The Irrawaddy Magazine |
- Village Administrator Found Beheaded in Arakan State
- Protesters Demand Apology From Religious Affairs Minister, Release of Nationalists
- Chinese Navy Ships Visit Burma for Joint Exercises
- The Irrawaddy Business Roundup (May 20)
| Village Administrator Found Beheaded in Arakan State Posted: 20 May 2017 08:00 AM PDT RANGOON – An administrator for 100 households in Pazunchaung village was found beheaded in Arakan State's Rathedaung Township early Friday morning, said border police deputy major Naing Naing Htun. The victim's name was Noru Slin. "A group of men grabbed him from the house while the victim's family was sleeping and hacked at him right near the fence," Naing Naing Htun told The Irrawaddy. According to the deputy major, the head of ten local households, a man named Mawzi Raman, has also gone missing. Investigating the crimes, he said, remains challenging due to the remote location of Pazunchaung. Local media reported that Noru Slin and Mawzi Raman had assisted the authorities in pursuing militants involved in attacks on three police outposts in Maungdaw Township in October of last year, killing nine policemen. However, the deputy major said the crimes were not linked to any contact the two men might have had with authorities in the past. He added locals reported that both villagers and those from outside the community could have been involved in the murder.
The post Village Administrator Found Beheaded in Arakan State appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Protesters Demand Apology From Religious Affairs Minister, Release of Nationalists Posted: 20 May 2017 05:38 AM PDT DATELINE — Nationalists accusing the government of neglecting Buddhism and favoring Islam listed a set of demands—starting with an apology from the religious affairs minister—at a protest in Naypyidaw on Saturday. About 300 protesters, including nationalists and Buddhist monks from across Burma, along with roughly 2,700 of their supporters, gathered at Shwe Nantha football ground in Ottara Thiri Township to claim the Minister for Religious Affairs and Culture U Aung Ko is not doing enough for Buddhism. The organizers expected 30,000 to attend the rally but authorities gave permission for 300 participants. As the organizers ringed off the protest of 300 with ropes, police said they would not take action. U Tint Lwin, one of the organizers, and most others at the protest believe the religion minister must give more protection and encouragement to Buddhism. "If actions are taken against the religious affairs minister or if the minister shows remorse and apologizes to all the Buddhist monks in the country, we won't continue our activities. Otherwise we will continue to do what we should do," U Tint Lwin told The Irrawaddy. The nationalists listed other demands: they said the state Buddhist authority the State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee should lift its nationwide preaching ban on ultranationalist monk U Wirathu, imposed because of his religious hate speech, which began for one year from March. The protestors also demanded that a number of nationalists guilty or accused of crimes have the charges against them dropped, or be released from prison. These include Win Ko Ko Latt, Naung Daw Lay, Thet Myo Oo, and Nay Win Aung—hardline nationalists who were charged for a protest outside the US Embassy in Rangoon on April 28 last year against the American mission's use of the word "Rohingya." The four men rejected the term Rohingya—with which the Muslim minority self-identifies—and instead refer to the group as "Bengali," implying that they are migrants from neighboring Bangladesh. The protesters want the release of four nationalists who were involved in a violent confrontation with Muslims in Rangoon's Mingalar Taung Nyunt Township on May 9, when a nationalist mob stormed into the Muslim neighbourhood at midnight, claiming Muslim Rohingya were there "illegally," although police could find none. Three more nationalists, including two Buddhist monks, who were involved in the incident have been charged with incitement to commit violence, but are still at large. The protesters accused the religious affairs minister of ignoring activities they believe are taking place in mosques and Islamic schools, including teachers from India and Pakistan "secretly preaching" and the teaching of the "mujahideen spirit." A mob of 50 Buddhist nationalists shut down two madrasas in Rangoon's Thaketa Township last April. The group threatened journalists and reportedly attacked a videographer filming the incident. Nationalists in the country's capital on Friday said if the president's office did not respond to their demands within one month, they would stage more peaceful protests. They argued that successive regimes since the government of Prime Minister U Nu have done more to promote Buddhism than the National League for Democracy (NLD). Burma's former dictator Snr-Gen Than Shwe and president of the former quasi-civilian regime, U Thein Sein, built pagodas, they said. A supporter of the protesters was temporarily detained after allegedly swearing at Buddhist monks, leading to a scuffle during the protest. "He was being drunk and disorderly," said police officer Aung Than of Ottara Thiri Township, adding the man was from Rangoon. "We have detained him, and the nationalist leaders from Rangoon will take him back. We won't take action against him." More than 200 police provided security for the protest and more than 100 traffic police managed the traffic. Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko. The post Protesters Demand Apology From Religious Affairs Minister, Release of Nationalists appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Chinese Navy Ships Visit Burma for Joint Exercises Posted: 20 May 2017 12:00 AM PDT SHANGHAI, China — Chinese navy ships are visiting Burma and will conduct communications, search and rescue, and other joint exercises with the Burma Navy, China's defense ministry said on Saturday. The ships arrived in Rangoon on Thursday for a four-day visit, spokesman Wu Qian said in remarks posted on the ministry's website. Wu said China was willing to strengthen strategic communication and deepen cooperation with Burma, while making joint efforts to safeguard regional peace and stability and promote bilateral ties. The ship visit started the day China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations agreed to a framework for a long-mooted code of conduct for the disputed South China Sea. It comes after Chinese President Xi Jinping met Nobel laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi—who serves as Burma's foreign minister while also being de facto head of its civilian government—in Beijing earlier this week following China's Belt and Road Forum. China had a close relationship with Burma's former military-run government, and has carefully watched the democratization process in its strategically located southern neighbor. The post Chinese Navy Ships Visit Burma for Joint Exercises appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| The Irrawaddy Business Roundup (May 20) Posted: 19 May 2017 11:19 PM PDT Rangoon Food Delivery Firm Gets Boost Rangoon-based food delivery business Food2U has received a six-digit sum in seed capital from three individual local investors to aid its expansion plans. The investors are from the real estate sector and include U Nay Min Thu, founder of iMyanmarHouse.com, Dealstreet Asia reported. The company was founded by U Kyaw Myo Thet who holds the majority share in the business, followed by U Nay Min Thu and director Ma Yi Mon Han, according to the report. U Nay Min Thu told DealStreet that the investment values the company at US$1.5 million. The new financing would help the company to form exclusive partnerships with more restaurants and expand to new areas, including Mandalay, he said. The service focuses mainly on local consumers and has enrolled about 120 restaurants in Rangoon. It carries out about 5,000 deliveries a month. Annual revenue is expected to be about $700,000 this financial year, according to the report. Telenor Expands Stakes in Digital Ads Norwegian telecoms company Telenor is expanding its footprint in the regional digital advertising industry, including in Burma, with two separate deals reported. The global telecoms giant entered an agreement with international media company Schibsted to divest from a joint venture with the firm in Latin America and buy Schibsted's stakes in the Burma, Malaysia and Vietnam markets, according to VietnamNet. In the second deal, Telenor inked a $110 million agreement with Singapore Press Holdings to buy shares in advertising online sites in Burma, Malaysia and Vietnam, according to the Vietnam News. When all the deals are finalized, Telenor will hold a 100 percent stake in e-commerce site OneKyat in Burma, Mudah in Malaysia, ChợTốt in Vietnam and ImSold in Malaysia and Vietnam, according to Vietnam Net. ChợTốt is one of the leading digital ad markets in Vietnam, the Vietnam News said. It was launched in 2012 and Telenor representatives have been on the board of the company's holding vehicle, 701Search, since the following year. ImSold, the second company now wholly owned by Telenor, had the same ownership structure but is targeted at different customers. Telenor is one of the world's largest telecom groups with revenue of $15.3 billion in 2016 and is owned mainly by the Norwegian government. Last year it announced a plan to set up a separate unit to tap into Asia's mobile advertising market. Phandeeyar Gets New CEO The Rangoon-based tech hub Phandeeyar has appointed a new chief executive officer (CEO). Jes Kaliebe Petersen is the tech-hub's current accelerator