Past the numerous izakaya bars and chain restaurants flanking Takadanobaba’s Sakae-dori street, there’s a simple brown building with a signboard reading “Swe Myanmar.” Although Swe Myanmar is one of many Myanmar restaurants in Takadanobaba, known to many as Tokyo’s “Little Yangon,” one aspect makes it unique: The owner, Than Swe, 56, is a foreign national […]
Daiwa to offer microloans to low-income earners in Myanmar
November 20, 2019 by
TOKYO — Daiwa Securities Group will launch microfinance services in Myanmar through a joint venture, diversifying its portfolio there to tap the growing economy. Microfinancing is a way to lift low-income earners out of poverty by providing tiny loans to those who have no access to formal banking services so they can start their own […]
Tokyo’s ‘Little Yangon’: Once a safe haven, now a home
August 20, 2019 by
The area around Tokyo’s Takadanobaba Station on the west side of the city’s central Yamanote loop line may be best known for its vibrant student life and cheap eateries, but nestled in its corners is a small yet thriving Myanmar community. Located across the Kanda River and five minutes’ walk from the station is Ruby, […]
China to hold 70% stake in Myanmar’s planned strategic seaport
October 16, 2018 by
Myanmar will hold a 30 percent stake in its strategic deep-water seaport project led by cash-rich China, giving Beijing a 70 percent interest, under their final agreement reached during recent talks between the two countries, according to a visiting senior Myanmar official. That is an improvement for the emerging Southeast Asian economy from the initially […]
Myanmar races to feed a growing Yangon
July 20, 2018 by
YANGON/BANGKOK — Rapid urbanization in and around Myanmar’s southern city of Yangon has turned up the pressure to develop goods and services that can meet the rising demand. The gap has provided an opening for companies in one of Southeast Asia’s least-developed countries. Local real estate and construction conglomerate Dagon International set up a modern […]
Japan Inc. pours cash into Myanmar despite Rohingya crisis
May 28, 2018 by
YANGON — Japanese companies are investing aggressively in Myanmar with help from Tokyo, even as their European and American counterparts shy away while hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims flee the country to escape persecution. Japan’s businesses were approved to devote a record $1.47 billion to the Southeast Asian nation for the fiscal year ended […]
Japan mulls resuscitating failed Hanthawaddy airport proposal
May 3, 2018 by
Japan and Myanmar are in discussions about resuscitating the failed Hanthawaddy International Airport project, according to the transport minister. U Thant Sin Maung, Minister for the Ministry of Transport and Communication, held a meeting with Tsukasa Akimoto, Japan’s State Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism in Park Royal Hotel, Yangon, on April 30. The […]
More Japanese companies to invest in Myanmar: Thilawa Special Economic Zone
April 20, 2018 by
More Japanese companies to invest in Myanmar: Thilawa Special Economic Zone Sawako Utsumi and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Increasing numbers of Japanese companies are investing in the Thilawa Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Myanmar. Of course, this SEZ is especially important for Japan because it highlights the importance of Myanmar to political elites […]
Myanmar’s Manufacturing PMI Shows Strongest Manufacturing Growth in Eight Months
February 8, 2018 by
TOKYO — The Nikkei Myanmar Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index, or PMI, improved to 51.7 in January from 51.1 in December. A reading above 50 indicates economic expansion, while a reading below 50 points toward contraction. The January reading was the highest since May 2017. “The latest upturn was supported by a strong expansion in new […]
Yangon developer looks to cash in on loop line improvements
January 23, 2018 by
YANGON — The Japanese trains trundling along the line that loops around Myanmar’s commercial capital, Yangon, are a throwback to an earlier era and a far cry from the modern carriages that whiz through Tokyo. But improvements to the Yangon Circular Railway are likely to speed things up a bit, starting this year, and they […]
