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Description: "The Multi‐Cluster Initial Rapid Assessment (MIRA) When a sudden onset disaster strikes, the MIRA is the agreed inter‐agency approach to undertake a joint assessment and analysis of needs to inform the development of the initial HCT strategic priorities and appeals. The MIRA is comprised of two fundamental components: i) initial assessment to collect and analyze pre‐ and post‐crisis secondary data, ii) and joint analysis to arrive at a collective vision of the humanitarian situation and strategic priorities. Objective The primary objective of the MIRA in Myanmar is to provide decision support to the humanitarian community in the immediate provision of aid to populations affected by a crisis. The overall purpose is to help all humanitarian decision makers collectively understand and communicate on the nature and dynamics of a crisis in the first days after impact and to support the development of strategic humanitarian priorities. The MIRA informs and supports the design of subsequent needs assessments and analysis which are often more detailed and operational in focus. Specifically, the MIRA supports these objectives by implementing a framework that will yield fundamental initial information on the needs of affected populations and the priorities for initial distribution of aid at the community level..."
Source/publisher: Myanmar Information Management Unit (Myanmar) via "Reliefweb" (New York)
2023-07-31
Date of entry/update: 2023-12-20
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Format : pdf pdf
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Sub-title: အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရ၊ ကြားကာလဗဟိုဘဏ်သည် အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရ၏ (၁/ ၆/ ၂၀၂၃) ရက်စွဲပါ၊ ဥပဒေကဲ့သို့အာဏာတည်သည့် အမိန့်အမှတ် (၁/၂၀၂၃)၊ အပိုဒ် (၃)၊ အပိုဒ်ခွဲ(ဂ) ပါ အပ်နှင်း ထားသည့် အာဏာကို ကျင့်သုံး၍အောက်ပါ စည်းမျဉ်းကို ထုတ်ပြန်လိုက်သည် -
