thursday, may 28, 2015 (mte daily issue 52)

PHOTO: ZARNI PHYO

Tax on talking suspendedParliament has decided to postpone the introduction of a 5 percent tax on mobile phone top-ups for a year, after a groundswell of opposition among mobile users led parliamentarians to reconsider the unpopular proposal. BUSINESS 8

Hundred of nationalist monks and laypeople took to the streets in Yangon yesterday to protest against mounting international support for the boat people refugee crisis. In a police-sanctioned march, the ralliers denounced foreign criticism of Myanmars treatment of mostly stateless Rakhine State Muslims.

WWW.MMTIMES.COM DAILY EDITION ISSUE 52 | THURSDAY, MAY 28, 2015

500Ks.

HEARTBEAT OF THE NATION

NEWS 2

NLD top brass skip 1990 election commemorationProminent NLD leaders were absent from a ceremony marking the 25th anniversary of the 1990 elections annulled by the military.

NEWS 4

Australia slashes aid to Myanmar health fund The Three Millennium Development Goal Fund announced yesterday that the Australian government pulled out US$42 million, leaving it far below its expected annual budget.

BUSINESS 9

State Bank of India office to open as trade grows Indias largest lender will open a Myanmar representative office on June 1, as the two neighbouring countries hope to increase trade linkages.

BUSINESS 8

Bangkok Bank, ICBC set to open branches The Central Bank of Myanmar has approved licences for a Thai and a Chinese bank, meaning they can begin operations on June 2. Six of the nine foreign banks selected last year are now cleared to run.

2 News THE MYANMAR TIMES MAY 28, 2015

THE opposition National League for Democracy and 88 Generation Peace and Open Society both slammed the government yesterday for its lack of progress on constitutional reform de-spite popular support for the changes demonstrated during a massive cam-paign last year.

Although the two [parliamen-tary] houses are trying to implement

amendments to the constitution, we have seen no tangible outcomes on that, said U Tin Oo of the NLD dur-ing a conference at the partys Shwe-gonedaing headquarters.

The NLD last year began a coun-trywide petition aimed at upending section 436 of the military-crafted constitution, which ensures the mili-tarys veto power. The disputed sec-tion requires more than three-quar-ters of parliament to approve any amendments, and since one-quarter

of the seats are reserved for the mili-tary, with another half held by the military-aligned Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), the sec-tion allots de facto power to the top brass.

The NLDs campaign to amend the disputed section received 5 mil-lion signatures of support over eight weeks.

Five million signatures! And sup-port is much more than this since we even couldnt reach to almost any of

the ethnic areas and some of the ru-ral areas, said Ko Min Ko Naing, a leader of 88 Generation.

In a joint statement released yes-terday, the groups said there could be no hope of real political reform in Myanmar if the constitution conun-drum was not resolved.

Without amending the 2008 constitution, there can be no peace-building processes. The privileged and repressive constitution must be amended to solve objective problems,

it said. The NLD and Generation 88 group

have also demanded a second section of the constitution, article 59(f ), be amended as it prohibits Daw Aung San Suu Kyi from taking the presi-dential office because her two sons are not citizens of Myanmar.

The NLD has so far refused to com-mit to participating in the upcoming general elections, saying it will decide after the Union Election Commission announces the official date.

THEY were the winners who scored a landslide exceeding 80 percent. They were the peoples choice, and were set to take their seats in parliament to debate a constitution that would have taken the country into the 21st century. Of the 492 seats contested, they won 392.

Instead, their victory was brushed aside by the military regime. Many newly elected MPs were arrested and imprisoned. Hundreds have died since the election, held 25 years ago yester-day, on May 27, 1990, when Daw Aung San Suu Kyi led the National League for Democracy to victory in the elec-tion that never was.

But the unseated MPs who have died in the intervening two-and-a-half decades were not the only ones miss-ing from a commemoration ceremony held in Yangon yesterday.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi herself now, as then, the leader of the NLD was said to be attending the parlia-mentary session in Nay Pyi Taw.

Other prominent NLD mem-bers, including those known to be in Yangon, were conspicuous by their absence.

As the victors of 1990 gathered at the Judson Centre in Pyay Road yes-terday, current NLD central executive committee members were apparently otherwise engaged.

CEC member U Tun Tun Hain said invitations to the event had been sent to individuals rather than by party. They invited the MPs by name. I dont know about other peoples reasons, but I myself was busy at headquar-ters in a joint press conference with the 88 Generation Students about the event. He declined to comment on the

absence of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.Of those members of the 1990

contingent who did attend, Daw San San, who was elected MP of Seikkan township, Yangon, and served in the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma, said she would never forget the former military govern-ments dishonesty. It has been more than 20 years, but we still feel that the military broke their promise, she said.

A report prepared by a committee of the 1990 MPs said the constitution drawn up by the military government

in 2008 after what they called a ma-nipulated referendum contained no guarantee of either federalism or citi-zens rights.

The 1990 MPs also said they would launch legal proceedings against some of the members of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) whom they accuse of breaking the electoral laws of the time.

We feel we are still obliged to car-ry out the wishes of the people who elected us in 1990. Those who broke the laws should be punished. Its not

a question of settling scores, but of doing what is right, said U David Hla Myint, who in 1990 was elected NLD MP of Ngapudaw, Ayeyarwady Region.

NLD patron U Tin Oo, who took part in the press conference with 88 Generation students yesterday, also missed the event, and the NLD sent no message to the commemoration.

U Aye Thar Aung, a former mem-ber of the Committee Representing the Peoples Parliament (CRPP) and now a member of the Rakhine National Par-ty, said current NLD members should have attended. So many MPs were ar-rested. Some died in jail. Those were unforgettable days. The old members of the NLD attended today, but I did not see any current members. Where were they? he said.

No sign of amending constitution, says 88 GenerationMRATT KYAW [email protected]

NLD shuns 1990 election ceremonyLUN MIN

MANG

[email protected]

We feel we are still obliged to carry out the wishes of those who elected us in 1990.

U David Hla Myint 1990 election winner

U David Hla Myint, elected as MP for the National League for Democracy in 1990, tells an anniversary commemoration that those who broke the law by annulling the elections should be punished. Photo: Aung Htay Hlaing

News 3www.mmtimes.com NEWS EDITOR: Thomas Kean | [email protected]

BANGLADESH plans to relocate thou-sands of Rohingya who have spent years in refugee camps near the My-anmar border to a southern island, an official said yesterday.

The government has started plan-ning the relocation to Hatiya Island in the Bay of Bengal in a move backed by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, said additional secretary Amit Kumar Baul.

The relocation of the Rohingya camps will definitely take place. So far informal steps have been taken according to the PMs directives, said Mr Baul, head of the governments My-anmar Refugee Cell.

A Rohingya leader urged the gov-ernment to cancel the plans, saying it would only make life worse for the refugees many of whom have been languishing in the camps for years.

We want the [Bangladesh] govern-ment and international organisations

to resolve our issue from here, said Mohammad Islam, a community leader in one of the camps.

Bangladesh is home to 32,000 reg-istered Rohingya refugees who are sheltering in two camps in the south-eastern district of Coxs Bazar, which borders Myanmar.

Mr Baul said the move was partly prompted by concerns the camps were holding back tourism in Coxs Bazar, home to the worlds longest unbroken beach.

News of the plan comes just days after Mr Hasina slammed Bangla-deshs own economic migrants, many of whom are stranded in dire condi-tions at sea, calling them mentally sick and accusing them of hurting the countrys image.

There was no official reaction from the United Nations refugee agency.

AFP

UPWARD of 150 Buddhist national-ists converged at a rally in Yangons Tarmwe township yesterday, protest-ing against international pressure over the migrant boat crisis, as well as perceived bias in foreign media coverage.

The demonstration, which had been granted official permission by Bahan township police, saw laypeo-ple and monks march to Kyaikkasan Stadium.

Protesters carried red vinyl signs bearing both English- and Myan-mar-language slogans, and chanted in unison from laminated printouts a well-coordinated effort to deliver a clear message to the international press.

The protests location, at the west-ern gate of Kyaikkasan Stadium, has historically been used as a site for demonstrations permitted under the former military regime. Its relative seclusion makes it a difficult spot to garner much public attention.

The rally came ahead of to-morrows regional conference in Bangkok, where ASEAN and other nations will meet to formulate an approach to dealing with the thou-sands left stranded at sea in the wake of a crackdown on human traf-ficking rings. Participants will also decide what to do with those who have already made it to the shores of Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand.

Protesters told The Myanmar Times they were upset at the UNs and the international medias insist-ence on using the term Rohingya a nomenclature they believe has no historical merit, and is part of a con-certed ploy by Bengalis, or illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, to lay claim to Myanmar citizenship.

We object to the boat people en-tering the country, and thats why I came here to protest, said Ko Zarni from Thingangyun township. The media is not good. They are so bi-ased on one side.

