ข่าวเศรษฐกิจและธุรกิจประจำสัปดาห์

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  Myanmar Microfinance Forum was took place in Nay Pyi Taw which financial inclusion for rural development and poverty reduction

  Myanmar Microfinance Forum took place in conjunction with MMFA Annual General Assembly in Nay Pyi Taw, Tuesday. The forum was led by Myanmar Microfinance Association (MMFA). At the forum, Union Minister for Planning and Finance gave an opening remark. In his speech, the Union Minister said that the Financial Inclusion becomes one of the important tools for implementing in the process of rural development and poverty reduction and microfinance businesses have been gaining momentum in areas like the dry-zones and highlands by the support of UNDP, Human Development Initiative Program since 1997. As of now, 198 MFIs have been granted licenses to operate microfinance activities, including 3 INGOs, 15 NGOs, 112 Local Companies, 53 Foreign Companies and 6 Joint Ventures. According to the Ministry, there are a total of 198 institutions in the MMFA and the microfinance loans intend to low income people.
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  Vice President called on the conservation of coastal areas for socioeconomic development of the country

  Vice President U Myint Swe stressed the need to focus on environmental conservation for socioeconomic development of the country, to take measures for reducing climate change and to conserve coastal areas with abundant natural resources. He made these remarks in his capacity as chairman of the central committee at the 7th Meeting of National Level Central Committee for the Administration and Management of Natural Resources in Coastal Areas, held at the headquarters of the Forest Department in Nay Pyi Taw yesterday morning. The Vice President first of all acknowledged the implementation of 38 resolutions and 9 ongoing resolutions approved in the six meetings of the central committee thanks to the relevant committees. He also said that global warning has caused climatic changes which caused various natural disasters, and it has reached the highest records in the previous four consecutive years. The higher global temperatures resulted in thermal expansion of seawater and melting of glaciers and ice sheets, the rise of sea level and large storms, affecting on socio-economy and health of people.
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  The new road project in Chin State with the loan from World Bank will start its work next year in October

  Work on a new road project in Chin State funded by a World Bank loan will begin next October, a state official has announced. The new road will connect the townships of Kalay, Falam and Hakha. The starting point of the road will be in Kalay, which straddles the Chin State and Sagaing Region border. “The road marks the first project with international backing in Chin State, and is very much welcomed even though the start of the project will only be in October next year,” said Chin State Minister of Transport and Communications U Shwe Chit Oo. The Kalay-Falam-Hakha road is crucial in connecting Chin State with other regions and states in the country and once completed will boost development in the state, U Shwe Chit Oo added.
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  Myanmar Rice Millers Association will form publicly owned company to bring rice millers for rice trading

  Myanmar Rice Millers Association will form a publicly owned company; only rice millers will be allowed to buy shares of the company. In this case here in Myanmar, a public company does not mean a listed company at the stock exchange; instead it is a private company with many shareholders. “Forming a public company can bring rice millers for rice trading. It can also stabilize the price and market,” said U Kyaw Win, President of Myanmar Rice Millers Association. The rice millers public company can connect rice traders and millers as well as expanding the market.
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  Toyota Motor Corporation of Japan start its first Toyota Hilux brand manufacturing plant in Thilawa SEZ after monitoring the market situation in Myanmar

  Toyota Motor will start manufacturing only Toyota Hilux brand in Myanmar for the first time and it has also a plan to produce other auto brands only after monitoring the market situation, said Mr. Yoshihisa Tonozuka, Managing Director of Toyota Myanmar Co., Ltd. The construction of an auto plant has begun now and it is expected to commission into service in 2020 August. The operations will be able to start at that time. Toyota Hilux pick-up trucks are expected to be manufactured in 2021 February. 2,500 Hilux units will be manufactured every year. We will think of production of other auto brands only when we wait and monitor the market situation, said Mr. Yoshihisa Tonozuka, Managing Director of Toyota Myanmar Co., Ltd. Toyota Motor Corporation of Japan held the groundbreaking ceremony of the construction of new auto plant of TMY in Thilawa SEZ-B on November 1. Toyota Motor Corporation of Japan formed Toyota Myanmar Co., Ltd TMY, the first-ever auto manufacturer in Myanmar.
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  Myanmar rice paddy farmers called Government for failing to buy rice at floor price

