Myanmar Monitor


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Economy, Investment and Trade

Myanmar, Yunnan to sign bilateral agreement on border trade
(31 May 2018) Myanmar and the regional government of Yunnan, China will seal a bilateral trade agreement when Myanmar’s Minister of Commerce U Than Myint attends the Kunming trade fair, which will be held from 14 to 20 June 2018. The deal will see assistance of legal export of Myanmar’s agriculture commodity like rice and sugar across the border of both nations. Once the deal is inked, China will purchase one million tonnes of Myanmar rice and 300,000 tonnes of sugar. Besides sugar and rice, Myanmar is expected to export maize, pulses, beans and other agricultural products to China. From the deal also, Myanmar will be importing electrical equipments, steel and iron ore from China. For many years, China imposed trade regulations to curb illegal border trade between Myanmar and China. The move did not benefit Myanmar merchants, who urged both governments to negotiate on ways to promote legal trade of goods.
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Plans to connect East and West Yangon through a bridge
(25 May 2018) Myanmar’s Ministry of Construction has announced plans to build a suspension bridge linking Kyauktan and Dala by going through the Thilawa Special Economic Zone. The decision to build a suspension bridge was taken after plans to build a tunnel to connect Kyauktan and Dala was deemed not practical. The planned construction will see the bridge constructed across the Yangon River and it will connect five eastern municipalities with five western municipalities. Myanmar’s Deputy Minister of Ministry of Construction U Kyaw Lin said the construction will lead to development, better job opportunities, ease traffic congestion and also address disparities in the living standards of East and West Yangon.
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Myanmar to appoint new finance minister
(29 May 2018) Myanmar president Win Myint has proposed Managing Partner of Deloitte and Touche in Myanmar Soe Win to be the country’s next finance minister after Kyaw Win resigned from his post last week. Soe Win’s appointment will be confirmed by the parliament and according to analysts; the move is expected to encourage investors, who are concerned about Myanmar’s slow financial reform pace and lack of economic focus. The government did not explain why Kyaw Win left the position but according to media reports from Myanmar, he was being investigated by the country’s Anti-Corruption Commission.
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Better jobs lead to better future
(29 May 2018) According to a report by Myanmar’s Young Entrepreneurs Association and the World Bank, comprehensive and quality jobs are needed to drive Myanmar’s future development. The report states that the country should enhance its job quality in order to improve the livelihood of its employees and also competitiveness in the job market. To do so, the government should provide strategic assistance for private sectors as it would assist in creating quality jobs. Also, the country’s human capital plan needs to be altered to the labour market demand and mobility of its workforce can be enhanced through clear migration paths. According to the report, 90 percent of Myanmar’s jobs are low-scaled when it comes to productivity and pay and people are mostly involved in the agriculture, households and small firms sector.
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Myanmar, South Korea ink anti-corruption agreement
(31 May 2018) Anti-corruption agencies from Myanmar and South Korea signed an agreement to improve collaboration, share knowledge and help halt, if not stop corruption in Myanmar. The agreement was signed in South Korea by Myanmar Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief U Aung Kyi and chairperson of the South Korea’s Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC) Un Jong Pak. Aung Kyi stated that his government wants to look at structural corruption matters, as it is preventing Myanmar from reaching its full potential. He said the cooperation is the first step to improve prevention capacity, in which MACC will learn from ACRC.
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