director and will take up the new position in July, replacing founder and current CEO David Madden who will focus on long-term strategy as president and chair of Phandeeyar's board. Madden said, "Jes has already shown the big impact that he can have on the tech ecosystem, running Myanmar's first-ever startup Accelerator, launching Founder Institute Yangon and organizing the country's biggest startup competition." Petersen has more than a decade of experience as an entrepreneur working with mobile technology in emerging markets. Before moving to Burma, he founded Paywast, Afghanistan's largest social network, and he founded a mobile marketing and tech company in India, according to Phandeeyar. Thilawa to Offer Space for Small Operations Small rental factory spaces are to be made available at the Thilawa Special Economic Zone, in a bid to attract small and medium size enterprises to the location. The Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI) and the Osaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OCCI) have signed a memorandum of understanding to establish the spaces in the 2,400-hectare zone, the Japan Times reported. The OCCI is comprised of businesses around Osaka in Japan and the move will add "diversity to the tenant base," according to Myanmar Japan Thilawa Development. The rental spaces will be 500 to 750 square meters in size. More than 95 percent of Thilawa's Zone A is occupied, the report said. A total of 78 companies, including 39 from Japan, have committed to operating at the site. Their combined total investment amounts to more than $1 billion. Of the total, 24 companies have already begun operations. Zone B of the zone is slated for completion by the middle of next year. New Holland Agriculture to Deliver 600 Tractors Burma is due to receive 600 tractors to help boost crop production and modernize agricultural production. The equipment will be delivered by leading international agriculture equipment firm New Holland Agriculture, under a project of the agriculture ministry, a trade journal reported. The 75-horsepower and 90-horsepower tractors will come from New Holland's manufacturing plants in India and Turkey. New Holland worked on the deal with its Rangoon-based subsidiary CPCL, a wholly owned subsidiary of Yoma Strategic Holdings. The firm will also provide trainings in the use and maintenance of the tractors. Yoma Bank is offering farmers a financing option for the tractors based on a 10 percent down payment with the balance payable at six monthly intervals over three years. U Soe Hlaing, director general of the agriculture ministry, said, "The delivery of 600 tractors will take us another step forward in Myanmar's wide-reaching agricultural modernization program. This project will play an essential part in improving our country's crop quality, crop yields, and food security." The agriculture sector contributes 38 per cent of Burma's gross domestic product, accounting for 25 to 30 per cent of total export earnings, according to the report. MoU signed with China for Northern Economic Zone The zone is likely to link Houqiao port in Tengchong county, Yunnan Province, and Kan Pike Tee port in Kachin State, Zhou Rong, a senior research fellow at the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University of China, told the Global Times. Zhao Jianglin, an expert on Southeast Asia affairs at the National Institute of International Strategy under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the paper that the project would increase border trade and provide job opportunities. It would encourage Chinese companies to invest in the fruit industry, including banana production, in the region, Zhao said. The zone may strive to develop the manufacturing industry, especially labor-intensive industries such as textiles, electronics and component manufacturing, Zhao added. Titan Petrochemicals Entering Burma Hong Kong Stock Exchange-listed ship builders and commodity traders Titan Petrochemicals will form a joint venture with the Yunnan Investment Group (YIG) to promote an oil refinery project in Burma and develop other businesses in tourism, energy, rail and finance, according to a company statement. Titan Petrochemicals is seeking to diversify its portfolio into downstream aspects of the oil business. Its subsidiary Surplus Plus will take 49 percent of the joint venture in Burma while YIG will hold 51 percent. YIG is the investment vehicle and financing platform of the Yunnan Provincial Government. It is involved in diverse industries including energy, railways, finance, information, tourism, agriculture, forestry and health care. The Titan Petrochemicals statement did not identify the location of the refinery.
The post The Irrawaddy Business Roundup (May 20) appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
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