While the current humanitarian crisis unfolding off the coast has

thrust the plight of the boat people to the top of the international news agenda, the nationalist activists say they are angry at what they see as a general pro-Muslim bias in Western media coverage of issues in Rakhine State.

Indeed, the BBC in particular has drawn the ire of nationalist groups, with their coverage warranting its own banner slogan, BBC and some media are doing a mistake. They dont really know what is happening here.

Rally organiser Ko Min Min told The Myanmar Times that as many as 20 different groups were involved in the protest. Ma Ba Tha-affiliated monk U Parmaukha addressed the crowd, and members of suburban 969 chapters sported T-shirts read-ing Boat people are not Myanmar.

Unlike previous nationalist ral-lies against the UN and Time maga-zine, the controversial 969 groups logo was notably absent from ban-ners, posters and clothing. A flag bearing the logo of the relatively new National Security Force group was prominently displayed.

U Wirathu, a leading monk in the 969 movement, was not present, but free DVDs featuring some of his ser-mons were distributed.

Ko Thar Wa, one of the five ap-pointed spokespeople officially per-mitted to speak to media representa-tives at the rally, expressed sympathy for those migrants, would-be asylum seekers and trafficking victims who have died at sea and in camps. But, he added, this should not mean My-anmar should resettle people from

Bangladesh.U Thutar Nanda, a monk from

North Okkalapa township, explained that he actively seeks to promote Buddhism through his teaching.

I am trying to open a Dhamma school We aim to teach people to believe in Buddhism, and also teach to make a better situation for our own religion, not to marry people from different religions. Dhamma schools are opening now for the chil-dren in this country that we love.

Referring to the belief that not only is Myanmar under threat from an influx of illegal immigrants, but also that Buddhism itself is under di-rect threat from a creeping spread of Islam, he said, We must protect our land. Muslims have already organ-ised themselves in every mosque.

Ma Sandi, who had previously lived in London but came back to join the nationalist movement, said Myanmar has been unfairly singled out by the UN and rights groups who have decried the persecution of Rakhine States Muslim population. She also categorically rejected the use of the word Rohingya.

I am so worried about the boat people because the UN and interna-tional [groups] created the wrong thing, like saying the Bengali peo-ple are Rohingya. The world should [look] at Myanmar with humanity. This is a global problem.

This is why we have to take ac-tion to solve the problem together peacefully. Dont blame Myanmar. This is not Myanmars problem, she said.

Ko Zin, a 16-year-old high school student from Thingangyun town-ship, is also a member of his local 969 chapter. He teaches religious training in his quarter, including Buddhism and nationalism.

I teach the children to love our own nationality, not to marry people of different religions, not to make friends [with them], not to buy any snacks at shops owned by different religious people.

Elaborating on his reason for joining the rally, and his self-pro-fessed violent urges against boat people, he said, [The Bengalis] rape and destroy our people. I heard that news from the newspapers and pub-lic talks. Additional reporting by Kayleigh Long

Nationalists say no to foreign pressureWA LONE

[email protected]

CARDINAL Charles Maung Bo yester-day made a powerful appeal to the gov-ernment and the Buddhist community not to allow a handful of merchants of hatred to destroy the countrys tra-dition of compassion as migrants flee-ing Myanmar and Bangladesh die at sea unwept and unsung.

The head of the Roman Catholic Church in Myanmar commended the government for its rescue last week of two boatloads of migrants off the coast of Rakhine State.

This gesture, coming from a nation worshipping the Lord of Compassion, Buddha, is highly commendable. Our brothers and sisters in Myanmar never cringed from their commitment to compassion in the moments of hu-man brokenness, the cardinal said in a statement.

He also applauded Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia for open-ing their doors.

The cardinal made no direct refer-ence to yesterdays protest in Yangon by Buddhist nationalists, but added, Sadly democracy has brought in hatred, denial of rights to sections of the people. Peo-ple of Myanmar will reset their moral compasses and return to fellowship.

With deep appreciation of the challenges faced by the Myanmar gov-ernment, while welcoming its recent actions, we strongly urge the govern-ment not to allow discourses of hatred to subvert its glorious tradition of compassion, the cardinal said.

He said the boat people were eject-ed by excruciating poverty and conflict from both Myanmar and Bangladesh and had endured an agony of im-mense poignancy from being exploit-ed by human traffickers.

Father Charles, appointed as Myan-mars first cardinal by Pope Francis in February, told The Myanmar Times in an earlier interview that he wanted to be a voice for the voiceless.

A community cannot be demon-ised and denied its basic rights to name, citizenship and right to com-munity, he said yesterday, referring to the governments rejection of Roh-ingya as an ethnic identity.

Names cannot dilute humanity, the cardinal said, without mention-ing either of the words Rohingya or Muslim himself.

Appealing directly to the Buddhist majority, he said the great seers and monks of the great Theravada Bud-dhists are beacons of compassion to the world.

A death of a leaf should break the heart of a disciple of Dhamma [teach-ings of Buddha]. Surely the disciples of Dhamma would not allow human beings women and children to die, unwept, unsung in the abyss of merci-less seas, he said.

We as a nation stand at the cross-roads of history. Its dreams cannot be wiped out by the spirit of a handful of merchants of hatred. Boat people have stirred the conscience of a nation. Let mercy and compassion flow like a riv-er in the land of Buddha and a million pagodas.

I teach the children to love our own nationality, not to marry people of different religions.

Ko Zin High school student

Cardinal urges compassion for boat peopleGUY [email protected]

Bangladesh to relocate Rohingya to an island

U Parmaukha, one of the leaders of Ma Ba Tha, delivers a speech at Kyaikkasan sports ground in Yangon on May 27 during a rally against boat people from Myanmar and Bangladesh. Photo: Zarni Phyo

THE seamens union is ready to take recruiters to court over unpaid com-pensation and wages for fishermen who survived the sinking of their freezer trawler last month, represent-atives said yesterday.

Five local recruitment firms ille-gally transferred 42 Myanmar seamen onto the ill-fated Russian fishing ship at the end of last year, in many cases without workers knowing their em-ployer. Due to systemic abuses, Myan-mar has banned its seamen from the fishing industry, but the regulation is notoriously widely flouted.

Just 22 of the Myanmar fishermen survived when the ship, the Dalny Vostok, plunged into near-freezing waters in the Okhotsk Sea on April 2. Since the disaster, families of the deceased and the survivors have been locked in a battle for compensation, with many of the agencies adamantly refusing to pay out insurance the un-ion says they are legally obliged to provide.

Its not our duty to pay compensa-tion, its the ship owners responsibil-ity, said U Soe Tint, manager of Sea Rider Shipping, which sent 27 work-ers to the Russian trawler without ei-ther the Myanmar or Russian govern-ments approval.

He added that his company is also not responsible for insurance payouts.

Other recruiting agencies involved in the accident, as well as the Myan-mar Maritime Seafarers Federation, said under 2013 laws, companies are in fact required to purchase either in-ternational or domestic insurance for their recruits.

We might have big problems with the Seamen Employment Control Di-vision if we dont make life insurance policies, said U Nyi Nyi Thein Myint, director of Top Chances Shipping Company, which sent two workers to the sunken trawler.

He said as part of the US$2000 recruitment fee paid by the workers, up to $400 is meant to be dedicated to life insurance.

Top Chances, along with its part-ner firm Asia Wave, purchased Nova Life Insurance, worth $30,000, U Nyi Nyi Thein Myint said. He

claimed the families of the deceased fishermen will receive the funds within two or three weeks.

But families of the victims told The Myanmar Times none of the

promised cash including from the Russian governments vow to provide families of deceased foreigners on-board the ship with $15,000, and sur-vivors with $3000 has materialised.

Ma Thin Zin Moe, sister of Ko Py-one Mg Mg who died during the ca-tastrophe, said her brother took all his papers and ID with him, and now recruiters are claiming to have no re-cord of his existence.

Her brother, she said, paid a broker to help arrange work overseas, which included a payment for K30,000 for domestic insurance.

We checked at the local insur-ance company to claim the K5 million [$5000], but they said they had no

record even of the brokers who re-cruited my brother, she said.

The seafarers federation has at-tempted to step in on behalf of the families, but have found some of the agencies in the corruption-rife indus-try less than willing to comply in ful-filling the guidelines.

We are asking for compensation, salary and bonus money for each seaman but have not yet heard from all the companies, said U Sein Hla-ing, the federations deputy chair.

If they continue to pretend like they do not understand their re-sponsibilities, maybe they will un-derstand when they are in police custody during trial.


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Australia drains health funds budget

AUSTRALIA has pulled the plug on contributions to the Three Millenni-um Development Goal Fund, empty-ing the health consortium of tens of millions of dollars amid the largest single slashing of the countrys for-eign aid budget in history.

