The Council recently conducted an on-the-ground assessment of the growth potential for Myanmar’s animal and feed manufacturing sectors – and how that growth could translate into increased exports of U.S. feed grains and co-products.

“Myanmar is advantageously positioned to experience double digit growth in its livestock sector over the next five years,” said Caleb Wurth, USGC assistant director of Southeast Asia. “The effect of Myanmar re-entering the international community after years of political and economic isolation will be a driving force in the increased economic growth of the country.”

Myanmar has a population of more than 60 million, and industry experts peg its growth rate as higher than neighboring countries Vietnam and Thailand. These dynamics create the potential for strong growth in livestock production, particularly poultry and swine, over the next few years.

Leading regional feed millers are already rapidly investing in feed mills and milling capacity in Myanmar. While on the ground, Council staff visited multiple feed mills, each projecting 20 to 30 percent growth expectations for both poultry and swine in the next year. Substantial port and infrastructure investments are also in progress.

Myanmar is currently a net corn exporting country, sending grain primarily to to China. However, growth in the feed sector still presents import opportunities. U.S. farmers and agribusinesses are already seeing Myanmar’s economic growth translate into imports of U.S. distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS). Myanmar imported 35,700 metric tons of U.S. DDGS in 2016/2017, a 154 percent increase year-over-year. Thus far in 2017/2018 (September-November 2017), Myanmar has purchased 10,600 tons of U.S. DDGS, a 22 percent increase from the same time the year prior.

While in country, representatives from the Council met with participants in the feed manufacturing and livestock sectors and those working in future growth markets like aquaculture. These partnerships will prove valuable as the Council works to establish additional market share for U.S. exporters in this growing economy.
These efforts complement work by the Council to meet new phytosanitary requirements related to pest risks, resulting in the re-opening of the corn market for U.S. exports, as of Dec. 1, 2017.
“It is important for us to take a hands-on approach in the development stages of new emerging markets,” Wurth said. “This input helps us be proactive as opposed to reactive when it comes to sensitive topics and building overall name recognition of U.S. feed grains and co products.”

Source: US Grains

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PEOPLE’S thirst for electricity would create a lot of opportunities for investors to do business in Myanmar’s Tanintharyi region bordering Kanchanaburi Province.

Kyaw Kyaw Win, a small-scale food manufacturer living in Dawei, the capital of the region, said locals were eager to welcome any bid to boost access to electricity by the authorities as long as it could not harm the environment and their livelihoods.

“A large number of SMEs [small and medium enterprises] here are struggling to survive because the rate of electricity tariff is much higher than that of other states and regions in Myanmar,” he said.

To him, residents have to pay between 200 to 1,000 kyats per unit of electricity, depending on the area they live in, which is much higher than 35 kyats per unit in Yangon and many other regions.

“According to the geographical presence, we live very far from the national grid. So, we need to largely depend on IPPs [independent power producers],” he said. “Some parts of Dawei District have access to public facilities run by natural gas. If so, electricity can be accessed at 200 kyats per unit. But in some remote areas in other two districts_ Myeik and Kawthaung, people have to pay as much as 1,000 kyats per unit.”

Tun Wanna, superintendent engineer at Tanintharyi Region Electricity Supply Enterprise, said the region should make good use of its abundant of water resources to improve access to electricity. He recommends implementation of small- and medium-scale hydropower plants even though he shares the same view as many locals, opposing any plan for mega hydropower projects across the region.

He expects the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA), a nationwide study on Myanmar’s hydropower potential funded by International Finance Corporation and Australian Aid, to help improve electricity access in Tanintharyi region.

Hla Maung Thein, director general of the Environmental Conservation Department, said the study would ensure that hydropower is developed sustainably based on the integration of water, land and ecosystem planning in order to balance natural resource uses and priorities.

“Stakeholder engagement has been an essential part of the SEA. The study balances stakeholder inputs with scientific knowledge including GIS mapping of Myanmar’s river basins,” he said.

Mi Mi Khaing, director general at the Department of Electric Power Planning, said the study played a key role in government officials’ capacity building on how to better manage risks. “Officials engaged in the process had the opportunity to acquire a range of perspectives on hydropower development. It also equipped them with an in-depth knowledge of the assessment process,” she said.

Myint Maung, Tanintharyi Region Government Minister for Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation, said responsible investors would be warmly welcomed. He urged foreign investors to do business in the region with “full of opportunities”, as Myanmar Investment Commission recently allowed the regional authorities to directly approve small-scale investments in a wide range of sectors including power generation.

“We mainly focus on two things_ improving road connectivity and expanding access to electricity. Now transportation infrastructure has improved a lot over the past two years. But we are still facing problems in expansion of electricity access in the region as a whole,” he said. According to the minister, it is really important to take investment opportunities into serious consideration.

“For the region to develop further, we should implement some development projects including small and mid-scale hydropower plants. But we need to make efforts to minimise environmental and social impacts,” he said. He added the regional government had instructed companies to do business in an ethical and transparent way without harming the environment and natural resources.

Kyaw Kyaw Naing, a member of Myeik District Electricity Advisory Committee, urged to focus on renewable energy, particularly encouraging investments in solar and wind energy by using advanced technology.

Yet, the minister upholds his belief that hydropower is the best solution to supply the rising electricity demand.

“We, Tanintharyi residents, are eager to develop further. So, we need more electricity. We urgently need to decide whether we should focus on development first or worry too much about potential impacts, even before we start anything,” he said.

Source: The Nation

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AS MYANMAR needs more electricity to realise its development goals during the first civilian government’s term, two ministries have been holding a series of discussions until the third week of January to finalise the countrywide strategic environmental assessment (SEA) on hydropower potential by March.

The series of discussions started with a stakeholder meeting in Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin State, on January 5, led by two ministries_ Ministry of Electricity and Energy and Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation, and supported by International Finance Corporation and the Australian Government.

The second event in the series was held in Dawei, the capital of Thanintharyi Region, on Monday. It will be followed by Bago (January 10), HpaAn (January 12), Taunggyi (January 15), in addition to discussions with the authorities in Nay Pyi Taw and a stakeholders meeting in Yangon to be held later this month.

Vikram Kumar, IFC Country Manager for Myanmar, said in an interview the study could help generate higher quality investments in the nation’s hydropower sector.

He added the initiative was one of several activities IFC worked on to encourage more sustainable hydropower development.

“Hydropower is a sector that has potential to contribute significantly to the power needs of the country but must first raise its standards to good industry practices. This is where our work on the SEA comes in,” he said.

Kumar said the study focused on understanding and documenting the important environmental and social values that could be at risk from hydropower development. He considers it as the foundation to help develop Myanmar’s hydropower sector more sustainably.

