ข่าวเศรษฐกิจและธุรกิจประจำสัปดาห์

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  Government authorities are planning to replace Italian- Thai Development (ITD) as uncertainty over Dawei mounts

  Lack of clarity in the contract signed between Italian-Thai Development (ITD) and the Myanmar government to develop the highly controversial Dawei Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Tanintharyi Region needs to be addressed, an SEZ official cautioned as the government is mulling plans to change the developer. Myanmar SEZ Central Working Body Secretary U Aung Soe said there could be financial repercussions for Myanmar if the contract is dissolved before the ambiguities are straightened out, adding that under the current contract, only if ITD opts out of the project can another company join in. Deputy commerce ministry U Aung Htoo told reporters last week that the government is planning to transfer the project to another company, as it feels ITD has been unable to deliver on what it promised with regards to the SEZ.
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  Yangon City project reached the final stage in negotiations with the China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) (Serge Pun, Vice Chair and Executive of NYDC)

  The government body in charge of developing an ambitious new Yangon city project has reached the final stage in negotiations with China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) in preparing pre-project documents (PPD). Launched by the regional government in March via a 100pc government-owned New Yangon Development Co (NYDC), the new city project covers an area twice the size of Singapore with a target of US$1.5 billion (K2.83 trillion) investment for the first phase Serge Pun, vice chair and chief executive of NYDC, announced on the website that the proposal is close to be finalised and he “hopes the details of the PPD can be disclosed soon to the public and for PPD to be quickly completed for NYDC Challenge to begin.” The "Challenge" refers to a challenge mechanism: Once the proposal is finalised, NYDC will disclose the documents to the public and call a tender. If a company is able to challenge CCCC with a lower bid to build the infrastructure, it will be selected instead but will need to pay CCCC for the costs incurred.
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  No power projects have been implemented in Chin State despite investors' interest

  Although companies have shown a keen interest in power projects in Chin State, no project has been implemented yet, said Dr. Min Zaw Oo, the director of the Chin State’s Office of the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration. “The Chin State government is prioritizing hydropower investments. But the projects have many phases, processes, and business risks which are hindering project implementation for now,” said Dr. Min Zaw Oo. In the two years of the present term of the Chin State government, the hydropower generation sector has been ranked first by investors planning to invest in the state. At least 7 companies from China, Japan, and Norway have expressed their interest to conduct feasibility studies for power projects in the state, according to a research report on the opportunities and challenges for local business development in the state.
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  UK’s Department for International Development (DFID), via its DaNa Facility, published the report on Myanmar’s inclusive businesses to reduce poverty early this month

  On the heels of the release of a UK-backed report on inclusive businesses, a senior government official says that such businesses are “triple wins” for the poor, tthe business sector and for the government. With the support of Myanmar’s Directorate of Investment and Company Administration (DICA) and the Directorate of Industrial Supervision and Inspection (DISI), the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID), via its DaNa Facility, published the report about Myanmar’s inclusive businesses earlier this month. The Inclusive Business in Myanmar report provides an opportunity for businesses, investors, NGOs and the government to learn about the potential impact inclusive businesses have on the country and starts to map a way forward to a more inclusive and sustainable private-sector environment across Myanmar.
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  The Central Bank of Myanmar urged the companies to raise corporate governance standards which can benefit from its decision allowing them to borrow from foreign banks

  Myanmar’s Central Bank says companies will have to raise corporate governance standards before they can benefit from its decision allowing them to borrow from foreign banks. THE CENTRAL BANK of Myanmar has urged companies to raise their corporate governance standards so they can benefit from a recent rule change that enables them to borrow from foreign banks. The rule change announced in a statement by CBM deputy governor U Soe Thein on November 8 is aimed at giving local companies greater access to finance. It said foreign banks could “provide any financing and other banking services to local business entities, in the same manner as local banks”.
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  A Research Report on Opportunities and Challenges for Local Business Development in Chin State was released to encourage business development in Chin State

  In a bid to encourage business development in Chin State, a research report on Opportunities and Challenges for local Business Development in Chin State was released yesterday at the Taw Win Garden Hotel in Yangon. The report was developed by the Aye Chan Myanmar Institute (Gender and Development Institute-Myanmar) and the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC). The report was analyzed by more than 60 people, including high-ranking officials from townships in the Chin State, representatives from civil society organizations, local businesspersons, and women and young leaders. “These people understand the Chin State government’s two-year performance,” said a researcher with the Aye Chan Myanmar Institute.
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  Yangon Aerodrome Company will upgrade the Yangon International Airport to open up new markets despite the slowdown in visitor growth in 2018 compared to the past five years

  Yangon Aerodrome Company Limited (YACL) have announced they will be increasing the capacity of Yangon International Airport (YIA), and stepping up marketing to open new international routes, even as YIA is likely to close 2018 with the slowest growth in air passenger traffic in five years. At a media briefing to announce the five millionth passenger arrival so far this year, YACL said that 2018 is expected to show an increase of 2.5% of around six million in air passenger traffic at YIA, compared to 5.92 million for the whole of 2017. Over the past five years, air passenger growth at YIA had increased at an average of 8.6% per year. YACL said that while tourist arrivals from Asian markets continue to grow in 2018, those from European and North America markets appear to have been impacted by international media reports on domestic Myanmar issues.
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  According to the recent published report by Myanmar Centre for Responsible Business (MCRB), Myanmar’s private sector need to respect biodiversity and ecosystem early on to avoid cost and conflict

  Myanmar’s private sector needs to identify the impact of their businesses on biodiversity and ecosystems early on to avoid cost and conflict, a recent report states. Yangon-based Myanmar Centre for Responsible Business (MCRB) recently published a briefing paper on biodiversity, human rights and business, advising stakeholders on how some types of investment can negatively affect biodiversity and hence affect human rights. Commenting on the report, MCRB director Vicky Bowman said that investors should study the potential impacts their project could have on biodiversity and ecosystems, as well as communities who are benefitting from them, at the conceptual stage of the project, when it is first being considered. “It’s at this stage that it’s easiest to re-route a road alignment to avoid a sensitive area, redesign the hotel to reduce water use, or change the dam design to reduce inundation. The alternative is to find out later, that changes have to be made or an ‘offset’ needs to be added, which is more expensive, or the investor ends up in conflict with other stakeholders, which can even lead to the project being suspended,” she told The Myanmar Times.
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  The Central Bank of Myanmar is working to raise the value of Myanmar kyat to prevent dollarization

  The Central Bank of Myanmar (CBM) is making efforts to raise the value of kyat and prevent dollarization by making use of Myanmar currency compulsory for all transactions across the country to make the kyat stronger and to curb illegal hoarding of money, Xinhua reported quoting CBM Deputy Governor U Bo Bo Nge said.
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  Myanmar authorities will grant banking license to new foreign banks next year to provide services in the domestic market

  Central Bank of Myanmar, which has a great market potential in the banking sector, will grant banking licenses to new foreign banks allowing them to provide services in the domestic market. “We are considering allowing more foreign banks. We have plans to start granting license to the most suitable foreign banks,”U Soe Thein, Vice President of Central Bank, said. So far, there are 13 foreign banks in Myanmar, which have been operating over the last 4-5 years. On November 8, Central Bank allowed them to provide wholesale banking services to local corporations with the aim of widening access to finance for local businesses and to control Kyat depreciation by allowing more currency inflow.