Australia, the second-largest con-tributor to the fund and the chair of the board, is pulling out US$42 million of pledged aid to the group, resulting in a 13 percent cut of the total budget, according to a state-ment released by the 3MDG Fund yesterday.

The decision means the total amount of funds committed to the 3MDG Fund stands at approximate-ly USD$292 million, compared to the previous figure of USD$334 mil-lion, the statement said.

The 3MDG declined to comment about the loss of funding yesterday, but said in their statement that the drastic cut will have no immedi-

ate impact on current programs, which focus on child and maternal health as well as combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis.

The implications for future programming and spending are currently being considered by the 3MDG Fund Board and the Ministry of Health, the statement said.

The reduction of the Australian overseas aid budget this year is the biggest single drop in the history of the countrys foreign assistance. While Australias overall budget ac-tually grew by more than 13 percent, the foreign aid fell by over 30 percent.

Few countries were left unscathed by the multi-billion drop, but Africa, with an 80 percent overall decline in funding, and Southeast and East Asia, with a 40pc drop, received a particularly dire blow.

Cambodia, which signed a highly controversial refugee deal with Aus-tralia last year, is one of the only countries in the region that will continue to see a steady influx of aid.

SHWE YEE SAW [email protected]

Myanmar fishermen who survived the sinking of the Dalny Vostok in April are now at home battling for compensation while the families of their deceased fellow crewmembers struggle to obtain life insurance. Photo: Supplied

Tatmadaw accused of killing in Shan StateTATMADAW forces were accused by a human rights group yesterday of killing a civilian and seriously injuring three others while they were travelling on a main highway in northern Shan State close to the border region of Kokang.

The Shan Human Rights Federa-tion said a family in a stationary car was fired upon by troops apparently hidden behind the road, while a pass-ing motorbike was also targeted. The incident occurred on the morning of April 14, the NGO said, adding that it had taken weeks to verify details.

A colonel acting as spokesperson for the Tatmadaws Public Relations and Psychological Warfare Depart-ment said he had no knowledge of the incident.

The shooting was reported to have happened near Mong Li village, which lies on the road from Lashio to Hsen-wi, a major route for traffic to and from the Muse border crossing with China. Some international organisa-tions have stopped using the road since fighting erupted in the Kokang region in February.

The Shan rights group said 40-year-old U Loong Hsu was killed instantly in a blast that hit his motorbike. His wife and passenger, Daw Nang Hseng, was wounded in the shoulder and leg.

Moments before, an explosion and gunfire hit a car with a family of three that had halted by the roadside while overtaking a convoy of army trucks to allow the motorbike to pass from the other direction. U Min Naing, the father and driver, was injured in his arm and leg. One of his three children in the back, 16-year-old Nang Khawn Nan, was wounded in the head.

After the explosions, the car pas-sengers saw about 20 Burmese troops carrying weapons coming out from the bushes at the side of the road where the local Mong Li spirit shrine was located, the rights group said.

Nang Khawn Nan was operated in Lashio Hospital to have shrapnel re-moved, and then transferred to Man-dalay Hospital for two more opera-tions. The rights group said she is now able to speak but cannot move the left side of her body. Guy Dinmore

After disaster, recruiters keep tight fist on compensation funds

Its not our duty to pay compensation, its the ship owners responsibility.

U Soe Tint Manager of a recruitment firm

WA [email protected]

News 5www.mmtimes.com

CIVILIAN witnesses have been giving evidence in the hearing over the death of freelance journalist Ko Aung Kyaw Naing, better known by his pen name Ko Par Gyi, who was shot while in Tat-madaw custody last October.

The trial is going forward at Kyaik-maraw Township Court in Mon State, even though a military tribunal has al-ready acquitted two soldiers who had been accused of the journalists death. The tribunal took place without no-tice last November, a fact that came to light only weeks ago.

Though Ko Par Gyis widow, Daw Thandar, had been campaigning to keep public interest in the case alive, she was given no notice of the Kyaik-maraw court case.

Ko Par Gyi was shot dead while allegedly trying to escape from army detention on the evening of October 4 last year. He had been arrested in Kyaikmaraw township while covering the fighting between the Tatmadaw and the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA).

On May 25, a local administrator and four local civilians gave evidence in the case.

Daw Thandar complained on May 26 of apparent collusion among the witnesses, saying some of them had read from notes in their palm in re-sponse to questions.

She also objected to what the mili-tary termed the nationalisation of her late husbands property that is, the fact that the military had appar-ently confiscated the belongings found on him at the time of his death.

They had no right to retain his property because his death was unlaw-ful, and not the result of a court ver-dict. He has never been found guilty of a crime, she said. The personal items retained reportedly include money, a phone and a ring he had intended to give his daughter, all valued at about US$1500.

Earlier this month, Daw Thandar related to the court details of Ko Par Gyis life, including how they met when he was working as a security guard for National League for Democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Daw Thandar said she cherished the photos of her husband with the democracy icon. Af-ter she heard about Ko Par Gyis death, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi sent me a letter, telling me to be brave, she said.

Daw Thandars lawyer, U Robert San Aung, also criticised the police for violating Ko Par Gyis human rights by transferring him to army custody instead of applying to a court for an extension of his remand. It was the responsibility of the police to ques-tion him. They failed to do their job, he said.

No Tatmadaw member has yet given evidence at the trial. Public prosecutor U Nyi Nyi Lwin told The Myanmar Times that Tatmadaw witnesses would be summoned in accordance with the witness list. He added that there were 30 more witnesses waiting to give evi-dence. The next hearing is on June 1.

Translation by Kyawt Darly Lin

NO wonder critics accuse parlia-ment of sleepwalking into political deadlock. In what could be a wake-up call for the democratic transi-tion, journalists have protested against official attempts to curtail their coverage of parliament. Of-ficials explained that the new re-strictions had been imposed to stop newspapers running pictures of MPs sleeping on the job.

Parliamentary officials said they had closed the media room over-looking the chamber because pic-tures of dozing lawmakers made the hluttaw look bad. While berat-ing journalists for their coverage, U Kyaw Soe, director general of the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, admitted, MPs are old. Sometimes they fall asleep in the hluttaw.

The media facility, a glass-walled room commanding a view of the chamber and equipped with a live TV feed for sound, was closed on May 26. Until then, journalists

could take pictures, record the de-bates via the TV, and generally keep an eye on proceedings. Now, access for the 20 or so news outlets whose reporters cover parliament is re-stricted to a TV set outside.

Asked to explain the restriction, U Kyaw Soe said, Journalists see MPs asleep, or military MPs vot-ing for absent colleagues, and put pictures of them in the paper. MPs are old people. Sometimes they fall asleep in the hluttaw chamber.

He insisted that the new ar-rangements provided journalists with everything they required, add-ing, Parliaments in other coun-tries dont let journalists into the chamber either.

When the hluttaw first con-vened, in January, 2011, journal-ists were allowed into the chamber to cover the news. But access was first restricted in early 2013 on the grounds that the conduct of in-terviews, photography and video-shooting activities constituted a disturbance.

We did allow news-gathering [in the chamber] in the beginning, U Kyaw Soe said.

MPs found it was not convenient to be interviewed, so we restricted media entry. Now we have to make an-

other restriction. He said reporters could copy photos, videos and sound recordings made by parliamentary staff from a room overlooking the chamber.

The ban applies only to the joint houses of the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw as a whole, not to the separate up-per and lower houses, the Amyotha Hluttaw and the Pyithu Hluttaw.

This was not my decision. It is a response to circumstances, said U Kyaw Soe.

In the wake of the decision, some saw a more nightmarish mo-tive.

Ko Aung Htet, senior reporter of The Voice, said covering the hlut-taw had been difficult enough even before the new restrictions, which raised questions about parliaments commitment to democracy.

They dont understand how the media work, he said. How will TV broadcast the proceedings in real time? Whats to stop the government introducing more restrictions later?

National League for Democracy MP U Min Thu said restrictions on the right to cover the news should not be imposed because of fears that the image of MPs might be harmed, and could create misun-derstandings.

Hluttaw officials and the me-dia should negotiate on dos and donts, he said.

Amyotha Hluttaw representa-tive U Hla Swe of the Union Soli-darity and Development Party said, If it was up to me I would let the media in, as long as they dont throw bombs.

Upcoming issues whose coverage could be affected by the restriction include the constitutional amend-ment bill, the revision of the Na-tional Education Law and debates on the Interfaith Marriage Law.

Translation by Thiri Min Htun

Witnesses waiting to testify in Ko Par Gyi caseNAW SAY PHAW [email protected]

They had no right to retain his property because his death was unlawful.

Daw Thandar Ko Par Gyis widow

Let sleeping MPs lie: Hluttaw imposes media restrictions

If it was up to me I would let the media in, as long as they dont throw bombs.