“Understanding environmental and social risks at the basin and sub-basin level is the first step to achieving this sustainability. With a better understanding of the risks at stake, more responsible developers that will bring international experience and good practice standards will be encouraged to explore investment opportunities in Myanmar,” he said.

According to Kumar, the organisation has funded the study as it wants to see the quality of investors improve, which will have a long-term positive development impact on how hydropower projects are designed and operated and contribute to the needs of the country.

In 2014, IFC began its support to the government to help advance environmental and social sustainability of Myanmar’s hydropower sector. Since September 2015, the organisation has trained government officials on international standards in the sector.

In 2016, stakeholders took part in over 50 engagements to share their insights on environmental and social values related to riverine development in Myanmar, providing the foundation for the nationwide study.

Once completed, the SEA will illustrate areas of low, medium and high risk, better informing decision makers and improving hydropower planning. It will be available for the public in Burmese and English languages.

Kumar hopes the government to use the study as a high-level tool to determine whether projects should go forward. It could be a model for other sectors to follow, he said.

He insisted that the study is not a green or red light for development.

“It is not connected to any project and is not politically motivated. It is a country-level study to understand which river basins are most at risk. We recommend protection of Myanmar’s key mainstream rivers including the Ayeyarwady,” he said.

“Hydropower development that may choose to proceed in a higher-risk area would need to invest more in their mitigation to protect the environment and people dependent on water resources.

“A low-risk area does not mean hydropower can proceed. It means that the area could have potential if stakeholders are consulted, environmental risks are mitigated and good practices are established.”

He believes the study plays a key role in the development of Asia Pacific region, as it has brought together stakeholders, investors and developers from across Asia to discuss about their environmental and social concerns over the past 12 months.

Source: Eleven Myanmar

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Many business organisations in Myanmar have lodged objections against improving daily wages as approved by the National Committee for Designating Minimum Wage earฌlier this month.

The committee has decided to set the minimum wage at 4,800 kyat, a 33 per cent increase from the current rate of 3,600 kyat. All businesses with 10 or more workers have to apply the same daily minimum wage across Myanmar.

Businesses, either foreign or local, can lodge a complaint with the decision by January 16. According to the law, the new wage will come into effect after 60 days of public comments.

Maung Maung Lay, vice president of the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said it was not a prudent decision to tackle the minimum wage at this point.

“It was a mistake, risky, controversial. The country is not that ready,” he said.

“Respective companies try to maintain their businesses prudently by offering incentives, benefits, etc. to attract and maintain their workers or associates. Why control or contain them or limit them? Let them be independent and control the work force according to the market.”

He said Myanmar should attract foreign direct investments (FDI) on low minimum wages, as the nation’s merits and productivity ties were questionable.

“Now, things are in jeopardy. Everyone is greedy. In the United States, the State of New York, which seems to have somewhat higher minimum wage than the others, even has many challenges. Myanmar’s dilemma is not unexpected,” Maung Maung Lay said.

“With the current scenario, FDIs can be endangered. Employment can be effected. Reputations tarnished. We could expect hard times unless some remedies are found,” he said.

He said employers, employees, labour unions, authorities and non-government organisations should have sympathy, empathy, understanding and knowledge to holistically and collectively resolve the issue.

“If not, I dare not dream about the transformation, to bypass even some neighbouring States,” he said.

Kyaw Win, vice president of the Myanmar Garment Manufacturers Association, said a 33 per cent hike in labour costs within two years could pose a “heavy burden” on employers, as it was a very rare practice globally.

“We are still at the infant stage of industrialisation. We are fully aware that the minimum wage needs to be reviewed, given the higher living costs. But businesses should develop at the same time,” he said.

He said the government should strike a balance between the wage hike and the growth of small and medium enterprises. He warned of potential negative impacts on job opportunities for the unemployed.

“Even at the current wage, there are hundreds of people who want to get employment at garment factories. If the wage is higher than what it should be, then it will be hard for us to hire new staff. For example, if we can spend US$1,000 (Bt31,768) for labour costs, we can hire three staff at around $330340. But if we have to pay $500 per employee, we can only hire two staff. So, it will negatively impact on our productivity,” he said.

According to Kyaw Win, garment workers in Yangon region usually earn around $150 in takehome pay per month, more than double of those in Bangladesh, a country with higher productivity than Myanmar in the garment industry.

“Increasing labour costs with the lack of improvements in productivity will put a lot of pressures on employers. Only 2030 per cent of garment factories in Myanmar are owned by locals. It makes sense to attract FDI only with an enabling work environment. It should be a winwin for both employers and workers,” he said.

He said most of the factory owners had decided the minimum wage should be 4,000 kyat, an 11 per cent increase over the current wage. In this regard, they have lodged a complaint to the authorities so the proposed wage can be fairly reviewed before it takes effect.

There is a need to “reach a consensus before making such an important decision. It should not be approved by major votes,” he said.

Aye Tun, vice president of Myanmar Industries Association, shared a similar view. He said the higher wage would lead to more struggles for CMP (cutting, making and packing) businesses.

“It may lead to misunderstanding among foreign investors. They may even consider Myanmar an unstable and insecure market. Then decisions to do business here may be delayed or even cancelled,” he said.

Aye Tun urged the government to take the importance of the consumer price index into serious consideraฌtion.

Optimism maintained

Despite rising concerns by local businesses, foreign investors still believe in the future of Myanmar thanks to its strategic geographical presence.

According to Aung Naing Oo, director general at the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration and secretary of the Myanmar Investment Commission, investors’ interest in Myanmar is still on the rise despite some concerns over the wage hike.

“Some labour intensive factories would not be happy with this but I do not think the majority of them will move to other countries, since the country of origin [Myanmar] is attractive,” he said.

Sangchai Chotchuangchutchaval, chief executive officer of Patkol Public Co, the pioneer of the dairy business in Thailand which has an office in Yangon, said the proposed increase would not affect the economy in the long run.

“In the meanwhile, it may affect some sectors but at this rate (4,800 kyat), it is not considered very high,” he said.

“This is likely to have good results to increase power consumption in Myanmar, leading to economic growth,” Sangchai added.

Lanlila Chitsom, commercial manager at Bangkok-based United Offshore Aviation Co, said it would affect a bit to the nation’s economy but investors are still keen on investing in Myanmar.

The proposed 4,800 kyat “is still lower than the rate of other countries in Southeast Asia including Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam,” he said.

Pakpoom Vetvitayanuwat, associate at Decha & Co, said the impact was likely to affect different industries and businesses, depending on their labour-intensity, profitability and margin for increased productivity.

“The impact in certain foreign businesses in Yangon may be minimal, given that they have hired employees with higher salaries than the new wage and many businesses have already raised wages to attract good employees,” he said.

