Monday, July 6, 2015 (MTE Daily Issue 79)

U Thein Sein signals interest in second termRemarks by the president to Japanese media during Tokyo visit trigger renewed talk of internal party power struggle with parliamentary Speaker Thura U Shwe Mann. NEWS 3

WWW.MMTIMES.COM DAILY EDITION ISSUE 79 | MONDAY, JULY 6, 2015

500Ks.

HEARTBEAT OF THE NATION

NEWS 2

Norway donates to Rakhine StateNorway concludes visit by senior official by giving money for humanitarian assistance in Rakhine State, and denies that Oslo makes financial gains from supporting peace process.

NEWS 4

Hen pecks worlds oldest womanDaw Mya Kyi, said to be 123 years old, is recovering with the help of family and friends from a pecking by her pet hen but says she is cutting back on smoking and cold baths.

BUSINESS 8

Tech firm MySQUAR lists in LondonMySQUAR has debuted on the London Stock Exchanges small cap board with a valuation of 18.5 million (US$28.8 million). The firm aims to make its mark in Myanmar through apps for rapidly expanding mobile users.

BUSINESS 9

Japan pushes Mekong influence with pledgeJapanese prime minister announces US$6.1 billion in financing for the Mekong Five countries as part of a bid to build influence in the region. An agreement signed with Thailand marks progress on Dawei.

BUSINESS 10

Report calls for more military transparencyAn ADB report says Myanmar has kept its promise to increase health and education spending, but adds more needs to be done to increase transparency on military spending.

President U Thein Sein (right) shakes hands with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the Akasaka State Guest House in Tokyo on July 4. Photo: AFP

2 News THE MYANMAR TIMES JULY 6, 2015

THE INSIDER: it was short notice

Page 2Tastes like democracy Well, golly hasnt the whole town just been abuzz about the opening of the new KFC? Its the hottest story since the boat crisis, and theres an in-store sign to prove it! Witness:

Your presence implies your (sic)concent to be filmed and or photographed, your entry constitutes your consent for such photography, filming and or recording to be used in any media in perpetuity. What? Forever? Is that allowed? Probably. Anyway, punters would be well advised to consider donning sunglasses and a hoodie before skulking out to satisfy that Saturday morning hangover jonesing for a family fun bucket of the ol dirty bird.

In brief:Man still recovering from what he describes as hands-down the worst trip of [his] life when, high on acid at the recent Glastonbury festival, he stumbled into a tent where self-exiled scholar Maung Zarni was delivering an impassioned speech on Myanmar entitled Genocide, Internal Colonial Wars and Ecological Rape

Employee at major food and beverage market research firm that effectively paved the way for the naming of Marrybrown, Pocari Sweat and Kickapoo realises he completely misinterpreted the results of the focus groups, quietly destroys the evidence

Next week:Couple decides against attending polyamorous community meetup advertised on Yangon Expat Connection just in case its an elaborate setup by Ma Ba Tha. Unsolicited helpful advice corner To the person who posted on YEC asking where it might be possible to get five pages of colour printing done, the answer is: everywhere.

Once was Burma ...Archival material courtesy of Pansodan GalleryFirst floor, 286 Pansodan, upper block, Kyauktada township

?

Sneak peek inside this weeks edition of Burmore, your ultimate guide to a frivolous expat lifestyle Looking to beat the monsoon blues? Point your umbrella at a cluster of non-rabid-looking street dogs. Release the trigger mechanism, and as they scatter, imagine you are unleashing a forcefield. Thats five minutes. In stores now!

A VISIT to Myanmar by Norways State Secretary of Foreign Affairs has concluded with a US$1.25 million do-nation for humanitarian assistance in Rakhine State, but concerns remain that Norway is benefiting financially from government links made through peace process support.

Bard Glad Pedersen visited the troubled Rakhine State capital Sittwe last week where he met Chief Minister U Maung Maung Ohn and visited IDP camps for both Rohingya Muslims and ethnic Rakhine displaced by intercom-munal violence.

Speaking to The Myanmar Times on July 4 after his visit, Mr Pedersen highlighted the lack of development across the state and suggested this had played an integral part in ethno-religious disputes there.

This is one of the poorest states in Myanmar and theres no reason for this [to be the case]. They have all the opportunities in the world and this is a result of decades of distrust and that really is what we need to [address].

Mr Pedersen said that the funding, which comes in addition to a $1.25 million pledge made in Oslo at the end of May, would go toward projects to help all sectors of the community.

[It] is important that this is ben-eficial for all the groups in Rakhine, he added.

The ethnic Rakhine community has been vocal in accusing the inter-national community of focusing relief efforts on the Rohingya population. Anger over the perceived partial-ity has erupted into violence that at times has forced INGO staff to leave.

Mr Pedersen did not give a clear outline on how the money would be distributed, other than through INGOs and some UN agencies. How-ever he did say funding would be pro-vided for Sittwe State Hospital.

That move is likely to be welcomed by the ethnic Rakhine community. However it could also prove contro-versial as many Rohingya patients are not able to access treatment there amid continued allegations that those who have been admitted were mis-treated by staff.

Calling for the Rohingya to be given citizenship rights, saying it was not sustainable for a large popula-tion to be without this, Mr Pedersen said Rakhine needed financial sup-port as well as political pressure to bring about change.

It is important that the interna-tional community supports politically but also financially reconciliation and finds solutions in Rakhine State that will allow for human rights to be respected for all people and [also] al-low for citizenship for Rohingya.

Many in Norway, home of the No-bel Peace Prize, have been critical of prize winner Daw Aung San Suu Kyis choice not to call for citizenship for the Rohingya or to speak out clearly against their oppression.

Asked if he believed the National League for Democracy leader, whom

he also met during his visit, should comment on the citizenship issue, Mr Pedersen replied, I think it is a re-sponsibility for all parties to contrib-ute to a solution that will allow for human rights to be respected for all.

Norway, an early funder of peace process initiatives, has also played a pivotal role in paving the way for in-ternational investment in Myanmar.

Norways close relationship with the current government came under scrutiny after the failure of the Myan-mar Peace Support Initiative (MPSI), an organisation set up in 2012 with Norwegian state funding which was seen to alienate ethnic groups for its perceived support of the Myanmar governments agenda.

While the peace process continues to stall on numerous issues, invest-ment has advanced apace, with Nor-way gaining a number of lucrative deals, most notably in the telecoms and oil sectors.

Former Norwegian ambassador

to Myanmar Katja Nordgaard now holds a senior post at Telenor the Norwegian firm that was awarded one of two sought-after international tel-ecom deals. State oil company Statoil gained potentially lucrative rights to operate off-shore oilfields.

The deals have led to accusations that Norway has given too much sup-port to the Myanmar government while clear rights abuses persist.

Mr Pedersen rejected that sugges-tion. Our commitment is support the democratisation process in Myanmar and to support the peace process. We cannot choose between parties, he said.

I think its fair to acknowledge there has been progress in many areas, he added without elaborating.

There needs to be a modernisation of the constitution. There needs to be continued democratisation and reform and obviously they have not been able to sign a national ceasefire agree-ment. They need to move on from that toward political discussion and that is related also to the election process and all parties need to contribute to this, he said.

But he denied accusations that Nor-way had exchanged its interests in pro-moting peace with achieving financial gain.

I think thats an unfair assessment. I dont agree with that, Mr Pedersen said.

For Norway this commitment has been about contributing to the peace in Myanmar. Then international com-panies from a wide range of coun-tries have increased investment after sanctions have been lifted, and the

regional countries have done that too. But they have to win their opportuni-ties on competitive terms and do their business responsibly to earn trust of society.

Some rights groups are uncon-vinced.

[Norway is] bending over back-ward to justify a business-first ap-proach to engaging with the Bur-mese government while continuing to betray the democracy and human rights movement they nurtured for decades, said David Mathieson, Hu-man Rights Watch senior researcher on Myanmar.

Suggesting that Norway was not the only country to put self-interest and profit before principles in Burma, Mr Mathieson said, Oslos rapid volte-face from critic to gushing govern-ment supporter was the most brazenly opportunistic by any measure.

And he added, Its unswerving support for government efforts in the peace process and its criticism of eth-nic civil society, often pushed by the now-defunct Norwegian-formed-and -supported MPSI, is a significant fac-tor in the now slowed down efforts at ending the civil war. Norways as-sertion of altruism rings hollow in an environment of greed.

Mr Pedersen said the Norwegian government was contributing this year 240 million NK ($30 million) through civil society, through confi-dence building, to making sure [they are] supporting the peace process ... and at the end of the day it is the parties here that have to be able to progress in the peace process and carry forward with the election.

