidential spokesman.
The president would defend his decision in accordance with the
law even if the Chinese developer brings the case to the court, he
added.
I ndi as Exi m Bank to Gi ve $350m Loans to Myanmar
The Exim Bank of India has agreed to give $350 million in loans
to Myanmar for irrigation and transport projects, local media
reported.
Myanmar to Amend Company Act wi th Help Fr om ADB
The Myanmar Company Act, enacted in 1914, will be amended
with the assistance of Asian Development Bank (ADB), a senior
om cIuI Irom LIe Myunmur nvesLmenL CommIssIon wus quoLed
as saying in local media.
Plans Under way to Pr i vati se Maj or Rai l Ser vi ces
Arrangements are underway to privatise some major rail ser-
vices including the circular service in commercial city Yangon
and the more than 1,400-km long Yangon-Mandalay-Myitkyitna
servIce, u senIor mInIsLry om cIuI LoId IocuI medIu.
Only a few out of more than 400 rail services being run by the
ministry break even.
Myanmar Summary
FPT Exceeds
Myanmar Target
Kyaw Min
V
ietnamese information
and technology company
FPT Trading exceeded
its revenue target by earning
$5.6 million in Myanmar, 123
percent of the target, the com-
pany said.
FPT Trading also exceeded its
registered revenue target in the
Myanmar market which was
set at 5 percent, FPT said in a
statement.
Among its subsidiary, FPT
Software was the only member
company to complete four reg-
istered business achievements
as it gained $100 million in
revenue.
Founded in 1988, FPT is a
leading ICT company in Viet-
nam with revenue of more than
$1.2 billion in 2012. The com-
panys market capitalisation
reached about $480 million
last year, making it one of the
largest private enterprises in
Vietnam.
FPT has representative of-
hces und compunIes In 1q
countries including Japan, the
US, the UK, France, Germany,
Singapore, Australia, Thailand,
the Philippines, Malaysia,
Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and
Vietnam.
FPT specialises in software
development, system integra-
tion, IT services, distribution
and manufacturing IT products
and retails. In telecommunica-
tions, FPT is one of three big-
gest internet service providers
in Vietnam, also the No.1 online
advertising company in Viet-
nam, accounting for over 50
percent of market share.
Myanmar Summary
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Trading ._ _.,.:...~~~
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UAB to Grant Loans to
Fishery Exporters
L
ocal private bank United
Amara Bank (UAB) is
going to provide loans
Ior hsIery exporLers In u bId Lo
boost the marine industry, the
bank announced.
The bank will also provide
loans for other export indus-
tries also.
I hsIery enLrepreneurs cun
present documents showing
their possession of aquaculture
ponds, UAB will grant line of
credit. Priority will be given to
exporters, and capital for com-
modity will also be provided, U
Htet Aung Saw Naung, a marine products
exporter, said.
Exports will play a great role
in building Myanmars eco-
nomic future. But sometimes
exporLers hnd IL Iurd Lo hnunce
themselves. UABs prioritised
loans for exporters will surely
hII LIe gup In exporL hnuncIng
to some extent, U Saw Naung
added.
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A sh trader shows a big sh at the Kyimyindine CentraI Sanpya Fish Market in Yangon.
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January 9-15, 2014
Myanmar Business Today
mmbiztoday.com
INVESTMENT & FINANCE
22
Dayak Chamber Set to Explore
Opportunities in Myanmar
M
alaysias Dayak
Chamber of Com-
merce and Industry
(DCCI) members will make an
educational and business trip
to Myanmar in February, the
association said.
Its Business Development
Committee under the chair-
manship of Kilat Beriak is or-
gunIsIng LIe hve-duy LrIp, wIIcI
starts on February 10.
DCCI said the visit aims for
the participants to learn and
understand the development
taking place in Myanmar, espe-
cially their way of life and the
economic activities of the coun-
try and to explore any business
prospects.
Julau MP Datuk Joseph
Salang Gandum will lead the
delegation.
This is DCCIs second overseas
trip. In 2012, 50 businessmen,
entrepreneurs and profes-
Su Su sionals went to Ho Chi Minh,
Vietnam.
Myanmar Summary
Hawkley Oil and Gas Eyes Myanmar
A
usLruIIun energy hrm
Hawkley Oil & Gas Ltd
has revealed its acquisi-
tion and expansion aspirations
in Myanmar in its bid to expand
ILs AsIu PucIhc presence.
The company is partnering
with Azimuth Ltd to bid for
three shallow water blocks in
Myanmar, with allocations due
early this year, it said.
AzImuLI Is un osIore Iocused
exploration company active
LIrougI ; osIore expIoruLIon
licenses containing 85 blocks
osIore Norwuy, reIund, UK,
and Namibia, where it is the
IurgesL sIngIe osIore expIoru-
tion area holder with 70,000
square kilometres.
Hawkley is also negotiating
the acquisition of near-term
producing assets in Ukraine
and the Former Soviet Union.
The company has revealed it is
undertaking several expansion
Shein Thu Aung
strategies to leverage revenue
from oil produced at its Soro-
cIynsku heId In UkruIne.
Hawkley is presently capital-
ised at around $6 million.
Myanmar Summary
Christian-Ludwig Weber-Lortsch, ambassador of Germany to Myanmar, gives a
speech during a workshop in Yangon.
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Myanmar, Germany See Stronger
Economic, Cultural Cooperation
Daisuke Lon
M
yanmar and Germany
suw IorLIhed economIc
and cultural coopera-
tion between the two countries
in 2013 encouraged by German
Foreign Minister Guido West-
erwelles visit to Myanmar in
2012.
During 2013, the German
Chambers of Commerce and
Industry (GCCI) signed an
agreement with its Myanmar
counterpart, the Union of My-
anmar Federation of Chambers
of Commerce and Industry
(UMFCCI), to open its repre-
senLuLIve om ce In Yungon.
GCC becume LIe hrsL sucI
business representative of-
hce Irom Europe Lo open In
Myunmur und LIe new om ce Is
expected to support Myanmars
eorLs Lo hnuIIse LIe druIL oI u
small and medium enterprises
(SME) law.
The move is also aimed at help-
ing German companies starting
business in the recently-opened
country, connecting them with
Myanmar partners. GCCI also
oers Myunmur hrms u Iorum
Lo dIscuss uny dIm cuILIes LIey
may have in working with them.
German companies have also
shown interest in Myanmars
infrastructure projects includ-
ing railways and electricity sup-
ply as well as consumer prod-
ucts and automotive industry.
Myanmar has also seen German
companies starting tourism
businesses in a bid to tap the
burgeoning tourism market
here.
n LIe hscuI yeur zo1z-1,
bilateral trade between Myan-
mar and Germany amounted
to $187.53 million of which
Germanys import from Myan-
mar totalled $42.98 million,
uccordIng Lo om cIuI hgures.
Germanys investment in
the Southeast Asian nation
amounted to $17.5 million as of
July last year.
In the cultural and educa-
tional sector, Germanys Goethe
Institute is to open in Myanmar
to introduce initiatives for
bilateral cultural, educational
cooperation and to conduct
Iunguuge prohcIency courses.
The institute will work for
Myanmar-Germany coopera-
tion in promoting sports sector
through mutual exchange,
conduct courses for youths and
seminars on German language,
send Myanmar scholars to Ger-
many, cultural exchange of mu-
sicians and cultural troupes and
media exchange. The Goethe
Institute has opened about 150
bruncIes In q counLrIes, oer-
ing Germanys culture and arts
and conducting paper-reading
sessions on German culture.