Pakpoom said improvement of infrastructure, efficiency of labour, purchasing power and predictable policies may reduce the negative effects caused by the wage hike, which may result in unpredictable adverse effects to the existing investments and incoming FDI.

Uwe Weber, managing director of European Forum for Economic Cooperation, said an increased minimum wage would increase production costs. However, if complemented by a broader effort to offer comprehensive sustainable production services, it will contribute to position Myanmar as a top destination for customers and brands.

“This would market Myanmar as a responsible production country, with beneficial implications in terms of its integration into the increasingly sustainability-oriented Asean economy,” he said.

Weber said higher wages would substantially contribute to improved working and living conditions of women, who constitute the majority of the workforce employed in Myanmar’s manufacturing industries.

“When women earn higher salaries, they are better able to secure education and healthcare for their households. This is more relevant in a country such as Myanmar where many workers are domestic migrants, whose income plays a key role in ensuring livelihoods of families in rural and remote areas,” he said.

Source: The Nation

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A person teaching without a teacher license is subject to a prison sentence, according to the draft of a private education law that was released in December 2017.

According to the draft law’s chapter 13 section 47, no one should work as a private school teacher without having a teacher license. Violations may lead to three to six months imprisonment, a maximum K2 million fine or both.

In Myanmar’s culture, parents may home school their offspring. Brothers can teach their younger sisters and aunties can teach their nieces. Thus, they may be imprisoned for unlicensed teaching, said U Kyaw Min Khant, secretary of private sector matters at the Myanmar Teachers’ Federation.

“The draft law misunderstands the situation on the ground. We are not opening terrorist trainings and KTV rooms. The government can issue ordinary laws for private schools. Teaching becomes an offence, which is our main objection to this draft,” he added.

The Myanmar Teachers’ Federation held a seminar on Wednesday and discussed about the private education draft law with private schools representatives and experts. The shortcoming of the legislation highlighted during the seminar will be submitted to Hluttaw. In addition, the federation asked the public for suggestions concerning the law.

Besides the private education law, three draft laws on education have been recently released: the basic education law, higher education law, and technology vocational education and training law.

The four laws will be discussed during the Hluttaw session starting on January 15.

The National Network for Education Reform, which frequently criticises the government’s education reform, said there are many criminal penalties in the private education draft law.

“The law imposes jail time rather than helping and supporting education. It is difficult for self-founded schools to meet the requirements as they are many such schools in remote areas of Myanmar,” said Daw Than Than Htwe, secretary of the network.

The private education draft law was issued in August 2017. Prior to that, the Ministry of Education published a draft submitted to the Hluttaw under the previous government, but it was re-visited and released as a draft in August 2016.

Source: Myanmar Times

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Myanmar Sugar Development Public Co Ltd has secured state approval to invest US$20 million to build a new 5000 tonnes cane/day sugar mill in Kathar township, Sagaing Region.

It is reported by International Sugar Journal.

«The first phase of the mill construction and cogeneration plant is expected to be completed in a year and a half followed by another US$20 million investment for the second phase», — said Win Htay, managing director, Myanmar Sugar Development Public Co Ltd.

«The current domestic sugar supply is 400,000-500,000 tonnes per year and has an annual shortage of 250,000-300,000 tonne. We hope to fill the gap», — said Htay.

The factory will be sited on an 83.95-acre (34 ha) plot and a 70,000 acre (28,328 ha) sugarcane plantation within 10 miles of the factory.

The project includes building an ethanol plant with the capacity to produce up to 35,000 litres per day. The project also expects to produce between 80 and 100 tonnes of fertilizer. To cover the entire project cost, the company will need to raise around US$65 million.

The company plans to have a rights issue and look other options like bank loans. It is currently in talks with a foreign bank, said Htay, who also is the vice chairman of the Myanmar Sugar and Sugarcane Entrepreneur Association.

Source: The Black Sea Grain

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Thailand revealed plans to invest in its infrastructure to boost trade with Myanmar. By committing to the initial investment, Thailand has started the process. Both parties must then work together to reap the benefits of the new infrastructure.

Border trade makes up a reported 80% of trade between Myanmar and Thailand. It is essential for both countries’ economies.

Thailand is planning significant investment

Construction of a deep-sea port in Leam Chabang is underway. Railway lines will connect it with Ma Ta Phut Port and Sattahip Port. Improving transport links will speed up the transfer of goods. It will make the process more efficient and cost-effective. Companies could use move products to the Indian Ocean and bypass the Malacca Straits.

Thailand’s DFT planned a project to promote cross-border trade and investment. The DFT was due to sign an agreement, match companies from the two countries and hold a seminar. Thailand also plans to build dry ports, container depots, yards, and truck terminals.

“Since Thailand is strategically located in mainland Southeast Asia, we recognised the vital role of transport and logistics in such a globalised and dynamic world today,” explained Thailand’s Minister for Transport Arkhom Termpittayapaisith. “More importantly, logistics is one of [the] competitive tools in the global market, where currently, Thailand’s logistics cost is approximately 14% of GDP out of which 7.5% being transport costs,” he added.

Myanmar and Thailand began talking earlier this year about bolstering cross-border trade. They focused on developing new routes, improving trade channels and sharing data. They also discussed creating a new special economic zone (SEZ). Both countries need to work on developing infrastructure to build it. Thailand launched its own SEZ policy in 2015, identifying 10 locations. Its plans for improving infrastructure imply a firm commitment to its policy.

The volume of cross-border trade between the two countries is growing

While 87% of Myanmar’s border trade is with China, trade with Thailand accounts for 12%. The rest of Myanmar’s border trade is with India (0.8%) and Bangladesh (0.2%).

Both Thailand and Myanmar should benefit from the investment

Thailand’s proposed investment in infrastructure has a definite end goal. “We want to, and we have planned to support the export of products made in Myanmar, to Thailand or to the global market,” said Panitarn Pavarolavidya, Deputy Secretary General of the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI).

The government aims to make cross-border trade more accessible to Thai businesses. Expanding ports, better infrastructure and improved connectivity are moves towards that goal. More construction projects will result in job opportunities for locals.

Thailand’s commitment includes collaborating with Myanmar to upgrade the Thailand-Myanmar road. It also includes developing rural areas. Myanmese residents could gain employment at new SEZs on the border.

Goods and services will always be in demand, and the exchange of information is now critical. Thailand and Myanmar must develop both their physical and digital infrastructure.

Both countries must also consider and address trade challenges

There are still significant challenges to overcome. The Thai government has not revealed how much the new infrastructure will cost. As trade grows, the Thai government will be confident about recouping its outlay.