Norway donates to Rakhine State, denies financial interests

FIONA MACGREGOR

[email protected]

MACGREGOR

1.3The number of paragraphs that could

probably have gone in this spot

Envoys visit comes amid criticism the countrys business interests have been served by a peace-industrial complex

Norways assertion of altruism rings hollow in an environment of greed.

David Mathieson Human Rights Watch

News 3www.mmtimes.com NEWS EDITOR: Thomas Kean | [email protected]

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COMMENTS by U Thein Sein signal-ling an interest in serving a second term have fuelled the talk of a split in the Union Solidarity and Develop-ment Party between the president and parliamentary Speaker Thura U Shwe Mann, his presumed rival.

In Tokyo over the weekend for a Mekong region development summit, U Thein Sein gave an interview to NHK World that was duly picked up in Myanmars official media.

According to tweets by Aiko Doden, anchor for NHK World, the 70-year-old reformist president said he would seriously consider a second term and will strive to work for the party and the country beyond 2016, when his five-year terms ends.

The official Global New Light of Myanmar was rather more nuanced, however. It quoted the state-run My-anmar News Agency as saying, Con-cerning the question on second term of the presidency, the president said that he places more emphasis on na-tional politics of peace and develop-ment than party politics and he added that he would carry out everything he could for the national interests.

As for the second term of the presidency, the president said that the decision depends on situation of the country and will of the people, which he said he would take seriously, the agency added.

Myanmars 2008 constitution, draft-ed by the military, dictates it is not the will of the people which elects the head of state but rather parliament, where 25 percent of seats are reserved for the military. The charter also excludes Daw Aung San Suu Kyi from consideration by virtue of her offspring holding for-

eign passports.The National League for Democ-

racy leader was in Wahtheinkha vil-lage outside Yangon at the weekend, ostensibly to check voter lists but clearly rallying support for her party ahead of the November parliamentary elections.

Myanmar now finds itself in the situation where a popular politician who cannot be president is already campaigning, while the president and

Speaker both elected in flawed polls in 2010 boycotted by the NLD are constrained by their official roles from doing so.

The USDPs decision so far not to name its candidate is fuelling much speculation over its intentions, with questions raised over who the military will ultimately anoint with its parlia-mentary bloc. Thura U Shwe Mann, number three in the former military junta, took over as party chair from U Thein Sein in 2013.

Manoeuvring in parliament over proposed constitutional changes is also driving talk of a power struggle between the two former generals. De-bate over a raft of amendments is due to continue tomorrow, with voting ex-pected later in the week.

U Than Soe Naing, a political analyst, said it was clear that the Tatmadaw had supported U Thein Sein as the partys first chair and president, and that it was possible defence chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing could decide to instruct

the military bloc to back him for a second term.

He said U Thein Sein would want to finalise a nationwide ceasefire agreement, one of his governments top three objectives, before declaring his hand. The president would need such an achievement to boost his sag-ging popularity, he added.

The USDP might break into two, U Than Soe Naing commented over the presumed power struggle. The outcome could depend on whether the USDP ends up with more seats in parliament than the military when it comes to nominating the presidential candidate, he said.

U Mya Aye, a leader of the 88 Gen-eration Peace and Open Society, said that although it would be impossible to secure Daw Aung San Suu Kyi as the next president, the next head of state must still be acceptable to the people and the international com-munity.

U Thein Sein was not able to change anything in the country in the

past five years, and some things went backward. In the last two years of his term, the situation is getting worse and worse. For example, students, farmers, and labour and human right activists have been charged by the government. There are more political prisoners, he said.

U Sai Nyunt Lwin, secretary of the Shan Nationalities League for Democ-racy, said that if U Thein Sein was bas-ing his future on the will of the people then he had little hope of a second term. He had failed to amend the con-stitution, finalise a nationwide cease-fire agreement or guarantee free and fair elections, the ethnic Shan leader said.

Thura U Shwe Mann has acted presidential in recent visits to both China and the United States, making it clear that he is interested in the post if called upon.

In October 2013 he captured the headlines by telling a news conference that U Thein Sein had told him he had no intention to seek a second term. I

think he meant what he said. He is not running in the election [in 2015], the Speaker said.

Thura U Shwe Mann also said at the time that he would back an amendment of section 59(f) of the constitution blocking anyone whose spouse or children are foreign citizens from becoming president. But that amendment did not even make it as far as a vote in parliament last month.

His chances of being nominated president might still rest on the back-ing of the NLD.

Not everyone subscribes to the in-ternal USDP power struggle theory, however. One senior foreign adviser to a state institution, who asked not to be named, said the real conflict was between military hardliners on one side and the reformist president and Speaker allied together on the other.

National League for Democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi checks voter lists in Wartheinkha, outside Yangon, on July 4.

Rumours intensify of USDP split

GUY DINMORE WA LONE

Photo: AFP/Ye Aung Thu

U Thein Sein was not able to change anything in the country in the past five years.

U Mya Aye 88 Generation Peace

and Open Society


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THE days of K1500 traffic fines may soon be over. Following repeated warnings from police that the current fines are too low to be an effective de-terrent, the government has published a draft law that would raise the mini-mum fine to K30,000 and the maxi-mum to K1 million.

The law, which would replace the 1964 Motor Vehicles Law, was printed in state media on July 3.

The Road Transport Administration Department, which is responsible for administering vehicles, began working on the law in 2013. In March it was sub-mitted to the Presidents Office.

RTAD director general U Chit Ko Ko said in May that he hoped both the law and by-laws would be enacted by the end of the year.

The major change is in the scale of fines. The 1964 law and its 1989 amendment, have been widely criti-cised because the maximum fine is just K1500. Calls for reform have acceler-ated since 2011, when the government began liberalising car imports and new vehicles began to flood Yangons streets. Accidents, deaths and injuries on the roads are also increasing, with many blamed on rash or poor driving.

The new law raises the fines sig-nificantly; the highest is set at K1 million for making a fake licence or documents. The draw law would also extend the maximum prison term from one year to seven years. The shortest prison term in the draft law is three months.

Taxi driver U Maung Maung said he was unsure whether the fines would be effective but supported efforts to rein in unsafe drivers.

It is difficult to say what the im-pact will be because the law is not en-acted yet, he said.

But I want lawbreakers to be strongly punished. And drivers should be forced to pay the fines instead of the owner. If the jail sentence is high-er, it will be good as drivers will not dare to break the law.

The government has also taken steps to tighten up driver licencing fol-lowing criticism of a process that was widely seen as corrupt. Previously it was common to pay a broker to pro-cure a licence instead of having to sit a theoretical or practical test.

U Chit Ko Ko said practices had changed significantly in the depart-ment since he was put in charge.

Since I have taken responsibil-ity for this department, I have strictly ordered [my staff] not to give out li-cences too easily, he said.

Up until now, I have not given a licence to anyone who was not quali-fied enough. We tested well and gave a licence to the people who should get one. We changed to a computerised testing system that can reduce staff er-rors. Now someone who doesnt know the road rules will not be able to drive.

While the draft is expected to replace the 1964 law, existing an-nouncements, orders, directives and procedures will remain in force pro-vided they are not contrary to the new legislation.

Driver U Moe Thee said implemen-tation was just as important as the text of the law.

I want a situation where no one is above the law, he said. In Myan-mar, it has been common for wealthy people who break the law to resolve their case with money. This shouldnt be allowed.

A BUS line involved in a deadly acci-dent last May has been closed down by the authorities. Elite Express, which ran between Yangon and Pyin Oo Lwin, was ordered shuttered by Man-dalay Regions road transport minis-ter, U Kyaw San, on July 4.

Five people died and 15 were in-jured when a bus belonging to the line overturned on May 31 after striking a traffic circle in Tada-Oo township, Mandalay Region.

We didnt want to close down the line. But many people died in the acci-dent. We hope other express lines will be more careful, he said.

Though the accident was blamed on driver error, the government is also looking at ways of improving safety on the road, a notorious accident black spot.

Authorities also closed down Yar Zar Min Express Line after one of its buses was involved in an accident along the same road, in which 14 pas-sengers died in May 2014.

Translation by Khant Lin Oo

Yangon-Pyin Oo Lwin bus line closed after accident

GRANDMOTHER to the nation Daw Mya Kyi is eating again and has her family and friends around her, her daughter says. Myanmars old-est woman, who is thought to be 123 years old, is being cared for at her home in Paukchaigone village, Amarapura township, Mandalay Region.

Sayadaw U Awbatha from the vil-lage monastery, who is looking after the old lady, said on June 30 that she had been under the weather.

