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| This Week in Parliament (August 15-19) Posted: 19 Aug 2016 07:14 PM PDT  Lower House Speaker Win Myint seen pacing through Parliament on Feb. 4 this year. (Photo: The Irrawaddy) Monday August 15 In the Lower House, lawmaker Than Soe, representing Thazi Township of Mandalay Division for the Union Solidarity and Development Party, put forward a proposal for the government to pressure the US to lift its remaining sanctions against Burma. Lawmakers rejected further discussion of the proposal, by 219 votes to 151. In the Upper House, Htoot May of Arakan State Constituency-11 criticized a lack of transparency in the Kyaukphyu Special Economic Zone (SEZ) Management Committee and asked if the government has a plan to form a new management committee. Deputy Minister for National Planning and Finance Maung Maung Win countered that the work of the committee, including selecting tenders and implementing projects, had been done in line with "international norms." He said the ministry has also established a website (www.kpsez.org) containing relevant information. The Ministry of Commerce has been tasked with reconstituting SEZ management committees formed by the previous government; work on SEZs will be halted till then. The government will permit local and foreign investment towards the establishment of private forests within state-owned forest reserves and protected forest areas, according to the Minister for Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation Ohn Win. Tuesday August 16 In the Lower House, Khin Cho, representing Hlaingbwe Township in Karen State, enquired about the total debt owed by Burma to foreign countries. The Deputy Minister for National Planning and Finance Maung Maung Win said it amounted to US$9.16 billion as of the end of last fiscal year on March 31. Lawmakers debated a proposal by Khin Hint Thit of Pandaung Township in Pegu Division that urged the government to take a tough stance on crime, for the country's "stability." In the Upper House, lawmakers debated a draft amendment to the civil service law. The Bill Committee decided to review the law, in accordance with the points raised in the debate. In the Union Parliament, lawmakers voted to accept a US$100 million loan from the World Bank, to be used as part of the "Myanmar Monetary Sector Development Plan," under which $75 million would be allotted to the National Planning and Finance Ministry and $25 million to the Central Bank. The Union Parliament also approved the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with the Asean-India Center. Wednesday August 17 In the Lower House, lawmakers continued to debate Khin Hint Thit's proposal that the government should be tougher on crime. The parliament put the proposal on record. In the Upper House, in response to questions from lawmakers, Education Minister Myo Thein Gyi said that if not enough graduates were to apply for teaching positions at schools in remote areas, the education ministry would appoint as "temporary teachers," those aged between 18 and 25 who have passed the basic education middle school level. Tun Tun of Mandalay Division Constituency-2 asked whether the government is taking steps to curb increased levels of smuggling through border areas since the dismantling of multi-departmental mobile taskforces in December, after they were repeatedly ambushed by smugglers. Commerce Minister Than Myint assured lawmakers that plans—including for new checkpoints along known smuggling routes—were being drawn up with other ministries. Thursday August 18 In the Lower House, lawmakers continued to debate the proposal from Tin Htwe of Pegu Division's Waw Township that urged the government to prioritize the modernization of farming methods as a means of reducing poverty. The parliament approved the proposal. Friday August 19 In the Union Parliament, lawmakers debated the medium-term debt settlement strategy proposed by the President. The deputy minister for planning and finance responded to discussions and the parliament approved the strategy. Lawmakers also discussed amendments to the Union budget for the 2016-17 fiscal year, and amendments to the government's expenses law. The post This Week in Parliament (August 15-19) appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| The Irrawaddy Business Roundup (August 20) Posted: 19 Aug 2016 07:09 PM PDT  Bangkok is about to become more accessible for residents of northern Burma, as multiple new flights a week are set to link Mandalay and the Thai capital, starting from late August. (Photo: Reuters) New debit and credit cards launched A new debit and credit card service was launched in Burma this week when Burma's AYA Bank and the Myanmar Payment Union Public Co. (MPU) signed a deal with JCB International Co. (JCBI), the international operations subsidiary of Japan-based credit-card company JCB Co. Burma is the fourth country in the Mekong region