An even more significant challenge is the fight against illicit activity. Myanmar officials estimated that smuggling costs up to US$500 billion per year. The officials claimed Myanmese government operatives are unable to monitor border trade. They added that border personnel are open to bribes and corruption.

Building infrastructure will boost trade. Will Thailand help Myanmar combat the corruption that costs vast amounts of money?

The government hoped establishing SEZs would lead to a reduction in illicit activity. These zones depend on developed infrastructure to succeed. Thailand does not yet have this infrastructure in place. It is a vicious circle. Infrastructure development is expensive. Without it, the SEZs will not work. Without SEZs, smuggling will continue to cost them money.

In March, Myanmar and Thailand launched a “Stronger Together” promotion. Thailand’s Commerce Minister Apiradri Tantraporn claimed Thai businesses support the drive. “Enterprises are showing high interest in trading and investing by way of the Mae Sot/Myawaddy crossing, and the Thai government has made this a pilot project for expanding border trade with neighbouring countries,” she said.

Thailand’s push comes at a time when China is moving closer to Myanmar

Trade links between Myanmar and Thailand are well-established and productive. Myanmar views Thai products as well known and of high quality. That degree of trust and familiarity has built up over many years.

Thailand may view the proposed China-Myanmar Economic Corridor as a threat. The volume of Myanmar’s trade with China is enormous. It also has opportunities to trade with Bangladesh and India. In economic terms, Thailand is more dependent on the cross-border trade than Myanmar.

China will not be able to quickly increase their share of Myanmar’s trade at Thailand’s expense. Thailand and Myanmar have long-standing commitments to one another. “There is an age-old saying: Myanmar is the farmland, Thailand is the kitchen,” Pavarolavidya added. “We want Myanmar to be the farmland, and also the kitchen, so we will help until Myanmar and Thailand are able to stand equally in the supply change.”

Thailand’s proposed infrastructure developments could boost trade and reduce smuggling. Regardless of China’s intentions, both countries should benefit in the long run.

Source: The Asean Today

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INFRASTRUCTURE conglomerate Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) is studying investment opportunities in the toll-roads sector in Myanmar, Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan said on Monday, even as the group targets to close an expressway deal in Malaysia this year.

Pangilinan said his group will be scouting for expressway deals in Myanmar, which, according to documents from the Asian Development Bank, has the most underdeveloped road network in Southeast Asia.

“For next year, maybe Myanmar,” he said in a chance interview at the sidelines of the Golden Jubilee Gala Night of the Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines (Finex) on January 15.

There is only one expressway in Myanmar to date, the Yangon-Mandalay Expressway. But there are proposals for the construction of a new toll road that will link Yangon to Hanthawaddy.

Pangilinan noted that the possible deals in Myanmar may be limited, nonetheless, his group is willing to scout for deals in the Southeast Asian nation, as this could form part of the company’s overall Pan-Asean Toll Road Network Program.

Metro Pacific’s game play in entering a new market is by buying into existing operators. Its most recent deal was with Nusantara, an Indonesian infrastructure conglomerate whose main revenue driver is its toll-road business.

For 2018, Pangilinan said his group is trying to close a deal with a Malaysian toll-road company. He declined to name the company or which area in Malaysia the expressway is located.

“Malaysia is the next country of opportunity since we have already planted our flag in Indonesia with Nusantara,” he said. “We hope we can close something within the year in Malaysia, because then we are in Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia.”

The group’s initial target was to close the deal by the first quarter of 2018, but Pangilinan noted that this might be a little too optimistic.

“I can’t predict when we could close it, but the target is within the year,” he added. “We are still in discussion.”

Metro Pacific is the largest toll-road operator in the Philippines, with a network of expressways in the northern and southern regions of the country. It also has significant interests in toll-road companies in Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia.

Source: The Business Mirror

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Japan has thrown its weight behind Myanmar’s railway development by funding the Yangon-Mandalay railway, according to the country’s foreign minister Taro Kono who held a joint press conference in the capital with State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi on January 12.

The railroad upgrade programme is expected to cut travel time between Yangon and Taungoo to 3.5 hours and the overall Yangon-Mandalay one-way journey to eight hours. The Yangon- Taungoo part is scheduled to complete in 2020.

The railway connecting Yangon and Mandalay stretches over 380 miles and is a popular route for travellers. Commuters need at least 12 hours to go from one city to another, and the time can go up to 15 hours due to the deterioration in the physical infrastructure.

ODA funded

The project will be funded by an Official Development Assistance (ODA) loan from Tokyo. ODA is broadly divided into bilateral aid, in which assistance is given directly to developing countries, and multilateral aid, which is provided through international organisations.

There are three phases for the scheme. The first priority is to build the Yangon-Taungoo line, covering 166 miles; then Taungoo-Yamaethin will be constructed, spanning 118.5 miles, followed by 100 miles between Yamethin-Mandalay.

“The upgrade programme for the Yangon-Mandalay railway is in progress and the progress is on-going. We signed the agreement for a loan in 2014. But the implementation has been slow. The programme includes a lot of work, such as adding stone to the railroad and upgrading it,” general manager U Htun Aung Thin from Myanma Railways said.

For the Yangon-Mandalay railway, over 3,000 passengers take the train on a daily basis. Hence, Myanma Railways is seeking to revamp the route and shorten the time to eight hours after the upgrade.

The revamp will involve a lot of other work, such as the signalling, the traffic lights guiding the roads which intersect the railway as well as the gates guiding the traffic flow.

“Since two years ago, Japan has set a policy of public-private partnership [PPP] assistance totalling 800 billion yen along a five-year period in order to support peace and reconciliation among the people in Myanmar, which will enable democracy to take root and economy to develop.

“Special assistance will be provided for Yangon’s urban development, transport improvement, power supply, Yangon-Mandalay upgrade programmes which will raise the living standard of the Myanmar people,” Mr Kono explained.

“Now Myanma Railways is already implementing the work for the upgrade and the Japanese are also in preparation for the ongoing project,” U Htun Aung Thin added.

In 2016, Myanma Railways yesterday launched its new Yangon-Mandalay service with diesel electric locomotives and carriages bought from China. The 2000-horsepower locomotives, currently the most powerful in Myanmar, were made by China’s CSR Sifang. The total cost of the contract was put at 11.3 million euros (US$12.3 million).

But that does not shorten the time of travel, which could only be achieved by upgrading the railways with the help from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

The Japanese government, through JICA, will upgrade the infrastructure. Myanma Railways would be responsible for upgrading the track and tendering the existing 38 stations for redevelopment.

Source: Myanma Times

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YANGON— Yangon transport officials declared the city’s revamped a bus system a “success” on its first anniversary on Tuesday, downplaying what has generally been regarded as a bumpy start.