Daw Mya Kyi was pecked on the forearm by her pet hen Mi Kan. The wound festered and she became ill despite treatment. Now she cant sit by herself any more like she used to. Someone has to help her, said U Awbatha.

The grandma is currently be-ing watched over by her young-est daughter Daw Thay Mar, who says she is 59 years old, and her husband. Daw Thay Mar said they would stay with her until she recovered.

Mum was unconscious for two days, but shes been eating a little for two days now. Shes almost skin and bone, Daw Thay Mar said.

Dr Zaw Tun, who has treated Daw Mya Kyi in the past, told The Myanmar Times that she generally

enjoyed good health.Although she still can talk, her

memory has deteriorated, said U Awbatha.

Its too cold to take baths now, and Ive had to cut down on smok-ing, admitted Daw Mya Kyi.

Daw Mya Kyi has identity docu-

ments. If correct then she would set a world record for documented longev-ity. Jeanne Louise Calment of France currently holds that distinction. She was born in 1875 and was 122 years and 164 days old when she died on August 4, 1997.

Translation by Kyawt Darly Lin

Oldest woman recovers from hen pecking

Daw Mya Kyi (middle) accepts money from the Mingalar Byuhar social group and other donors on June 30. Photo: Phyo Wai Kyaw

PHYO WAI KYAW HLAING KYAW SOE

YANGON is about to take the first prac-tical steps toward upgrading its public transport system. Armed with a K12.5 billion kitty K10 billion from the gov-ernment, and the remainder from pri-vate companies the city will soon lay out dedicated bus lanes, and import the buses that will run along them.

Known as BRT lite, the scheme is based on a plan drawn up in 2013 by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for a bus rapid tran-sit system intended to cover much of the city. The less-ambitious version was chosen because it costs less than the original plan. The government announced in May that the scheme would be funded by a private-public partnership (PPP) system.

U Maung Aung, an adviser to the Ministry of Commerce, said on July 3 that the government has invested K10 billion, while Diamond Star, Shwe Taung, Shwe Than Lwin, Zayar and Associates, and other companies have invested K500 million each.

The main problem in public trans-portation now is that the buses are owned by several different compa-nies, he said.

The drivers compete against each other for custom because otherwise they dont get paid. They dont care about the passengers. The new system will pay drivers a regular wage and provide a better service.

Once the Myanmar Investment Commission has given the green light, the new company will start selling shares to the public at K100,000 each, he said.

Once weve received the permit, we will form a board of directors, then order the buses, said U Maung Aung.

The government will be responsi-ble for building bus stops with LED signboards displaying the bus sched-ules. Work is expected to start at the end of this month.

The government will also put out a tender for a company to install CCTV cameras to monitor bus movements, and invite a Japanese company to im-plement the system.

The companies participating in this scheme will not make an initial profit. During the early years, it will be a sacrifice, he said. The aim is not immediate profit, but upgrading pub-lic transport.

Money invested in bus rapid transit systemAYE NYEIN WIN [email protected]

AYE NYEIN WIN [email protected]

MG [email protected]

Lowest traffic fine set at K30,000 in draft law

Traffic clogs Anawrahta Road in Yangon. Photo: Aung Htay Hlaing

The new system will pay drivers a regular wage and provide better service.

U Maung Aung Adviser to Ministry of Commerce


WITH the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism expecting 4.5 to 5 million tourist arrivals in 2015, and 7.5 mil-lion by 2020, local travel industry ex-perts are busily dreaming up ways to promote Myanmar as a destination to ensure that these target numbers are met.

U Phyo Wai Yar Zar, chair of the Myanmar Tourism Marketing Com-mittee (MTMC), told The Myanmar Times that the countrys internation-al airports in Yangon, Mandalay and Nay Pyi Taw should start operating at maximum capacity to boost arrival numbers.

We need to prepare all travel facilities to accommodate this ex-pected rise in numbers, and interna-tional airlines must also increase the number of flights coming to Myan-mar, he said.

Yangon International Airport is already undergoing renovations, but facilities at Mandalay and Nay Pyi Taw airports must also be expanded so more flights can land each day, he said.

Many more tourists will come if our airports can handle flights from around the world. This will help us reach our future tourism targets, he said.

U Phyo Wai Yar Zar said that since 2008 the MTMC, using its own funds, has promoted Myanmar by setting up exhibitions at travel trade shows around the world.

But this year for the first time the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism is also lending a hand by providing funding for MTMC members to trav-el to three of the most important an-nual travel conventions in the world: ITB Berlin, the World Travel Market in London and the Japan Association of Travel Agents Expo.

The committee also disseminates information through its websites, and organises familiarisation trips to tourist sites around the country for

media and travel industry represent-atives from foreign countries.

U Phyo Wai Yar Zar is also joint secretary general of the Myanmar Tourism Federation, which opened its first overseas branch office in Washington DC on April 9.

We hired the Solimar internation-al marketing company to run the of-fice and promote Myanmar itinerar-ies in the US because there are many potential visitors from that country, he said, adding that the federation has signed a one-year contract with Solimar but plans on working with the company for three years.

In the future we would like to open offices in more countries when we have the budget. Were already looking at Japan for our next office, U Phyo Wai Yar Zar said.

Someday we would like to op-erate like the Tourism Authority of Thailand, which promotes its coun-try all around the world.

Ministry of Hotels and Tourism director U Myo Win Nyunt told The Myanmar Times that the ministry is working to meet tourism arrival goals by implementing the Tour-ism Master Plan 2013-2020 and by

working with relevant ministries to open new border crossings and

improve transportation.New border crossings will open

this year, and transportation from the Myawady border crossing in Kayin State will also improve, so this should help tourism numbers in-crease, he said.

He added that tourism arrivals from January to the end of May had exceeded 1 million, but it was too early to tell if the target of 4.5 to 5 million would be achieved by the end of the year.

Even if we dont reach the target, we believe we will see an increase over last years figures, he said.

According to official government statistics, more than 3 million tour-ists visited Myanmar in 2014. How-ever, that figure included 1.9 million day-trippers from Thailand, China, India, Laos and Bangladesh, which according to most international standards should not be counted as tourists.

SITAGU Sayadaw opened a centre for Myanmar Theravada Buddhism in Moscow on July 1. The senior monk was accompanied by a num-ber of other abbots from Europe, Asia and America who attended the ceremony.

The construction of the monastery followed a visit to Moscow by Sitagu Sayadaw, who is also known as U Nyanissara. At that time he met with the Myanmar ambassador U Tin Yu and a number of students, who asked him to set up a monastery in the Rus-sian capital.

In response to the request from the students, U Nyanissara agreed to put up US$100,000 himself toward the cost. A further $200,000 was donated by Tatmadaw Commander-in-Chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing and his wife, said U Nyanissara.

Other contributions were made by Myanmar students, including mili-tary officers undergoing training. The centre will be a base for missionary

work in Russia, a centre for dhamma preaching for Myanmar students and others in the capital, and will ac-commodate Buddhist monks passing through.

The Buddha Vihara monastery has been successfully completed, thanks to the donors. The Tatmadaw is also included as an initial capi-tal donor. I am very glad to see the propagation of Buddhism through European Buddhist monasteries, said U Nyanissara.

The Myanmar Theravada Buddha Centre is built on a 1622-square-me-tre plot bought for 5 million roubles (about $90,000) near Perovo metro station, 14 kilometres east of central Moscow. The three-story-building cost more than $400,000, and required about $200,000 worth of repairs.

Anyone wishing to make further donations for buildings still under construction can contact U Kyaw Myat Thu in Russia on +79-2996-93164, U Tun Lin Aung in Yangon on 09-2504-35491 or send an email to [email protected].

Translation by Thiri Min Htun

Theravada Buddhist centre opens in MoscowAUNG KYAW [email protected]

Travel agents lobby over tourism lawEI EI [email protected]

Myanmar strives for lofty tourist arrival figuresEI EI THU

[email protected]

Someday we would like to operate like the Tourism Authority of Thailand.

U Phyo Wai Yar Zar Myanmar Tourism

Marketing Committee

Tourists look at souvenirs at Inle Lake. Photo: Staff

Flags are raised at the Buddhist centre in Moscow on July 1. Photo: Supplied

TRAVEL agents are urging the govern-ment to take their views into account in drawing up new tourism laws, and the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism says it will listen. U Tin Wai, director of the ministry, said it would consider suggestions made by industry profes-sionals and could incorporate them in the law.