  Rice paddy farmers in Ayeyarwady Region have complained that merchants are paying them less than the minimum price recently set by the government. The government’s Leading Committee for the Protection and Promotion of the Rights and Interests of Farmers, led by Vice President Henry Van Thio, fixed the floor price for rice this year at 500,000 kyats for 100 baskets of paddy (US$327.30 for about 2.09 tons) in a move to protect the interests of paddy farmers. But farmers in Ayeyarwady Region said merchants only pay for around 450,000 kyats for 100 baskets of paddy. “In Maubin, paddy prices are between 450,000 and 480,000 kyats. This is the price given by merchants and rice millers. Though the government said the minimum price is 500,000 kyats, nobody is paying that price, and the government is not buying directly from farmers, so we can only sell at market rates,” said rice farmer U Hla Htay of Yenangyoung village in Maubin Township.
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  Chief Minister of Ayeyawaddy Region invites local and foreign business people to invest in the Ayeyawaddy Region

  Ayeyawaddy Region Chief Minister Hla Moe Aung urges invites local and foreign business people to do business in the region which is one of the important regions in Myanmar. He said these words at the opening ceremony of Ayeyawaddy Region Investment Forum held at Ngwe Saung Beach on October 24.
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  Local egg prices dropped by about half due to the high logistical issues

  Transportation difficulties have caused the price for a viss (about 1.63 kilogrammes) of chicken eggs to drop by about half, says an industry official. U Kyaw Htin, chair of the Myanmar Livestock Federation said last Saturday that egg prices dropped to K1400 per viss from about K2600 last week, before rebounding to about K2100. “Demand and supply are unbalanced. There have been difficulties in transporting eggs to some border areas like Muse, so prices been declined for a week, even though prices have been high the rest of the year. The weather has been mostly warm this year, which caused production to drop and drive up prices. The latest developments have pushed prices back down again,” U Kyaw Htin said. According to government statistics there are currently around 20 million chickens in Myanmar and 75 percent of them produce eggs.
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  Vice President expected Ayeyawady integrated Food Industry Complex in Pantanaw to become an initial project for Myanmar fisheries products to penetrate international markets

  Vice President U Henry Van Thio, in his capacity as chairman of the Farmer Rights Protection and Interest Promotion Committee, visited Pantanaw Township in Ayeyawady Region, yesterday. His inspection tour to the Ayeyawaddy Integrated Food Industry Complex was accompanied by Union Minister Dr Aung Thu, Deputy Minister Dr Tun Naing, Permanent Secretary U Win Tint and officials. First, Myanmar Fisheries Federation Chairman U Htay Myint gave a short briefing about seafood processing and laboratory analysis for aquatic products. At the project meeting hall, the Chairman gave a briefing on the development of multi-purpose project, preparations for export, coordination with international organizations, ongoing processes and future plans.
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  The operation to connect Dawei Special Economic Zone (SEZ) to national grid is being set up and it will enable the area to enjoy access electricity within the next two or three years

  The necessary infrastructure is being set up to link Dawei Special Economic Zone (SEZ) to the national grid, which will enable the area to enjoy access to electricity within the next 2-3 years, said U Soe Myint, deputy permanent secretary for the Ministry of Electricity and Energy. Backed up loans from the Asia Development Bank (ADB), the ministry is expected to provide up to 300 megawatts of power to the SEZ, said U Myint San, vice chair of Dawei SEZ Management Committee. Dawei SEZ will be able to enjoy electricity after the grid is extended from Mawlamyine to Ye and Dawei by 2021-22 under the first phase of the project, said U Soe Myint. Eventually, the entire region of Tanintharyi will enjoy access to electricity. Currently, the whole of Tanintharyi including Dawei, is not connected to the grid and locals have to buy electricity from private providers at high prices. Electricity rates vary from K200 to K500 per unit, depending on location. At those levels, investors are unlikely to set up operations at the Dawei SEZ, prompting the government to take action, U Myint San said.