“The Yangon Bus Service has achieved 70 percent of the goals we set,” Dr. Maung Aung, secretary of the Yangon Region Transport Authority (YRTA), the body that oversees all of the city’s transport, told The Irrawaddy at a ceremony marking the anniversary.

The phasing in of the Yangon Bus Service, the new bus system better known by its acronym YBS, to replace the city’s decades-old bus system has encountered a few potholes along the way. Some bus owners who had been operating under the old system failed to register under the new one, while others are still not ready to operate buses for the YBS. And with 70 percent of city commuters — an estimated 2.6 million people — relying on buses, the YBS’ inadequate fleet has caused overcrowding and delays, especially in rush hours and late in the evenings.

To aid consumers in the face of the bus shortage, city residents and police have even started providing free transportation to commuters during rush hours using private vehicles and police trucks. Some offices in the commercial capital temporarily delayed their morning start times to give employees time to navigate the new public transport routes.

Yangon Chief Minister U Phyo Min Thein acknowledged that there were challenges during the transition, but he insisted that significant improvements had been seen over the past year.

He pointed out that the YBS has consolidated overlapping bus lines, bringing the total number down to 92 from more than 300, partly to deter bus drivers from racing each other as they compete for passengers. The system also replaced conductors with fare boxes.

“With the public’s help we have reformed the bus system within a year,” the chief minister told the audience at the ceremony.

YRTA officials used the occasion to lay out their plans for this year.

The city’s minister for electricity, industry and transportation, Daw Nilar Kyaw, who also chairs the YRTA, said the authority’s priorities for 2018 were to build bus terminals in which to park YBS buses overnight and to introduce a cashless payment system, Yangon Payment Service (YPS).

On Jan. 11, Excel KC Myanmar, a partnership between Excel Myanmar and Taiwan’s Acer Inc., was named the winner of a tender to operate YPS. A total of 14 companies tendered bids.

YRTA secretary Dr. Maung Aung told The Irrawaddy that over 2, 000 mini buses currently running under the YBS will this year be replaced by new buses equipped the card-payment system, which is expected to be introduced within next three months.

“We have new vehicles in hand. They will replace mini-buses and old buses,” he said. He said the old vehicles would be phased out this year.

The YRTA also plans to merge all bus operators into public companies this year.

Currently, there are 16 bus companies including two public-private partnership companies — YUPT and YBPC — and six individual operators. “Two thirds of all buses running now are operated by public companies,” Dr. Maung Aung said.

Source: The Irrawaddy

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KUALA LUMPUR: As the leading Asean mobile tower provider, edotco Group Sdn Bhd is perceived as the dominant company in its home turf here. However, it captures less than 20% of the total market share.

But edotco chief executive officer Suresh Sidhu is unperturbed by this. In fact, he sees it as an opportunity for the group to grow.

“Malaysia is a very attractive market for edotco, and not just because it is our home base. It is the country where we have the lowest share of the overall market, except Myanmar. In most of the countries that we operate in, we command more than 20% market share. Thus, we can do more in Malaysia,” he told The Edge Financial Daily in an interview recently.

edotco, a 62.4%-owned subsidiary of Axiata Group Bhd, owns about 4,000 telecommunication towers and manages another 5,000 towers for its customers in Malaysia through its wholly-owned unit edotco Malaysia Sdn Bhd.

edotco Malaysia managing director Wan Zainal Adileen Wan Puteh said there are currently about 22,000 telecom towers operational in the country.

“In Malaysia, we are still seeing demand for more [tower] sites. On our part, 2018 will be a year where we will be working closely with our customers to build more towers,” he added.

According to a 2016 industry report by TowerXchange, edotco Malaysia had the third-largest tower count in the country, at 3,600 as at end-2014, after YTL Communications Sdn Bhd’s 5,000 towers and Maxis Bhd’s 3,800 towers.

DiGi.Com Bhd, which ranked fourth in the report at the time, had 3,400 towers, followed by the combined portfolio of 3,200 towers owned by 14 state-backed tower companies (towercos).

Suresh said the Malaysian telecom tower industry has been growing consistently at a pace of between 1,000 and 2,000 towers per year.

“In the last few years, this pace of industry growth was probably okay. But given the increasing investment in 4G by [mobile network] operators, perhaps it can accelerate a little bit over the next one or two years.

“Data growth is really driving the change, basically customers want more and more what we call ‘infill’ to boost capacity on top of existing coverage. These infills or towers as we call them could be a lamp pole, a camouflaged structure or maybe a signboard. In Kuala Lumpur we can only [affix new small cell antennas] on lamp posts or street furniture now, and no longer build a tower,” he added.

Nevertheless, Suresh concedes that erecting towers in Malaysia could be a “complex” task compared with other markets.

“Malaysia is a market where we have to do a lot of innovation, coupled with a lot of complex stakeholders management, to build a new tower site. Take a new site in Kuala Lumpur, for example. Wan Zainal and his team will have to talk to many people, from the Kuala Lumpur City Hall to landlords, property developers and maybe the works ministry if the site is located near a road or drain,” he said.

Suresh said edotco is also interested in taking ownership of existing towers in both domestic and overseas markets.

“We are always open [to opportunities], but we take quite a disciplined approach to deals. The desire is there. We believe we can still grow … we have a capacity for growth, but we always want to make sure that any deal will be done on appropriate terms. So, yes, it is still a major focus, but we will only act when we think the deal is right,” he added.

The group’s immediate focus is to complete its acquisition of 13,000 towers in Pakistan from Pakistan Mobile Communications Ltd for US$940 million (RM3.73 billion). The deal is set to be completed by this month, which will increase the group’s portfolio to 31,000 towers — making it the eighth largest towerco in the world.

“We understand that the local companies are moving towards asset-light business models through outsourcing. That is good for us and we are very keen to work with the industry. At this stage, there is nothing major that we see about to happen, but we continue to be open to customers and even other towercos who are looking to maybe exit,” he said.

Suresh said in mature markets like Malaysia, there are less reasons for a mobile network operator to own telecom towers going forward because the difficulty of getting a site and the costs associated with it along with the operating expenditure, are increasing yearly.

“Industry regulation is moving more to common access [to a telecom tower]. That is what happens in mature markets where regulators want operators to compete on services, they want to have good quality services everywhere, and consumers pick operators based on what they like, be it price or network quality,” he said.

For edotco Malaysia, Suresh pointed out that more than 60% of the company’s towers are shared by more than one tenant, which is equivalent to a tenancy ratio of 1.64 times for the third quarter ended Sept 30 this year (3QFY17).

For edotco Group, the tenancy ratio stood at 1.5 times as at third quarter of financial year 2017 (FY17).