The ministry met with travel pro-fessionals to discuss the tourism draft law last week in Yangon, Mandalay, Bagan, Naung-Oo, Taunggyi and Inle, and officials have also invited sugges-tions via the ministry website, he said.

Detailed information will have to be added to the law and the directives. Some people have already sent us their views, and were awaiting more input from others, he said on July 3.

The draft has already been lodged with both the Office of the President and the Union Attorney Generals Of-fice, and will be submitted to parlia-ment with any further amendments. We hope the new law can be passed this year, said U Tin Wai.

Nature Dream Travels managing director Daw Sabei Aung said she had asked the ministry to consider the need in the new law for fair competi-tion based on fair prices, policies and services, as well as the need to safe-guard local operators from any nega-tive impact arising from their lack of technological knowledge.

We hope the ministry will consid-er our views, she said.

U Myo, legal consultant to the Do-mestic Pilgrimages and Tour Opera-tors Association, told The Myanmar Times the ministry should take its time in considering the views it re-ceived before submitting the draft law for parliamentary approval.

The law will govern our activities for the long term, so it should be care-fully thought through, he said, adding that ministry officials should also be thoroughly familiar with the text.

Sometimes when we ask for their help in interpreting the law it turns out they dont really understand it, he said.

Traders bomber sentencedto life in prison A man who admitted setting a bomb that injured an American tourist at then-Traders Hotel in Yangon in 2013, has been sentenced to life im-prisonment. Saw Myint Lwin, 29, was also handed two separate sentences of 20 years and five years for related offences.

The verdicts were handed down by two judges at Western District Court on July 3. The court discharged two other defendants, U Mya Phoo and Nyi Nyi, after finding that they were not guilty of offences under section 6 of the Explosive Substances Act and section 338 of the penal code.

In October 2013, an unnamed American woman sustained injuries to her leg and hand as a result of the small blast in room 921. The hotel has since been renamed Sule Shangri-La Hotel.

Saw Myint Lwin also admitted planting a bomb, which did not ex-plode, at Western Park restaurant in Ahlone township. He told the court he acted alone in all the cases.

The court ordered him to serve the sentences consecutively. Toe Wai Aung, translation by Thiri Min Htun

IN BRIEF

News 7www.mmtimes.com

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DAW Aung San Suu Kyis visit to China last month created a frenzy of global media interest. The big question was about the apparent contradiction between her defiant resistance to this countrys former military regime and the repressive policies of Chinas government.

Many wondered whether Daw Aung San Suu Kyi would comment on sensitive human rights issues under the noses of her Communist hosts. The long-term imprisonment of Liu Xiaobo, a fellow Nobel laureate, had some speculating that Myanmars icon of democracy would wade into Chinas difficult domestic politics.

Yet the point of this visit was something else entirely: showcasing the overwhelming pragmatism of both sides. Whatever Daw Aung San Suu Kyis misgivings about Chinas in-ternal management, she has become far too savvy a political operator to let that interfere with her changing stature on the global stage.

In the lead-up to this years election she is being courted aggressively by

almost everyone, and it is understand-able that the Chinese have sought to charm her into their embrace. The visit programs for such figures are always handled carefully to minimise the possibility of surprises.

But it is surprising that one of the conclusions from Daw Aung San Suu Kyis first China visit is about es-trangement. Some have even sounded the death knell for strong relations between China and Myanmar. Surely this is premature.

Relations between the two coun-tries will never be simple. With more than 2 million Chinese citizens and former Chinese citizens living in My-anmar, there is much at stake for both sides. Billions of dollars from China have been invested in Myanmars cities, and in the countrys transport, mining and energy infrastructure.

This means that when we start to look for fragility in relations between the two countries we need to begin by comparing it closely with other situations.

The fact is that no other country has Chinas firm reach into almost all corners of Myanmar society.

Thats not all: No other country comes close in terms of cultural, eco-nomic or strategic heft, and no others have committed so heavily to securing their own Myanmar interests.

This is why Daw Aung San Suu Kyus visit to China matters so much.

After this years highly anticipated election, there is every reason to expect that the Chinese will quickly adjust to any new political arrange-ments. Daw Aung San Suu Kyis familiarisation tour is one example of what that means.

Her visit to China also fits a pattern that we saw a few years ago. When President U Thein Sein, Pyidaungsu Hluttaw Speaker Thura U Shwe Mann and so many other senior figures from the former State Peace

and Development Council began their foreign forays in the early reform years, they did so with the goal of bet-ter understanding the complexities of the global order.

When they travelled to Europe and the United States I expect the learning went in all directions. Certainly the Myanmar delegations had a chance to see New York, Paris and London with their own eyes, and to better understand the context in which opposition to their military regime had flourished.

Those foreign politicians, officials and journalists who interacted with them could also test their prejudices about Myanmars former military men. In such a hesitant process it will always take time for new apprecia-tions to emerge.

In the same way, Daw Aung San Suu Kyis Beijing foray will have helped to allay some basic concerns, and bolstered the chance for Chinese influ-ence to be maintained if the National League for Democracy ever controls Nay Pyi Taws levers of power.

Being wooed by the Chinese gov-ernment will also give her a renewed sense that her old allies in the West-ern democracies are only one part of the story. For now, Myanmar, no matter who is in government, will be grappling with the need to broaden and deepen all of its foreign relations.

While there is anxiety about the

Chinese role in the Kokang conflict, and their meddling in other areas, there remains an understanding that the two countries need to work together closely.

The alternative could be a return to the fraught relations of decades past. People in Myanmar have not forgotten how the Chinese govern-ment exported Communist rebellion beyond its southern border right up to the 1980s.

That rebellion still echoes across the mountains where its remnants seek to extract what they can from the ongoing peace negotiations.

Given that traumatic history, if Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is to lead Myanmar successfully she has no choice about whether to do busi-ness with China. The bottom line is that China is not surrendering its influence in Myanmar any time soon, and to pretend otherwise is to miss a momentous geostrategic frontline of the decades to come.

This is a story with global ramifications that goes far beyond the lightning rod of human rights concerns. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi will need to be on her toes as she learns to manage such delicate relations.

Nicholas Farrelly is director of the Australian National Universitys Myanmar Research Centre.

On China, The Lady has no choice

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi Suu Kyi meets Chinas President Xi Jinping in Beijing on June 11. Photo: AFP

NICHOLAS FARRELLY

[email protected]

8 THE MYANMAR TIMES JULY 6, 2015

BusinessIN BRIEFMyanmar moves up the ladder onWorld Bank rankingsMyanmar is no longer a Low-Income Economy, according to the World Banks definition.

The World Banks latest estimates of worldwide gross national income (GNI) placed Myanmar as a Lower Middle-Income Economy, with GNI per capita of between US$1046 and $4125.

The upgrade, announced on July 1, means Cambodia is the last member of ASEAN considered a Low-Income Economy, with a GNI of less than $1046. Indonesia, Laos, Philippines and Vietnam are also considered Lower Middle-Income Economies according to the World Banks definition.

While Bangladesh, Kenya and Tajikistan also moved up a step on the economic ladder with the latest shuf-fle, South Sudan fell a notch.

GNI is a broad measure of income generated by a countrys residents from international and domestic activ-ity, the World Banks statement said. The World Bank revises its classifica-tion each year on July 1, and also uses classification in some instances for lending eligibility. Jeremy Mullins

Expos planned for later this monthThree large expositions, of auto parts, machinery and electrical products, will be held from July 22 to 25 at Myanmar Event Park, according to organisers.

The three expos Auto Expo Myan-mar, Myanmar International Machine Tool and Automation Exhibition, and POWER Myanmar will together include over 130 exhibitors from 12 countries.

U Myo Thant, an official with industry body UMFCCI, said that with growing use of advanced items, there is need for more spare parts and sup-pliers. Our country now has a lot of cars, so we need more spare parts, he said. We can connect with other countries and then can import spare parts for any brand. There are plans for a large car exhibition to be held next year. Aye Nyein Win

Three Cambodian raids against The North Face counterfeitersThree raids were conducted on stores selling counterfeit products from American outdoor apparel and equipment brand The North Face in the Cambodian city of Siem Reap last week, highlighting rising copyright and trademark infringement issues in Cambodia.

The raids, conducted by Siem Reaps economic police, were the result of a complaint from The North Face in April, after which an investiga-tion was carried out at three different locations. The case has now been handed over to court in Siem Reap.

The Phnom Penh Post

Thailands Toyota exports climb on back of pickup popularityToyota Motor Thailand (TMT) is revving up exports in the second half, particu-larly of pickup trucks, to offset sluggish local sales.

