Weekly Business News from Myanmar

Under the guidelines of Ministry of Commerce, UMFCCI is striving to establish Digital Economy Association to boost digital economy including e-commerce sector in Myanmar
Plans are underway to establish Digital Economy Association in order to boost digital economy including e-commerce sector in Myanmar. To handle the problems of e-Commerce, to protect consumer rights and to support the local Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), the association will be established by Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFFCI) under the guidelines of Ministry of Commence. Central Executive Committee, UMFCCI, Dr. Tun Thura Thet said “To be successful e-Commerce sector in the country, we need our owned strategy that will be inclusive by supporting infrastructures, payment methods and technical systems to fulfill the gaps. If we apply e-Commerce sector effectively, our Country will lead to cashless society, our GDP will increase and the logistics sector will be advanced.”
Chin State Government invited local and foreign investors to study the investment opportunities in Chin State
Myanmar is intensifying efforts to draw investors to Chin State, which is the poorest region in the country. At a Yangon fair held over the weekend to promote business and investment opportunities in Chin, the state’s chief minister Salai Lian Luai said promising sectors included hotels and tourism, agriculture, mining, textiles, infrastructure as well as hydropower and wind power. Chin State remains among the least developed regions in Myanmar. To-date, there are only a handful of local hotel businesses operating and no foreign investments in the state. “The state government invites local and foreign investors to study the investment opportunities in the state. We will help them,” Salai Lian Luai said. Held to help potential investors understand both existing and untapped areas of investment in the region, the Chin State Investment and Product Fair was co-organised by the Myanmar Investment Commission (MIC), Ministry of Investment and Foreign Economic Relations, Directorate of Investment and Company Administration, Chin State government, and Chin State Chambers of Commerce and Industry. The event was supported by UK-funded Dana Facility and law firm VDB Loi Company.
Tanintharyi fishing communities feel that their livelihoods have been hurt by the work on LNG fired power project involving Total and Siemens
Residents of coastal villages in Tanintharyi Region say their livelihoods have been hurt by work on an LNG-fired power project involving European companies Total and Siemens. FISHING COMMUNITIES in the coastal Kanbauk area of Yebyu Township, Tanintharyi Region say their livelihoods have been disrupted by work on a liquid natural gas power generation project involving two large European companies. The project involves building an offshore import terminal and a power plant with a capacity of 1,230 megawatts at Ohnbinkwin village, as well as a transmission line northwards to Bago Region, where the electricity will join Myanmar’s national grid. An existing underwater pipeline from the Yadana offshore gas field makes landfall at nearby Daminseik village, meeting an overland pipeline that continues on to Thailand. The Yadana field is operated by the French energy giant Total, which has partnered with German multinational Siemens to develop the LNG-fired power plant in Ohnbinkwin. The Kanbauk project is one of four unveiled by the Ministry of Electricity and Energy in January last year, when the companies involved were granted a “notice to proceed” at a ceremony in Nay Pyi Taw. These projects are part of an ambitious plan for universal electricity access in Myanmar by 2030.
Global World Insurance was started crop insurance for the first time in Myanmar since January 2018 as a pilot project and it’s passed over one year
The pilot project for the first ever crop Insurance is now enters for more than a year, and it covers about 300 acres from Ayeyarwady, Mandalay and Yangon now. According to the source, agricultural sector provides almost one-third of Myanmar’s GDP, representing one-fifth of the country’s exports to the international marketplaces. With the permission of Ministry of Planning and Finance, Global World Insurance started crop insurance for the first time in Myanmar since January 2018 as a pilot project. The insurance aims to help farmers by covering damages to crops as a result of erratic weather conditions in Myanmar and it covers only paddy for now, Global World Insurance said. Crop Insurance is yield base design. GWI added the premium rate for 1 acre is 5000 kyats per year, based on the market price of paddy. But the premium rate may vary depending on crop varieties, growing season and regions, GWI said.