German scholarship programs
for Myanmar students are also
planned for 2014.
Germany has also announced
resuming full-scale develop-
ment aids to Myanmar follow-
ing EUs sanction lapse against
Myanmar. Germany is cur-
rently the second-largest donor
to Myanmar after Japan.
Myanmar Summary
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INVESTMENT & FINANCE
23
January 9-15, 2014
Myanmar Summary
Myanmar Summary
Myanmar Business Today
mmbiztoday.com
F
ile
s
Manufacturing Sector Receives Most FDI
O
ver half of the total for-
eign investment made
in the current 2013-14
hnuncIuI yeur wenL InLo Myun-
mars manufacturing sector, a
top Myanmar Investment Com-
mIssIon (MC) omcIuI suId.
Manufacturing sector has
deveIoped sIgnIhcunLIy dur-
Ing LIIs hnuncIuI yeur. More
than 80 percent of the foreign
investment came to this sec-
tor, U Aung Naing Oo, director
general of MIC, said.
I we Iook buck Lo zo1o-11 hs-
cal, manufacturing sector only
received $66 million. Foreign
investment has never leapt over
$100 million in this sector dur-
ing 2001 to 2011, he added.
Myanmar received foreign di-
rect investment of $1.32 billion
from April to December 2013,
MIC data shows.
Foreign investment is now
pouring into manufacturing and
agricultural sector as we indus-
trialise our country and make
agriculture more mechanised.
Such investment improves the
capacity of local products and
creates job opportunities, U
Naing Oo said.
However, investment in natu-
ral resources sector has been
sluggish over the past two years,
he said.
n zo11-1z hscuI, Myunmur
Phyu Thit Lwin received about $4.6 billion
in foreign direct investment,
however, Chinese investment in
the Upper Chibwe hydropower
project comprised $4.3 billion
of that, meaning a meager $300
million investment in other
sectors.
DurIng zo1z-1 hnuncIuI yeur,
foreign investment stood at
$1.42 billion, with investments
in hotel and tourism projects
being on top.
Currently, countries from the
EU and the Middle East are
showing growing interest in
investing in Myanmar follow-
ing the rapid pace of economic
reforms.
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Government Allocates $34m for ASEAN Meetings
D
uring its ASEAN
Chairmanship in 2014,
Myanmar will spend
Aye myat more than $34 million in hold-
ing international meetings and
summits, a top government
omcIuI suId.
The government has allocated
$34.1 million (K33.4 billion) to
host about 300 international
meetings that are scheduled for
this year such as the ASEAN
Summit, ministerial and deputy
ministerial level meetings and
working group sessions, said
U Aung Htoo, deputy director
generuI oI LIe ASEAN AuIrs
Department of the Ministry of
oreIgn AuIrs.
The meetings will be held in
Nay Pyi Taw, Yangon, Manda-
lay and Bagan.
The budget will cover the
costs incurred from arranging
meetings including travel and
accommodation expenses.
TIe hrsL meeLIng wIII be LIe
ASEAN Foreign Ministers
Meeting which will take place
from 15 to 18 January in Bagan.
U Aung Htoo said the foreign
ministers meeting will discuss
the results of the 23rd ASEAN
Summit hosted by Brunei last
year. During the chairmanship,
Myanmar is likely to address the
ongoing territorial dispute over
Spratly Islands in South China
Sea between China and ASEAN
members Malaysia, Brunei,
Philippines and Vietnam.
Myanmar became an ASEAN
member in 1997 and this is the
hrsL LIme Myunmur Lukes up LIe
ASEAN Chairmanship which
rotates annually.
ASEAN leaders link arms with fellow heads of states for a traditional group photo souvenir during the 20
th
ASEAN Summit.
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a
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s
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January 9-15, 2014
Myanmar Business Today
mmbiztoday.com
24
INTERNATIONAL AND DOMESTIC FLIGHT SCHEDULE
Fliggh htss ffroom Yanggon (RGNN) to Bangkok ((BKK) Fliggh htss ffroom Banggkok (BKKK) to Yaangon (RGN)
Flight No. DDayss From To ETD ETA Operated by: Flight No. DDayss From To ETD ETA Operated by:
PG 706 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RGN BKK 7:15 9:30 Bangkok Airways DD4230 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 DMK RGN 06:30 07:55 NOK Airlines
DD4231 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RGN DMK 8:00 9:45 NOK Airlines 8M336 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 BKK RGN 6:40 7:25 MAI
FD2752 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RGN DMK 8:30 10:15 Thai AirAsia FD2751 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 DMK RGN 7:15 8:00 Thai AirAsia
8M335 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RGN BKK 8:40 10:25 MAI TG303 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 BKK RGN 8:00 8:45 Thai Airways
TG304 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RGN BKK 9:50 11:45 Thai Airways PG701 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 BKK RGN 8:50 9:40 Bangkok Airways
PG702 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RGN BKK 10:45 12:40 Bangkok Airways FD2755 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 DMK RGN 11:35 12:20 Thai AirAsia
Y5-237 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RGN BKK 18:05 19:50 Golden Myanmar Airlines PG707 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 BKK RGN 13:40 14:30 Bangkok Airways
TG302 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RGN BKK 14:45 16:40 Thai Airways Y5-238 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 BKK RGN 21:10 21:55 Golden Myanmar Airlines
PG703 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RGN BKK 15:20 17:15 Bangkok Airways FD2753 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 DMK RGN 16:35 17:20 Thai AirAsia
8M331 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RGN BKK 16:30 18:15 MAI PG703 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 BKK RGN 16:45 17:35 Bangkok Airways
FD2754 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RGN DMK 17:50 19:35 Thai AirAsia TG305 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 BKK RGN 17:55 18:40 Thai Airways
PG704 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RGN BKK 18:25 20:20 Bangkok Airways DD4238 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 BKK RGN 19:30 20:15 NOK Airlines
TG306 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RGN BKK 19:40 21:35 Thai Airways 8M332 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 BKK RGN 19:20 20:05 MAI
