News
Nine killed in Kachin jade mine landslide
A landslide in northern Myanmar’s jade mining region has killed 9 people, a local official said on February 11, the latest fatal incident to strike the shadowy billion-dollar industry. The men were believed to be searching for jade in Kachin State when a wall of unstable ...
Chain saw injuries in Myanmar tied to illegal logging
As darkness fell in the forests of central Myanmar on a rainy evening last July, May Thu and her husband Myint Swe*, were wrapping up their day’s work: illegal logging. May Thu, a petite 27-year-old with long black hair and shining black eyes, clambered on ...
Somkid promises responsible Thai investments in Myanmar
The business communities of Myanmar and Thailand have been encouraged to foster economic cooperation by Thai Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak’s high-level business delegation. last Friday delivered a speech at the Thai-Myanmar Business Cooperation Forum, which gathered hundreds of business people from both countries. There, he assured ...
Slag heaps from mining operations concern Kachin residents
Kachin people have complained that mining companies are dumping waste soil recklessly and that it could trigger natural disasters. “We’ve found some companies dumped slag near tributaries of the Uru River. The waste soil could block the river during the rainy season,” said a resident of ...
US tech firm opens in Myanmar
Diebold Nixdorf, a leading US tech firm with a presence in more than 130 countries, announced the opening of its office in Myanmar’s commercial hub. Neil Emerson, the firm’s senior vice president and managing director for Asia Pacific, said that its customers’ positive feedback and satisfaction ...
Longer wait for final word on Myitsone dam project
The struggle goes on over whether the controversial Myitsone dam and other hydropower projects along the Ayeyarwady River should be built, following indications that further reports on the projects are needed. A member of the commission for reviewing and scrutinising hydropower projects along the Ayeyarwady ...
Myanmar garment workers’ rights abuse critical, says report
Myanmar garment workers’ rights have now reached critical levels under criteria set by international labour laws, a director of the Labour Rights Defenders and Promoters Daw Ei Shwe Zin Nyunt said on February 7. Her comments came as ‘The Myanmar Dilemma Report” on the condition ...
Expansion work starts at Myanmar's Thilawa industrial park
An expansion project at Myanmar’s first modern industrial park began Tuesday, as the government concluded negotiations related to resettling residents of the development area. The Thilawa special economic zone, which came about as a public-private effort between Japan and Myanmar, will undergo a roughly 100-hectare ...
Myanmar lures visa, other foreign credit card issuers
Overseas credit card companies are looking to Myanmar as the country shifts from cash to card payments. U.S.-based Visa teamed up with Myanmar’s Co-operative Bank (CB Bank) on Jan. 17 to issue credit cards with limits of between 4 million kyat and 5 million kyat($2,946 and ...
Central bank turns the spotlight on loan favouritism
The Central Bank of Myanmar has accused private banks of granting loans to individuals connected with bank directors. But some businessmen disagree with CB that the banks are self-serving. The Central Bank is investigating the activities of private banks, Director General U Win Thaw told ...