Myanmar Agriculture products export reached over USD $ 1.28 billion in first 5 months from February to October of 2018- 2019 fiscal year
Myanmar's export of agricultural products reached over 1.28 billion U.S. dollars as of Feb. 22 in present fiscal year 2018-2019 which started in October, according to the Commerce Ministry on Wednesday. The figures showed an increase of 81.9 million U.S. dollars while compared with the same period in last fiscal year 2017-2018 when it showed 1.2 billion U.S. dollars. The country exports rice as the major agricultural product, pulses, corn, rubber, fruits and vegetables and others. Meanwhile, Myanmar President U Win Myint called for doubled efforts to increase agricultural products to boost the agricultural export in the international markets, on the occasion of Myanmar's Peasants Day on March 2.
Government are striving to support technical system and equipment to local coffee industries to improve the coffee quality for wider market
High quality coffee beans from Myanmar have been exporting since 2016, and now the market reached to over 20 countries including Japan, US and Hong Kong. A ton of Arabica coffee beans fetches a minimum of 6,000 US$ to maximum of more than 8,000 US$ depending on the quality, the local industry leader said. There are about 35000 acres coffee plantation in Myanmar and it mainly cultivated in southern and northern Shan State and Mandalay Region. About 12000 matrix tones of coffee beans are producing yearly. The local coffee industries are giving a hand to support coffee famers across the country in order to produce high quality products. Coffee Farmer, Ahlalkaing Village (Ywar Ngan Township), Nyunt Hlaing said “I have been cultivating organic coffee beans for 10 years on 10 acres land. There is no problem for coffee cultivation since it is our customary. We have been conducted trainings on how to grow good quality coffee beans. So we came to know more about our cultivation process.”
State Counsellor has promised that her government will make the final decision on the Myintsone dam and other projects from wider perspective
Amid increasing pressure from China to resume the controversial Myitsone Dam project, the State Counselor has promised that her government will make a final decision on the dam based upon political, economic and environmental considerations, and vowed to make public the details of the decision. When asked her opinion of the Myitsone Dam project at a meeting with local residents in Pyay, Bago Region on Thursday, State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said, “I would like you to think [about the project] from a wider perspective.” She said, “We should not think based on one perspective. If we think from only one perspective, we could make the wrong [decision].” The State Counselor said the final decision would have to be politically, socially, economically and environmentally sound and sustainable. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi did not offer her own stance on whether the dam project should be scrapped, nor did she say when a decision would be made.
Myanmar should enhance the production of domestic products to grow local economy and raise their quality to international standards
Myanmar should enhance domestic production and develop its local markets, says Martin Tlapa, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, during a talk entitled "Economic Transition: The Czech Experience and its Relevance for Myanmar" last week. In sharing appropriate approaches with Myanmar, Mr Tlapa said Myanmar should enhance the production of domestic products and raise their quality to international standards. At the same time Myanmar must also boost foreign trade and work to ensure its people are experienced and knowledgeable. All this will require investments in technology, the help of partners, the support of the government and strong systems, Mr Tlapa said. “The country’s economic development will require constant monitoring, management and funding. Large amounts of foreign investments will be needed to develop Myanmar’s infrastructure,” he said.
MoneyGram and Myanmar Citizens Bank (MCB) made an agreement to provide money transfer send services at every MCB bank in Myanmar
MoneyGram and Myanmar Citizens Bank (MCB), have announced an agreement to provide money transfer send services at every MCB bank location in Myanmar. According to a statement, consumers can send money from 42 branches to any MoneyGram location in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide. In celebration of the new agreement, MoneyGram is offering a price promotion of 23,990 MMK to those who complete money transfer send services from Myanmar, and a chance to win a MoneyGram power bank. The current offer is valid until May 31st, 2019.
Singapore oil company, Puma energy prohibited legal action on its trademark infringement to the former's in the local market
Singapore oil company Puma Energy is officially prohibiting the use of its trademark, name and logo in Myanmar after a local petrol station began branding itself as Puma Power and displaying a logo that is almost identical to the former’s in the local market. The notice was published by Puma Energy’s lawyer on the company’s social media page in Myanmar and via state-owned media on March 11. In Myanmar, Puma Energy is registered under the moniker Puma Energy Asia Sun (PEAS). PEAS is a joint ventured controlled by Puma Energy in partnership with local firm Asia Sun. The joint venture operates the country’s largest petroleum products storage facility at the Thilawa Port in Yangon. The US$92 million facility has the capacity to store up to 91,000 cubic meters of bitumen, diesel, gasoline and Jet A-1 fuel. The company officially registered its trademark and logo in Myanmar in 2013.