The Irrawaddy Magazine |
- Amid Bribery Rumors, CNN Links Up With SkyNet
- Dateline Irrawaddy: ‘The Government Still Discriminates Against Private Media’
- The Irrawaddy Business Roundup (May 7, 2016)
| Amid Bribery Rumors, CNN Links Up With SkyNet Posted: 07 May 2016 05:37 AM PDT  Officials from CNN and SkyNet toast their new partnership in Rangoon on Friday. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — US cable television giant CNN teamed up Friday with the crony-owned telecommunications company SkyNet, less than a month after the Burmese firm was implicated in a government bribery scandal. SkyNet is part of Shwe Than Lwin Media Co. and is chaired by Kyaw Win, who is believed to have close ties with Burma's previous quasi-civilian government and the military regime that preceded it. The exclusive partnership involves a news affiliate and consultation agreement between the local TV provider and CNN International of Turner Broadcasting System Asia Pacific. As part of the agreement, CNN will help SkyNet launch a 24-hour Burmese-language news network called Channel One, according to an official statement released by SkyNet at the signing ceremony. CNN will provide consulting, capacity building for the employees and training for news production and technical operations, the statement said. Myint Myint Win, president of Shwe Than Lwin Media, said the partnership marked a "milestone" for SkyNet. "By collaborating with CNN, a first-class product encompassing the best of local and international news will be delivered to the Myanmar people through Channel One," she said. Chairman Kyaw Win of Shwe Than Lwin said, "There is absolutely no better [news outlet] to learn from." Greg Beitchman, vice president of CNN International's commercial content sales and partnerships, said CNN is "confident" in SkyNet's ability to achieve the same journalism standards as CNN and will ensure the new TV channel offers the highest quality news content in Burma. "Developing a channel will help the country tremendously," he said. "We think that sharing our standards of journalism and values here in Myanmar will contribute to a model of a political debate which will benefit the country's politics and also the country's economics." Ko Ko, chief executive officer of Shwe Than Lwin Media, told The Irrawaddy that the new TV channel was not a business investment but would be "powered" by CNN in order to meet the US media conglomerate's standards of journalism. He was unable to confirm the launch date of Channel One. "It will only be launched when CNN thinks it's ready," he said. "We have to start everything from scratch. We don't know when all the training will finish." Although the statement mentioned that the agreement between CNN and SkyNet was a multi-year deal, Ko Ko said that it would be renewed annually. SkyNet, a private TV operator, was implicated in a scandal involving a bribe of 5 million kyats (US$4,250) to the personal assistant of an unnamed official in the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) government during Burma's New Year's Water Festival. Although a statement released by the President's Office last month didn't explicitly name the company involved, it reported that the alleged offender was "a media company that took part in the annual New Year in Naypyidaw by staging a pavilion." SkyNet was the sole media company to host a pavilion in Naypyidaw during the 2016 New Year celebrations. While the amount of the bribe was relatively small, the case has been viewed as one of symbolic value, with the NLD government pledging to crack down on rampant corruption in Burma. The money, after the bribe was revealed, was put toward public works projects. The post Amid Bribery Rumors, CNN Links Up With SkyNet appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Dateline Irrawaddy: ‘The Government Still Discriminates Against Private Media’ Posted: 06 May 2016 09:02 PM PDT  Journalists Mon Mon Myat and Thiha of 7Day Journal and Daily newspaper join The Irrawaddy's Thalun Zaung Htet to discuss media freedom. Thalun Zaung Htet: Welcome to Dateline Irrawaddy! This week, we'll discuss the landscape of press freedom in Myanmar for this year. Journalist Daw Mon Mon Myat and editor Ko Thiha of 7Day Journal and Daily newspaper will join me for the discussion. I'm Irrawaddy Burmese editor Thalun Zaung Htet. May 3 marks World Press Freedom Day, designated by Unesco. This year marks the 23rd World Press Freedom Day, first celebrated in 1993. Myanmar media outlets also celebrated the day this year. I've invited you to discuss the media landscape of Myanmar in 2016. Our country is now in transition. The government elected by the people has come to power. Ko Thiha, what is your view of current press freedom? Thiha: The government elected by the people assumed office on April 1. People have certain expectations of the government. Likewise, we journalists also have expectations—how freely will we be able to conduct reporting? I would like to define press freedom in two aspects—the right to report freely and the right to gather news freely. As to freedom of reporting, social media, print media and broadcast media can write, publish and broadcast freely if they have credible information and can take responsibility. As to access to information, private media have not enjoyed as much as state-owned media over the past five years under the U Thein Sein government. And one month and three days into the new government, the situation suggests that private media still do not enjoy it on equal terms. TZH: The slogan of this year's World Press Freedom Day is 'access to information and fundamental freedoms: This is your right.' Myanmar is among countries that still do not have freedom of information. Myanmar is ranked 143 in 180 countries in the Reporters Sans Frontieres [RSF] press freedom index. So, how much freedom are Myanmar journalists