DD4239 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RGN DMK 21:00 22:45 NOK Airlines PG705 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 BKK RGN 20:00 21:15 Bangkok Airways
FFliggh htss ffroom m Yangoon (RGN)) to Chiaang Maii (CNX) FFliggh htss ffroom m Chiangg Mai (CCNX) to YYangon (RGN)
W9-9607 4 7 RGN CNX 14:50 16:20 Air Bagan W9-9608 4 7 CNX RGN 17:20 17:50 Air Bagan
Flligghtss ffroom Yanggon (RGNN) to Sinngapore (SIN) Flligghtss ffroom Singaapore (SIN) to Yangon ((RGN)
Y5-233 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RGN SIN 10:10 14:40 Golden Myanmar Airlines Y5-234 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 SIN RGN 15:35 17:05 Golden Myanmar Airlines
MI509 1 6 RGN SIN 0:25 5;00 SilkAir SQ998 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 SIN RGN 7:55 9:20 Singapore Airline
8M231 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RGN SIN 8:30 13:00 MAI 8M6231/3K585 1 3 4 5 6 SIN RGN 9:10 10:40 Jetstar Asia
SQ997 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RGN SIN 10:25 14:45 Singapore Airline 8M232 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 SIN RGN 14:10 15:40 MAI
8M6232/3K586 1 3 4 5 6 RGN SIN 11:30 16:05 Jetstar Asia MI518 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 SIN RGN 14:20 15:45 SilkAir
8M233 5 6 7 RGN SIN 13:45 18:15 MAI 8M235 5 6 7 SIN RGN 19:15 20:45 MAI
TR2827 1 6 7 RGN SIN 15:10 19:35 TigerAir TR2826 1 6 7 SIN RGN 13:00 14:30 TigerAir
TR2827 2 3 4 5 RGN SIN 17:10 21:35 TigerAir TR2826 2 3 4 5 SIN RGN 15:00 16:30 TigerAir
MI517 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RGN SIN 16:40 21:15 SilkAir MI520 5 7 SIN RGN 22:10 23:35 SilkAir
FFliightts frromm Yangonn (RGN) tto Kualaa Lumpuur (KUL) Fligghtts frro om m Kuala LLumpur (KUL)too Yangonn (RGN)
AK1427 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RGN KUL 8:30 12:50 AirAsia AK1426 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 KUL RGN 6:55 8:00 AirAsia
8M501 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RGN KUL 8:55 12:55 MAI MH740 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 KUL RGN 10:05 11:15 Malaysia Airlines
MH741 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RGN KUL 12:15 16:30 Malaysia Airlines 8M502 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 KUL RGN 14:00 15:00 MAI
Fligghtts frrom Yanngon (RGGN) to HHanoi (HHAN) Fligghtts frrom Hannoi (HANN) to Yanngon (RRGN)
VN956 1 3 5 6 7 RGN HAN 19:10 21:30 Vietnam Airlines VN957 1 3 5 6 7 HAN RGN 16:35 18:10 Vietnam Airlines
Flliggh htss ffroom m Yangon (RGN) to Ho CChi Minhh (SGN) Flliggh htss ffroom m Ho Chii Minh (SSGN) to Yangonn (RGN)
VN942 2 4 7 RGN SGN 14:25 17:10 Vietnam Airlines VN943 2 4 7 SGN RGN 11:40 13:25 Vietnam Airlines
Flligghtss ffrom Yanngon (RGGN) to TTaipei (TTPE) Flligghtss ffrom Taipei (TPEE) to Yanngon (RGN)
CI7916 1 2 3 4 5 6 RGN TPE 10:50 16:10 China Airline CI7915 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 TPE RGN 7:15 10:05 China Airline
BR288 2 5 6 RGN TPE 11:35 17:20 EVA Air BR287 2 5 6 TPE RGN 7:30 10:35 EVA Air
Flliggh htss ffroom Yanggon (RGNN) to Kunming(KMG) Flliggh htss ffroom Kunmming(KMMG) to Yangon ((RGN)
CA906 2 3 4 6 7 RGN KMG 14:15 17:35 Air China CA905 2 3 4 6 7 KMG RGN 12:40 13:15 Air China
MU2032 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RGN KMG 14:40 17:55 China Eastern MU2031 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 KMG RGN 13:30 14:00 China Eastern
MU2012 3 6 RGN KMG 12:20 18:10 China Eastern (via NNG) MU2011 3 6 KMG RGN 8:25 11:30 China Eastern (via NNG)
Flligghtss from Yanngon (RGGN) to BBeijing (BJS) Flligghtss from Beijjing (BJSS) to Yanngon (RRGN)
CA906 2 3 4 6 7 RGN BJS 14:15 21:55 Air China (via KMG) CA905 2 3 4 6 7 BJS RGN 8:05 13:15 Air China (via KMG)
Fliggh htss ffroom Yanggon (RGNN) to Naanning (NNG) Fliggh htss ffroom Nannning (NNNG) to Yaangon ((RGN)
Flight No. DDayss From To ETD ETA Operated by: Flight No. DDayss From To ETD ETA Operated by:
MU2012 3 6 RGN NNG 12:20 16:25 China Eastern MU2011 3 6 NNG RGN 10:15 11:30 China Eastern
FFliggh htss ffroom m Yangoon (RGN)) to Honng Kong (HKG) HHonng g KKo ong (HKG) Flights from Yaangon ((RGN)
KA251 1 2 4 6 RGN HKG 1:10 5:35 Dragon Air KA250 1 3 5 7 HKG RGN 21:50 23:45 Dragon Air
Flliggh htss ffroom m Yangon (RGN) to Guanng Zhouu (CAN) Flliggh htss ffroom m Guang Zhou (CCAN) to Yangonn (RGN)
8M711 2 4 7 RGN CAN 8:40 13:15 MAI CZ3055 3 6 CAN RGN 8:40 10:30 China Southern Airlines
CZ3056 3 6 RGN CAN 11:20 15:50 China Southern Airline 8M712 2 4 7 CAN RGN 14:15 15:45 MAI
CZ3056 1 5 RGN CAN 17:40 22:15 China Southern Airline CZ3055 1 5 CAN RGN 14:45 16:35 China Southern Airlines
FFlighhts ffroom Yanggon (RGN) to Koolkata (CCCU) FFlighhts ffroom Kolkkata (CCUU) to Yaangon (RRGN)
Flight No. DDayss From To ETD ETA Operated by: Flight No. DDayss From To ETD ETA Operated by:
AI228 5 RGN CCU 18:45 19:45 Air India AI227 1 5 CCU RGN 10:35 13:20 Air India
AI234 1 5 RGN CCU 13:40 16:55 Air India (via GAY) AI233 5 CCU RGN 13:30 18:00 Air India (via GAY)
Fliggh htss ffrom Yanngon (RGGN) to GGaya (GAAY) Fliggh htss ffrom Gayya (GAY) to Yanngon (RGGN)
8M 601 1 3 5 6 RGN GAY 10:30 11:50 MAI 8M 602 1 3 5 6 GAY RGN 12:50 16:00 MAI
AI234 1 5 RGN GAY 13:40 15:00 Air India AI233 5 GAY RGN 15:00 18:00 Air India
Fligghtts frrom Yanngon (RGGN) to TTokyo (NNRT) FFliightts frrom Tokkyo (NRTT) to Yaangon (RRGN)
NH914 1 3 6 RGN NRT 22:00 06:40+1 ALL NIPPON Airways NH913 1 3 6 NRT RGN 11:10 17:05 ALL NIPPON Airways
FFliggh htss ffrom Yanngon (RGGN) to SSeoul (ICCN) FFliggh htss ffrom Seooul (ICN)) to Yanngon (RGGN)
KE472 1 3 5 7 RGN ICN 0:05 8:00 Korean Air KE471 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 ICN RGN 18:40 22:55 Korean Air
OZ7463 4 7 RGN ICN 0:50 8:50 Asiana OZ4753 3 6 ICN RGN 19:30 23:40 Asiana
Flligghtss ffrom Yanngon (RGGN) to DDoha (DOOH) Flightts frrom Dohha (DOH) to Yangon (RRGN)
QR619 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RGN DOH 8:00 11:45 Qatar Airways QR618 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 DOH RGN 21:05 06:29+1 Qatar Airways
Flliggh htss ffroom m Yangon (RGN) to Nay Pyi Taww (NYT) Flliggh htss ffroom m Nay Pyyi Taw (NNYT) to Yangonn (RGN)
Flight No. DDayss From To ETD ETA Operated by: Flight No. DDayss From To ETD ETA Operated by:
FMI-A1 1 2 3 4 5 RGN NYT 7:30 8:30 FMI Air Charter FMI-A2 1 2 3 4 5 NYT RGN 8:50 9:50 FMI Air Charter
FMI-B1 1 2 3 4 5 RGN NYT 11:30 12:30 FMI Air Charter FMI-B2 1 2 3 4 5 NYT RGN 13:00 14:00 FMI Air Charter
