Myanmar Times
Commerce ministry cracks down on unreported export earnings
The Ministry of Commerce is working with the Central Bank to crack down on unreported export earnings, according to Union minister U Than Myint. The government has adopted a multi-pronged strategy to try to counter the volatile US dollar-kyat exchange rate, which has prompted widespread complaint ...
Myanmar, Malaysia agree over aid flotilla
The flotilla spat appears to have come to an agreeable end. Myanmar has permitted a group of Malaysian organisations to send aid earmarked for Rakhine State after an official permission request was forwarded to the president, and a delegation smoothed over the arrangements on January ...
Tax cut planned for low-cost housing purchases
The government is planning to drastically reduce the taxes it levies when people purchase state-commissioned low-cost housing, which developers say puts many units out of reach for ordinary buyers. Union Planning and Finance Minister U Kyaw Win, in a speech to developers and business leaders ...
Will Myanmar lose its Irrawaddy dolphins?
Tears fill U Maung Lay’s eyes as he describes losing the dolphin he knew since his childhood, the latest casualty of a battle against pollution and electrofishing that may see the species disappear from Myanmar. Loved for generations for corralling the catch into fishermen’s nets, ...
Sembcorp takes another step on Myingyan project
Singaporean energy firm Sembcorp signed a build-operate-transfer agreement with Myanmar’s energy ministry on January 18 for the Myingyan power plant, a high profile energy project expected to receive loans from a variety of international lenders. Tan Cheng Guan, Sembcorp Industries’ head of group business development and ...
Trade groups raise traffic concerns as Yebu gate reopens
The Yebu border trade inspection gate on the Lashio-Muse road has reopened for the first time in over five years as the government tries to honour a commitment to ending illegal trade. But inspecting hundreds of vehicles at a single small gate has resulted in ...
Villagers demand investigation into gold mines
Mandalay farmers have staged a sit-in for the past four days in protest of gold mines they claim have encroached on their land. The Wet Tae village residents are demanding the government suspend the mining activities until the conclusion of an investigation. They also called for ...
Nay Pyi Taw dam helps boost summer paddy plans
Nay Pyi Taw authorities are planning a 50 percent increase in the area of land set aside for summer paddy growing this year, according to an official from the region’s agricultural department. U Tin Oo Kyaing said the department is aiming to plant over 15,000 acres ...
Capital hoteliers address empty rooms
A lack of tourist attractions combined with overly-optimistic developers has left around 80 percent of Nay Pyi Taw hotel rooms empty on any given day. But the chair of a local tourism industry body believes better marketing can help the city improve its visitor numbers. U ...
Garment firms focus on social responsibility
Unions are welcome, and could help garment factories improve their corporate social responsibility functions, a leading manufacturer has said. U Aung Myo Hein, central executive committee member of Myanmar Garment Manufacturers’ Association, told The Myanmar Times that many factories in Myanmar had missed out on ...
