ข่าวเศรษฐกิจและธุรกิจประจำสัปดาห์

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  Forex licences revoked, but gov't offers grace period

  The kyat has lately been struggling with a crisis of legitimacy. As businesses began to move away en masse from the kyat for the more stable dollar, the Central Bank of Myanmar (CBM) in mid-October made good on earlier threats and revoked the foreign exchange acceptor and holder licences for a variety of businesses, which allowed them to do business in dollars inside Myanmar. However, the lasting implications of this move have so far remained unclear, as a later statement seemed to give a grace period not present in previous documents.
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  Myanmar seeking new markets to export bamboo, rattan, and other forestry products

  Myanmar is seeking new markets to export bamboo, rattan, and other forestry products to new markets, according to the Myanmar Bamboo and Rattan Association. The association aims to export to New Zealand, Canada, Korea, South Africa, Argentina and Colombia, U Kyaw Thu, chairman of the association, told Myanmar Business Today.
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  Thai-Myanmar joint-venture (JV) (between Thai broker KT ZMICO and Myanmar's KTZ Ruby Hill Securities) receives broker licence for the Yangon Stock Exchange

  New York-based broker Auerbach Grayson & Company announced on October 20 that its Thai subsidiary KT ZMICO and local partner KTZ Ruby Hill Securities were one of four foreign brokers to receive a broker licence for the exchange, which isscheduled to open in early December.
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  New Yangon-Naypyitaw rail route to be operated with newer air-conditioned trains this year :Myanma Railways

  Tests have started to operate newer air-conditioned trains along the Yangon-Naypyitaw route, according to an announcement from the Transport Department of Myanma Railways (Lower Myanmar). Myanma Railways said it aims to start using the air-conditioned carriages, which have been ordered from Japan, on the route this year.
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  Hoang AnhGia Lai (HAGL) to open Myanmar Plaza, part of its USD 440 million property venture, Myanmar Centre, in early December

  Touting Myanmar Plaza as the “first international retail experience in Yangon”, HAGL said the facility will feature a range of international and local retailers and lifestyle outlets, while housing the largest food court in the country. Australian coffee chain Gloria Jean’s Coffee will also have a branch there, it added.
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  Southeast Asia's largest 220 megawatt (MW) solar project to be constructed in Minbu in Magway Region of Myanmar

  Myanmar is to host a series of flagship solar projects, following a number of contract awards in recent weeks, industry websitebusinessgreen.com reported on 13 October.
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  Surging demand due to destruction of paddy fields during recent flooding causes a record spike in rice prices in Myanmar

  Surging demand following thewidespread destruction of paddy fields during the recent flooding has forced a record spike in prices, say the Myanmar Rice Federation and local paddy and rice traders in Nay Pyi Taw.
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  The Yangon Stock Exchange to begin trading in early December : Myanmar's Deputy Finance Minister

  The stock exchange was originally expected to open this month, but that was postponed until after national elections set for 8 November. Despite the political uncertainty, the deputy finance minister said he is confident the launch of the stock exchange won’t be derailed.
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  Trade in Myanmar could be affected this year by China's slowdown

  China is a major trading partner for Myanmar – bilateral trade with the world’s second-largest economy accounts for over 50 percent of total trade, according to Ministry of Commerce data. Changyong Rhee, director of the Asia and Pacific Department at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), said growth across ASEAN will moderate in 2015 to 4.6pc, rising slightly to 5.0pc in 2016.
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  Thailand's Bumrungrad Hospital obtains a licence to set up a subsidiary in Myanmar

  The new company – Bumrungrad Myanmar – has a registered capital of US$1.33 million and will offer private clinic and diagnostic services. It was approved by the Myanmar Investment Commission (MIC) last month, the company said in a filing to the Stock Exchange of Thailand.