“The best industry practice is that if you are somewhere between 1.6 times and 1.8 times, that is a good tenancy ratio. [The company will be] profitable, stable and generating good returns that exceed its cost of capital,” Suresh said.

“Ebitda (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) is always good in this business, but it is a capital intensive one. It is whether your return on capital can get above that, so normally we have to get quite a high tenancy ratio to achieve that,” he added.

For the first nine months of FY17 (9MFY17), edotco Group posted a net profit of RM152 million, which was 22.45% lower than RM196 million a year ago, despite revenue growing 9.68% to RM1.13 billion from RM1.03 billion in 9MFY16.

Suresh attributed the weaker earnings to unfavourable foreign exchange (forex).

“We are very pleased with the 2017 performance [and] we have also demonstrated a strong stable Ebitda over the last three quarters. [However,] at the end of the day, there has been a little bit of a drop in net profit, but all of that was entirely due to forex from many of our multi-country businesses. It is some of the things that we have to live with,” he said.

Source: The Edge Markets

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United International Group, owner and operator of Amata Hotels in Myanmar, will open five more hotels in the country, U Win Aung, group CEO of United International Group told The Myanmar Times Monday.

The company will open two new Amata hotels at Inle Lake and Pindaya in Shan State, two in the Myeik archipelago at Tanintharyi Region and one more in Hpa-an, Kayin State.

The Inle Lake hotel, with a total of 93 rooms, is scheduled to open in October this year. Funding for the hotel was provided by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) in October 22, 2016. The IFC loan of $13.5 million, which covers the Inle Lake hotel and a second hotel in Bagan, will be repaid in ten years at international-standard interest rates. 122 out of the 168-room hotel in Bagan were opened to the public since November 2017.

Meanwhile, construction of the hotels at Bo Yar Nyunt island and Bar Lar island in Myeik is also expected to receive IFC support. “The IFC is also interested in our hotel projects in Myeik archipelago as they are already supporting sustainable tourism development there. As such, they will support those projects by providing us with additional funding, which we will negotiate later,” said U Win Aung. When complete, the two Myeik hotels will have 20 and 30 rooms, respectively.

Last year, the IFC signed an agreement to support the Tanintharyi Development Committee, which operates under the Myanmar tourism industry and is chaired by local tycoon Mr Serge Pun. The committee will back the upgrading of infrastructure and development of  sustainable tourism in Myeik.

Mr Pun also controls Yangon-listed First Myanmar Investments Co and Singapore-listed Yoma Strategic Holdings. Both companies recently spun off their tourism holdings into a separate entity, Memories Group, which listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange earlier this year.

Meanwhile, the two hotels in Hpa-an and Pindaya with 50 and 60 rooms, respectively, will open by January 2019 under the Awinka budget brand, which is part of the Amata stable of hotel brands. There are also plans to open Awinka hotel properties in Kalaw, Nyaung Shwe, Kawthaung, Loikaw, Pyin Oo Lwin, Dawei, Ngapali and Kyaingtone aimed mainly at local residents, according to U Win Aung.

Since conflict broke out in Rakhine State last year, business at Amata’s existing hotels Ngapali, Rakhine State, Hsipaw, Shan State as well as in Inle Lake and Bagan has shrunk by almost 25 percent.

“The impact on our business will be severely affected this year if the Rakhine fallout turns out to be worse than expected,” U Win Aung said.

Source: The Myanmar Times

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Local pig breeders want the government to take action on illegal imports of pigs from Thailand. Local pig breeders and small scale pig breeders say they are suffering financial hardship because of an uneven playing field created by the illegal pigs.

Myanmar allows pig and pork imports, but illegal imports — which occurs most along Thai-Myanmar border — is making it hard for local breeders at the market.

U Myint Hlaing, an experienced pig breeder and former member of Myanmar Pig Breeders Association said, ‘‘We can’t compete with the pigs imported from Thailand in quality or price.’’

On top of illegal imports, Thailand breeders have better pig feed, better technology, and a better pig species, which makes it very hard for Myanmar pig breeders to compete with the quality of pigs legally imported from Thailand, let alone the illegal imports.

’‘It is not surprising that pork producers would want to select pigs of a better quality. If 500 pigs are imported daily, then local pig breeders lose market share of 500 pigs resulting in a lowering of the sale price,’’ he added.

Myanmar has many small scale pig breeders, but only a few large size pig farms, while Thailand has plenty of pig farms containing thousands of pigs.

There hasn’t been an effective crackdown on illegal pig imports, but Myanmar authorities have seized 349 live pigs and 83 dead pigs imported from Thailand on January 5 this year.

Pig breeders are not the only ones seeing financial woes. Local fish breeders are too. With unstable pig prices and higher quality pork, it’s taking away from the fish market share as well , U Myint Hlaing pointed out.

Private sector alone cannot compete with the Thailand market, so the government should step in to support the pig breeders, perhaps finding them land as one way to help in long run, sources close to the industry said.

Source: Myanmar Business Today

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Yara Myanmar, an agriculture solutions provider, will import NPK fertiliser from Norway to help local farmers improve their productivity and raise the quality of their crops. Over the longer term, this will increase demand for Myanmar produce globally and help farmers become more sustainable and less reliant on volatile swings in global food prices.

“We will not have any physical assets here because we produce fertiliser in Norway. In the meantime, we will focus on providing local development programs and training local agronomists,” Havar Valved, Yara Myanmar country manager said.

He added that the price of the new fertiliser will be comparable to market prices in Myanmar.

Myanmar is an important market for Yara Myanmar as productivity levels are low and farmers have not been utilising fertiliser the right way. Farmer productivity levels across many crops are currently half of Thailand’s and consumption of fertiliser is only a quarter that of Thailand.

“This is why we are confident of transferring our knowledge to farmers to make sure they get the right fertilisers for their crop. We believe that by working closely with local farmers, we will be able to create value along the agriculture supply chain,” he said.

Yara Myanmar first entered the country in September 2017 after eyeing the market for five years. The company has since invested $500,000 in training programs for local farmers to improve their farming skills and productivity.

It has since also introduced five different fertilisers to improve crop quality. In June 2017, the government allowed foreign fertiliser companies to trade freely in the country. The companies will be issued with operational, import, storage, distribution and sales licenses as well as a product registration certificate after the fertilisers have been tested and approved by the Ministry of Agriculture.

With the new fertiliser, “we are aiming to cover the whole country in the long term but at the moment we are starting out in upper Myanmar, in Mandalay, Sagaing, Magway and Shan State. We will start by focusing on fruit and vegetable crops,” Mr Valved said.

As demand improves, Yara Myanmar may consider setting up a fertiliser factory in the country over the longer term. Last week, Yara set up one such factory in India after working with Indian farmers for ten years.

