Weekly Business News from Myanmar

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  The government will build a sustainable automotive policy in order to meet the challenges of the country's emerging auto industry

  The government will build a sustainable automotive poli¬cy in order to meet the challenges faced by the country’s emerging auto industry, a meeting of au¬tomobile entrepreneurs has heard. The government plans to combine the rules and regulations of all relevant departments into one co¬herent policy, while in¬creasing tax revenue, cre¬ating jobs and investing in new technology, Kyaw Win, the union minister of planning and finance, told a meeting led by Vice- President U Myint Swe.
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  The Yangon Stock Exchange (YSX) can be a training ground for local companies (experts)

  Myanmar firms at the top of their game should list on foreign exchanges, an audience at a Bloomberg conference in Yangon has heard, but others should consider listing on the lo¬cal exchange as a training ground. Kesara Manchusree, President of the Stock Ex¬change of Thailand, told an audience at the Invest Myanmar conference in Yangon earlier this month that larger local enterpris¬es could get experience in tightening up their gov¬ernance and reporting procedures by joining to Yangon Stock Exchange.
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  Myanmar and Thailand agreed to continue Dawei SEZ project within a month and a two-lane highway to link Thailand and Dawei SEZ will be built (Ambassador of Thailand to Myanmar)

  Visits to Myanmar led by the deputy prime minister of Thailand, followed by a visit from the minister of transportation of Thailand who met with Vice President Henry Van Thio in February, resulted in an agreement to continue the Dawei SEZ project within a month. Pisanu Suvanajata, the Thai ambassador to Myanmar who attended the meeting with Henry Van Thio, spoke exclusively to the Myanmar Times in February 22 that both sides agreed to restart the SEZ.
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  The rise of US Dollar value in currency exchange markets is leading to an increase in rice export volumes, risen by 25,000 tonnes this fiscal year as of 3 March 2017 compared to the same period last year (Myanmar Rice Federation - MRF)

  The rise of the US dollar value in currency exchange markets is leading to an increase in rice export volumes when compared to the previous financial year, said U Ye Min Aung, managing director of Myanmar Agribusiness Public Corporation (MAPCO) and the general secretary of the Myanmar Rice Federation (MRF). According to figures up until March 3, Myanmar’s rice export has risen by about 25,000 tonnes compared to the export volume in the fiscal year 2015-16, he said. This year’s rice export is likely to go up to nearly 1.5 million tonnes, he also said at a course-completion ceremony on rice export sector held on March 13.
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  Yangon's ports are expected to receive more than 2 million containers by 2020, compared to 890,000 containers in 2015 (Myanma Port Authority - MPA)

  Yangon’s ports are expected to receive more than two million containers by 2020, according to the Myanma Port Authority (MPA). They received 890,000 containers in 2015, said Zaw Tun Lwin, deputy general manager from the MPA.
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  Myanmar government's subsidy of the electricity bill is hindering the development of the electricity sector (Industry experts)

  Ministers and industry experts say the government’s approach of paying the electricity bill using the union budget is a hindrance to the development of the sector. In 2012, the average export rates per electric unit in Southeast Asian countries can cost up to more than K267 per electric unit: K67 in Brunei, K71 in Myanmar, K117 in Thailand, more than K105 in Laos, more than K119 in Vietnam, approximately K166 in Malaysia, K230 in Cambodia, and approximately K267 in Singapore. Myanmar has the second lowest electricity export rate in Southeast Asia.
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  A universal card payment system covering fare payments on Yangon's public transport system will be rolled out from April 2017 (Yangon Region Chief Minister)

  A universal card payment system covering fare pay¬ments on Yangon’s pub¬lic transport system will be rolled out from April, the Yangon Region Chief Minister told a briefing of journalists late last month.
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  Two Japanese industrial companies have made a joint proposal to build and operate a water treatment facility in the central Myanmar town of Wundwin, which suffers from polluted waterways caused by its textile dyeing industry

  Two Japanese industrial companies have made a joint proposal to build and operate a water treatment facility in the central Myanmar town of Wundwin, which suffers from polluted waterways caused by its textile dyeing industry.
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  Permits to open about 600 private fuel stations in Yangon are being sought

  Permits to open about 600 private fuel stations in Yangon are being sought: only 150, out of 2,065 countrywide, fuel stations are in Yangon because the land and real property values are excessively high (entrepreneurs)
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  Myanmar will collaborate with the U.S. to boost white shrimp production, aiming to penetrate the global market (Myanmar Shrimp Association)

  Myanmar will collaborate with the U.S. to boost white shrimp production, aiming to penetrate the global market, Dr Sein Maung from the Myanmar Shrimp Association. The U.S. will share not only breeding techniques but systems covering biosecurity, pond management and hygiene as well as conservation of the natural environment, said Dr Jim Wybam, chairman of Marine Genetics in Hawaii of the United States.