News
Mongla: ‘the wildlife trafficking capital of the world’
Mongla lies on the border of the Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture in southwestern China and Shan State in northeastern Myanmar. Situated in the heart of the Golden Triangle, the city is known among other sad epithets as the wildlife trafficking capital of the world and for drugs, gambling, ...
Paddy farmers risk losses as prices fall
Paddy prices in the capital are falling on weak demand and the drop risks damaging the market, farmers and traders said. The market price for 100 baskets of stored manaw thukha paddy in Nay Pyi Taw was almost K850,000 in September, but has since fallen to ...
Kayah residents protest planned Pwunchaung dam
About 500 residents of Bawlakhe township, Kayah State, on October 11 protested plans to build a dam on Pwunchaung Stream, as water and soil examination continues. Transparency and environmental impact are the major concerns for the protestors, who already sent letters to the president and state ...
Thousands flee fighting near site of dam backed by Thailand
As many as 10,000 people in Kayin State in Myanmar have been displaced due to fighting over the Hat Gyi Dam construction site, as plans move forward to begin building on the Salween River. Activists have reported a human rights crisis in the area as more than 1,000 ...
US officially terminates sanctions order
After imposing economic sanctions on Myanmar for nearly two decades, the US formally abolished the blacklist on October 7. US President Barack Obama signed an executive order terminating the sanctions, following his pledge to do so made when State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi visited ...
Industrial sector says policy details are needed to ensure economic zones grow
Poor infrastructure, low-quality or unreliable electricity supply, water shortages, inadequate transportation links, and ongoing disagreements with local residents affected by zone development are among the most serious problems developing the country’s industrial sector, experts say. But perhaps the biggest problem, they say, is the lack ...
US gems association eyes trade ties as sanctions end
The American Gem Trade Association arrived in Myanmar for the first time this week to assess the gems sector and build trade relationships ahead of an anticipated end to the US sanctions regime, which would allow the legal import of Myanmar rubies and jade. The association’s ...
Low production and quality to blame for rubber sector’s export woes
Low productivity, high labour costs and sub-par quality are holding Myanmar back from becoming a serious rubber producer, experts say. The nation’s rubber plantations produce at less than half the international production rate, and a rise in volume must be matched by improvements in product ...
World Bank forecasts 7.8% growth in Myanmar this year
The World Bank has predicted strong economic growth in Myanmar through the 2016-17 fiscal year, ending in March. In its growth outlook for “developing East Asia and Pacific” for 2016-18, released on October 5, the World Bank projects growth in Myanmar to hit 7.8 percent for the ...
Hanthawaddy airport agreement in final stage
A final concession agreement will be signed by the end of this year with the Japanese-Singapore consortium which won a tender to construct the Hanthawaddy International Airport north of Yangon, according to a government minister. U Thant Sin Maung, Myanmar’s Minister for Transport and Communications, told lawmakers ...
