After a United Nations (UN) report this week branded Myanmar’s refugee problem one of the world’s worst humanitarian and human rights crises, David Birnbaum looks at the knock-on impact for the country’s garment export sector. He argues that while Myanmar is one of the few alternatives to China for high value-added, complex and difficult-to-make products, its poor […]
Air Bagan Temporarily Ceases Operations
August 24, 2015 by
Local carrier Air Bagan has temporarily suspended its operations in order to perform maintenance on its fleet of three airplanes. Air Bagan, which was established in 2004, has difficulties in buy or lease more aircraft due to US economic sanctions, or acquire necessary spare parts for its two ATR42-320s and one ATR72-500 aircraft, resulting in […]
Ghosts of 2003 crisis haunt banks
December 15, 2014 by
Banks need to clean up their operations and subject their boards of directors, as well as their families, to intense scrutiny if they want to earn the trust of consumers, industry experts said last week. The most recent incident – which followed a familiar pattern where panicked customers attempted to withdraw all their savings from […]
US Blacklists Myanmar Lawmaker Aung Thaung ahead of Obama’s visit
November 3, 2014 by
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Treasury on Friday blacklisted a hard-line lawmaker of Burma’s ruling party, accusing him of undermining political and economic reforms. Human rights activists step welcomed the action against Aung Thaung, who was industry minister under the former ruling junta and a leader of a pro-military organization blamed for mob attacks. His family […]
Myanmar investment message undermined by politics, sanctions
October 2, 2014 by
(Reuters) – The rapid economic transformation of Myanmar, less than two years after transitioning from military control and opening itself to the world, is not without its rough patches, the nation’s top economic minister said on Wednesday. At the same time, George Soros, one of the earliest investors in Myanmar’s economy and even more so […]
Can Singapore capitalise on Myanmar’s opening?
September 6, 2013 by
Myanmar’s political opening has caught the world’s attention, and many countries are rushing to what has been called Asia’s last frontier market. Punishing sanctions by the European Union have been lifted, while Washington DC has suspended its measures. Seized by the economic potential of the country’s large market and rich resources, Western companies have responded […]
Decades-old bets in Myanmar’s tech industry finally reap rewards
June 20, 2013 by
Local tech companies see major opportunities brought on by reforms in the country It may have taken almost two decades, but Tun Thura Thet’s investment in one of Asia’s poorest countries is finally paying off. “I’ve been waiting here for 17 years to have this moment,” he said, sitting at his office in Yangon, Myanmar. […]
Firms line up for Myanmar opportunity
June 20, 2013 by
By Jaspal Bindral (group executive director and CEO Asia, Standard Chartered) As senior decision-makers from around the globe descended on Myanmar’s capital of Naypyidaw for the World Economic Forum on East Asia recently, multinational companies were lining up to explore the huge commercial opportunities in the country. At Standard Chartered, we’re seeing strong, and growing, […]