FMI-C1 1 2 3 4 5 RGN NYT 16:30 17:30 FMI Air Charter FMI-C2 1 2 3 4 5 NYT RGN 18:00 19:00 FMI Air Charter
FMI-A1 6 RGN NYT 8:00 9:00 FMI Air Charter FMI-A2 6 NYT RGN 10:00 11:00 FMI Air Charter
FMI-A1 7 RGN NYT 15:30 16:30 FMI Air Charter FMI-A2 7 NYT RGN 17:00 18:00 FMI Air Charter
FFliightts frrom Yangoon (RGN) to Manndalay ((MDY) FFliightts frrom Manddalay (MDDY) to YYangon (RGN)
Y5-234 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RGN MDY 6:15 7:30 Golden Myanmar Airlines Y5-233 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 MDY RGN 8:10 9:25 Golden Myanmar Airlines
YH 909 2 4 6 7 RGN MDY 6:30 8:10 Yangon Airways YH 910 1 3 MDY RGN 7:40 10:30 Yangon Airways
YH 917 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RGN MDY 6:10 8:30 Yangon Airways YH 918 1 2 3 4 6 7 MDY RGN 8:30 10:25 Yangon Airways
YH 727 1 5 RGN MDY 11:15 13:25 Yangon Airways YH 728 1 5 MDY RGN 9:10 11:05 Yangon Airways
YH 731 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RGN MDY 15:00 17:10 Yangon Airways YH 732 1 2 3 4 5 6 MDY RGN 17:10 19:15 Yangon Airways
W9 501 1 2 3 4 RGN MDY 6:00 7:25 Air Bagan W9 502 1 2 3 4 MDY RGN 16:10 18:15 Air Bagan
K7 222 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RGN MDY 6:30 8:40 Air KBZ K7 223 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 MDY RGN 9:00 11:05 Air KBZ
YJ 201 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RGN MDY 11:30 12:55 Asian Wings YJ 202 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 MDY RGN 16:00 17:25 Asian Wings
Days - (1) Monday (2) TTueesdaay (33) WWeddnessdaay (4) Thursdayy (5) Friday (6) SSaturday (7) Suunday Days - (1) Monday (2) TTueesdaay (33) WWeddnessdaay (4) Thursdayy (5) Friday (6) SSaturday (7) Suunday
PROPERTY & REAL ESTATE
25
January 9-15, 2014
Myanmar Summary
Myanmar Summary
Contd. P 26...(Yangon's Hotel)
Myanmar Business Today
mmbiztoday.com
CMT Defers Myanmar Construction
Summit to March 11-12
Anticipates new policy updates
S
ingapore-based event
munugemenL hrm CenLre
for Management Technol-
ogy (CMT) said it has resched-
uled its Myanmar Construction
Summit to March 11-12 March
in Yangon.
The summit, supported by the
Ministry of Construction, was
originally scheduled on Decem-
ber 2-3 at Yangons Park Royal
Hotel, which will still remain
the venue.
The event was postponed fol-
lowing reschedule requests from
uuLIorILIes, CMT conhrmed.
U Kyaw Lwin, union minister
for construction, is expected
to attend the event, which will
delve into the rapid develop-
ments in the construction busi-
ness in Myanmar, CMT said.
The event will bring together
global and local heavyweights,
specIhcuIIy governmenL ugen-
cies, land owners, developers
and professionals, to analyse
Su SU vital issues and share experi-
ences in managing construction
projects in Yangon, the organ-
iser said.
CMT said the summit will ex-
amine critical concerns ranging
from putting together a suc-
cessful construction project to
opportunities and obstacles in
construction project planning
and rollouts.
The summit will also be at-
Lended by om cIuIs Irom LIe
Ministry of Construction,
Yangon City Development
Committee (YCDC), Mandalay
City Development Committee
(MCDC), key personnel from
construction companies, facility
management companies as well
as building and civil engineers,
M&E consultants, architects,
quantity surveyors, build-
ing construction equipment
suppliers, interior designers,
Iundscupe desIgners, hnuncIuI
services and property and real
estate developers, CMT said.
Yangons Hotel Pipeline Set to
Triple Supply by 2015
Speculation driven land prices impeding Myanmars hospitality sector, research frm says
Htet Aung
M
yanmars hotel market
is set for a potential
threefold boom, al-
though speculation driven land
prices are impeding the growth
of the new economic frontiers
hospitality sector, a recent
report revealed.
Over the next two years
with over 3,400 new rooms in
various stages of development,
Yangon could see the segment
triple in size, tourism and
properLy consuILuncy hrm Cq
Hotelworks said in its Yangons
Hotel Pipeline report.
While the hospitality sector
has enormous room for growth,
Yangon remains in an early
stage of development, Bill Bar-
nett, managing director of C9
Hotelworks, said.
Last year, international
passenger arrivals at Yangon
Mingaladon Airport registered
a historical high at 550,654.
Yangons hotel rooms serve
LIe Lop hve LourIsm murkeLs
of Thailand, China, Japan, the
US and South Korea, which
together provide 48 percent of
guests. Free independent trav-
ellers also surged by 72 percent
in 2012.
The top two markets are Thai-
land with a 16 percent share and
China with 12 percent. In the
hrsL hve monLIs oI zo1, vIsILor
arrivals to Yangon exceeded the
enLIre number In zo1z, reecL-
ing year-on-year growth of 36
percent. Regional Asian travel-
lers represent the majority of
visitors to Yangon, accounting
for 66 percent of the total.
n LIe hrsL 1o monLIs oI zo1,
hotel occupancy averaged 69
percent with an average daily
room rate of $170, said C9 Ho-
telworks. With over 9,000 hotel
rooms in Yangon, only about
20 percent are of international
standard.
Myanmar is now developing
a new international airport at
Bago, 80 kilometres north of
Yangon, with an annual capac-
ity of 12 million passengers to
meet an expected growth in
business and tourism arrivals.
With the airport set to open
in 2017, hotel investors increas-
ingly have to take a forward
looking view of where the dust
will settle on Yangons changing
landscape, Barnett said.
Falli ng short
However, investment in
Myanmars hospitality sector
has fallen well short of forecast
growth, mainly because of
speculation driven land prices.
According to C9s report,
foreign direct investment into
hospitality assets remains
sidelined in many cases with
concerns over the lack of a debt
market and a slow government
approval process.
To date, a disconnect be-
tween the expectations of the
private sector and ability of
the government to broadly
implement free market reforms
remains at a critical junction,
the report says.
The report also focused on the
current transition period that
Yangon is undergoing and the
stress that an open economy
wIIcI Ius seen u mussIve Inux
of new automobiles, is having
on the citys transportation
infrastructure.
A continuing surge in land
prices in areas such as Yangon
indicates large-scale property
speculation, while plans to re-
develop government-controlled
properties in the city face chal-
lenges, the report said.
