Monday, December 2, 2013

Democratic Voice of Burma

Democratic Voice of Burma

KDB Daewoo has high hopes for Rangoon skyline

Posted: 02 Dec 2013 04:04 AM PST

South Korean KDB Daewoo Securities has announced that it will invest nearly US$200 million in construction in Burma's former capital Rangoon, Korean daily Maeil Business News reported on Monday.

The project, which will include a 14-story luxury hotel and a serviced residential high-rise near Inya Lake, will be carried out by a consortium of Daewoo International, POSCO Engineering & Construction, and Korean luxury chain Lotte Hotels and Resorts, the report said.

The project is estimated to cost US$220 million, about 190 million will be financed by the brokerage, and it is expected to be complete by late 2016.

Maeil reported that the project was commissioned under a "Build-Operate-Transfer" agreement, which offers a 70-year land lease after which the property must be returned to the Burmese government.

Daewoo Securities has long been the largest stock brokerage and investment banking firm in South Korea, with 124 branches worldwide. In the early 2000s it became a subsidiary of KBD Financial group, which in turn was parented by the Korea Development Bank. The Daewoo Corporation was originally, in the 1970s, better known as an industrial conglomerate with interests in auto-making, shipbuilding and steelworks.

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As Burma's economy opens up after decades of isolation, South Korean companies have proven themselves to be serious contenders in many of the country's emerging industries; industrial zones in Rangoon and Kyaukphyu have both received Korean bids, and representatives of Hyundai Motor Co have said that they hope to open 14 new car dealerships in Burma by the end of next year.

View the original article here.

Govt rejection of quadripartite meeting ‘unacceptable’: NLD

Posted: 02 Dec 2013 02:47 AM PST

The National League for Democracy (NLD) issued a public statement on Monday, 2 December, reiterating calls for a quadripartite conference on constitutional reform, calling the government's refusal to meet "unacceptable" and accusing the government of intentionally and indefinitely putting off discussions.

"Postponing these discussions will not benefit the country's citizens and will only delay reform,” read the statement, which further claims that the government's unwillingness to meet with the opposition reveals reluctance for real reform.

Last week the NLD, Burma's leading opposition party, requested a conference between the president, the parliament, the military and NLD party leaders aimed at preparing for amendments to Burma's heavily criticised 2008 Constitution.

Presidential spokesman Ye Htut promptly responded that such discussions should be "all-inclusive" and should not give preference to the NLD. He also said that discussions should be held off until after a parliamentary Joint-Committee for Reviewing the Constitution has released its findings, expected by 31 December.

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While this announcement does not preclude the meeting altogether, it does postpone discussions until January 2014 at the earliest, which NLD representatives argue is an unnecessary delay.

Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Sunday called the government's refusal for quadripartite constitutional discussions "inconsistent" with reform, during an address to the Burmese community in Melbourne, Australia.

"I have a duty to point out inconsistencies within the government," Suu Kyi said.

In response to the government's position that the NLD should not be granted the special privilege of a quadripartite meeting, Suu Kyi said that, "We are generally accepted as the main opposition party. Democratic countries allow space and support for opposition parties. Our demand is not unreasonable. This is standard democratic procedure."

Suu Kyi related that in 1988 and 1989, just before being placed under house arrest, she made several requests to meet with Snr-Gen Saw Maung, and was similarly denied the opportunity for a meeting, suggesting that the government is still systematically preventing discourse.

NLD party members have been conducting polls in several parts of the country, including all major cities and some townships in ethnic states, to gauge public opinion on constitutional reform. NLD representatives claim that the vast majority of those surveyed would prefer amendment to a complete rewrite, and that opinion seems unanimous that Burma's highly controversial constitution must be changed.

While the survey has already been held in several townships across Burma, polling was said to be disrupted in Naypyidaw and several villages in Mon State.

The NLD was initially denied a permit to conduct polls in the capital city of Naypyidaw, after a similar event in Rangoon drew nearly 20,000 people who were overwhelmingly supportive of constitutional amendment.

Among the major criticisms of Burma's 2008 constitution is a provision that guarantees 25 percent of parliamentary seats to the military, and a severely prohibitive amendment process that requires 75 percent parliamentary approval for all changes.

Burma's current constitution also contains a clause that would prevent Suu Kyi from seeking the presidency in the upcoming 2015 elections, by virtue of having been married to a foreigner.

Activists convicted under Article 18 in Rangoon, Pegu

Posted: 01 Dec 2013 10:53 PM PST

At least six activists were convicted on Friday for violating Article 18 of Burma’s controversial Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Processions Law in Rangoon and Pegu Divisions.

Htin Kyaw of Kyauktada and Win Cho of Pegu were sentenced to nine months and six months, respectively. Sentences for at least five others in Pegu are as yet unconfirmed.

According to Thein Aung Myint, a fellow activist, Htin Kyaw was hit with charges for four separate offenses, three resulting in prosecution.

"The first verdict was for attempting to file a lawsuit against Poe La Pyae, the grandson of retired junta chief Snr-Gen Than Shwe. He was also charged for protesting the arrest of land rights activist Sein Than and demonstrating against the Latpadaung copper mine project," said Thein Aung Myint.