The Japanese car maker reported first-quarter exports of 107,838 ve-hicles, up by 17 percent quarter-on-quarter and good for 33pc of Thailands overall shipment of 328,232 vehicles, up by 14pc. Up to 85pc of TMTs exports are pickup trucks.

TMT represented 38pc of Thailands 2014 auto exports, shipping 425,730 ve-hicles, down 1pc from the year before.

The company earlier said it expect-ed to ship 390,000 vehicles this year, down by 8.4pc, but executive vice presi-dent Wichien Emprasertsuk yesterday said the figure was likely to be revised to above 400,000. Bangkok Post

LOCAL social media company MyS-QUAR launched on the AIM sub-market of the London Stock Ex-change on July 1, after raising 1.67 million (US$2.6 million) through a placement of about 16.7 million shares at 0.10 per share.

The placement values MySQUAR the developer of local-language messenger app MyChat at about 18.5 million.

MySQUAR is now at the fore-front of the countrys technological revolution and the success of the AIM flotation will send a power-ful, positive signal to the countrys entrepreneurs and to inward-in-vestors alike, said MySQUAR CEO Eric Schaer in a statement on the AIM admission.

The firms share prices dipped on its first day of trading from 0.10, ending July 1 down 1.2 percent to 0.0988 by the markets close.

MySQUAR CEO Eric Schaer told The Myanmar Times the drop was due to some early investors cash-ing out after having done very well.

MySQUAR, with ticker symbol MYSQ, ended the week on July 3 at 0.0918 a share.

The companys market capitali-sation was about 18.5 million on

the date of its AIM debut, based on a total of about 185 million shares.

MySQUARs London launch took place far away from operations in Myanmar, a country that has yet to establish a stock exchange but has seen an industry bloom around mobile services since telecoms li-cences were awarded to two for-eign entrants last year, increasing competition and allowing for more widespread connectivity.

With the listing now under its belt, MySQUAR now has deeper pockets to pursue increasing on its product of-ferings as it chases user acquisition.

The company will continue to add features to MyChat, utilise funds for investing in research and development of new applications, and maintain its momentum of growth with the fresh money, Mr Schaer said.

MySQUAR says it has a first-mover advantage in Myanmar, which it will use to seize share of the countrys youth market: a size-able demographic as nearly half the nations population more than 24 million people are under 24 years of age, according to the firms AIM admission documentation.

MySQUARs current primary fo-cus is on expanding its customer base on the road to monetisation.

The more users, the better the monetisation, Mr Schaer told The Myanmar Times.

The groups user count stood at nearly 775,000 at the end of May, with its products attracting 392,400 monthly active users, according to the company.

Though it battles rival communi-cation platforms Viber and Facebook Messenger in Myanmar, the firms chat app MyChat enjoys popularity in its target market, ranking 19th on July 2 in the Google Play Stores top free applications for Myanmar.

The company said in its market admission document that MyChats user count spiked 167pc from Janu-ary to February 2015, and had in-creased 219pc by mid-April.

The company will incorporate more games, services, and eventu-ally ecommerce and job portals into its portfolio in the future.

MySQUAR plans to make money through channels including adver-tising, digital goods and selling user data, according to its AIM admis-sion document.

INSURANCE for travel overseas is only gradually becoming more pop-ular as Myanmar people become more familiar with foreign travel, insurance experts say.

State-run Myanma Insurance says it has been offering such a ser-vice for years, but most travellers are unaware of it.

People intending to travel to some destinations, particularly in Europe, are required to show they have travel insurance as part of the visa application service. But many others simply do not bother.

People arent used to buying cover because of unfamiliarity with insurance and banking systems, said one insurance official, adding that insurance was vital to protect travellers against unforeseen conse-quences and accidents during their trip.

Myanma Insurance sells 20 packages a week, starting at K200 each for foreign trips lasting from a week to three months, he said.

He added that travel agencies wishing to sell insurance for for-eign trips must sign an agreement with Myanma Insurance.

A few outbound tour companies and Bodhgaya pilgrimage compa-nies buy insurance packages for their customers, so people are be-coming more aware, he said.

Daw Cherry Win, managing di-rector of Myanmar Myat Cherry Travel and Tours, told The Myanmar Times that her company offered in-surance only for domestic travel.

Some customers arrange their own overseas insurance. If a cus-tomer asks us to do it we will, but theres not much call for it, she said.

Foreign tour companies include travel insurance services automati-cally, so people dont need local insurance, she said. We will in-troduce the service, and insurance companies are advertising it, so I expect it will become more popular in future.

Travel insurance is required while visiting Europe, said Daw Sa-bei Aung, managing director of Na-ture Dream Travel.

Travellers buy insurance just for visa purposes. Normally other-wise they wouldnt bother, because they dont realise how important it can be. But some are aware of the need for security, she said, adding that most foreign visitors to Myan-mar were insured.

Its up to the customers, but they are becoming more aware of the need for insurance, as the bank-ing system develops and interna-tional insurance companies are opening up here.

Myanmar also announced a health insurance plan that started on July 1 and is to run for a one-year test period, though companies said they expect that demand may initially be slow.

Local tech firm lists on AIM stock exchange

Outbound travel insurance needs attentionEI EI [email protected]

IN PICTURES

Photo: AFP

A merchant inspects jade during the 52nd Myanmar Jade and Gem Emporium at the Maniyadana Emporium Hall in Nay Pyi Taw.

CATHERINE TRAUTWEIN

[email protected]

TRAUTWEIN

MILLION POUNDS

18.5Valuation of MySQUAR following the

placement of 16.7 million shares in the lead-up to listing

9BUSINESS EDITOR: Jeremy Mullins | [email protected]

Exchange Rates (July 5 close)Currency Buying Selling

EuroMalaysia RingittSingapore DollarThai BahtUS Dollar

K1237K296K827

K34K1131

K1258K309K841

K37K1134

As Greek crisis continues, what can be expected of its leader Tsipras?

ADB paper warns of opaque government budgeting

BUSINESS 12BUSINESS 10

JAPAN pledged US$6.1 billion in finan-cial aid to the Mekong Five countries as it pushes infrastructure exports and courts influence in a region where ri-val China has an increasing presence.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe un-veiled the pledge at a summit with his counterparts from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam fast-growing economies through which the lower section of the Mekong river flows.

Japan will implement support worth around 750 billion yen [$6.1 billion] in official development as-sistance for the next three years, Mr Abe told a news conference fol-lowing the seventh annual Japan-Mekong summit.

The Mekong region, which has vast demand for infrastructure, is one of our most important areas, Mr Abe said.

Japan will contribute to infra-structure development of the region in both quality and quantity, he added. The Mekong region and Japan are partners that will develop together.

It was not immediately clear if the pledge included previously ear-marked Japanese financial assistance, or whether it was made up entirely of newly allocated funds.

The Mekong region is the most dynamic economic centre, but there still is room for huge growth, Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha told the news conference.

The meeting came as the leading Nikkei business daily said on July 3 that three Japanese companies had secured an order worth over 32 billion baht ($947 million) to equip a railway linking the Thai capital Bangkok with nearby suburbs.

The Japanese government plans to offer loans to cover part of the cost, the newspaper said, a common sweet-ener that helps clients afford these kind of big-ticket projects.

In a separate deal, Japan, Thailand and Myanmar signed an accord for a

special economic zone (SEZ) in Dawei, southeastern Myanmar, local media said.

The Bangkok Post reported yes-terday that the three countries had signed a memorandum on tripartite cooperation in Tokyo.

When completed, the zone on the Andaman Sea coast will have a total area of 200 square kilometres (80 square miles), making it one of the largest SEZs in Southeast Asia and a gateway for the Mekong regions trade with India, the Middle East and Af-rica, Kyodo News said.

Mr Abe has upped efforts to sell highways, train systems and power plants around the world, a key ele-ment in his bid to bolster the economy and Japans standing abroad.

Beijings growing financial muscle, as well as its increasing willingness to throw its diplomatic weight around, have added urgency to Japans efforts to step up engagement in the battle for regional sway.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said in November at a summit in Myan-mar that Beijings strategic partner-ship with the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) grouping was entering a diamond decade leading to broader and deeper cooperation.

Then in March, Foreign Minister

Wang Yi said China hoped to boost trade with ASEAN countries to $500 billion this year and $1 trillion in 2020.

Beijings new Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank has also upped the stakes, rivalling the Tokyo-backed Asian Development Bank and offering the kind of financial firepower rapidly developing countries are keen to tap.

In a bid to counter the Chinese move, Mr Abe in May announced a $110 billion investment plan for infra-structure projects in Asia, including in the Mekong Five states.