U Hla Swe Union Solidarity and

Development Party

EI EI TOE LWIN

[email protected]


A THREE-PLANK platform for admin-istrative reform is being hammered to-gether by policy experts in Nay Pyi Taw. The Administrative Reforms and Co-ordination Committee has concluded a two-day workshop in the capital on building a national-level framework for further reform.

U Khin Maung Aye, a member of the Union Civil Services Board and vice chair of the committee, said the framework depended on a few basic principles.

We will boost the capacity of civil servants and develop the civil service sectors, implement decentralisation, and create transparency and account-ability within the government, he said at the closing ceremony of the work-shop at the Myanmar International Convention Centre 2.

In delving into the details, the com-mittee will now consult with the Minis-try of Finance on budget allocation and with the Union Civil Services Board on capacity-building for civil servants.

Committee chair U Hla Tun, Union minister for the Presidents Office, said the framework to be drawn up was a strategic foundation on which future reforms and development would be based.

He added that once aligned with other national-level strategies, the framework would allow short-, medi-um- and long-term goal delivery.

I hope the framework will give the international community a better understanding of our governments prioritised agenda and encourage more international aid and invest-ment, he said.

During its four-year transition from military government to multi-party democracy, Myanmar has tried to upgrade its administration while introducing reforms that meet the aspirations of its people in a manner consistent with its constitution, said U Hla Tun. However, practices that have been deep-rooted for ages cannot be altered overnight, he said.

All government departments con-cerned will now work together on fi-nalising the framework, continuing to pursue reforms that have been in implementation since the government took office in 2011 but in a fully coor-dinated manner. This will increase ef-fectiveness, said presidential adviser U Aung Tun Thet.

Every ministry has been making reforms but we need a framework to organise them together. This work-shop was organised to develop that framework. We have to consider the facts we cant change as well as the facts we can change as we go about the reforms, he said.

Committee vice chair U Khin Maung Aye said the goal was to produce the fi-nal draft of the framework by August, following further discussions and de-bate through June.

The final stage of the framework will be completed in September for submission to the president, he said.

Translation by Thiri Min Htun

MIGRANT workers in Mandalay will be allowed to vote there if they can show they have lived there for the past 180 days, says the regions elec-toral chief. U Aung Htut, chair of the Mandalay Region Electoral Commis-sion, said the migrants could vote even if they had no national ID card, as long as they were aged over 18.

I think the recent MCDC election

has helped put people in the mood for voting, he told The Myanmar Times.

Many people who live and work in Mandalay Region come from else-where in the country, and it would be costly for them if they have to go back to their region to vote. So we are arranging for them to be able to vote here if they wish.

Migrant workers in Mandalay can register at a UEC office near their current home by producing

letters from their employers certify-ing that they had lived there for not less than 180 days. Would-be voters without an NRC card could register on the basis of a letter from their ward administration, he said.

Being able to vote like this is so convenient for us. Going home to vote would be so expensive, said Ko Aung Lin Soe from Pakokku, who is working at Shwe Taw in Thabeik-kyin township, Sagaing Region.

Translation by Kyawt Darly Lin

BOTH domestic and international observers will be allowed to enter military polling stations, according to U Aung Htut, chair of the Union Election Commission for Mandalay Region.

We will allow observation of the advance vote count as well, he said.

Candidates will also be allowed to accompany ward and village electoral officials gathering the advance votes.

They will be able to check the number of advance votes against the

list of advance voters already posted in the polling station, he said. Ad-vance votes are to be kept in a sepa-rate ballot box and counted once polls close at 4pm, according to a recent statement from the UEC.

In the last general election, in 2010, candidates were not allowed to enter polling stations in their constituencies, but U Aung Htut said the by-laws for Novembers election would reflect the changed policy.

U Khin Maung Than, a lawyer and a member of the National Democratic Force partys Mandalay branch, was unconvinced by the UECs promise.

Despite the commission chairs promise, we will not know until elec-tion day whether the military will al-low observers into polling stations, he said. But its good that the elec-toral law allows candidates to enter polling stations.

Mg Zaw, translation by Zar Zar Soe

Administrative reforms aimed at Union level

Every ministry has been making reforms but we need a framework to organise them together.

U Aung Tun Thet Presidential consultant

HTOO THANT

[email protected]

Observers will be allowed in military polling stations: UEC

MG [email protected]

Long-stay migrant workers can vote in Mandalay

A man reads a voter education pamphlet distributed by the Mandalay Election Commission. Photo: Maung Zaw

TRADE MARK CAUTIONJCB Co., Ltd., a company incorporated under the laws of Japan, and having its principal place of business at 5-1-22 Minami Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-8686, Japan, is the Owner and Sole Proprietor of the following Trademark:-

Reg. Nos. 4/478/2007, 4/8300/2009,4/6396/2012, 4/3816/2015

in respect of:- Intl Class 9: Integrated circuit chips; Computer programs, including downloadable software; Computer programs recorded on data media; Magnetic encoded cards; Integrated circuit cards [smart cards]; Integrated circuits; Electronic machines and apparatus, and their parts; Telecommunication machines and apparatus; Computer software used for electronic payments via a computer network; Portable telephones; Computers; Card readers; Point-of-sale terminals.

Intl Class 16: Booklets; Bookmarkers; Books; Calendars; Catalogues; Maps; Passport holders; Magazines; Periodicals; Newspapers; Posters; Printed matter; Publications; Stationery; Wet tissue papers; Tissue papers; Pocket

memorandum books; Memorandum books; Paintings and calligraphic works; Photograph stands; Stickers.

Intl Class 35: Advertising and publicity; Advertising agencies; Advertising by mail order; Systemization of information into computer databases; Import-export agencies and providing information thereon; Mediation of contracts for purchase and sale of products; Providing information on commodity sales; Marketing research; Providing information on marketing research; Auctioneering; Providing information on auctioneering; Issuance of trading stamps; Providing information on employment agencies; Providing information on rental of copying machines and word processors; Providing information on financial statement preparation; Providing information on arranging newspaper subscriptions for others; Sales Promotion for others; Secretarial and clerical services; Agencies for conclusion of credit card merchant agreements; Order-reception and ordering services for others; Data entry and data processing services; Telephone answering services; Issue and dispatch of bills and accounting statements; Compilation and processing of statistical data and information.

Intl Class 36: Credit card services; Providing information of credit card statements; Debit card services; Issue of pre-paid cards; Debt collection agencies; Acquisition and transfer of monetary claims; Financial clearing; Money exchange; Factoring agencies; Financing services; Loan

services; Electronic funds transfer; Surety services; Installment loans; Hire-purchase financing; Brokerage for hire-purchase; Brokerage for issue of travelers checks; Agencies for collecting gas and electric power utility charges, telephone charges and public utility charges, and providing information relating thereto; Rent collection; Lending against security; Savings banks; Financial evaluation regarding insurance, banking and real estate; Financial analysis; Financial consultancy; Providing financial information; Issue of tokens of value; Agencies or brokerage for trading of securities; Providing stock market information; Insurance brokerage; Insurance premium rate computing; Insurance consultancy; Providing insurance information; Insurance underwriting; Credit bureaux; Company credit investigation; Charitable fund raising; Rental of card-readers, card-writers and payment processing machines and equipments used for credit cards or debit cards; Agencies for recruitment and management of credit card members and merchants(member stores) on behalf of credit card issuers.

Any fraudulent imitation or unauthorized use of the said Trademark will be dealt with according to laws.

For JCB Co., Ltd.U Nyunt Tin Associates International LimitedIntellectual Property DivisionTel: 959 4500 59 247, Email: [email protected]: 28 May, 2015.

News 7www.mmtimes.com

ViewsFacing sweet and sour times in Malaysia

PERHAPS because the Cannes Film Festival has just ended, the French movie One Sings, the Other Doesnt comes to mind when pondering the fate of two Malaysian leaders.

One is Prime Minister Najib Razak, an increasingly beleaguered and tragic figure, and the other is the buoyant young Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.

Both men, whom Ive interviewed several times, are open and genial, yet also wary and cautious Najib because its his nature, Lim because he has suf-fered for being too guileless in the past.

Both were born into politics. Najib is the son of former PM Razak Hussein, arguably the nations most revered leader, and also the nephew of another former PM, Hussein Onn.

Lim comes from the other side. He is the son of a veteran opposition leader, the pugnacious Lim Kit Siang, and like his father he is familiar with the inside of a Malaysian jail.

After becoming the nations young-est member of parliament at age 23, Najib joined the cabinet two years later and soon after became chief minister of Penang, the largest state in peninsular Malaysia.

Politically speaking, he was hitting all the high notes, as he went on to hold several top ministerial posts, including defence, education and finance, before becoming PM in 2009.

At that point, Najib seemed des-tined to bestride the nations polity for years to come.