Pure speculation is driving
land prices to unrealistic levels
und LIe knock-on eecL oI In-
uLed vuIues Ior IoreIgn purLIes
contemplating joint ventures
with Myanmar entities, Bar-
nett said.
Most of the deals being done
for hotel assets in the current
landscape are from local parties
and not overseas groups. Given
[that] Yangon has captured in-
vestor sentiment as a Southeast
Asia hot spot, it has yet to de-
liver on its expected promise,
he added.
In both hospitality and real
Contd. P 26...(Yangon's Hotel)
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January 9-15, 2014
Myanmar Business Today
mmbiztoday.com
26
From page 6...(Media Struggle)
PROPERTY & REAL ESTATE
From page ... (Chinese Farmers)
From page ... (Chinese Farmers)
Gr i nd to a halt
But the problem was that the
local population had dwindled,
and those left behind were
mostly unwilling to do agricul-
tural work, Li said.
This is how I see it: if Chinese
labour left the Russian Far
East, the region would grind
to a halt, he said. Take our
pig farm: Russians dont like
pIgs und we cun`L hnd peopIe Lo
work on it and we can only hire
Chinese to do it.
The Chinese businessman,
who did not want to give his
name, said local residents and
governmenL om cIuIs under-
stood the necessity of coopera-
tion, but Moscow continued to
impose visa restrictions that
made it harder to resolve the
sIgnIhcunL Iubour und skIIIs
shortages in the region.
We think these rules
shouldnt apply to the Far East
- we reuIIy hnd IL Iurd Lo geL
vIsus Ior quuIIhed sLu, drIvers,
traders who understand our
business, and it is impossible
Lo hnd skIIIed IocuI workers.
Russia wants to develop its Far
East but it cannot do it without
Chinese workers.
I think the Russians need to
understand that if they dont
allow Chinese investment or
Japanese investment or Korean
investment here, they will actu-
ally lose the place, he said.
Despite the problems, Chinese
investment still seeks to come
to the Far East. Moscow itself
wouId preIer u more dIversIhed
runge oI InvesLors, buL hrms
from Japan or South Korea
are much more reluctant to get
involved.
Li said local authorities in the
region understood the leading
role that Chinese investment
and Chinese labour needed to
play in development.
The Russians understand
that if the Chinese dont come,
then who? he said. Would the
Japanese come, or the Kore-
ans? Reuters
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noL Iuve LIuL kInd oI hnuncIuI
support.
U Thiha Saw, a longtime jour-
nalist who clashed with censors
many times during military
rule, runs the countrys only
private English-language daily,
Myanma Freedom Daily.
We scrimped and saved and
sold our apartment, said Thiha
Saw, who is also vice president
of the Myanmar Journalists
Association. Relatives and
friends chipped in.
He is considering courting
outside investors but is worried
that their money might come
with strings attached.
Journalists say they face un-
fair competition from the state-
run newspapers, especially
because the state publications
sell for a fraction of the price
and have plentiful advertising,
a legacy of military rule when
they were the only dailies in the
country.
U Kyaw Zwa Moe, editor of
the English edition of the Ir-
rawaddy, a widely read internet
news site that also publishes
a monthly magazine, said the
state-run papers are an impedi-
ment to the development of a
free press in the country.
In a democratic society you
dont expect the Ministry of
Information to publish newspa-
pers, he said. Its a barrier for
the freedom of the press, and
for private and independent
media groups.
Some of the new dailies,
although private, have the
backing of the old military
establishment.
Union Daily, which is pub-
lished by the Union Solidar-
ity and Development Party, or
USDP, the party formed by the
former junta that has a majority
in Parliament, makes no secret
about its mission.
UnIon DuIIy reecLs LIe poII-
cies of the USDP, said U Win
TIn, u Iormer urmy om cer wIo
is the papers chief editor. We
are doing PR for the USDP.
In the long term, both private
and state-run newspapers are
IIkeIy Lo hnd IL Iurder LIun
ever, editors say.
With internet connections
improving and big foreign
telecommunications companies
poised to install mobile phone
networks that could bring tens
of millions of people online for
LIe hrsL LIme, Myunmur Is IIkeIy
to follow the global trend of
people looking online for their
news.
Newspapers are so new
for this country that is why
everyone is publishing, said
Sonny Swe, the chief executive
of Mizzima.
But you dont want to be in
newspapers for 10 years, he
said. Our future is in mobile.
The New York Times
From page 6...(Media Struggle)
estate, C9 Hotelworks is now
working on many projects in
Myanmar, catering for keen
interest from both Thai and
international investors.
Uncertainties over Myanmars
ownership legislation and
investment law pose risks for
which investors should expect
superior returns, he said.
At the moment the country
has retained strong investor
interest but converting this into
more tangible results is going to
take longer than the market has
expected, Barnett said.
ReecLIng ILs conLInuIng
shortage of hotels, rooms at up-
scale and luxury properties in
Myanmar can run at $150-250,
similar to the rate for unsophis-
ticated Bangkok hotels, Barnett
added.
From page z,...(Yangon's Hotel)
From page z,...(Yangon's Hotel)
Barnett said: The hotel sto-
ryline is not all rags to riches
as there remains a keen level of
trading volatility given tourism
seasonality and the impact of
the annual monsoon season.
Once new inventory starts
entering the supply side rates
will start to normalise and the
industrys challenge will be on
growing sustainable demand.
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IT & TELECOM
27
January 9-15, 2014
Myanmar Summary
Myanmar Business Today
mmbiztoday.com
Myanmar Posts and Telecommunications (MPT) signed a deal to switch on roaming services for foreign networks in 33
countries.
R
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s
Myanmar Switches on Roaming for the First Time
Htet Aung
M
yanmars state-owned
telecoms service pro-
vider has switched on
roaming services with foreign
neLworks Ior LIe hrsL LIme us IL
geLs reudy Lo Iuce sLI compeLI-
tion from international players.
The countrys sole telecom
services provider Myanmar
Posts and Telecommunications
(MPT) signed a roaming peer-
ing agreement with Frances
Orange, enabling roaming with
64 networks in 33 countries,
local media reported.
Myanmar mobile users will
also have access to foreign net-
works when travelling, but the
international roaming service
for them will be on trial run in
the beginning period.
This move comes as part of
Oranges bid to expand its mo-
bile phone coverage in over 100
foreign countries.
The number of mobile phone
users is still very low in Myan-
mar although it has risen to 5
million since the current quasi-
civilian government relaxed
the former military regimes
ironclad control on mobile
phone ownership. The govern-
ment claims there is one mobile
per 1.7 household in Myanmars
total 8.7 million households.
Last June, Telenor and Oore-
doo were awarded licences to
buIId Myunmur`s hrsL prIvuLeIy
owned mobile networks. The
government hasnt yet been
able to iron out the details of the
licence contract, which will en-
able the two companies to roll-
out their telecoms network in
the formerly-isolated country.
In October last year, Myanmar
enacted the Communications
Law to pave the way for a boom
in the IT and telecom sector.
The government said last year
that it aims to lift Myanmars
percentage of mobile phone us-
ers to 80 percent by 2015.
Myanmar Summary
Mobile on the Rise
in Myanmar
I
just wont leave home
without it. Its like my
personal secretary. And
the best part is, I dont need to
give it a salary, entrepreneur
Aung Myat Oo quipped about
his Samsung Galaxy Note 3.