Japan is keen to be seen as the

benevolent giant in the region and has worked hard to burnish a repu-tation as the nation bold enough to push back against China in territo-rial and other disputes.

Tokyo has its own spat with Beijing over islands in the East China Sea, but is increasingly vocal over Chinas am-bitions to control almost the whole of the South China Sea.

Vietnam is one of a number of countries that have territorial dis-putes with Beijing over this busy shipping area.

Siding with Tokyo and Hanoi, the participants jointly expressed con-

cerns over the territorial disputes in-volving Beijing, saying in a statement that they will further complicate the situation and erode trust and confi-dence and may undermine regional peace, security and stability.

But the meeting avoided touching upon other sensitive issues for the region, including a growing migrant crisis.

Some 100 protesters from Myan-mar and Japan staged a rally in light rain over Myanmar President Thein Seins presence at the summit, de-manding that Yangon release all po-litical prisoners. AFP

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (centre) shakes hands with President Thein Sein (left) and Thailands Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha (right) after the signing ceremony on Dawei port project in Tokyo on July 4. Photo: AFP

TOKYO

Japan shores up influence with pledgePrime Minister Abes pledge comes as Japan, Thailand and Myanmar sign a memorandum to move forward on Dawei special economic zone

The Mekong region, which has vast demand for infrastructure, is one of our most important areas.

Shinzo Abe Japanese prime minister

10 Business THE MYANMAR TIMES JULY 6, 2015

AS VietJet Air flight 175 prepared to leave Hanoi for Ho Chi Minh City, a 43-year-old passenger opened the emergency exit door because he wanted to go to the bathroom.

Nguyen Thanh Chuong, a farmer from a village on the outskirts of Hanoi, activated the Airbus A321s evacuation slide, causing a three-hour delay and costing the airline tens of thousands of dollars. Hes not alone. The sudden creation of a mid-dle class and the rise of discount car-riers is causing headaches for flight crews and ground staff across Asia as the worlds fastest-growing region for aviation welcomes 100 million new fliers every year.

People are now more mobile than they have been in the history of mankind, said Graham Hunt, head of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical Uni-versity Asia in Singapore. The fact that you have people who have never before seen an airplane getting on airplanes is a real challenge.

Vietnam will be among the 10 fast-est-growing aviation markets in the world in the next two decades, accord-ing to the International Air Transport Association. One in five of the nations 90 million citizens flies today and within two decades virtually all Viet-namese are expected to travel by air, according to Airbus Group SE.

Mr Chuongs decision to open the emergency-row door in April cost Vi-etJet about US$30,000 and a chain-reaction of flight delays, managing director Luu Duc Khanh said in an e-mail. The airline, which has been operating for almost four years, says at least 30 percent of the 10 million passengers it will handle this year will be first-time fliers.

Mr Khanh advocated better com-munication and education for the public, as well as sterner warn-ings from airlines and aviation regulators to reduce the number

of such incidents. Mr Chuong was fined $687, but was excused after he showed that he lives below the poverty line and his family is rec-ognised for contributing to the na-tions revolution.

While opening an emergency door costs time and money, aircraft design makes it impossible to do so while the plane is in the air. Yet oth-er blunders occur that compromise safety as well as profits.

Among 300 air-security violations last year, Vietnam had two near-colli-sions, two incidents where air traffic controllers lost contact with planes preparing to land, one plane that went to the wrong airport and a hi-jacking scare when a pilot accidental-ly pushed the wrong button, accord-ing to reports in Tuoi Tre newspaper.

Aviation security violations jumped 96pc in the first half of 2014, Vietnam News reported in July.

Stories of confused and errant first-timers meddling with emergen-cy exits regularly crop up. A 61-year-old opened one in July in Thanh Hoa province, claiming he forgot Viet-nam Airlines instruction not to do so without a cabin attendants per-mission, while a farmer opened an-other one in April to get some fresh air, according to local media.

Were trained to keep a close eye on passengers sitting near the exit doors, said Huong Nguyen, 32, who has worked as a flight attendant for two carriers, including one based in Vietnam.

VietJet said it also stations cabin crew outside bathrooms to avoid mishaps when first-time fliers fail to lock the door, and tells passengers to use airsickness bags to dispose of chewing gum.

It took me a while to figure out what to do, said Le Ngoc Linh, a 24-year-old Hanoi hairdresser who boarded her first flight about five

months ago. I saw a woman walk-ing back and forth down the aisle, looking for the toilet.

Some passengers argue loudly with flight attendants because they dont understand instructions; oth-ers take life jackets from under seats, assuming they are included in the ticket, Mr Huong said.

Cases of passengers harassing or abusing staff are common. A 35-year-old Hanoi resident was barred from flying for six months for slapping an airport employee in April after being told her carry-on luggage exceeded weight limits, Thanh Nien newspaper

said. Another woman was fined $344 for kicking a VietJet employee in June, Tuoi Tre newspaper reported.

Flight attendants are trained in martial arts to fend off unwanted touching, Mr Huong said.

Vietnam gradually liberalised its aviation market, fostering low-fare airlines such as Jetstar Pacific Air-lines Aviation JSC and VietJet that have brought air travel within the reach of millions. A round-trip ticket between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City the distance from London to Oslo can cost as little as $108.

At the same time Vietnamese

have more money to spend on travel. Vietnams per capita income doubled to $1740 in 2013 from 2007, accord-ing to the World Bank.

Suddenly you have a lot of lower-income families who can afford air travel, said Nguyen Xuan Thanh, a Ho Chi Minh City-based senior fellow at Harvards Kennedy School of Gov-ernment in Vietnam. This is similar to what is happening in China.

Things have gotten so bad there that Chinas National Tourism Ad-ministration created a National Uncivilised Traveller Record for the travel industry. In January, mem-bers of a tour group angry about a weather delay opened emergency ex-its on a China Eastern Airlines flight in Kunming just before takeoff. The previous month, a first-time flier opened an emergency door on a Xia-men Airlines to get some fresh air as the plane was taxiing for takeoff.

As more people travel in Viet-nam, more are also heading abroad for the first time. Visa applications to the US jumped 50pc this year, leading to a two-month waiting period, said David McCawley, US countrywide consular coordinator in Vietnam.

Vietnam is asking the US Federal Aviation Administration to upgrade its safety ranking so its carriers, such as Vietnam Airlines, can fly to the states. Joost van der Heijden, head of Asia marketing for Airbus, said he expects air travel to, from and with-in Vietnam to grow more than 10pc a year over the next two decades.

Meanwhile, flight attendant Ms Huong and her colleagues are keep-ing an eye out for those newcomers. Most are easy to spot because they look nervous or excited, she said. Some of them carry helmets and sometimes they put their helmets on when the plane is landing.

Bloomberg

A flight attendant holds an inflatable life vest during a safety presentation aboard a VietJet Air aircraft at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi. Photo: Bloomberg

HANOI

No, not the emergency door! New flyers causing chaos

GOVERNMENT spending on the military is unlikely to be transferred to more productive sectors such as health and education until the true quantity of spending is made clear to internal monitoring bodies and the voting public, according to a re-port by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

For many years, spending priori-ties were heavily distorted, resulting in very low levels of economic and human development, and until 2009 Myanmar was the only country in Southeast Asia where government spending on the military was con-sistently higher than spending on health and education combined, ac-cording to the ADB report published on June 30 titled Fiscal Manage-ment in Myanmar.

In the Framework for Economic and Social Reforms (FESR), the gov-ernment outlines its plans for health and education to account for an in-creasing proportion of government spending, while the share spent on the military will decline, said the report.

Over the last couple of years, the government has kept its promise to increase spending on health and education, with expenditure rising

from less than 3 percent on each sec-tor to 11.08pc on education and 6.3pc on health in fiscal year 2014. How-ever, military spending has also con-tinued to increase and accounted for 27pc of government spending for fis-cal year 2013, said the report.

The ADB calls for continued budget reform, including better management of revenues from nat-ural resources such as oil, gas and minerals, and increased transpar-ency at state economic enterprises (SEEs). However, the report makes it clear that the problems with budget comprehensiveness go beyond these issues.

There are a number of related concerns regarding Myanmars budget comprehensiveness, includ-ing nonstandard reporting of some revenues and expenditures, extra-budgetary government expenditure from separate accounts within the Myanmar Economic Bank, and po-tential accounts held outside the Myanmar Economic Bank, said the report.

Firstly, the budgets published in Myanmars official Gazette include a space for Other General Revenues. The sources of these revenues are not explained. Secondly, the World Banks Public Finance Manage-ment Performance Report identifies Other Accounts held by ministries and SEEs at branches of Myanmar Economic Bank, which represent extra-budgetary expenditure and are not fully reported, according to the ADB.