But events kicked in and he handled them badly, suggesting that perhaps he had reached his level of incompetence, as other leaders like Cambodias Norodom Ranariddh,

Thailands Abhisit Vejjajiva and Vietnams Le Kha Phieu have done in the past.

It became clear that Najib was politically tone-deaf and lacked the common touch; of course, it had long been known that he lacked conviction and always waited to see which way the wind was blowing before he took any decision.

That worked as a survival tech-nique while he climbed through the ranks, but it has been calamitous since he got to the top, and he now faces a revolt by fellow leaders of his United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), the countrys dominant political party.

In contrast, as a Malaysian-Chi-nese oppositionist, Lim had to deal with adversity from day one, and, to continue the metaphor, he seemed to be singing, if at all, in an off key for many years.

Yet, like his father, he has proved fearless and, it has to be said, often foolhardy, intemperate and some-times foolish; yet it has always been

clear to his loyal electorate that his heart is in the right place.

He could never be defeated at the polls, so UMNOs leaders copied their loathed counterparts in Singapore, and used the judiciary to silence this meddlesome Chinaman who exposed their misdeeds and mismanagement.

It worked up to a point, but then after former PM Mahathir Mohamad

stood down in 2003, the UMNO-led government started an inexorable slide that culminated in major set-backs in the 2008 election.

Among the losses was the rich state of Penang, which was won by Lims opposition alliance. He sud-denly became chief minister, and unlike Najib, took to the corridors of power like a duck to water.

Under Lims tenure, Penang has kept its rank as Malaysias top investment destination, and inter-national agencies and the countrys own auditor-general rate it the best financially managed state.

Not unexpectedly, Lim and his team were massively returned to office in Penang in the 2013 election, when the ruling coalition, led by Najib, endured further nationwide setbacks and lost the popular vote to the opposition alliance.

Indeed, while Lim has hit the high notes, Najib has slid ever-downward for reasons that just seem to keep mounting up rather than being resolved.

First, he was implicated in the murder of a Mongolian model who had been pleasuring his key adviser; then he alienated Chinese and Indian voters by boosting Malay rights and allowing stricter Islamist policies.

Most recently, he has presided over what is called the mother of all scandals: the catastrophic billion-dollar losses of the state investment fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) of which he is the chair. On his watch, it has run up debts of US$11.5 billion.

On May 24, former PM Mahathir said Najib must be prosecuted for ly-ing about the status of 1MDB and for the damage it has caused the nation.

Right now, Malaysias auditor-gen-eral the man who praised the fiscal rectitude of Lims administration in Penang is examining 1MDBs books and will soon issue a report that may skewer Najib.

If it does not, Najibs own men may do the job. Already, they have been stunned by a leaked video in which Deputy PM Muhyiddin Yassin has advocated sacking the entire 1MDB board or risk election defeat.

Former minister Zainuddin Mai-din said that Muhyiddins remarks had undercut Najib and showed that UMNO is not united to face Mahathirs attacks, 1MDB and the current political and economic crisis.

He is dead right. There is a politi-cal and economic crisis and UMNO is split down the middle about whether to tackle it by sticking with Najib or by installing a new leader at the partys general assembly later this year.

There is a growing consensus that if Najib does not start singing at least as sweetly as Lim does in Penang, then it is likely he will soon be a foot-note in history.

Already, his regime has tarnished Malaysias international image. Last month, Britains Financial Times ran an article headlined Something Rot-ten in the State of Malaysia.

Its opening sentence was, Is Malaysia falling apart? It is not yet, not with regional state chief ministers like Lim Guan Eng; but unless Najib stiffens his sinews pretty fast, it may well happen.

Lune chante, lautre pas.

ROGER [email protected]

While a series of missteps in recent years by Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has caused the UMNO party to question his leadership and has damaged his countrys international image, young politician Lim Guan Eng has thrived as the chief minister of Penang State

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak addresses a news conference in Kuala Lumpur on May 11. Photo: EPA/Fazry Ismail

Lim Guan Eng speaks in Georgetown, Penang, on March 4, 2008. Photo: EPA/Ahmad Yusni

While Lim has hit the high notes, Najib has slid ever-downward for reasons that just seem to keep mounting up rather than being resolved.

8 THE MYANMAR TIMES MAY 28, 2015

Business

TWO more foreign banks have been given permission to open their Myan-mar branches beginning on June 2 by the Central Bank of Myanmar.

With the official nod given to Bang-kok Bank and Imperial and Commer-cial Bank of China late on May 26, two-thirds of the nine foreign banks that won a tightly-contested tender last year have now been allowed to open.

Foreign banks face a number of re-strictions in Myanmar, as they are only allowed to service foreign-invested companies and domestic banks, and are limited to one branch each.

The two banks have undergone a stringent entry process as defined by the Central Bank of Myanmar in 2014, the Central Bank said in a press release.

Over the past year, Bangkok Bank said it has been working on branch fit-out, the installation of IT and busi-ness systems, personnel recruitment, knowledge transfer, and the develop-ment of local employees in business systems and financial products.

These preparations are now com-plete and the Yangon branch is ready to open, it said.

Bangkok Bank president Chartsiri Sophonpanich said its Myanmar rep-resentative office had opened 20 years ago, but with the full branch it will play a major role in providing information and service to businesses interested in Myanmar. It will also be able to provide an additional range of services and connect to Bangkok Banks interna-tional network.

Yesterday, ICBC officials declined to comment immediately.

DATA prices have reached new low rates in Myanmar, with dual, near-simultaneous price cuts by duelling telcos.

The already-competitive tel-ecoms sector became even more so on May 26 when Ooredoo intro-duced its Phalan Phalan internet promotion which priced data at K6 per megabyte only to have Telenor announce rates at K5 per megabyte less than 10 hours later.

Ooredoo called a press con-ference for 10am May 26 to an-nounce its new Phalan Phalan in-ternet plan, which would reduce the firms pay-as-you-go internet rates from K10 to K6 per mega-byte, matching its competitors prices.

Were just trying to give every-body the chance to enjoy the fan-tastic service, Ooredoo Myanmar CEO Ross Cormack said on May 26. The firm currently covers 45 percent of Myanmar by popula-tion, and aims to blanket three- quarters of the country by the end of this year.

Ooredoos internet new rate of K6 per megabyte briefly mirrored Telenors under its My Internet plan for the space of about half a day. The Norwegian firm announced shortly before 8pm May 26 that, starting the following day, the plans rates would be reduced by K1 per megabyte, sliding Telenors prices just under those of Ooredoos.

Open and healthy competition will almost always result in com-petitive prices, and this is some-thing customers will continue to expect, Telenor Myanmar CEO

Petter Furberg said in an email.When asked about the tim-

ing of Telenors price cut which seemed too close to Ooredoos to be accidental Mr Furberg said the answer didnt matter so much.

In this respect, whether yester-days announcement was response or a coincidence is probably not as important, he said. And Telenors prices will always be the lowest for the mass market.

The moves to make data cheap-er for consumers show Myanmars mounting interest in getting on the internet. In its financial re-sults for the first quarter, Ooredoo Myanmar said that about 80pc of its users are on smartphones a figure that Frost & Sullivan ana-lyst Naveen Mishra noted as testi-fying to the countrys demand for connectivity. Meanwhile, Telenor said 65pc of its customers engage with data and nearly 60pc use smartphones.

Our internet price plans ... reflect the growing appetite for data in Myanmar and are aimed at stimulating further internet adop-tion and usage, Mr Furberg said in a statement.

SINGAPORE Windsor Holdings has signed a 10-year agreement with DFS Group to develop and operate duty-free retail outlets at Yangon In-ternational Airport and Nay Pyi Taw International Airport.

DFS Group is a Hong Kong-based luxury travel retailer, majority-owned by conglomerate Mot Hen-nessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH).

In addition to a duty-free store at Nay Pyi Taw International Airport, we will open duty-free outlets at the existing departure and arrival termi-nal of Yangon International Airport, followed by a much larger duty-free retail space when the new terminal at Yangon International Airport is completed towards the end of this year, said a notice on the Singapore Exchange (SGX).

By the end of 2015, Singapore Windsor will operate almost 2000 square metres of duty free retail space at the two airports. The notice

did not mention plans to introduce duty-free services to Mandalay Inter-national Airport.

The new international terminal in Yangon airport is expected to handle three times the current pas-senger traffic volume. Myanmars airports already offer duty-free al-cohol and tobacco, but not yet to an international standard, according to the notice.

DFS is headquartered in Hong Kong and has offices in Hawaii, Los Angeles, Shanghai, Singapore and Tokyo. Singapore Windsor is a Singapore-listed, Myanmar-focused company, with interests in telecom infrastructure construction, trading, distribution and retail, serviced of-fices, and car hire and rental services.