Recently having taken over his
familys restaurant, he has just
discovered how useful a smart-
phone can be at work.
More than the cooking, I
take care of our restaurants op-
erations. So its really important
that I get to check email wher-
ever I am. In this line of work, a
lot of things can go wrong, every
single minute, Aung Myat Oo
said.
At least with my Note, I feel
connected to the people who
cun IeIp me puL ouL hres. So
feel more at ease.
Aung Myat Oo is not alone
in his gadget-love. In just 24
years, Samsung has managed to
grab a formidable share of the
smartphone market in Myan-
mar. Its Galaxy line has grown
In popuIurILy sInce IL wus hrsL
released in 2009. The ranges
IuLesL oerIngs ure especIuIIy
favoured by young adults.
Shein Thu Aung Thiri Swe, a 19-year old
university student, said shes
too attached to her Galaxy S3.
She said with a grin, I check
Facebook way too much. And I
just cant stop Instagramming
things. But thats the way I keep
in touch with my friends.
It makes me feel like were all
together, even when were not.
Sometimes, its hard to drag
myself away from my S3. We all
prefer the Chat On app and its
great fun.
Its not the young people
who are engrossed with their
mobile. Nowadays, its perfectly
normal to see Myanmar adults
with their heads buried into
their phones and tablets.
Business is good, says May
Phuu Aung, a dealer at the Bo
Aung Kyaw Samsung Brand
Shop.
I get all sorts of customers.
Old, young. Sometimes too
young, he said.
And its not just about the
phones anymore. May Phuu
Aung said a lot of his custom-
ers are starting to welcome
Samsung tablets and the larger-
sized phones.
It used to be about having a
smaller phone. Now, they are
buying the models with the big-
ger screens. I guess they prefer
it. And for them, its cheaper
and better than other options
available, he said.
For me, they are all the same.
But these young people make
selling these Galaxy phones so
much easier. At the rate theyre
yIng o LIe sIeIves, `II be ubIe
to open my own dealership very
soon.
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. :...__e.._~:. .q._.
A man uses his mobile phone on the side of a street in Yangon.
S
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/
R
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s
..q. ...:..q._._.._.:...
.:._e e_e.~.~~....._~:...'
. .q:~q.:..: ~.q .~:~:q
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~~ . .e , .~. ._.. . : ~ .~~
.:. _. . ~, e .,_ .. .~~ .:. ....
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Galaxy Note 3 ..~e,.-~..~
.~._. .q.:.._~:. ._.:_~:..
._.,.~.,_e Samsung Galaxy
Note 3 ~:. ~.._._ .:...:~.
~:. ~.~:...._.~..:q~
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Samsung Galaxy Note3 ~.,_e
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q,~~~ ~.~:.......:q~
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.~:..~..~ ._.:_~:. .._.
January 9-15, 2014
Myanmar Business Today
mmbiztoday.com
28
IT & TELECOM
Japan Mid-Tier Camera Makers Face Shakeout
as Smartphones Shatter Mirrorless Hopes
Panasonic, Fujiflm, Olympus camera divisions all losing money
Sophie Knight &
Reiji Murai
P
anasonic Corp and Ja-
pans other mid-tier cam-
era makers have a battle
on their hands to win over a
smurLpIone seIhe generuLIon
to mirrorless cameras that held
such promise when they were
IuuncIed uround hve yeurs ugo.
PunusonIc, IIke peers ujIhIm
Holdings and Olympus Corp,
has been losing money on its
cameras since mobile phones
that take high-quality photos
ate into the compact camera
business. This year, compact
camera sales are likely to fall
more than 40 percent to fewer
than 59 million, according to
industry researcher IDC.
Meanwhile, sales of mirrorless
cameras seen as a promising
format between low-end com-
pacts and high-end single-lens
reex (SR) cumerus - ure
sputtering as buyers put con-
nectivity above picture quality.
A 40 percent drop in Pana-
sonics overall camera sales in
April-September left the imag-
ing division vulnerable as the
companys mid-term plan to
MurcI zo16 demunds unprohL-
able businesses turn themselves
around or face the axe.
If you look mid-to-long
term, digital camera makers
are slipping and the market is
becoming an oligopoly, said
Credit Suisse imaging analyst
Yu Yoshida.
Panasonic held 3.1 percent
of the camera market in
July-September, down from 3.8
percent a year earlier, according
to IDC. Canon Inc, Nikon Corp
and Sony Corp controlled over
60 percent between them.
Only those who have a strong
brand and are competitive on
price will last and only Canon,
NIkon und Sony IuIhI LIuL crILe-
ria, added Yoshida.
Canon and Nikon dominate
the SLR camera market, while
Sony could survive any shake-
out thanks to its strength in
making sensors for a number
of camera manufacturers as
well as collaboration with its
smartphone division.
Sputter i ng mi r r or less
PunusonIc, ujIhIm und
OIympus ure LryIng Lo Iend o
the smartphone threat by cut-
ting compacts, targeting niche
markets such as deep-sea div-
ing, and launching the higher-
margin mirrorless models.
The mirrorless format prom-
ised mid-tier makers an area
of growth as the dominance of
Canon and Nikon all but shut
them out of SLRs, where Sony
is a distant third. Neither Pana-
sonIc nor ujIhIm mukes SRs,
and Olympus stopped develop-
ing them this year.
Mirrorless cameras such as
Panasonics Lumix GM elimi-
nate the internal mirrors that
opLIcuI vIewhnders depend on,
so users compose images via
eIecLronIc vIewhnders or IIquId
crystal displays. This allows
the camera to be smaller than
un SR, wIIIe oerIng beLLer
quality than compacts or smart-
phones due to larger sensors
and interchangeable lenses.
SLRs are heavy and noisy,
whereas mirrorless are small
and quiet. While some people
say SLRs still have better image
quality, mirrorless (cameras)
have improved to the point
where theyre equivalent, if not
superior, said Hiroshi Tanaka,
dIrecLor oI ujIhIm`s opLIcuI
division.
Critics grumble that LCD
screens can never compete with
the clarity of an optical view-
hnder, und LIuL pIcLure-LukIng
speeds are too slow for fast-
action subjects such as sports.
Nevertheless, the mirrorless
format has been a hit in Japan
since Panasonic launched the
hrsL domesLIcuIIy produced
model in 2008, the G1. They
made up 36 percent of Japans
interchangeable lens camera
shipments in January-October,
according to researcher CIPA.
But the format is yet to catch
on in the United States and
Europe, where shipments made
up just 10.5 percent and 11.2
percent of all interchangeable
camera shipments, respectively,
and where consumers tend to
equate image quality with size
and heft.
Sales, which globally are
less than a quarter of those of
SRs, IeII by u hILI In LIe LIree
weeks to Dec. 14 in the United
States, which included the busy
Black Friday shopping week,
while SLR sales rose 1 percent,
according to NPD, another
industry researcher.
I would focus on the de-
tachable lens market proper,
excluding mirrorless, and
focus on connectivity, said
Ben Arnold, director of imaging
analysis at NPD. How do you
bridge that gap between high
photo-capture quality and high-
quality camera devices and the
cloud where every amateur
photographers images live?
Reuters
Myanmar Summary
A model poses with Nikon Corp's new Nikon 1 J1 camera at its unveiling ceremony in Tokyo.