enjoying regarding access to information? Mon Mon Myat: If we refer to that ranking, it can be said that Myanmar journalists enjoy somewhat more freedom than their peers in Singapore and Malaysia. Private media, however, is not yet treated equally with state-owned media regarding access to information. Although the new government acknowledges the important role played by the media, its will is in question. Will it provide facilities to ensure greater access to information—for example, how will it support the establishment of a good media center at the Parliament? Many reporters visit the [national] Parliament but, despite the fact the Parliament is a magnificently sized building, reporters are given a very narrow space. And several restrictions on access to information still exist from the time of the previous government. We have to ask the new government whether these restrictions will continue. Although the government holds press conferences, state-owned media enjoy greater access, while it seems private media are only allowed to take group photos. These are the big challenges the new government has to overcome. The government still practices discrimination against private media. There are instances in which the government has denied private media journalists access on very important occasions, for this and that excuse, including that they are 'not on the list.' But then, when [former Lower House speaker and USDP chairman] U Shwe Mann was to hold a press conference, we were phoned and asked if we would attend. They use journalists only when they want to spread news and neglect them when they don't need them. This was the practice of the previous government and it still continues. These are genuine, big challenges for the new government. TZH: Government media does not exist in democratic countries, where governments only have information bodies that release official information. There may be government-run media in some democracies, but they are used for different purposes. In Myanmar, government-run media includes state broadcaster [MRTV] and newspapers Myanma Alin and Kyemon. The government-run media [enjoy advantages that] seem to limit the growth of private media. Ko Thiha, you will know better as you are an editor with 7Day Journal and 7Day Daily. Dr. Pe Myint is the journalist-turned-information minister. One month into his tenure, he has tried to correct the flaws regarding state-run newspapers, which are now much like private dailies in terms of content. But on the other hand, state-run newspapers are commercially competing with private dailies and I heard that this has had some impact on private media. How much have private media been affected? TH: We have suffered little impact so far. But the controversy is that, as Ko Thalun and many other journalists have said, in democracies, private media are favored and there is no state-run media. A veteran journalist told me that it is because governments use various [other] channels if they want to release information, such as posting on their official websites, holding press conferences and issuing press releases. Governments have media officers and spokespersons through which they release information to all private media on equal terms. In this way, the private media obtain information and report. So, in mature democracies, there is no government media. But government media still exists in our country. Former Information Minister U Ye Htut said that government media should continue to exist to inform the public of the government's policies, and issue draft laws, which private media are not interested in reporting on. U Pe Myint in his interview with Frontier magazine argued that government media should continue to exist so as to report the actions of the government to the public. I don't know whether this is a new view of his [U Pe Myint], since he became a government official, or whether it has been his opinion since he served on the Press Council. Only he knows. Although the transformation of government media has so far had little impact on private media, we are a little concerned that private media may face challenges, with the impact becoming noticeable later. A journalist once told me that there are no government-run newspapers in democracies because governments do not want to intervene in free and independent newspaper markets. Government newspapers have substantial infrastructure and very good logistics, including Kyemon and Myanma Alin. They have branches almost everywhere. If they were to really transform themselves into public service media, it is very likely that we [the private media] would lag far behind. So, government newspapers are normally not published in democracies, and there is free competition between private media outlets. TZH: Some journalists say that, if they are really to launch public service media, the government should not compete with private media. They said government newspapers should not accept advertisements, because the government runs newspapers with state funds and they never make a loss. For example, although Kyemon and Myanma Alin can sell their copies at a unit price of 50 kyats [US$0.05], private dailies have to sell at around 200 kyats. If the reporting in government-run newspapers is good, as it is now, people will choose the government-run newspapers. Some private media outlets have to sustain themselves with advertising revenues. So, some journalists argue that the government-run newspapers should not be commercial. Again, talking of an independent media, most of the broadcast and print media in Myanmar are owned by cronies who are somehow associated with the previous governments. How independent do you think the media will be in our country? MMM: The government has been in power for just over 30 days and it is too early to measure how independent the media is under it. The independence of the media