YANGON—The World Bank (WB)’s latest survey on Myanmar has revealed that nearly half of all businesses in the manufacturing and service sectors do not expect to recover from the economic effects of the pandemic, while a reduction in sales is the top concern of businesses in the country. The WB’s latest survey for October covered […]
COVID-19 Taking Huge Toll on Myanmar Manufacturing, Service Sectors, World Bank Says
Ascent Capital closes Myanmar fund after elections
Singapore fund manager Ascent Capital Partners announced the final close of its debut Myanmar-focused fund, the Ascent Myanmar Growth Fund I LP (AMGF), on November 11. AMGF has attracted total capital commitments of US$88 million since its establishment in 2018, which it says makes it the world’s largest Myanmar-focused private equity fund. This comes after […]
Myanmar’s Suu Kyi projects ‘pro-economy image’ before election
YANGON — Ahead of a general election on Nov. 8, the Myanmar government, ruled by State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy, has started to demonstrate its seriousness in buttressing the coronavirus-affected economy. To continue reading, subscribe today Stay ahead with our exclusives about Asia; the most dynamic market in the world. […]
Myanmar company wins pearl farm joint venture
Virgin Pearl Enterprise Ltd, a local company, has won a tender to develop a pearl farm under a joint venture with the government in Kaw Ye Gyi Island, Tanintharyi Region, said U Tay Zar Lin, Deputy General Manager from state-owned Myanmar Pearl Enterprise (MPE). The work involves breeding pearl oysters across 5257 acres of the […]
Myanmar’s growth prospects shrink on resurgence of COVID-19
Two men walk at the Ayeyarwady COVID-19 treatment centre built inside Thuwanna Stadium in Yangon. Photo: Aung Htay Hlaing/The Myanmar Times Myanmar’s growth prospects shrink on resurgence of COVID-19 Stringent containment measures, an uncertain export outlook and strengthening of the local currency against the US dollar could delay Myanmar’s economic recovery into 2021 following a […]
Myanmar ‘Has No Fourth Estate’, Mandalay Chief Minister Says of Media’s Role
MANDALAY—In an apparent snub to Myanmar’s media, the chief minister of Mandalay Region said on Friday that he only knew of three pillars of democracy—the legislature, the administrative branch and the judiciary—prompting criticism from the country’s media organizations. The news media are often collectively referred to as the “Fourth Estate” for their critical role in […]
Cambodia Businesses, Unions Ask EU Not to Impose Trade Sanctions
PHNOM PENH—Cambodian businesses and unions urged the European Union on Monday to not withdraw trade preferences from Cambodia over human rights concerns, saying such a decision would pose serious economic damage and harm millions of workers and their families. The EU warned last year that it would strip Cambodia of its “Everything but Arms” (EBA) […]
Why Myanmar matters so much for India
President Ram Nath Kovind will be on a four-day state visit to Myanmar starting on December 10. This will be the fifth high-level visit between the two countries in the last four years. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit last year was the third by an Indian prime minister in five years and his second in […]
New dawn for remote Andaman Sea island tourism
Few have heard of the Mergui Archipelago, and even fewer have managed to visit the 400km string of scattered islands in the Bay of Bengal’s Andaman Sea. Most of the 800 offshore islands are uninhabited, apart from a few seasonal settlements of the seafaring nomadic Moken, and some Burmese fishing villages The jungle-clad limestone and […]