4 March, 2013
Trade and Investment

• The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) said the three-day Songkran festival next month is expected to attract a record number of Chinese tourists to Chiang Mai that will generate between 400 to 500 million baht in tourism revenue for the northern province
• Wisoot Buachoom, director of TAT Northern Region Office said the increase in Chinese visitors to the province can already be felt and is likely to hit a record high during the Thai New Year celebrations, due in part to the success of the Chinese comedy movie “Lost in Thailand”
• Meanwhile, Bali received 25,954 Chinese visitors during the first month of this year, down 53% from January 2012. Eddy Sanyoto, owner of a travel agency that mainly deals with the Chinese market, said heavy rain and storms in Bali throughout January reduced Chinese interest in visiting Bali but remained optimistic about long term prospects

5 March, 2013
Trade and Investment

• To date, China has built tar-paved roads in a total length of more than 2,000 kilometres in Cambodia, making it the largest donor of road development in the country
• Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen thanked China for supporting Cambodia in building local infrastructure essential to boost social and economic development
• The 2013 China’s Zhejiang and Cambodia matchmaking symposium was recently held to seek opportunities to expand business ties between China and Cambodia
• Vice Governor of Zhejiang province, Gong Zheng, said two-way trade between Zhejiang province and Cambodia was worth US$ 460 million in 2012, up 10% year-on-year

1 March, 2013
Trade and Investment

• Palm oil inventory held at ports in China expanded to a record last month driven by slow growth in demand and after the biggest-ever purchases in December, according to a Bloomberg survey
• The inventory in China adds to a glut in the world’s most-used cooking oil, which is caught in a bear market as supply expands to the biggest ever
• Reserves in Malaysia, the largest producer after Indonesia, reached an all-time high in December
• China’s imports from Malaysia slumped 15% to 246,290 tonnes in February from a month earlier

18 February, 2013
Foreign Affairs

A Canadian delegation arrived in Myanmar as part of an on-going process of re-engagement between the two countries, offering to share its experiences and perspectives on good parliamentary practices. In 2007, Canada imposed trade sanctions on Myanmar which were significantly lifted last year. To further encourage business between the countries, the Myanmar government announced business visas on arrival for Canadian citizens earlier this month. The Canadian Embassy will open in Yangon later this year. Canadian investment in Myanmar amounted to about US $40 million as of June 2012, according to the Myanmar Investment Commission. A reciprocal visit by Myanmar representatives to Canada is expected to take place later this year.

18 February, 2013
Business and Investment

The Myanmar Garment Entrepreneurs Association said that some local garment enterprises are changing their business tactics to appeal to foreign investors. Local garment entrepreneurs opined that hundreds of foreign garment enterprises have been attracted by Myanmar’s tax breaks which will be reduced to 15 per cent, depending on the type of export good.

18 February, 2013
Business and Investment

Forty eight farmers have sued officials from a chemical plant in Sagaing Region that is owned by the military’s largest conglomerate, accusing them of appropriating more land for their plant than they were legally entitled to. The lawyer representing the farmers said Myanmar has plenty of similar issues that cannot be solved by neither new nor preceding laws, and is instead suing on the basis of the Specific Relief Act 1877. He added that it is necessary for Parliament to pass a law to solve land disputes because the recent 2012 Farmland Law does not provide a framework for solving disputes over land that began before it was enacted.

19 February, 2013
Business and Investment

Myanmar workers at a garment factory in Jordan have been protesting over what they say are unhealthy and exploitative working conditions. The protest at the garment factory followed an outbreak of diarrhoea believed to be the result of food poisoning, with the affected workers forced to continue working.

19 February, 2013
Economy

UN relief workers arrived in Kachin State’s Hpakant Township on Sunday to provide assistance to 5,000 displaced locals following ceasefire talks between Kachin rebels and the government. Ashok Nigam, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Myanmar said humanitarian assistance must flow uninterrupted as long as people are in need. However, locals reported that while aid was arriving in the township, the Myanmarese military had also begun consolidating its positions in the area.

17 February, 2013
Economy

World Bank East Asia and Pacific vice president Axel van Trotsenburg said he was “very, very encouraged” and sensed a feeling of optimism in Myanmar. The World Bank has announced US$245 million in assistance for priority needs of Myanmar which includes a gas turbine project to provide power for an additional five million people, healthcare and education. The World Bank also recently approved a US$440 million zero-interest loan to Myanmar to help the country improve its finances and pay back a bridge loan from Japan.

19 February, 2013
Politics

A Shan rebel spokesman said Myanmar government peace negotiators and Shan rebel leaders in Thailand agreed to meet again in Myanmar’s capital in the near future after discussions yesterday, signalling growing trust between the two sides. Yesterday, Shan representatives asked the government delegation to review the current ceasefire agreement and urged them to open a political dialogue with the Shan in the near future. The establishment of a joint peace monitoring group in order to monitor peace process in Shan State were also discussed. The peace team also verbally agreed with the request for government-issued national ID cards for internally displaced Shan and Shan refugees, when they return to their home villages.