“We are investing in knowledge and helping to modernise the farming techniques in Myanmar, We want to be a reliable partner of the farming community and agricultural sector,” said Mr Valved.

“We will create partnerships along the value chain with our products, our knowledge and solutions and in return farmers can reduce their risks and improve the yield and quality of their crops,” he added.

Agriculture accounts for one third of Myanmar’s GDP, creating jobs for half the population and representing one fifth of the country’s exports.

“So, it follows automatically that progress within agriculture will create growth for all of Myanmar. But increased productivity among farmers will not come automatically. It will require new ways of working together. It will require improved farming techniques. It will require increasing both the productivity and quality out in the fields,” said Svein Tore Holsether, President and CEO of Yara.

Source: Myanmar Times

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The authorities in Myanmar were reminded by the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) that if they don’t clarify the flow of logs which go from the forests to the mills, the legality of the wood for export will always be doubted by the teak importers.

Myanmar has been striving to ensure forest conservation and the production of verifiably legal timber but still cannot create a supply chain reporting system that satisfies critics and meets international standards.

The EIA has made another call for stricter control and greater transparency in the timber sector so that Myanmar teak can once again take its place as the’ king’ of timber in international markets.

Local analysts are dismayed with the latest scathing report from the EIA saying this does not reflect the reality nor give due credit for the efforts made to implement the recommendations of the report: Myanmar Timber Legality Assurance System (MTLAS) Gap Analysis of April 2017.

The latest EIA report says the pristine forests of Myanmar are under real and urgent threat. The report also says European companies are still failing in their responsibilities to satisfy the due diligence requirements of the EUT R in respect of teak imports from Myanmar.

The EIA says that the actions of some government departments in Myanmar have made it all but impossible to access information that can prove teak has been legally harvested. This means that importers of Myanmar teak find it very difficult to comply with regulations aimed at eliminating illegal timber from the supply chain.

Source: IHB

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NEW DELHI: Indian Oil Corp, the nation’s largest refiner and fossil fuel retailer, in in talks with Bangladesh and Myanmar to enhance trade of petroleum products and offer its expertise to set up oil infrastructure in the two countries.

This month, Indian Oil will open offices in Bangladesh and Myanmar, with a plan to closely pursue business opportunities in the two countries. “For the neighbouring countries, we are not only looking for business, we are looking for association beyond business. Because these countries are also facing similar problems which we have encountered in past, we will be happy to share our experience with them and help them in solving whatever problems they are facing,” Indian Oil Corp Chairman Sanjiv Singh told ET.

The first thing that may materialise in a month or so is a deal for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), or cooking gas, under which Bangladesh would export LPG to Indian north-eastern states. “We are working on concepts that their trucks can come to India and give us LPG. Rather than we trying to feed those parts of North-East, all along from Haldia, it makes tremendous sense (to depend on Bangladesh trucks for supply),” Singh said. Bangladesh imports all LPG it needs, and the plan is to augment import for supply to North-Eastern states.

Indian Oil also plans to offer petrol, diesel and other petroleum products it produces at its coastal Paradip refinery to Bangladesh and Myanmar. Recently it sold spot cargoes of diesel and jet fuel to Myanmar and is hoping to strike long-term deals with the two countries for product supplies.
“Nobody can supply product cheaper to Bangladesh than Paradip,” Singh said.

Indian Oil’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal, which is under construction on the eastern coast near Chennai, could also become a source of supplies for the neighbouring countries that can’t take large ships today. “This terminal can also provide us opportunity to bring in big ships and probably feed the neighbouring market, the coastal markets with smaller ships,” Singh said.

Indian Oil also plans to participate in their effort at building refineries, import terminals or retail chains. “Setting up a refinery is a smaller job, the bigger job is to operate and maintain those refineries. These are not capabilities which you buy or create overnight. So, we are absolutely open,” Singh said.

Indian Oil will again participate if Myanmar were to re-float tender for opening fuel retail stations in the country, Singh said.

The state firm already does fuel retailing in Sri Lanka and Mauritius, has an office in Dubai dealing in lubricants and other product, and has recently opened a crude and gas trading office in Singapore.

With these efforts, Indian Oil will be able to substantially scale up its overseas operations in the next five years, Singh said.

Source : The Economic Times

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Perth-based Myanmar Metals is working hard to create a new chapter in the life of one of the worlds most fabled lead-zinc mines, the Bawdwin deposit in northeast Myanmar, where drilling began this week.

A 5,000-metre drilling program is now underway to boost confidence in an already impressive estimate for the potentially world class lead/zinc resource.

Seventy years after being destroyed in WWII, one of the richest mines in the British Empire could soon have life breathed back into it by Perth-based Myanmar Metals, ably supported by revered “prospector” Mark Creasy.

In July last year, Myanmar snapped up an option over 85% of the historic Bawdwin mine in northeast Myanmar, formally known as Burma, about 160km from China on the highway from Mandalay to Yunnan.

In its day Bawdwin was a fabulously rich mine, producing zinc, lead, copper, silver and gold. Records show about 500,000 tonnes of polymetallic ore was extracted annually from the Volcanogenic Massive Sulphide or “VMS” style deposit in the 1920s and 1930s at spectacular grades of 23% lead, 14% zinc, 1% copper and 540 g/t silver.

While that represents a modest, albeit super high grade mining operation by today’s standards, all indications are that historic mining has barely scratched the surface and Bawdwin still has the potential to be a world class asset in the 21st century.

The mine re-opened in 1951 and was nationalised in 1963.

In 1996, an independent consulting group prepared a total resource estimate for an ASX-listed explorer of 42.4 million tonnes grading 8.59% lead and 3.59% zinc. The study was confined to open pittable resources in the lower grade areas around the lodes that had been mined in the past. The report was shelved and mining had largely ceased by 2000.

The recent opening up of Myanmar to foreign investment has now created an opportunity for Perth-based Myanmar Metals to unlock Bawdwin’s potential for the first time since it was held by Herbert Hoover’s Burma Corporation almost a century ago.

Myanmar Metals CEO and Chairman is local mining industry identity John Lamb, who is well known in zinc mining circles in particular. He was General Manager of the Century zinc mine when it was the world’s second largest zinc producer, and went to work as General Manager of Tasmania’s Rosebery polymetallic mine, another VMS deposit with many similarities to Bawdwin.

He visited Bawdwin in October, just weeks after taking on the role of CEO, and is upbeat about the potential of the deposit and the volcanic belt that runs through it which has never seen modern exploration.

Lamb rates Bawdwin as one of the largest, underdeveloped high-grade lead-zinc-silver-copper deposits in the world.

He points out that the only exploration since 1963 has been limited programs under the auspices of the UN and other global agencies.