R
e
u
t
e
r
s
Apple Denies NSA Tie on iPhone Hacks
Edwin Chan
A
pple Inc has never
worked with the US Na-
tional Security Agency
und Is unuwure oI eorLs Lo
target its smartphones, the
company said in response to
reports that the spy agency had
developed a system to hack into
and monitor iPhones.
Germanys Der Spiegel re-
ported that a secretive unit of
LIe NSA, wIIcI Is under hre
for the extent and depth of its
spying programs around the
world, makes specialised gear
und soILwure Lo InhILruLe und
monitor a plethora of comput-
ing devices, including mobile
phones.
Apple has never worked with
the NSA to create a backdoor in
any of our products, including
iPhone. Additionally, we have
been unaware of this alleged
NSA program targeting our
products, the company said in
a statement.
We will continue to use
our resources to stay ahead of
malicious hackers and defend
our customers from security
attacks, regardless of whos be-
hind them.
In a statement, the NSA did
noL commenL on uny specIhc
allegations but said that its in-
terest in any given technology
is driven by the use of that tech-
nology by foreign intelligence
targets.
The United States pursues its
intelligence mission with care
to ensure that innocent users of
those same technologies are not
uecLed, LIe ugency udded.
The iPhone was a relatively
innovative gadget in 2008. It
hit the market in 2007 and pro-
ceeded to help revolutionise the
mobile phone industry. Reuters
Myanmar Summary
Panasonic Corp . .,.-
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AUTOMOBILE
29
January 9-15, 2014
Myanmar Business Today
mmbiztoday.com
Yangon-Bangkok Bus Service by April
A
ir-conditioned bus
services between Myan-
mars commercial capital
Yangon and Thailands capital
Bangkok will be launched be-
fore the start of Myanmar and
Thai New Year, highway bus
operators say.
The Burmese New Year Water
festival, or Thingyan, and Thai
New Year festival, or Songkran,
Htet Aung usually falls around mid-April.
Double air-conditioned buses
will make day trips from Yan-
gon to Bangkok. Details of the
service plan will be announced
to passengers ahead of the
launch, said Ko Zaw Maung, a
highway bus entrepreneur.
Ko Zaw Maung said pas-
sengers need to be explained
in detail about the service that
Is goIng Lo be oered by LIe
bus lines so that they get more
customers.
A new bus line called Yangon
Air Bus-Taxi will run about 20
buses between the cities every
two days.
It is a good project. The bus
Iure sIouId be hxed und IL Ius Lo
be reasonable. There are a lot of
buses that will run between the
cities so we think the business
will be good, he said.
The fare for double air-
conditioned bus is expected
to be around K30,000 per
person and buses will leave at
6am from Yangon and arrive in
Bangkok at 6pm.
Myanmar Summary
Auto Purchasers Wary of
Fake Slips
Htet Aung
Y
angons domestic au-
tomobile market has
recently been facing a
fake slip menace which is slow-
ing down the sales of high-end
automobiles, auto traders say.
Under the governments over-
age car substitution program,
owners of old cars can deposit
their vehicles to the authorities
and receive import slips, or per-
mits, which allows the owners
to import cars depending on the
value of the slip.
The dealers said there were
incidents of trading fake slips
in Mandalay and Yangons auto
market recently, especially in
November.
Import slips are very lucra-
tive and now there are fake
ones. So, car purchasers are
worried about the genuineness
oI LIe sIIps oered by LIe deuI-
ers, and reluctant to buy high-
Myanmar Summary
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q, ~ , , .~:~ . . . ~:..~ ,
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..:q~..|~e''e ,.~._.:
._.
priced cars in the fear of losing
a great deal of money. Although
cheaper vehicles sales are
steady, U Min Oo, an automo-
bile dealer from Yangon, said.
Although, there havent been
such incidents in the last couple
of weeks or so, purchasers are
still fretting that this will hap-
pen again, U Min Oo said.
Sales of costly cars such as
Pujero Iuve dIved sIgnIhcunLIy,
but low-end cars like AD van,
Honda, Probox sales are
smooth, he added.
Slip cheating happened more
in Mandalay car market but
purchasers in Yangon are get-
ting anxious too. They are now
more cautious about buying
slips from dealers, another car
dealer said.
Low-end cars like Probox,
Honda can fetch about K11.2
million ($11,380) to K12 million
($12,200) in the domestic auto
market.
Cars lined up for sale at Thiri Mingalar automobile market in Yangon.
O
liv
e
r

S
lo
w
Authorities to Issue
Tyre Import Licences
Phyu Thit Lwin
T
he authorities will start
issuing tyre import li-
cences in a bid to regulate
the quality of the tyres being
imported into Myanmar, the
Ministry of Commerce said in
an announcement.
Previously, no import licence
was required to import tyres,
leading to imports of substand-
ard and overpriced tyres.
This move will regulate the
sector better by setting up mini-
mum quality requirements to
import tyres. We would be able
Lo geL quuIILy Lyres wILI uord-
able prices, Ko Htet Wai Wan,
a tyre dealer in Yangon, said.
The ministry said it will issue
90-day licences to importers.
However, they will be able to
renew their licences quickly
Myanmar Summary
Fiat Strikes $4.35b Deal
to Buy Rest of Chrysler
as the licensing process will
be made easy with restrictions
eased for automobile entrepre-
neurs, it said. Car tyres are cur-
rently imported mostly through
Myawaddy-Mae Sot border
trade station.
Su Su
I
talian carmaker Fiat SpA
struck a $4.35 billion deal to
gain full control of Chrysler
Group LLC, ending more than
a year of tense talks that have
obstructed Chief Executive
SergIo MurcIIonne`s eorLs Lo
combine the two automakers
resources.
The agreement, announced
last week, cements Mar-
chionnes reputation as the
industrys consummate deal-
maker about a decade after he
took the helm of Fiat as a car
business newcomer, analysts
and bankers said.
But it remains to be seen
whether a merger will be enough
to cut Fiats losses in Europe.
Marchionnes plan to shore
up Fiat depends on the ability
to share technology, cash and
dealer networks with Chrysler,
the No.3 US automaker.
Fiat will acquire the 41.46
percent stake in Chrysler it did
not already own from a retiree
IeuILIcure LrusL um IIuLed wILI
the United Auto Workers union.
e. . ~ :.~ , . .~ q, ~ , _.
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..._..,:.:. .._e..:.._~
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PA J ERO ~:. ~. . ~.:. .:.
~.q:.~~e ...:.:~..
.,_. . ~ . . .~, . ~:..:._e. ..:
AD van, HONDA FIT, Probox
~:..:..: ~.q: .~~e _e. , ..,
._~:. ~:..q:.~e.q.~..,.
~e.. ....~ ._.:._.
_._ ~ .. ..: .~: ~:.~:e:.:.
~..q:_ ~q_~..._._.._
~:.~:e:.:.~ . .. q, ~~ ~
. .~ ,. . .:. _., ._ _.. . q._
_e. ._~: .. .. :..q.. ~ .., ..q: .~e
.q.~, _~ ._:,. .~. ~ _., .~ ~q
. q._ .
~. .|..: .~: ~:.~:e:.:.~
~ . .q:_ . . _.. . _. ..q ._
~~ ~ e. ~ ~ . ..:..:
~:.~:e:.:.. : ~q_~... _._.
. .q .... , ._. .:...:._~: . .