Many government and other public sector entities do not fully report their financial operations, and Other Accounts are widely used, with over 13,400 in total. The amount of key fiscal information made available to the public also remains lower than in most other countries, limiting the input citizens and other non-governmental actors can have on fiscal management is-sues, said the report.

In FY2011, total extra-budgetary expenditures were estimated at 24pc of total public expenditures, includ-ing SEE expenditures, and the reve-nues flowing into such accounts were estimated to be 44pc of total public sector revenue, including the revenue of SEEs, much of this from the extrac-tive sector, said the report, citing re-search by the World Bank.

Citing the same research from 2013, the ADB said that Myanmars Auditor General has surmised that there may indeed be accounts held outside of the Myanmar Economic Bank and that some revenues gener-ated from joint ventures, as well as from natural resources, could also be extra-budgetary.

Reform in these areas is needed to support the transformation of fu-ture increased revenue intake into better service delivery, which would lead to greater poverty reduction and growth, according to the ADB.

In particular, the revenue, capital, and debts of the Ministry of Defense are not disclosed in the same man-ner as those of other ministries. For

military spending to be shifted to more productive sectors, in line with the al-location levels of Myanmars neighbors, the actual quantity of spending must be made clear, it said.

Myanmar is one of Asias rich-est in terms of natural resources including oil, gas and a wide range of minerals. In fiscal year 2013, for example, Myanmar exported US$3.3 billion worth of natural gas, com-prising 37pc of total exports and at least $1 billion of jade, according to the report.

However, estimating the total size of the mining and gem trade is very difficult, with some suggesting that the official-to-unofficial trade ratio could be close to 1:9, it said.

The most striking feature of My-anmars extractive industry is not the

size but its potential. In the short-term, the soon to be commenced extraction from new gas fields will provide additional estimated export revenues of $1.65 billion per year, according to the Ministry of Energy, said the report.

A large proportion of government revenues is directly or indirectly re-lated to natural resources, including from entitlements, royalties, alloca-tions of shares and income taxes, ac-cording to the ADB.

Precise figures on the total value of such revenues have yet to be made publicly available, but it is known that the contribution of the two ma-jor gas projects [Yadana and Yeda-gun] to government revenues was about $3.6 billion in FY2010, and today is significantly larger.

By comparison, in fiscal year 2012, total tax revenues were about $3.5 billion and total revenues, in-cluding transfers from SEEs to the union government and other SEE re-ceipts, were about $11.1 billion.

According to the report, some of the revenues from oil and gas pro-jects are passed on to the union gov-ernment and some are retained by SEEs such as the Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise.

Whatever the exact numbers, there is no doubt that at this stage in Myanmars economic and social development, natural resources are a vital source of revenues to finance much-needed reforms and invest-ments in the social sectors and infra-structure, it said.

Opaque financing hinders budget reform

CLARE HAMMOND

[email protected]

In particular, the revenue, capital and debts of the Ministry of Defense are not disclosed in the same manner as those of other ministries.

ADB report

An Asian Development Bank report said Myanmar has kept its promise to increase health and education spending, but military expenditure continues to dominate. It called for more transparency on defences share as part of continued budget reform

International Business 11www.mmtimes.com

CHINAS 21 largest brokerage firms announced on July 4 they would in-vest more than US$19 billion in the countrys stock markets in order to curb its precipitous fall over the last three weeks.

The brokers will spend at least 120 billion yuan ($19.3 billion) on so-called blue chip exchange traded funds (ETFs), the Securities Associa-tion of China said in a statement after an emergency meeting in Beijing.

The group promised to act firm-ly to stabilise local markets, after a spate of official policy moves to stop the sell-off.

The Shanghai stock market has plummeted by almost 30 percent over the past three weeks. On July 3 the Shanghai Composite Index closed down 5.77pc to end at 3686.92 points.

Experts fear it could turn into a full-blown crash introducing even more uncertainty into global mar-kets as Europe teeters on the edge of a potential exit by Greece from the eurozone.

The $19 billion investment rep-resents 15pc of the brokerages com-bined net assets.

The firms said they would not sell the stocks they held on July 3 and would continue to buy more as long as the benchmark index remains below 4500 points.

The move follows an announce-ment by the market regulator on July 3 to limit initial public offerings (IPOs) in an attempt to curb plunging share prices.

IPOs in China disrupt the rest of the market as official restrictions mean almost all of them go up 44pc on their first day of dealings so in-vestors drain existing holdings to try to secure the near-guaranteed profits.

The volatility is not linked to the ongoing crisis in Europe. AFP

Chinese brokerages to boost market

BEIJING

A TASK force is investigating allega-tions that a probe into a Malaysian state-controlled investment fund found hundreds of millions of dollars were transferred to the prime ministers per-sonal bank accounts, the attorney gen-eral has said.

The allegations have set off a storm in Malaysia, with premier Najib Razak threatening to sue the Wall Street Jour-nal for publishing the report, while one of his deputies called on authorities to investigate the claims.

Attorney General Abdul Gani Patail said in a statement late on June 4 that a multi-agency task force was prob-ing the allegations linked to the flow of funds into the personal accounts of Prime Minister Najib Razak.

The WSJ has reported that nearly US$700 million moved through govern-ment agencies, banks and companies linked to the investment vehicle, 1Ma-laysia Development Bhd (1MDB), be-fore ending up in Mr Najibs accounts.

Mr Najib has dismissed the report

as political sabotage and 1MDB has denied any wrongdoing.

I have advised the special task force to follow up on the next course of action, Mr Abdul Gani said in the statement, which was issued in Malay.

The investigation will focus on every aspect raised. I am confident the multi-agency taskforce will enable the investigations to be carried out in a professional and in-depth manner, he added, without elaborating.

In its report, the WSJ cited docu-ments it said it had obtained, including bank transfer forms and flow charts prepared by government investigators.

The newspaper said the original source of the money was unclear, and noted that the government investiga-tion did not detail what happened to the funds that allegedly went into Mr Najibs accounts.

Mr Najibs office said in a statement that the claims were an effort to un-dermine confidence in our economy, tarnish the government, and remove a

democratically elected prime minister, and dismissed them as political sabo-tage. One of the prime ministers aides, meanwhile, said Mr Najib would take legal action against the US newspaper.

The report was most malicious and unsubstantiated, with weak and dubi-ous sources. We will take action accord-ing to the law, Muhammad Khairun Aseh, political secretary to Mr Najib, was quoted as saying by the Malay-language daily Sinar Harian on July 4.

1MDB has said it had not trans-ferred any funds to Mr Najib.

To suggest otherwise, as some media outlets have done, is highly ir-responsible and a deliberate attempt to undermine the company, it said in a statement. Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, the second-most-powerful member of Mr Najibs party, piled on the pressure in comments published yesterday calling on au-thorities to investigate the allegations

in the WSJ report.We want the truth. This is a very

serious allegation that can jeopardise his credibility and integrity as prime minister and leader of the govern-ment, Mr Muhyiddin said, according to the Sunday Star newspaper.

1MDB was launched in 2009 by Mr Najib, who still chairs its advisory board. Critics say it has been opaque in explaining its dealings.

AFP

The 1 Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) logo is seen on a billboard at the funds flagship Tun Razak Exchange under-development site in Kuala Lumpur on July 3. Photo: AFP

KUALA LUMPUR

Malaysia funds links with PM being looked at

12 International Business THE MYANMAR TIMES JULY 6, 2015

SINCE the start of tortuous nuclear negotiations with Iran, France has been seen as taking the toughest stand. Now as a deal nears, Paris must be ready to dash in and grab a slice of the long untapped market.

The first repercussions of any deal will be the opening of the Iranian mar-ket. Thats what all the Western coun-tries are waiting for, a top Western diplomat said recently.

They are jostling as if theyre at the start of a marathon, and are keep-ing a close eye on one another.

After years of biting sanctions, countries are on the starting blocks ready to resume business with Iran, said one French economist.

With a population of 77 million people, Iran has the worlds fourth-largest oil reserves and the second-largest gas reserves.

Any deal struck with global pow-ers aims to put Irans nuclear ambi-tions under strict international con-trol in return for a gradual lifting of sanctions.

Be careful dont be late. You have

to prepare yourselves. The market wont wait for you and your competi-tors are already there, said the Ira-nian ambassador to France, Ali Ahani, in 2013.

And it is not just the French. Russia and China are desperate to hold onto and increase their own slice of the pie, while American companies, long shut out of the Iranian market, are also keen to return.