Last week, the groups wholly owned subsidiary SMI Auto Services signed a five-year franchise agree-ment with Europcar, to provide ve-hicle rental and limousine services throughout Myanmar. The deal is renewable for another five years, if both parties agree to it.

THE Union Parliament yesterday sus-pended a newly imposed 5 percent commercial tax on mobile phone top-ups until the next fiscal year.

The proposal was approved following a long debate between members of parliament and min-isters during a May 27 parliamen-tary session.

The move follows a groundswell of opposition to the tax, announced at a May 18 event in Nay Pyi Taw by the Ministry of Communica-tions and Information Technology (MCIT). It said the 5pc tax on tel-ecoms services would be collected from June 1, ending what it said was an exemption granted to the industry.

However, on May 21, U Thein Tun Oo, a member of parliament from Mandalay Regions Amara-pura constituency, put an urgent proposal to the Pyidaungsu Hlut-taw, saying that the tax should be suspended for a year.

Six MPs backed his proposal and pointed out that the ministry should not collect tax until they are providing a proper service to the mobile user.

People are now using MPT, Telenor and Ooredoo SIM cards, but these do not work in rural and remote areas, and they cannot provide a sufficient service to cus-tomers. I want them to collect tax, but only if they can provide an ad-equate service, said U Tin Maung Win from the Mingalardon constit-uency in Yangon Region.

U Aye from Homalin constitu-ency in Sagaing Region said 50pc of the 28 million mobile users around the nation are poor. They are now happy because they can use a mo-bile. If the government collects tax without any proper warning, they could become irritated, he said.

He suggested that the govern-ment should not collect tax this year, and that if it intends to collect tax at a later stage, it should not be-gin with 5pc, but should introduce it at 1pc or 2pc.

U Thaung Tin, deputy minister of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, said that many things still need to be implemented in order to provide a quality service, and that the tax was aimed at helping to provide such a service.

Union Minister for Finance U Win Shein said that other countries

collect an indirect mobile tax of be-tween 6pc and 20pc. In Myanmar we planned to collect only 5pc, he said.

Currently, 28 million people in Myanmar are using mobile phones. The average spend per person per month is K5000. If parliament collects a tax of 5pc, the government will receive K84 billion per year. Government taxes are used to help the development of the country.

Thats why I would like to ask that you cooperate with us for the long-term benefit, U Win Shein said.

However, Pyidaungsu Hluttaw Speaker Thura U Shwe Mann agreed with the MPs and said that the gov-ernment should suspend the tax. When he urged parliament to make a decision, all MPs agreed to sus-pend the 5pc top-up tax.

Parliament suspends 5% tax on top-up

EI EI TOE LWIN

[email protected]

Telcos in a data-rate duelWorld-class duty-free coming to Myanmar airportsCLARE [email protected]

CATHERINE [email protected]

JEREMY [email protected]

KYAT

5New price per megabyte for users of Telenors My Internet plan dropped

on the same day Ooredoo moved to K6

Bangkok Bank and ICBC cleared to open on June 2

Many mobile phone users had come out against the tax. Photo: Aung Htay Hlaing

Opened

The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJCommenced 22 April

OCBCCommenced 23 April

Sumitomo Mitsui Banking CorporationCommenced 23 April

UOBCommenced 4 May

Licensed to open

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC)

Bangkok Bank

Expected to be licensed by end of September

Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ)

Mizuho Bank

Malayan Banking Berhad (Maybank)

9BUSINESS EDITOR: Jeremy Mullins | [email protected]

Exchange Rates (May 27 close)Currency Buying Selling

EuroMalaysia RingittSingapore DollarThai BahtUS Dollar

K1176K300K802

K32K1097

K1196K310K815

K34K1099

Information Ministry tender suspended by parliament

Chinese stock-picking a mugs game with rapid price rise

BUSINESS 10 BUSINESS 11

THE State Bank of India (SBI) is to become the fourth Indian bank to open a representative office in My-anmar and may be joined within the year by Punjab National Bank, which has reportedly applied for a licence.

SBI, which is the largest com-mercial bank in India in terms of as-sets, and the countrys largest state owned bank, received its licence to open a representative office in March last year. Under the licence terms, the bank can only carry out liaison activities and will not be able to offer financial services.

The office, which will officially open next week, will be run by chief

representative Anil Bankey. It has been a long time coming Indian media reported in 2004 that SBI had sent a team of officials to Yan-gon to assess whether the time was right to open an office.

When Myanmar invited foreign lenders to apply for full licences last year, SBI was the only Indian bank to submit an application, but was eventually unsuccessful. It lost out to nine other Asia Pacific headquar-tered banks, all of which had been running a representative office in Yangon for at least a year before the tender was called.

Unfortunately India did not get any of the banking licences, and there is no formal banking relation-ship between India and Myanmar yet, said Sailas Thingal, deputy chief of mission at the Embassy of India.

This is a problematic area for the improvement of trade and in-vestment relations between our two

countries. Our governments realise that to enhance bilateral trade we really need a banking relationship, and that this is one of the bottle-necks we face, he said.

A semi-formal agreement be-tween the United Bank of India branch in Moreh, Manipur, and the Myanmar Economic Bank in Tamu in Sagaing Region, facilitates border trade between the two countries.

In 2012, United Bank of India be-came the first Indian bank to open a representative office in Myanmar since 1963, when the Ne Win gov-ernment nationalised all foreign bank branches. Following this, the Export Import (Exim) Bank of India and the Bank of India opened repre-sentative offices in 2013.

Punjab National Bank, another of Indias major state owned banks, has reportedly applied for a licence. According to several sources it has recently been approved, but the bank could not be contacted for comment by press time.

While several major Indian com-panies including Tata Group and ONGC Videsh have made large scale investments into Myanmar, overall trade and investment figures be-tween Myanmar and India are rela-tively lacklustre.

Trade with India represented just 4.23 percent of Myanmars total bilateral trade in fiscal year 2015 to

January, according to the latest fig-ures available from Myanmars Cen-tral Statistical Organisation (CSO). In comparison, trade with Thailand made up 18.48pc of the US$23 bil-lion total over the same period, and trade with China comprised 34.67pc.

Bilateral trade is expected to in-crease once infrastructure along the 1600-kilometre (1000-mile) border between the two countries is more developed.

However, a number of major pro-jects have been subject to long de-lays, including the Kaladan Multi-modal Transport Project, that will connect Calcutta with Sittwe Port, and the India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway.

Indian companies pledged $11.5 million in foreign direct invest-ment in fiscal year 2013, rising to $24 million in 2014 and $208.9 mil-lion in 2015 to January, according to CSO data.

State Bank of India to open rep officeCLARE

HAMMOND

[email protected]

PERCENT

4.23The total amount of Myanmars trade

that is done with India, even as the two countries share a long border

LOCAL payment services firm Red Dot has built up a network of more than 3000 retailers in Mandalay, Nay Pyi Taw and Yangon, chief marketing officer Andy Whelan said at a press conference yesterday.

Shop owners in every township of Myanmars three largest cities have set up Red Dot terminals ma-chines that act as payment gateways allowing customers to top up mobile phones without scratch cards.

Based in downtown Yangon, Red Dot offers technology and services that can streamline top-up sales and management for vendors, which is currently a clunky and involved pro-cess, according to Mr Whelan.

You go into top-up stores and the retailer pulls out his box thats got all his scratch cards in it; he searches through for the one that youre re-questing, he said. Theyve got to manage stock, make sure the expiry doesnt run out, make sure none of

the stock gets lost, and make sure [to have] all the different denominations when people come in.

Red Dots system involves small terminals and trading balances. The year-old firm buys credit from Myan-mars telcos Ooredoo, Telenor, Mec-Tel and MPT the same as that which shop owners buy.

Through Red Dot, these retailers then have virtual balances of top-up, which deplete as customers walk in wanting credit. The terminals print receipts with instructions on how to top up, just like scratch cards but without the silver band at the bottom.

Mr Whelan said the company has already built relationships with CB and AYA Banks in order to make the transfer payment process easier for retailers, and more relationships are forming.

The Red Dot system ensures top-up wont expire in stores, get lost or damaged, or ever run out, according to the company.

One of our problems is that the cards expire, said Ma Tin Aye Yee,

whose Bo Yar Nyunt Street shop sells top-up. We dont worry about the expiry of the card when using this machine.

Red Dot will soon move into other payment services, namely bill pay. For now, it helps take Myanmar a step be-yond scratch cards, already a relic in many telco markets.

What were doing is not unique, Mr Whelan said. In other developed markets you cant buy scratch cards anymore ... Thats where Myanmar will get as well.

The companys customer-care team works on the ground floor of its headquarters on Yaw Min Gyi Street. Signs on the door to their office en-courage smiling and positivity Be an Optimus Prime, not a Negatron, one reads. What can I do to help get 6000 active trading merchants? an-other asks.