Win Mynt Mo Industries, which granted the Bawdwin option to Myanmar Metals, last year conducted a shallow drill program above the Chinaman Lode to assess open pit potential. But in the previous 55 years there was only one program of 22 holes, conducted way back in 1976, and no geophysical surveys.

Myanmar Metals has set a cracking pace since Lamb got his feet under the desk.

In November, the company released a Jorc2012 mineral resource estimate of 75.94 Mt grading 4.6% lead, 2.3% zinc, 0.25% copper and 119 g/t silver.

The company also completed a $7m capital raising to fund development studies and secured Mark Creasy’s Yandal Investments as a cornerstone investor and largest shareholder with 16% of the share register.

In December, a scoping study by CSA Global concluded that Bawdwin could be redeveloped as large-scale open pit operation with rapid capital payback, ongoing positive cash flow and low technical risk.

The next major step on the pathway to production for Myanmar is the commencement this week of a 5,000-metre RC and diamond drilling program.

Myanmar is bringing in three rigs to fast track the program and have it wrapped up by March. The objectives are to upgrade the upper portion of the mineral resource from inferred to indicated status and collect material for metallurgical and geotechnical testwork. Assay results will begin flowing from mid-February, which should maintain the frenetic news flow.

Lamb said this week: “I amvery pleased with progress over the Christmas period and with the positive and constructive nature of our discussions with the relevant Myanmar authorities. This dialogue and the overall advancement made to date is encouraging. Progress towards our goal to develop what is one of Asia’s most significant and under-developed zinc, lead and silver mines at Bawdwin remains well and truly on track.”

With zinc prices breaking through a ten-year high and zinc stocks on the London Metal Exchange approaching a critical shortage, there has rarely been a better time to bring one of the world’s zinc powerhouses back to life.

Source: Business News

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YANGON, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) — Myanmar’s manufacturing sector attracted 1.55 billion U.S. dollars of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the first nine months of present fiscal year 2017-2018, according to the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration (DICA) Friday.

It was followed by real estate sector with 1.06 billion U.S. dollars and other service sectors with 804 million U.S. dollars as of December last year.

FDI also entered the country’s other sectors including transport and communication, power, hotel and tourism, agriculture and others.

In accordance with the statistics from the DICA, a total of 4.784 billion U.S. dollars’ FDI flew into the country so far in present FY 2017-2018.

In last FY 2016-2017, the country attracted over 6.8 billion U.S. dollars foreign investment with the transport and communication sector topping with 3.08 billion U.S. dollars.

The country targets over 6 billion U.S. dollars of FDI in this FY 2017-18.

Foreign investment totaled 75.09 billion dollars as of December last year since late 1988.

China topped the list of foreign investors in Myanmar, followed by Singapore and Thailand.

Source: The XinhuaNet

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Myanmar has pledged to stem the massive tide of charcoal being illegally harvested, produced and exported from their forests to Chinese factories. Last week a senior official from the country’s Department of Forestry told the Myanmar Times that the charcoal trade has “exacerbated” deforestation.

Certain forestry products like charcoal are not allowed to be exported from Myanmar. The country has struggled to protect its natural forests from rapid and widespread illegal logging.

In 2010, Myanmar had the third-highest rate of forest reduction in the world according to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The FAO tracks forest cover globally, and says that between 1990 and 2015, Myanmar lost about 15 million hectares of forest and other wooded land.

A temporary ban on logging that ended in early 2017 was meant to help, but had little impact. There simply have not been not enough forestry officials or state resources to monitor Myanmar’s dense, remote forested areas.

A year-long Mongabay investigative report published in October 2017 found that the bribes paid to officials on both the Myanmar and Chinese sides of the border to be at least $1.2 million a year. That figure could be as high as $10 million a year. Exact numbers are nearly impossible to determine, given the previously non-existent data and research on the topic.

Forestry officials told Mongabay in 2017 interviews that they were not involved in stopping illegal charcoal.

Mongabay reporters found that every ton of charcoal generates $40-$85 in cash for corrupt officials in the form of bribes, according to estimates based on interviews with traders. In 2016 alone, at least 216,273 tons of charcoal crossed the border to China near Bhamo, in Myanmar’s restive Kachin State. The charcoal was bound for silicone-processing factories in Dehong, China.

But the Myanmar Times reports that from April-November 2017, Myanmar’s Ministry of Information said the government seized 4,568.65 tons of illegal charcoal. According to local media reports, thousands of bags – which are used to produce a range of globally-used products – were recently seized in the Kachin-China border area.

The Myanmar Times also noted that the Htee Chaint Network, which doesn’t have a website or social media page in English, said they had recently seen a spike in the trade. The Network is described as a civil society organization that works on regional environmental issues.

According to U Tun Aung, who spoke to the Myanmar Time on behalf of the Network, there is also suddenly money to fund deforestation efforts.

“We didn’t have enough funds to fight deforestation in the past,” U Tun Aung said. “Now we have enough. We have the 10-year plan to fight deforestation from 2017 to 2026.”

Source: The Mongabay

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Some Myanmar businesses are hoping to receive technical and financial support from the government to convert rice husks into biomass products for export purposes. Rice husks are the hard protecting layers covering each grain of rice.

These are discarded during the rice milling process and can be converted into building materials, fertilisers, insulation material or fuel.

Last week, the Myanmar Rice Federation said companies involved in the rice husk-to-fuel conversion business, would be eligible to apply for small and medium enterprise (SME) loans to fund expansion. Workshops will also be conducted to train businesses on technique and know-how on converting rice husks to bio mass fuels.

One rice mill owner, Dr Hla Phone, is among those planning to apply for the loan and participate in the workshops. Dr Hla Phone first set up his K70 million rice mill in the Sagaing industrial zone in 2014. He began exporting rice husk ash (RHA) to Japan in 2015. RHA is generated when rice husks are burnt as boiler fuel when processing paddy.

“Demand from Japan is currently 100 tonnes per year but I am only able to export 20 tonnes per year because of the lack of technical support,” he told The Myanmar Times. “After attending the workshops, if my factory is able to run at full capacity, we can produce much more biomass fuel from the rice husks for export purposes.”

With the additional SME loan, Dr Hla Phone is also planning to build additional storage facilities for discarded rice husks near his existing mill.

Ko Phyo Thura, secretary for Shwe Bo industrial zone, said he expects to produce more biomass products if he receives loan support from the government. He points out that there are 30 rice mills at Shwe Bo with the capacities to process between 30 tonnes and 100 tonnes of rice grains.

However, because the mills lack know-how on converting discarded rice husks to reusable fuels, “we end up wasting a high volume of rice husks and RHA,” he said.

Source: The Myanmar Times

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