France used to have a strong pres-ence in Iran before the sanctions went into effect, with Peugeot and Renault being major players in the Iranian auto industry and energy giant Total heavily involved in the oil sector.

But two-way trade has fallen from 4 billion euros (US$4.4 billion) in 2004 to just 500 million in 2013, ac-cording to French statistics.

Unfortunately we are heavily criti-cised by Iranian society, which sees us as having abandoned them during a difficult time, said Carlos Tavares, the chair of French automotive giant PSA Peugeot Citroen, recently.

Chinese manufacturers are already

at the door, the Americans too, he said, adding that to rebuild trust [of the Ira-nians] is difficult.

The French employers federation, MEDEF, is due to visit Iran in Septem-ber to try to kickstart ties.

Some 107 representatives from the body travelled to Iran early last year, triggering anger in the US which said it was still too early to do business with Tehran.

But the 2014 visit came hot on the heels of delegations from Italy, Germa-ny, Austria, Portugal and South Korea.

Despite strong cultural and his-toric ties, Frances image has suffered in Iran during almost two years of nuclear negotiations during which it has adopted a tough position, observ-ers say.

But Iranian Transport Minister Abbas Akhoundi said recently that no doubt economic leaders will be more realistic than politicians and they will be able to ensure their logic succeeds.

Paris, which has taken a leading role in the negotiations since the

Iranian nuclear program was first uncovered in the early 2000s, has publicly at least adopted a hawkish position.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius insists repeatedly that any nu-clear deal with Iran to curb its nuclear program must be robust. Were not tough, were coherent, he told the weekly Paris Match this week.

Adopting the mantle of being the

guarantor of any deal, France is also eyeing large contracts with Sunni-majority nations in the Gulf, which have long been wary of Shiite Irans regional ambitions and its role in Mid-dle East crises.

We havent made a choice of Sunnis over Shiites, Mr Fabius said. Iran is a great country, a great peo-ple and a great civilisation. Its not anti-Shiite to say we dont want nu-clear proliferation.

Thierry Coville, expert with IRIS, the Institute for Strategic and Inter-national Relations, questioned the French strategy, however.

We wanted to play the role of bad cop, but on the diplomatic front there has been a lot of unhappiness about that, he said.

Weve been seen as the staunch ally of Israel and Saudi Arabia.

In a sign of the tense relations, the reformist Iranian daily Shargh last week headlined Fabiuss arrival at the Vienna talks as The return of the French obstacle.

AFP

French firms hope to beat the Iran rushVIENNA

We [France] wanted to play the role of bad cop, but ... there has been a lot of unhappiness about that.

Thierry Coville International relations expert

IN the five months since he came to power vowing to deliver his country from years of biting austerity, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has kept Greece and Europe guessing.

For some he is a master strategist who has called the bluff of Greeces creditors by giving the people the fi-nal say on a painful debt deal.

To others he is a clueless novice, who has taken Greece into unchart-ed waters by hurriedly calling a vote that could send the country crashing out of the eurozone.

Whatever the result of late yester-days bailout referendum, the maver-ick politician, who has infuriated his EU counterparts with his obstinance and bemused them by refusing to wear a tie until a deal is done has taken a huge gamble.

Mr Tsipras denies playing fast and loose with Greeces future, say-ing a no vote would strengthen Athenss hand in negotiations with Europe and the IMF and that talk of a Grexit is nothing more than scaremongering.

As a teen Mr Tsipras was already at the barricades, fighting for stu-dents to decide whether to go to classes.

We want the right to judge for ourselves whether to skip class, he told a TV interviewer while leading a school sit-in at 17.

Twenty-three years later he is throwing out the rulebook again. But the Greek public, which cheered his combative approach with credi-tors at the start of his mandate, is of two minds about whether to stick with him.

And yet, despite his defiant pose and talk of ending twice bailed-out Greeces humiliation, the 40-year-old leader of the radical leftist Syriza party has made a slew of concessions in fraught talks with his eurozone counterparts.

He has agreed to continue to cut spending and implement structural reforms, leading former French president Nicolas Sarkozy to declare with satisfaction that Mr Tsipras had eaten his hat.

But on June 27, Mr Tsipras drew a line in the sand.

Rejecting the additional austerity measures attached to a five-month, 12 billion euro (US$13.4 billion) ex-tension of Greeces bailout program he took to the airwaves to announce a surprise referendum on the pack-age in a weeks time.

The people must decide free of any blackmail, he declared.

Olivier Delorme, a Franco-Greek historian, said Mr Tsipras has made endless concessions and each time he has been knocked back.

By saying dont be afraid and talking of dignity restored he is continuing a leitmotiv of resistance in Greek history, Mr Delorme said, comparing Syrizas approach with Greek rebellion under Ottoman rule.

His insistence he is not for turn-ing has made Mr Tsipras the stand-ard-bearer of radical leftist parties across Europe.

But the prime ministers abrupt decision to test his vision of democ-racy with the referendum sparked scenes of panic in Greece, where people immediately mobbed ATMs after June 27s broadcast to try to withdraw cash.

A day later, as expected, the gov-ernment introduced capital controls limiting bank withdrawals.

The chaos has caused some of Mr Tsiprass supporters to sour on him.

Two days before the referendum, opinion polls showed the yes camp swelling to match, or maybe even slightly overtake, no voter intentions. AFP

Maverick Alexis Tsipras keeps Europe guessing

ATHENS

The people must decide free of any blackmail.

Alexis Tsipras Greek prime minister

GREEKS were hoarding cash and food amid mounting fears the econ-omy could collapse, cracking open their wallets only to stock up on es-sentials and stripping supermarket shelves in the process.

Mothers, elderly men and univer-sity students were spotted pushing heavily overloaded trolleys or com-ing out of shops weighed down by bags of food, with essentials such as sugar, flour and pasta top of the list.

In the well-off area of Glyfada in Athens residents appeared to have panicked, thrusting everything from vast rolls of toilet paper to multiple packs of lentils into their carts.

Most people are buying food now because they fear the worst, said Andreas Koutras, a 51-year old who works in finance, referring to a referendum late yesterday on Greeces bailout which could seal its financial fate.

Rows upon rows of empty shelves in supermarkets and shoppers said they were taking no chances, snap-ping up canned milk, chocolate and rice anything non-perishable that could be stored.

Middle-aged toy shop assistant Marilena, who was praying for cus-tomers on what is usually the busi-est shopping day of the week, said her family was buying food, only food, nothing else. Only whats nec-essary.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has urged people to vote no, insisting that rejecting a bailout deal offered by the austerity-hit countrys inter-national creditors will put it in a stronger negotiating position.

His right-hand man, Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis, has promised banks will re-open after the vote but with so much uncer-tainty surrounding Greeces future, many doubt him.

Nikos Archondis from the Pan-hellenic Exporters Association (PEA) told AFP certain supermarkets are very concerned because they can-

not forecast how the situation will evolve.

Stocks of meat, cheeses, fruits and vegetables risk running low in the following weeks, he said.

Reports that medicines were also flying off the shelves were supported by pharmacist Yannis Triantaphilou.

Priorities were food and medi-cines and he had seen an increase of customers in the pharmacy.

Although the boost in business was welcome, Mr Triantaphilou said if the banks did not re-open tomor-row, I dont know how we are going to work, if companies will provide medicines.

With anti-bailout no voters tied neck and neck with the yes camp, fears a financial disaster may be brewing were compounded by frustration over the decision taken by many shops to refuse card payments.

With government-imposed capi-tal controls capping ATM withdraw-als at 60 euros (US$67) per day, the number of banknotes in circulation

has dropped dramatically, especially the smaller denominations.

Customers want to save their cash, but businesses are also desper-ate to get their hands on it.

We have learned to live with less money, says Marilena, because the last four to five years were very dif-ficult for most of people.

But we have needs. We adjust of course ... but we cannot go any fur-ther, she said.

Like many Greeks, taxi driver Theodor Veletzas said he believed there was more at stake than a new deal, and the situation risked getting worse.

The referendum, he insisted, would effectively decide whether his country stayed in the eurozone or not. And he feared what would hap-pen if the no camp won.

There are no banknotes in circu-lation. Shops are closed and people have no notes with which to buy food. I hope people will vote on Sun-day to stay in Europe. We dont want another adventure, he said.

AFP

Shoppers stand in an empty aisle in a supermarket in Athens on July 4. Photo: AFP

ATHENS

Panicked Greeks start to hoard essentials

International Business 13www.mmtimes.com

THE World Bank has removed a criti-cal portion from a recently released r

Monday, July 6, 2015 (MTE Daily Issue 79)

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