in a country is directly related to the press freedom of that country. It is important for a media outlet to be free and independent. Private media that are meant for commercial interests can't be called independent media. For the media to develop and to become independent in a country, it is important that the media can stand on its own. But I don't mean they should not have commercial interests. They will be able to sustain themselves over the long-term only when they can strike a balance between public and commercial interests. The new government has to take these things into consideration. It has to consider how it will monitor the private media and how it will grant them freedom. There must be clear laws in place regarding control of private media where strong commercial interests pertain. We have not yet seen any sign that the 100-day plan of the new government focuses on any such thing. We have to wait and see what will happen. As all the ministries are carrying out 100-day plans, we have to see within 100 days what the new government is capable of. How independent the media will be and how big a role it can play largely depends on the government's 100-day initiative. We have to wait and see. TZH: Given the current situation and the fact that we do not yet know the policies of the new government, do you think press freedom in our country will improve in the next five years up to 2020? TH: I hope it will improve, because the government is elected and supported by the people. And people call it a civilian and democratic government. Since it is a democratic, elected government, people want to know what it is doing, which direction it is going in. The government will need media to inform the people. So, hopefully they will pave the way for wider access to information and freedom in reporting. I am optimistic that there will be greater press freedom in the next five years. MMM: There are organizations that are prepared to fight democracy with democracy. If we can endure the challenges to democracy and move forward, I believe we will be able to establish a better democracy by 2020. TZH: Do you expect greater press freedom? MMM: There are two aspects to it, press freedom and freedom of expression. The government has to handle lots of challenges to keep them in balance. The challenge is huge. I want to be optimistic, but we have yet to wait and see how the government will overcome these challenges. TZH: Ko Thiha, Ma Mon Myat, thank you. The post Dateline Irrawaddy: 'The Government Still Discriminates Against Private Media' appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| The Irrawaddy Business Roundup (May 7, 2016) Posted: 06 May 2016 06:53 PM PDT  A BreadTalk sign at a restaurant in Singapore on Dec. 8, 2015. (Photo: Reuters) China-Led Investment Bank to Begin Looking for Projects in Burma The head of the new Chinese government-led bank promising to kick start infrastructure investment in Asia plans to visit Burma in search of projects by the end of the year. Jin Liqun, the inaugural president of the newly formed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) was in Frankfurt this week to sign an agreement with the region's existing multilateral lending institution, the Asian Development Bank. The two banks are set to jointly finance a highway in Pakistan, confirming the AIIB's previous assertion that it is open to co-funding projects with other institutions, also including the World Bank. Burma was one of the first countries to sign up to membership of the AIIB and is located in the line of sight for both China's "Maritime Silk Road" and its "Silk Road Economic Belt"—two major policy plans touted by President Xi Jinping that are known together as the "Belt and Road Initiative." Those factors, plus the country's infrastructure deficit—some US$60 billion worth of upgrades is needed by 2030, the ADB reckons—make it an obvious target for the new bank's funds. Questioned in Frankfurt by the Myanmar Times newspaper about the AIIB's plans for Burma, Jin responded by saying the bank was focusing on looking for "ready and bankable" projects across its member states. He also said, however, that the bank had a "duty to help finance infrastructure in Myanmar" since it is a member country. The newspaper said Jin was planning to visit Burma before the end of 2016, but was unspecific about what the bank might fund, beyond saying that transport and power projects were most likely. "Even in low-income countries [like Burma] I believe we can have profitable, productive infrastructure projects," Jin was quoted saying. The AIIB—in which China holds a 26 percent stake, giving it a veto—has reportedly been infused with $50 billion. But investment is set to ramp up slowly: Jin recently told the Financial Times that it would invest only between $1.5 and $2 billion this year, rising to around $10 billion a year by 2018. (The Asia-wide infrastructure funding deficit is said to be as high as $8 trillion.) In the past there have been concerns over the environmental and social impacts of Chinese investment in Burma, as in other developing countries. But the AIIB hopes to shake off that image, burnishing its credentials by bringing on board nations like the United Kingdom, Germany and Australia. According to its website, "Its modus operandi will be lean, clean and green: lean, with a small efficient management team and highly skilled staff; clean, an ethical organization with zero tolerance for corruption; and green, an institution built on respect for the environment." Singapore's BreadTalk Ties Up With Tycoon Bakery chain BreadTalk has signed a franchise agreement with a company owned by Burmese tycoon Aik Htun. Singapore-listed BreadTalk Group Limited told investors Tuesday that a company named Myanmar Bakery Co., Ltd. would hold the master franchise enabling it to open BreadTalk outlets in Burma. The brand is known