HOUSE OF THE WEEK
Warm single-storey house in Thingangyun
UNCOMPLICATED suburban living sums up this single-level house in Thingangyun township. The house is not overly spacious but there is a nice garden and lawn as compensation. more
Media roundup
(Volume 26, No. 510)
Seafarers’ committee launched
THE Ministry of Transport last month set up the Overseas Seafarers’ Employment Supervisory Committee to ensure Myanmar seafarers do not get exploited, Myanmar Newsweek reported on February 11.
The committee will provide employment for seafarers so they don’t have to deal with brokers or shipping agents, the report said.
The main purpose of the committee is to bypass brokers and unreliable shipping agencies and to ensure long-term employment for Myanmar seafarers.
The committee will also simplify the process of applying for a passport or CDC licence, as seafarers will no longer need to submit an appointment letter from a shipping company.
In the past, those who wanted to be a seafarer had to buy an appointment letter from a broker or shipping agency.
Those seeking employment with an international shipping company as a deck cadet, engine cadet or cook must have passed their matriculation exams and be aged 18 years or more. They must then also sit an exam conducted by the committee and if successful will be eligible to attend a training program.
Loi Hein to set up private bank
BEVERAGE manufacturer Loi Hein will soon set up a private bank, The Yangon Times reported on February 11, quoting the company’s president, Dr Sai Sam Htun.
Loi Hein is also the backer of Mandalay-based Myanmar National League team Yadanarbon FC.
“In addition to the food and beverage industry, we are going to operate a banking business in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Central Bank of Myanmar – once we get permission,” Dr Sai Sam Htun said.
In Myanmar, commercial, investment and foreign trade banks are being operated by both the private and public sectors.
“If there are more new private banks, it will be helpful for the economic growth of the country,” an official from Tun Foundation Bank said.
Since 1992, the government has permitted businessmen to run private sector banks. In 1998 there were 20 private banks but there are now 14, with 13 based in Yangon and one in Mandalay.