The company targets enabling ter-minal top-ups at 20,000 outposts in Yangon, Mandalay and Nay Pyi Taw before 2015 ends a massive scale-up in the months to come.

Red Dot now in 3000 spotsCATHERINE [email protected]

We are trying to make a perfect expressway. In order to achieve this, we plan to invite tenders.

U Win Pe Ministry of Construction

A customer waits at a shop in the Red Dot network. Photo: Naing Wynn Htoon

THE Ministry of Construction is planning to upgrade the Yangon-Mandalay highway to an interna-tional standard following a high-profile crash last year.

Though hundreds of accidents take place each year on the express-way, last year on May 12, 2014, a bus left the road and fell off a bridge, killing 12 people and injuring an-other 29.

The Yangon-Mandalay highway opened in 2009, though experts have said it is missing many of the safety features found on international-standard highways, such as roadside reflectors, warning signs and rumble strips to alert drivers when their ve-hicles are leaving the road.

Public concern over the highway has grown, particularly following the May 2014 crash. Ministry of Construction officials have rou-tinely said that while transport on the road is not yet perfect, there is a master plan to continue upgrading it and it had been opened early for the publics use.

We are trying to make it a per-fect expressway, said U Win Pe, director general of the Road De-partment under the Ministry of Construction.

In order to achieve this, we plan to invite tenders for a build-operate-transfer contract.

U Win Pe said the ministry has so far received 126 applications from local and foreign firms, of which 26 applications are be carefully looked at. However, the structure of the build-operate-transfer contract has not been detailed, as many stages are still being scrutinised.

Its hard to say what the con-tract will look like, but I hope an answer will be coming soon, he said at a Nay Pyi Taw press confer-ence on May 26.

The master plan calls for the Yangon-Mandalay highway to even-tually be upgraded to eight lanes, from its current four. U Kyaw Lin, permanent secretary at the Minis-try of Construction, said upgrading the road will help it meet interna-tional norms of driving faster and safer while traveling comfortable.

But the frequent use of the high-way by cattle, motorcycles and farm vehicles causes cars to break and swerve, which could be alleviated with more lanes. Rest places also need to be placed at 50-mile intervals along the road for comfort of travel, while CCTV cameras and fences are needed near the road for safe driv-ing, according to U Kyaw Lin.

Traffic police say driver negli-gence, excessive speeds and drunk driving are the main causes of ac-cidents. U Win Pe said Chinese and South Korean companies have also flagged their interest in the tender, along with local companies. He added the government will attempt to keep the toll rates the same.

Translation by Zar Zar Soe

NAY PYI TAW

Bids invited for upgrade toYangon-Mandalay highwayHTOO [email protected]

10 Business THE MYANMAR TIMES MAY 28, 2015

TRADE MARK CAUTIONF. Uhrenholt Holding A/S, a Company incorporated in Denmark, of Teglgardsparken 106, 5500 Middelfart, Denmark, is the Owner of the following Trade Mark:-

U H R E N H O L TReg. No. 2792/2009

in respect of Class 29: Meat, fish, poultry and game; meat extracts; preserved, frozen, dried and cooked fruits and vegetables; jellies, jams, compotes; eggs, milk and milk products; edible oils and fats, vegetable oils, shellfish, not live, fruit sauce, milk powder and dairy products, cheese, butter and cream, all the aforementioned goods also as frozen and refrigerated foodstuffs; protein for human consumption. Class 30: Coffee, tea, cocoa, sugar, rice, tapioca and products made from tapioca, sago, artificial coffee; flour and preparations made from cereals, bread, pastry and confectionery, ices and products made from ices; honey, treacle; yeast, baking-powder; salt, mustard; vinegar, sauces (condiments); spices; ice, artificial tea, candy for food, noodles and products made from flour and corn, soya sauce, soya bean paste [condiment], essences and spices for foodstuffs, except etheric essences and essential oils, all the aforementioned goods also as frozen refrigerated foodstuffs. Class 31: Agricultural, horticultural and forestry products and grains not included in other classes; live animals; fresh fruits and vegetables; seeds, natural plants and flowers; foodstuffs for animals, including protein for animal consumption, malt. Class 35: Wholesale and retail related to meat, fish, poultry and game; meat extracts; preserved, frozen, dried and cooked fruits and vegetables; jellies, jams, compotes; eggs, milk and milk products; edible

oils and fats, vegetable oils, shellfish, not live, fruit sauce, milk powder and dairy products, cheese, butter and cream, deep-frozen meat products, deep-frozen poultry, deep-frozen shrimps, vacuum packed, heat-treated poultry; deep frozen ready-made food in the form of gratins containing meat or meat and vegetables, turkey schnitzels, chicken schnitzels, cordon bleau, meatballs, pork and veal patties, steaks and hamburgers, pizzas and French loaf containing meat or meat and vegetables, protein for human consumption, including frozen and refrigerated foodstuffs; wholesale and retail related to coffee, tea, cocoa, sugar, rice, tapioca and products made from tapioca, sago, artificial coffee; flour and preparations made from cereals, bread, pastry and confectionery, ices and products made from ices; honey, treacle; yeast, baking-powder; salt, mustard; vinegar, sauces (condiments); spices; ice, artificial tea, candy for food, noodles and products made from flour and corn, soya sauce, soya bean paste [condiment], essences and spices for foodstuffs, except etheric essences and essential oils, including frozen and refrigerated foodstuffs and wholesale and retail related to agricultural, horticultural and forestry products and grains not included in other classes; live animals; fresh fruits and vegetables; seeds, natural plants and flowers; foodstuffs for animals, including protein for animal consumption, malt.

Fraudulent imitation or unauthorised use of the said Trade Mark will be dealt with according to law.

Win Mu Tin, M.A.,H.G.P.,D.B.L.for F. Uhrenholt Holding A/SP.O. Box 60, YangonE-mail: [email protected]: 28 May 2015

GERMAN multinational conglomer-ate ThyssenKrupp opened its Yangon branch office on May 26, initially tar-geting the elevator market, according to company officials.

The firm has been distributing its products in Myanmar for 85 years, which it hopes will give it the com-petitive edge.

We are bringing our core engi-neering expertise and ability to con-nect competencies to the country, said ThyssenKrupp Asia Pacific chief executive Stefan Schmitt.

Today we open a new chapter for us as a partner supporting Myan-mars sustainable and technology-led development.

The firm will bring a technical team to its Yangon office to meet commercial requirements and service the elevator market, one of its fo-cused sectors locally. ThyssenKrupp has six business areas internationally, including components technology, elevator technology, industrial solu-tions, material services, steel Ameri-cas and steel Europe.

ThyssenKrupp has been involved in a range of businesses in Myanmar over the last 85 years. It sold 40 lo-comotives to Burma Railway in 1929, along with a range of other goods including mining materials, pipes, pumps, and a number of fertiliser and chemical plants in the 1960s, 70s and 80s.

The company aims to train staff in the country, and has taken staff abroad for training, officials said.

The economic outlook of My-anmar is very promising and highly attractive but competition would be different with other markets, said Mr Schmitt. He added the firm is confi-dent it can differentiate itself to at-tract customer development.

At the moment there is no huge investment plan, but other investors will be our customers, he said.

ThyssenKrupps opening follows the launch of the German Myanmar Business Chamber earlier this month.

PARLIAMENT decided yesterday to suspend a large-scale tender for a me-dia-related property following intense criticism, though the Ministry of Infor-mation says it will wait for the Cabinets decision before halting.

South Okkalapa township repre-sentative U Aung Thein Linn submitted an urgent proposal on May 22 to the Py-idaungsu Hluttaw to suspend the pro-ject, claiming a lack of transparency in the tender process. Critics have claimed the tender, to take over and re-develop the large complex at the site of the Yegu transmitter at the corner of Gandamar and Wai Za Yan Tar Roads in north-ern Yangon, excludes all but a handful of well-connected local media-related companies.

Parliament decided to suspend the tender yesterday.

We will wait for the governments [Cabinets] decision for the suspension,

and then will follow that decision, said U Myint Htwe, chief of staff of the Min-istry of Informations permanent secre-tary office.

An Eleven Media report said the document which contained terms and conditions of the tender is being sold for K1 million (US$908). About 120 acres of the former site of a broadcast-ing station are up for tender. Some 30 acres are earmarked for MRTV, with the remaining 90 acres to be handed over to the tender winner.

This means that the tender winner will secure the 90-acre stretch of land, which has potential to become the hub of Yangon and the place of least traffic congestion, the Eleven Media article said.

The tender winner will be required to install a number a facilities at their own expense, including a media-related business park complete with a broadcasting complex, a studio, a multi-media university, a theme park, a recreation zones, public service ar-eas and sports facilities, including an open stadium with 50,000 seats and an indoor 15,000-seat stadium. The winner must allow two broadcast sta-tions and three studios to continue

operating on site. The winner will also be allowed to run businesses such as hotels, guesthouses and com-mercial buildings on the site.