across Asia and the Middle East for its buns topped with pork floss. It has almost 800 bakeries in countries including mainland China, Hong Kong and Thailand. The company's announcement quoted Tan Aik Peng, CEO of BreadTalk's bakery division, pointing to Burma's growing middle class as the target market for the chain. The choice of local partner means the bakeries could potentially be opened in the five existing Junction shopping malls owned by Shwe Taung Group, which is the parent company of Myanmar Bakery Co., according to the announcement. It said the first bakery should be open by early 2017 in one of the malls. "The Singapore team is working closely with the Shwe Taung Group to understand the Myanmar market and we promise an exciting line up with BreadTalk's first boutique bakery in Yangon," Tan Aik Peng was quoted saying. Shwe Taung Group, formerly known as Olympic Construction, was founded in 1990, when Burma's ruling junta opened up parts of the previously socialist economy. It was mired in scandal after its bank, Asia Wealth Bank, was sanctioned by the US Treasury for suspected money laundering and links to Burma's heroin trade. The group now operates a network of gas stations under the brand ST Oil, has construction materials and cement divisions, and recently signed a licensing deal with US software giant Microsoft. Most visibly, Shwe Taung is currently building the Junction City development in the heart of downtown Rangoon, located opposite the historical Holy Trinity Cathedral and close to the city's Bogyoke Aung San Market. BreadTalk's announcement says the development will include, as well as a shopping center, a "Grade-A office tower and a 5-star luxury hotel in Phase 1 that is scheduled to open in the first quarter of 2017." Analysts See Opportunities in Agriculture Analysts at BMI Research believe that Burma's output of meat, milk and rice are all set to accelerate. An industry trend analysis from the firm late last month looked at the prospects for agribusiness in the Mekong region, which also includes China's Yunnan province, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, concluding that the outlook was "bright" for the countries. "The region will record some of the most robust GDP growth rates globally in the coming years," it said. "Increased cooperation and economic and financial integration within the region, as well as the ongoing opening of Myanmar, will also boost trade regionally and globally." In Burma specifically, it said reforms to liberalize the economy "coupled with a good resource endowment, strategic location and encouraging foreign investment regulation—will drive the acceleration of production," naming meat, milk and rice as products to watch. "Interestingly, Myanmar already has the largest milk output of the region, suggesting adequate investment in the upstream and downstream dairy sector in the coming years would help the country join Vietnam as one of Asia's key dairy providers in the medium term," it said, adding that China would increasingly be the major market for agricultural exports in the region. Burma was at one time the world's largest exporter of rice, but agricultural productivity suffered under government policies during the country's socialist era. Rice output has bounced back in recent years, but remains lower than regional competitors. BMI Research tempered its forecast with a warning over the risks of climate change and a region-wide boom in the construction of hydropower dams that could change river flows, ecosystems and irrigation, impacting agriculture. "Climate change is posing a more insidious and longer-term risk to the future prospects of agriculture in the Mekong region, as it will alter several key variables for crops production," it said, highlighting the temperature rise that is likely to take place in Burma's southern coastal and northern regions. Airline's Rangoon Route Hits a Snag Thai-Indonesian joint venture Thai Lion Air, a low-cost carrier flying out of Bangkok's Don Mueang Airport, has reportedly been censured by Thai aviation authorities for selling tickets for its planned Rangoon flight without obtaining permission. Thai Lion Air's plan to fly between Bangkok and Rangoon was reported in March, when an aviation consultancy flagged that the carrier would face fierce competition on an already crowded route. According to the Bangkok Post, the airline on April 25 began selling tickets in a promotion for flights starting from May 20. However, the newspaper reported, the company jumped the gun, with Burma's Civil Aviation Authority not signing off on the new route. The report said passengers were even sold the tickets, and later told that the flight had been canceled due to "an IT system failure in Myanmar." The airline is reportedly now offering refunds for promotion flights, and Thai Lion Air's website now has no mention of Rangoon as a destination. Local Payment Union in Talks With MasterCard: Report The Myanmar Payment Union (MPU) is discussing an agreement with MasterCard that would connect Burma's bank card holders to the US-based company's network, Deal Street Asia reports. Quoting MPU Chairman Mya Than, the website said an agreement would primarily mean those holding MasterCards could use MPU-recognized ATMs and payment sites. The payment network also reportedly signed a memorandum of understanding with South Korea's KEB Hana Card, the report said. MasterCard has already made agreements with several individual Burmese banks, and issued the country's first prepaid card with CB Bank in 2013. State media recently reported that about 1.8 million people in Burma currently hold MPU payment cards, which are issued by the 23 local banks that are members of the union. The post The Irrawaddy Business Roundup (May 7, 2016) appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
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