Htin Kyaw was previously incarcerated for participation in the fuel hike protests of 2007, but was released from prison in a January 2012 amnesty.

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Win Cho, who received a six-month sentence, has been in custody since his arrest in August for participation in "plough protests" in Pegu. Robert San Aung, Win Cho's lawyer, told DVB on Friday that he and five others were sentenced under section 505 [b] of Burma's penal code, which applies to those accused of "intent to cause fear or alarm to the public or to any section of the public whereby any person may be induced to commit an offence against the State or against public tranquility."

In addition to the six-month sentence, Win Cho and the others were also fined up to 20,000 kyat for violating Article 18, according to Robert San Aung.

​Burma's Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Processions Law is a highly contested piece of legislation that has recently been denounced by several international human rights groups, who claim that the law is being used to target activists that oppose major development projects.

President Thein Sein in July made a public commitment to release all political prisoners by the end of 2013, though rights groups claim that the legislation is simultaneously creating more prisoners of conscience.

On Friday. six workers from Tawwin Wood Finished Products Factory who staged a protest demanding salary increases and labour rights in October 2012 were convicted by Sanchaung township court in Rangoon and ordered to either pay fines or serve one month in prison with labour.

Also last week, two activists who staged a protest on International Peace Day calling for an end to the conflict in northern Burma were fined by a township court in Rangoon under the same charges: Article 18.

And a larger number of activists and farmers have been detained and charged over the past year under the same legal clause with regard to demonstrations around the controversial Latpadaung copper mine.

Rights groups and political prisoners organisations have slammed the government’s policy of using the Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Processions Law to arrest, detain and intimidate protestors across the country who have staged demonstrations to call attention to land grab abuses and the exploitation of natural resources.

 

 

 

ITD still plans to bid on Dawei projects

Posted: 01 Dec 2013 07:33 PM PST

The Burmese government’s decision to take back the Dawei deep-sea port concession from Italian-Thai Development Pcl (ITD) may raise the eyebrows of some investors looking at the country, but negative repercussions on investment are unlikely, say analysts.

Thailand and Burma late last month signed three memoranda of understanding (MoUs) on the Dawei project. One was to transfer the concession to Dawei SEZ Development Co (DSEZ), a new 50-50 special-purpose vehicle set up by the countries to run the project.

In November 2010, Thailand’s third-largest contractor by market value was granted a 75-year, US$8.6-billion concession from Burma’s government to develop a special economic zone (SEZ) and deep-sea port in Dawei.

ITD had hoped to find investors to join the project but did not succeed due to the enormous project size and required investment, prompting the two governments to intervene.

The second MoU signed at the Thailand-Myanmar Joint Coordinating Committee in Bangkok revoked the concession.

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The third one obliges new investors to reimburse ITD for the money it has invested in building roads and other facilities.

ITD can still bid for any of the three main development projects, something it plans to do.

“I believe this is a very positive development. Investors will have more confidence dealing with DSEZ and be more positive about investing in the Dawei SEZ with DSEZ as the regulator,” Albert Chandler of Chandler and Thong-ek Law Offices Ltd in Bangkok told the Bangkok Post.

His affiliate Myanmar Legal Services Ltd has offered legal advice in relation to local and international commercial transactions and aspects of doing business in the neighbouring country.

“I believe there will be more foreign investor interest as a result of the bilateral approach to the Dawei framework between Thailand and Myanmar. The SEZ law and rules will provide many of the positive features of the Foreign Investment Law 1988 and new such law 2012,” said Mr Chandler.

He said ITD is a major construction firm and will likely be engaged as a contractor by several projects in Dawei.

ITD president Premchai Kanasutra said the contractor is committed to bidding for all its projects. About 6 billion baht (US$200 million) has been invested in the project. Thai Government participation makes Dawei viable, he said.

John Fotiadis, senior member of Bangkok legal firm Atherton Co, said it seems ITD is negotiating agreeable terms with both governments.

“Given so, we do not believe this will have negative repercussions for foreign investors considering future investment,” he said. “From what we’ve observed, it seems there are unique circumstances in this case due to the size of the project, changes in government, changes in international sanctions and internal factors, and they are not necessarily due to Myanmar rules and regulations.”

Mr Chandler also said Burma has a good track record in dealing with oil and gas companies, with no reports of dispute settlement proceedings.

“The Myanmar government is on the right track in dealing with the telecom sector. I believe you will find similar positive features in the emerging Dawei SEZ. The project offers good prospects for Myanmar and foreign investors, with upsides for communities in terms of environmental, social, education and health factors,” he said.

But Worasete Phueksakon, executive director at Dharmniti Law Office Co, said some investors may be more cautious about investing in Burma after considering ITD’s experience with this project.

“We understand that part of the reason why the Myanmar government decided to take back the concession from ITD was that ITD failed to attract sufficient investors and there were difficulties relating to finding a suitable power source,” he said.

“We expect a number of bidders will be impacted by a range of factors including the details of the auction, cost of doing business in Myanmar, the stated time frames and specifications of the project.”

If the current regulatory framework in Burma makes the project expensive, difficult or overly complicated to comply with, it will be more difficult for bidders, and some will decide to opt out, he said.
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