The Myanmar Times

• Business

• Loi Hein ramps up real-estate ventures

  

  Drinks manufacturer Loi Hein Company has shelved plans to list on Yangon’s stock exchange, but a series of potential foreign joint ventures means the firm should have no difficulty growing,…

• Bogyoke shopkeepers talk hopes and fears

  

  A historic election, political transition and a new president – not exactly business as usual for Myanmar.

• Serge Pun calls meeting with brokers over FMI volatility

  

  First Myanmar Investment’s chair Serge Pun called a meeting of securities companies this week following a volatile day’s trading in his company’s shares, while Yangon Stock Exchange officials said securities…

• Daiwa liquidates advisory subsidiary

  

  A subsidiary of Daiwa Securities called Myanmar Corporate Strategic Advisory will be liquidated in order to allow the Japanese group to focus on its role as an underwriter and broker…

• NLD reps propose suspension, review of Parkway hospital project

  

  A parliamentary committee has recommended the incoming Yangon Region government suspend two approved projects on state land, including a US$70 million private hospital.

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• Power sector: Lofty goals, missed targets
• Military-owned MEHL applies to become public company

• Property News

• Harnessing investment into Yangon’s development

  The construction market has slowed considerably in Yangon over the past year but developers hope that good times for the industry will return under the new government.

• Chinese-backed condominium project launches in Yangon

  

  Chinese group Toener Investment has launched sales of a new five-tower condominium project in Yangon’s Yankin township known as Kanbae Towers.

• Condo buyers struggle with hire-purchase payment

  Developers of residential projects in Yangon have found themselves with less cash than expected, as buyers fail to stick to the terms of hire-purchase plans and do not make regular…

• Real estate rush in Twante township

  

  In the eyes of land speculators the stars are aligning for Twante township on the outskirts of Yangon, which is swiftly being linked to the city by new roads and…

• AccorHotels plans six new properties in Myanmar

  

  French group AccorHotels is planning to build six new properties in Myanmar by 2019 – in Yangon, Mandalay and Shan State’s Muse and Inle Lake.

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• Yangon realtors call for wide-reaching reforms
• Residents demand pay for new Yangon bridge

• Technology

• Speaker urges review of 5pc telco tax

  

  Pyithu Hluttaw speaker U Win Myint has urged the government to consider whether a 5 percent tax levied on telecommunications is appropriate, just one day after the duty was enacted…

• Myanmar mobile leaps along

  

  Much talk in the telecoms market has been dedicated to the digital leapfrog: the almighty hop from legacy technology to a mobile-first future. Myanmar’s operators have seen subscriber figures jump…

• Mobile operators comply with one in four data requests

  Private customer information has been requested of Myanmar’s international operators 85 times, and has been provided in less than one-quarter of these situations, according to telecoms operators Telenor and Ooredoo.

• Telenor addresses underage labour, corruption and site fatalities

  

  Telenor continues to confront thorny health and safety issues in Myanmar, with an accident on one of its tower sites leading to two deaths and continued instances of child and…

• Viettel picked for fourth telco tie-up, with military partner

  

  Hanoi-based telecoms operator Viettel has been granted the right to negotiate with a local consortium, including a military-run partner, with a view to receiving a minority stake in a company…

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• Viettel picked for fourth telecoms tie-up with military partner
• Mobile money regulations submitted to cabinet

• Travel

• Chiang Mai: The best things to see and do in the less hectic city

  

  With long, leafy boulevards, Chiang Mai presents an alluring alternative to the Thai capital, Bangkok. Instead of traffic-choked urban sprawl, travellers find a picturesque downtown easily navigated on foot, where…

• What’s the least useful passport?

  

  A recently updated index from Henley & Partners – a London-based consulting firm that specialises in citizenship services – ranking 104 of the world’s passports put Germany on top and…

• Bagan Hotels to be made into residences homes

  

  Even though they will not be allowed to operate, over two dozen “limbo” hotels in historic Bagan can finish up construction, a recent directive said. The properties still cannot accept…

• Tourism industry looks to new minister for more support

  Great things are expected from incoming tourism minister U Ohn Maung.

• Prepare yourself for Dala

  

  It takes a bit of guile to enjoy the snakes, temples, pots and rides through the delta on the other shore of the Yangon River

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• Tourism ministry aims for 6 million visitors
• Bagan ‘limbo’ hotels given 10-year edict