Businesspeople told The Myanmar Times that the difference between the tenders announcement on May 15 and its deadline on June 19 is too short for most companies to meet.

Bidders must submit zoning plans for each portion of the project, work plans and implementation programs, detailed methodology, a proposal for technical services, architectural design of the buildings, high-voltage power distribution, estimates and work sched-ules by the June 19 deadline.

It is indeed nonsense according to international standards, but, I dont know, according to the Myanmar way, said U San Oo, chair of the Association of Myanmar Architects.

It is too difficult to complete even the designs. It is absolutely impossible. Even if it is a very rushed project, it will take at least four or five months to com-plete the sketches.

U Hlaing Oo, chief engineer for state-owned broadcasting enterprise Myanmar Radio and Television, which is to maintain its presence on the site

under the terms of the tender, said he is not sure if the current process will al-low solid plans to be created for such a large project.

If the architects have top ability and work intensively, they can probably finish the designs. But for the entire project? Im not sure, and cant say, as Im an electrical engineer.

While the Ministry of Information has listed a number of criteria the win-ner needs to meet, there appears to be no formal mechanism for action in case the winner does not fulfill its criteria.

Officials from some of Myanmars largest media broadcasting groups have so far remained noncommittal. Eleven Medias article said that Forever Group, the broadcaster of MRTV-4 and Channel 7, and Shwe Than Lwin, broad-caster of Myanmar National Television (MNTV) are the two most likely bidders.

Forever Group co-founder and member of the board of directors U Khin Maung Htay said he did not want to discuss the project or tender in any way, though confirmed his company would not submit a bid.

I have no information on whether Shwe Than Lwin will bid on the tender, said U Than Htike, executive general

manager of Shwe Than Lwins Sky Net broadcaster. Such decisions are made by the superior management body of the company.

The countrys broadcasting sector is not yet fully privatised, with many of the companies currently in the business still maintaining strong government links. Although the tender does not set a deadline to be accomplished, the sus-tainability of such a large project given the countrys small media business is an open question.

The countrys broadcasting sec-tor has not even been opened, said U Soe Myint, founder and chief editor of Mizzima Media. Ive heard about the project and tender, but dont know the details, though it is sure there is a need to develop the infrastructure for broadcast media in the country. But, for our media group, Im not interest-ed in bidding.

However, the Ministry of Informa-tions U Myint Htwe said about five media organisations including FM ra-dio had submitted proposals within the first 12 days of the tender period.

I cant provide the details of the bidders, but some print media organi-sations are included, he said.

Parliament to stop Info Ministrys tenderSANDAR LWIN

[email protected]

Thyssen- Krupp opens branchAUNG [email protected]

THE Yangon Heritage Trust (YHT), with assistance from the New Zealand government, will launch a project this month aiming to understand what Yan-gon residents value about their local environment.

YHT, a non-government organisa-tion, will carry out direct consultation with local residents. The project is also being supported by Yangon City Devel-opment Committee (YCDC), according to a 26 May announcement.

This study will provide one of the first opportunities for downtown com-munities to express how they feel about the streets and urban environments they live in, said the announcement.

There has been much discussion among local and international stake-holders about the future of down-town Yangon, which retains one of the worlds most complete ensembles of co-lonial architecture in the world.

YHT aims to protect the city from in-tense pressure for rapid urban develop-ment. However, in the end, its the peo-ple of Yangon who will need to decide how they would like to protect their heritage and see their city grow, said U Thant Myint-U, YHTs chair.

The project will allow YHT to di-rectly engage with local communities and establish connection with the peo-ple who live in Yangons heritage build-ings, and will encourage local residents to think about what they do and do not value in their neighborhoods.

YHT to survey for local peoples heritage viewsMYAT NYEIN [email protected]

Yangon Heritage Trust guided tours have become popular Yangon outings. Photo: Boothee

International Business 11www.mmtimes.com

IN BRIEF

Yuan no longer undervalued: IMFChinas yuan currency, which Washing-ton has long alleged was manipulated, is no longer undervalued, the Inter-national Monetary Fund said.

The value of the yuan, also known as the renminbi, has been a source of tension for years, with Chinas major trade partners, led by the United States, accusing Beijing of keeping it artificially low to give Chinese export-ers an unfair competitive advantage, which Beijing denied. Our assessment now is that the substantial real effec-tive appreciation over the past year has brought the exchange rate to a level that is no longer undervalued, the IMF said in a statement after a consultation mission to China.

China keeps a tight grip on the value of the yuan out of concerns that unpredictable currency inflows and outflows could harm the economy and weaken its financial control.

Amazon begins paying taxesOnline retail giant Amazon said it has started declaring sales in four European countries which would now be subject to local taxes, a move that could affect other multinationals under EU investi-gation for possible tax avoidance.

Amazon has tax agreements in Luxembourg under which it recorded European sales and paid taxes on them in the tiny country instead of at the source. The deal had provoked howls of criticism that the internet company was trying to avoid taxes, and sparked a probe by the European Commission.

But the Seattle-based firm said it has established local branches in Britain, Germany, Spain and Italy.

Smartphone sales cool on Chinas economic slowdownA slowdown in smartphone sales in China is cooling the global market for the devices, research firm IDC said.

The market tracker said global smartphone sales will see a rise of 11.3 percent in 2015, following robust growth in 2014 of 27.6pc.

IDC said the overall market is still moving forward thanks to growth in other countries and estimated sales rising to 1.9 billion units by 2019 from a projected 1.44 billion this year.

Smartphone volume still has a lot of opportunity in the years to come, but two fundamental segments driving recent years growth are starting to slow, said analyst Ryan Reith.

Greeks collect small changeThe Greek government, struggling to keep up its debt repayments, an-nounced that any dormant public sector accounts holding less than 100 euros (US$109) should be emptied and the funds handed over to the central bank. It covers bank accounts which on March 15 held a total of 0-99 euros, the finance ministry said in a decree.

The ministry added that the funds would be collected from 1039 public sector or ministerial accounts which had not been used since 2009.

The total will be no more than 1 million euros, the statement added.

That wont put much of a dent in the next repayment of 300 million euros due to the International Monetary Fund by June 5.

German consumer confidence at highest in 13.5 yearsConsumer confidence in Germany is at its highest in 13.5 years, as the positive economic outlook and low inflation persuade consumers to open their purses, a poll found yesterday. Very strong domestic demand in Germany and the low rate of inflation are fuelling economic expectations and consumers willingness to spend, market research company GfK said in a statement.

By contrast, income expectations have slipped slightly from their previ-ous record high, the statement said.

Looking ahead to next month, GfKs headline household confidence index was forecast to rise to 10.2 points in June from 10.1 points in May. AFP

ONLY in China can you predict the worlds biggest stock-market rally and still come out looking like a pessimist.

A year ago, analysts who cover the 50 largest companies trading in Shanghai and Shenzhen said equities were set to rally 28 percent. Turns out they werent anywhere near op-timistic enough, as monetary easing and a buying frenzy among Chinese retail investors sent shares surging 111pc through last week.

Analysts have been scrambling ever since, updating predictions, then re-updating them and re-re-updating them as stocks blew by their target prices. The rally that outran their forecasts is now making their jobs even more difficult as they try to as-sess the prospects of companies trad-ing at multi-year highs with the possi-bility of further government stimulus.

This market has been driven up by capital thats flooded in, while you need to touch upon company funda-mentals in your research notes, said Li Xiaolu, a Shanghai-based equity analyst at Capital Securities Corp. We cant write baseless reports, so the current market makes it more difficult for us, and makes me hesi-tate. If a stocks gain is beyond rea-sonable, it may continue to climb even if I cut its rating.

Ms Li is among the best perform-ing analysts on at least 10 compa-nies over the past year, including

locomotive manufacturer CSR Cor-poration, according to data com-piled by Bloomberg.

With the Beijing-based company trading at 5.13 yuan, or US$0.83, in August, she called for a 21pc gain, to 6.20 yuan, over the next year. She raised her projection to 7 yuan in October, and then 11 yuan in De-cember and 18 yuan in March. The stock reached a record 35.88 yuan last month before ceasing trading as the company completes a merger with Beijing-based China CNR Corp.

Surging participation among in-dividual Chinese investors is helping fuel the markets breakneck climb. Individuals comprise about 80pc of equity trading and stock accounts with non-zero balances are rising at the fastest pace since at least 2008, according to data from the China Securities Depository and Clearing Corp.

Theres so much money in the market, Ms Li said. Its a bit embar-rassing to re-rate companies at this point.

No major company highlights the difficulties of forecasting in the cur-rent market more than China Rail-way Group. A year ago analysts ex-pected a 12-mo

thursday, may 28, 2015 (mte daily issue 52)

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