Myanmar Monitor

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Economy, Investment and Trade

ANA’s plans for joint venture falls through
(6 November 2017) Japanese airline ANA Holdings Inc’s plan to form a joint venture has fallen through. The Myanmar authorities rejected its application for an air operator’s certificate (AOC). ANA had established the Asian Blue joint venture last year with local investor Golden Sky World, owned by property-to-banking conglomerate Shwe Than Lwin. Asian Blue was ANA’s second attempt at investing in Myanmar. In 2014 it scrapped a plan to buy a 49 percent stake in Asian Wings Airways after growing competition made the investment too risky.
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New rules to increase number of taxpayers
(7 November 2017) The Internal Revenue Department (IRD) in Myanmar will be putting in place new measures to incentivise those who have been avoiding paying their taxes begin doing so. Director General of the IRD U Min Htut said they are working with other government departments to not only punish businesses that have been truant with their taxes but to also ensure that those who have not paid taxes are unable to obtain licenses and permits for conducting business.
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Rakhine to create economic border zone
(8 November 2017) Myanmar Minister of Electricity, Industry, Transport and Communication Daw Nilar Kyaw said that the Yangon Electricity Supply Corporation (YESC) and the Ministry of Electric Power would be working together to define the standards of electronic products. This comes after electronic products made of substandard materials had recently caused some fires in the country.
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Foreign & Internal Affairs

Myanmar government says it was “wronged” by UN
(8 November 2017) The Myanmar government feels “wronged” over a UN Security Council statement on the Rohingya refugee crisis. Presidential spokesperson U Zaw Htay said, “We feel wronged that UN Security Council members have echoed those allegations. What I would like to tell the international community on behalf of the Myanmar government is that we are trying to find a long-term solution for the Rakhine issue.” The UN statement was released on on November 6 and expressed concern over reports of human rights violations and abuses by Myanmar’s security forces in Rakhine State against Rohingya.
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Aung San Suu Kyi to attend ASEAN meetings despite international criticism
(8 November 2017) State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is scheduled to attend the ASEAN Summit in Manila followed by the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) informal summit in Danang, Vietnam. This comes more than a month after she cancelled plans to attend the United Nations General Assembly in September. There was no indication that the violence in Rakhine would be discussed at the Summit with criticism of the government’s actions in the state continuing in international media following a statement released by the UN on the matter.
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