_...q, .~.~.~_.._e.._.
~ ~. . - ..: .~: ~:. ~
...q...,._e.._ Fiat SpA
._ Chrysler Group LLC ~:.
~..q~,..'.: ,., .e_e
~eeq,~~~ ..:~_.~~
qq.._~:. .q._.
~..|..,.~ee.~~~ ~ ..
.~: _~:_~: .. ... .q. .:.. : .~:
_..:_e ~...~.._._e.._.
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~.~ ~ ~ _ ., ._ ~_:. ._ .
...:._. e...,.~ee.~
Fiat -.q:....~ ~ ~ ~, ...'.
.:.~ ..:.q,~~~ ...:~
._ ~._ .~.,~. q. _ e. .:._
._e..:._~ ..:_~_. :.q.._
._._e.._.
Myanmar Summary
January 9-15, 2014
Myanmar Business Today
mmbiztoday.com
CLASSIFIEDS
30
SOCIAL SCENES
31
January 9-15, 2014
Myanmar Business Today
mmbiztoday.com
Te two brothers.
Myanmar Yachting Federation
Myanmar teams yacht.
Myanmar Yachting Federation
Two brothers who won gold medals in Half Rater Class in 27
th
SEA
Games sailing event. Myanmar Yachting Federation
Winners hold up Myanmar fags.
Myanmar Yachting Federation
Yachts at the race.
Myanmar Yachting Federation
Myanmar teams yacht at the competition.
Myanmar Yachting Federation
Myanmar Academy Awards in Yangon
Sailing Event
Premier Cofee Event in Yangon
A Premier Cofee representative speaks at the event.
Kyaw Min Artists performs at the event. Kyaw Min Guests at the event. Kyaw Min
A traditional dance performance at the show.
Kyaw Min
Pyay Ti Oo and Eaindra Kyaw Zin. Htet Aung
Pyay Ti Oo with Best Actor award. Htet Aung Nann Su Yati Soe. Wah So Moe Oo.
Yoon Yoon.
Chaw Yadana (M).
Academy Award winners pose for a photo on the stage.
New Year's Eve Celebration
in Yangon
Pyay Ti Oo & Phway Phway.
A traditional Myanmar dance performance. Htet Aung
People celebrate New Year in Yangon. U Aung/Xinhua
People at a New Year celebration concert in Yangon. U Aung/Xinhua
January 9-15, 2014
Myanmar Business Today
mmbiztoday.com
32
ENTERTAINMENT
Travel and Luxury River Cruise Companies
Scamper to Myanmar
Sherpa Hossainy
T
he unprecedented chang-
es over the last couple of
years in Myanmar have
successfully grabbed the worlds
attention, suddenly making the
once-shunned, despot-ruled
country into the It place to
be for tourists, conglomerates
and investors alike.
Myanmar came out as the
Top Emerging Destination
in British travel magazine
Wanderlusts Readers Travel
Awards survey; Lonely Planet
has put Myanmar in its list of
top ten destinations to visit,
Forbes and CNN also dubbed
Myanmar as one of the hottest
destinations in the world.
In 2011, over 800,000 tourists
visited Myanmar, an increase
of 30 percent from the previ-
ous year. In 2012, more than 1
million foreign tourists visited
LIe counLry und LIuL hgure Is
expected to rise to around 1.5
million in 2013.
The government, alongside
the Asian Development Bank
(ADB) and Norway, in June
unveiled a half-a-billion dol-
lar Tourism Master Plan.
ADB predicted international
visitor arrivals to rise as high
as 7.5 million in 2020 with
corresponding tourism receipts
worth $10.1 billion.
Global tour and travel com-
panies and luxury river cruise
operators are also looking to
bank on the surge of tourists.
Many have beefed up their
operations, announced new
custom-designed tour packages
und Iuve oered IucruLIve dIs-
counts to grab a piece of the pie.
British adventure travel com-
B
a
c
k
y
a
r
d

T
r
a
v
e
l
pany Tucan Travel in December
released 14 new adventure tours
which combine travel in Myan-
mar with the rest of Southeast
Asia.
The new combined tours
range from 23 days to 64 days,
one of the longest of Tucans
adventure tours.
With Burma being such an up
and coming destination, we are
delighted to do more to develop
the links between this country
and the rest of the region, Matt
Gannan, CEO of Tucan Travel,
said. We now have a wide
variety of tours for those people
who want to extend their stay
in Southeast Asia for up to 64
days.
Depending on the number of
countries visited and length of
the tour, prices for Tucans new
Burma and Southeast Asia vis-
its vary from $3,409 to $6,659,
according to its website.
Tucan Travel launched their
hrsL Lour In Myunmur In zo1z.
The company said the release
oI LIese new Lours reecLs ILs
conhdence In LIe growLI oI
demand for authentic travel
experiences in the region.
California-based AmaWater-
ways said in November 2013
that it will launch a new ship
and new river cruise program
onMyanmars Ayeyarwady river
in November this year. AmaWa-
terways started accepting book-
ings for its Myanmar cruises
(November 2014 through April
2016) last year.
We have so many exciting
developments in the works,
especially our new program and
new ship in Myanmar, said
Kristin Karst, AmaWaterways
Executive Vice President and
Co-Owner.
My own experiences in
Myanmar have been absolutely
amazing. Our new cruises there
will immerse our guests in a
pIuce LIuL Ius Iong been sIuL o
from the rest of the world, and
thats an opportunity no world
traveller will want to pass up.
An optional 4-night post-
cruise land extension is
available on both itineraries,
featuring three nights in Inle
Lake and one night in Yangon.
AmaWaterways river cruises
are crafted to hit Bagan, Man-
dalay, Moutn Popa, Inwa, Am-
arapura, Sagaing and Mingun.
Guests will cruise the Ayeyar-
waddy aboard the newly built
all-suite AmaPura, a 56-pas-
senger vessel furnished with
a combination of modern and
traditional motifs. All 28 suites
feature a balcony, an en suite
bathroom and other deluxe
amenities. The ships public ar-
eas include a restaurant, main
lounge and bar, gift shop, spa,
refreshing pool and a sun deck.
AmaWaterways Austral-
Iun purLner, AusLruIIun PucIhc
Touring (APT), also announced
in November that it will launch
a new river cruise program.
APT suId IL wIII oer guesLs
the choice of two exclusive APT-
only sailings in February and
April 2015 aboard AmaPura
as well as joint sailings. Full
details of itineraries and pricing
are expected to be announced
this month.
Debra Fox, APTs Gen-
eral Manager Marketing, said,
These are exciting times for
APT, especially with the launch
of our new ship in Myanmar.
Its a unique and spellbinding
destination and one that has
previously been out of reach
to the Australian travelling
public.
Another travel company
Backyard Travel, a Bangkok-
based Asia travel specialist,
in November announced dis-
counted promotions for three
of their Myanmar tours to lure
more clients.
The companys A Tale of Two
Cities: Mandalay to Bagan and
Mruak U: The Hidden City
tours were available with a 10
percent discount until Decem-
ber, while the Family Fun in
Myanmar was available with a
15-percent price cut.
Myanmar is a country that
inspires much intrigue and
fascination, said Backyard
Travels General Manager
Maeve Nolan.
Demand for vacations in My-
anmar has never been higher
and we hope to inspire more
travellers to visit with these
great value promotions.