Bangkok — Myanmar’s junta has embarked on a flurry of privatisations of state firms, raising questions about whether it is reforming the economy or trying to take profits before 2010 elections. (more…)
Dhaka – The price of rice is spiraling in some places in Arakan state in southern Burma from March 10, after local people learnt that over 25,000 tons of Burmese rice will be exported to Bangladesh this year. (more…)
Hanoi – The Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam has received state approval to open a branch in Myanmar, local media reported Wednesday. (more…)
Yangon – Western sanctions that have decimated Myanmar’s once-thriving garment sector have led to a rare spate of strikes that have unnerved its military rulers, fearful of civil unrest in the run-up to long-awaited elections. (more…)
Tehran – Iran’s Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki and Myanmar’s Deputy Foreign Minister met and conferred on the expansion of political, commercial and cultural interrelations. (more…)
Yangon, Myanmar — Myanmar’s military government has quietly begun the largest sell-off of state assets in the country’s history, including more than 100 government buildings, port facilities and a large stake in the national airline, diplomats and businessmen here say. (more…)
In the latest escalation of labor tensions in Burma, around 4,000 factory workers at an industrial estate on the outskirts of Rangoon staged a sit-in on Saturday to demand better pay, according to sources in the area. (more…)
India is investing $US1.35 billion in gas projects in military-ruled Burma, the two governments have announced, as the neighbouring nations pursue closer economic and diplomatic ties. (more…)
The Burmese government is to alter its valuation of the Burmese kyat to the dollar, resulting in a doubling of tax on imported goods along the China-Burma border, a businessman there said. (more…)
Around 70 percent of property in Burma auctioned off to private enterprise in recent months has ended up in the hands of cronies of the ruling junta. (more…)
Bangkok – A state bank loan of $121 million to Myanmar agreed by the government of ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra for satellite services benefited his business, a judge said on Friday, adding to a list of findings that could lead to the confiscation of his family’s frozen wealth. (more…)
Seoul — Hyundai Heavy Industries said it signed a 1.4 billion dollar deal Tuesday with another South Korean firm to develop a huge natural gasfield in military-ruled Myanmar. (more…)
Bangkok—A flurry of privatizations of key state enterprises in Myanmar is raising speculation about whether the country’s military regime is planning more market reform or simply trying to cash out before an election expected later this year. (more…)
Dhaka – Bangladesh’s dream of a road connection with Burma has remained unrealized for nearly a decade due primarily to problems finding funding for construction. The current Bangladesh government, however, is keen to build the road to Burma to further strengthen regional cooperation among the South Asian nations, report official sources. (more…)
New Delhi — India Thursday approved investments by an Oil & Natural Gas Corp. unit and GAIL India Ltd. in gas field development projects in Myanmar. (more…)
New Delhi – Businesses in Rangoon reliant upon the Internet in the conduct of their daily activity are facing increased hardship with the slowing down of connection speeds since late last month. (more…)
New Delhi – A strike by workers continues in a garment factory in Insein Township with over 200 workers demanding an increase in wages since yesterday. (more…)
Yangon – Faced with a shortage of small banknotes, people in Myanmar are resorting to bartering cigarettes, shampoo and other items. (more…)
Rangoon factory workers ended their sit-in strike on Wednesday evening after negotiations with their employers. However, tension remains high, according to sources in Rangoon.
Yangon – Ghana’s rejection last month of 15,000 bags of ‘unwholesome’ rice from Myanmar has sparked calls for improved quality controls for the commodity, one of the country’s key export items, media reports said Sunday. (more…)