in which JCB cards have been made available, after Thailand, Vietnam and Laos, according to an announcement by AYA Bank. The cards, combining the MPU and JCB brands, come in four kinds: the Universal Platinum credit card, Universal Gold credit card, Universal Silver credit card, and Universal debit card, according to the statement. Cardholders can use MPU's nationwide merchant network and enjoy privileges at JCB's international merchant network which has more than 31 million locations globally, the announcement said. There are also special privileges at hotels and airport lounges for platinum cardholders. "Myanmar is an important market for JCBI. With its growing economy and population, the country has great potential for growth in the card payment market," said Kimihisa Imada, deputy president of JCB International. Boost in air links between Mandalay and Bangkok Myanmar National Airlines will begin thrice-weekly flights on the Rangoon-Mandalay-Bangkok route staring from August 31, the travel website TTR Asia reported this week. The service is scheduled for Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Captain Than Tun, managing director of MNA, said in local media that the service aims "to tap demand from passengers in the country's second largest city [Mandalay]." The service will start just a day before rival airline Myanmar Airways International launches a direct Mandalay to Bangkok service on Sept. 1, with three flights a week on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, using an Airbus A319. Government gives suspension orders to two jade mining companies Two companies found to be illegally mining for jade on state forest land have been ordered to suspend production, a spokesperson for the Sagaing Division government said on Wednesday. Radio Free Asia reported that the Lin Htet Zaw and Jade Gold companies were illegally mining on land under the control of the Forestry Department in Indaw Township of Katha District. Under the former government, the Ministry of Mines had given the companies operating permits, but the firms had not obtained permission from the township's Forestry Department, said Than Htay, spokesman for the Sagaing Chief Minister Myint Naing. An inspection had shown that "the companies didn't follow rules and regulations […] they were working on more acres than they were permitted to work on, and didn't follow the rules for disposing of mining waste," the spokesman told RFA. The Forestry Department sued the companies in Indaw Township court in May. They were each fined 5,000 kyats (US$4) for conducting illegal operations, according to a Forestry Department officer who declined to be named. The Irrawaddy reported in July that the new government would not renew existing jade mining licenses until environmental impact assessments have been completed. Hundreds of licenses expired at the end of July. Many hundreds more will expire in 2018. About 10 mining companies that have been operating in Indaw Township since 1990 have stopped production, pending the receipt of new licenses. Suu Kyi inks deals with China Burma and China signed deals to build two hospitals, as well as a bridge near the border of the two countries, during a visit by State Counselor and Foreign Minister Aung San Suu Kyi to Beijing this week. The two hospitals will be built in Burma's largest cities, Rangoon and Mandalay, Aye Aye Soe, deputy director-general at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told Reuters. The bridge aims to improve transport and communication between the countries and will be built in the town of Kunlong, 32 kilometers (20 miles) from the Chinese border, in Burma's northern Shan State. No further details on these proposed projects, including how they will be financed and when they are planned for, were available at the time of going to press. Tin output in Burma forecast to drop Tin ore production in Burma may decline next year, according to the International Tin Research Institute. Output could fall by as much as 5,000 tons in 2017, from 30,000 metric tons of contained metal mined in 2015, due to depletion of resources and a drop in grades, Bloomberg quoted an Institute representative as saying. "Myanmar's tin ore industry faces a development bottleneck," Cui Lin, the institute's China representative told Bloomberg. "Their production costs are also rising as they move to underground from open-pit mining. That involves a lot of fixed-asset investment." The Tin Institute based its estimates on Burma's exports to China, which account for most of its shipments of the product. Burma is one of the world's largest tin exporters, with much of it coming from areas of northern Shan State controlled by the United Wa State Army, Burma's most powerful non-state armed group, backed by China. The post The Irrawaddy Business Roundup (August 20) appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
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