Description: "အခန်း (၁) အမည်နှင့် အဓိပ္ပါယ်ဖော်ပြချက် ၁။ ဤစည်းမျဉ်းကို နွေဦးဖွံ့ဖြိုးရေးဘဏ် တည်ထောင်သည့်စည်းမျဉ်းဟု ခေါ်တွင်စေရမည်။ ၂။ ဤစည်းမျဉ်းတွင်ပါရှိသော စကားရပ်များသည် အောက်ပါအတိုင်း အဓိပ္ပါယ်သက်ရောက် စေရမည် - (က) နွေဦးဖွံ့ဖြိုးရေးဘဏ်ဆိုသည်မှာ အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရ၏ (၁- ၆- ၂၀၂၃) ရက်စွဲဖြင့် ထုတ်ပြန်သည့် ဥပဒေကဲ့သို့အာဏာတည်သောအမိန့်အမှတ် (၁/၂၀၂၃) ဖြင့် ဖွဲ့စည်း တည်ထောင် ထားသော ကြားကာလဗဟိုဘဏ်က အဆိုပါအမိန့် အပိုဒ် ၃၊ အပိုဒ်ခွဲ (ခ) အရ အပ်နှင်းထားသည့် လုပ်ပိုင်ခွင့်ကို ကျင့်သုံး၍ ဖွံ့ဖြိုးရေးဘဏ်လုပ်ငန်း အပါအဝင် ဤ စည်းမျဉ်းအရ ခွင့်ပြုထားသည့် လုပ်ငန်းတရပ်ရပ်အား ဆောင်ရွက်ရန်အတွက် ဖွဲ့စည်း တည်ထောင်မည့် ဘဏ်ကိုဆိုသည်။ ( ခ ) လုပ်ငန်းလုပ်ကိုင်ခွင့်လိုင်စင်ဆိုသည်မှာ နွေဦးဖွံ့ဖြိုးရေးဘဏ် ဖွဲ့စည်းတည်ထောင်၍ ဘဏ် လုပ်ငန်း လုပ်ကိုင်ဆောင်ရွက်ရန် ကြားကာလဗဟိုဘဏ်က ထုတ်ပေး သောလိုင်စင်ကို ဆိုသည်။ ( ဂ ) ဗဟိုဘဏ်ဆိုသည်မှာ အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရ၏ (၁/ ၆/ ၂၀၂၃) ရက်စွဲပါ ဥပဒေကဲ့သို့ အာဏာတည်သည့်အမိန့် (၁/ ၂၀၂၃) အရ တည်ထောင်သည့် ကြားကာလဗဟိုဘဏ် ကို ဆိုသည်။ အခန်း (၂) ရည်ရွယ်ချက် ၃။ နွေဦးဖွံ့ဖြိုးရေးဘဏ်အားအောက်ပါ ရည်ရွယ်ချက်များဖြင့် တည်ထောင်ဆောင်ရွက်သွားမည် - (က) နိုင်ငံတကာငွေရေးကြေးရေးအဖွဲ့အစည်းများမှ ချမှတ်ထားသော နိုင်ငံတကာ စံသတ်မှတ် ချက်များနှင့် အကောင်းဆုံးလုပ်ထုံးလုပ်နည်းများအား လိုက်နာ၍ ဘဏ်တွင် အပ်ငွေအပ်နှံသူ နှင့်အများပြည်သူတို့၏ အကျိုးစီးပွားကို အထူးအလေးအနက်ထား ရှေ့တန်းတင်၍ အကောင်းဆုံး ဘဏ်ဝန်ဆောင်မှုများ ကို ဖော်ဆောင်သွားရန်၊ (ခ) အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီ၏ ဗဟိုဘဏ်မှ ထိန်းချုပ်ထားသော ဘဏ်များသို့ စီးဆင်းနေသည့် နိုင်ငံခြားငွေ အပါအဝင် ငွေကြေးများအား ထိန်းချုပ်၍ နွေဦးဖွံ့ဖြိုးရေးဘဏ်သို့ စီးဝင် စေခြင်းဖြင့် စစ်ကောင်စီထိန်းချုပ်ထားသော ငွေကြေးစနစ်အား ဟန့်တားနိုင်ရန်၊ (ဂ) အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရ၊ စီမံကိန်း၊ ဘဏ္ဍာရေးနှင့်ရင်းနှီးမြှုပ်နှံမှု ဝန်ကြီးဌာနက ဆောင်ရွက်နေသော ဘဏ္ဍာရန်ပုံငွေရှာဖွေခြင်း၊ အခွန်ကောက်ခံခြင်း၊ နွေဦးတော်လှန်ရေးအား ဘဏ္ဍာရန်ပုံငွေထောက်ပံ့ခြင်းလုပ်ငန်းတို့အား အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရ၏ ကိုယ်စားလှယ် ဘဏ်အဖြစ် ဆောင်ရွက်၍ ပံ့ပိုးကူညီ ဆောင်ရွက်သွားရန်၊ (ဃ) နွေဦးတော်လှန်ရေးအလွန်ကာလတွင် တိုင်းပြည်ဖွံ့ဖြိုးရေးလုပ်ငန်းများအား ဖွံ့ဖြိုးရေးဘဏ် တခု၏ အင်္ဂါရပ်နှင့်အညီ သက်ဆိုင်ရာကာလအလိုက် ဖွဲ့စည်းအုပ်ချုပ်ပုံ အခြေခံဥပဒေပါ လမ်းစဉ် နှင့်အညီ ဆောင်ရွက်သွားရန်။ အခန်း(၃) ဖွဲ့စည်းတည်ထောင်ခြင်းနှင့်ပိုင်ဆိုင်မှု ၄။ နွေဦးဖွံ့ဖြိုးရေးဘဏ်ကို အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရ၏ (၁/ ၆/ ၂၀၂၃) ရက်စွဲပါ ဥပဒေကဲ့သို့ အာဏာ တည်သောအမိန့်အမှတ် (၁/ ၂၀၂၃) နှင့် နိုင်ငံတခုခု (offshore)၏ ဥပဒေအရ တရားဝင်အဖွဲ့အစည်းအဖြစ် ဖွဲ့စည်း တည်ထောင်ရမည်။ ၅။ နွေဦးဖွံ့ဖြိုးရေးဘဏ်ကို ကိုယ်ပိုင်အမည်ဖြင့် စဉ်ဆက်မပြတ် ဆက်ခံဆောင်ရွက်ပိုင်ခွင့်၊ တရားစွဲ ဆိုနိုင်ခွင့်၊ တရားစွဲဆိုခံနိုင်ခွင့်ရှိသော တရားဝင်အဖွဲ့အစည်းအဖြစ် တည်ထောင်ရမည်။ ၆။ နွေဦးဖွံ့ဖြိုးရေးဘဏ်၏ ရုံးချုပ်နှင့် ဘဏ်ခွဲများကို ကနဦးအဆင့်တွင် ကြားကာလ ဗဟိုဘဏ်၏ ခွင့်ပြုချက်ဖြင့် offshore entity တခု၏ပိုင်ဆိုင်မှု (ownership) အောက်တွင် ဆောင်ရွက်သွားရမည်။ ၇။ နွေဦးဖွံ့ဖြိုးရေးဘဏ်ကို နိုင်ငံတခုခု (offshore) တွင် ဥပဒေနှင့်အညီ ဖွဲ့စည်း တည်ထောင်ထားသော အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရကိုယ်စားပြု ကုမ္ပဏီက အနည်းဆုံး ၅၁ % အစုရှယ်ယာပိုင်ဆိုင်ရမည်ဖြစ်ပြီးနှင့် Initial Coin Offering (ICO) သို့မဟုတ် Initial Public Offering (IPO) ဖြင့် ထုတ်ဝေထားသည့် အစုရှယ်ယာ ဝယ်ယူသူများ (public minority shareholder) က အများဆုံး ၄၉% ပိုင်ဆိုင်ခွင့်ရှိသည်။ အခန်း (၄) လုပ်ငန်းလိုင်စင် လျှောက်ထားခြင်း ၈။ နွေဦးဖွံ့ဖြိုးရေးဘဏ်အနေဖြင့် ကြားကာလဗဟိုဘဏ်သို့ လုပ်ငန်းလိုင်စင် လျှောက်ထားရာတွင် အောက်ပါစာရွက်စာတမ်းများ အနည်းဆုံး ပူးတွဲတင်ပြရမည် - (က) ဘဏ်အမည် နှင့် ဥပဒေအမည်၊ ( ခ ) ဘဏ်ဆောင်ရွက်မည့်ပုံစံ (ကူးသန်းရောင်းဝယ်ရေးဘဏ်၊ ဖွံ့ဖြိုးရေးဘဏ်၊ နိုင်ငံခြားဘဏ်၊ ဘဏ်ခွဲ ၊ နိုင်ငံခြားဘဏ်၊ လက်အောက်ခံဘဏ်၊ အစရှိသည်။) ( ဂ ) ဘဏ်တွင်ပါဝင်မည့် ဘဏ်ဒါရိုက်တာအဖွဲ့ဝင် ဒါရိုက်တာများ၏ အမည်နှင့် နောက်ကြောင်း ရာဇဝင်၊ ကိုယ်ရေးရာဇဝင်၊ (ဃ) ဘဏ်လုပ်ငန်း နှင့် စီးပွားရေးလုပ်ငန်းဆိုင်ရာ အစီအစဉ်၊ ( င ) အစုရှယ်ယာ ၁၀% နှင့် အထက်ပိုင်ဆိုင်သော အဓိက အစုရှယ်ယာပိုင်ရှင်များ၏ အမည်စာရင်း နှင့် ကိုယ်ရေးရာဇဝင်၊ ( စ ) ကြားကာလဗဟိုဘဏ်က သတ်မှတ်သည့်ပုံစံတွင် ပြည့်စုံစွာ ဖြည့်စွက်၍ ဒါရိုက်တာအဖွဲ့ဝင် ( ၂) ဦးမှ လက်မှတ်ရေးထိုးထားသည့် လျှောက်လွှာ၊ ( ဆ ) ဘဏ်၏ပိုင်ဆိုင်မှု နှင့် ဖွဲ့စည်းတည်ထောင်မှုဆိုင်ရာ အထောက်အထားစာရွက် စာတမ်းများ၊ ( ဇ ) အဆိုပြုဖွဲ့စည်းပုံဇယား နှင့် ( ဈ ) ကြားကာလဗဟိုဘဏ်က သတ်မှတ်သည့် အနည်းဆုံးမတည်ငွေရင်း (required capital) အား ထည့်ဝင်မည့်အစီအစဉ်၊ ၉။ ကြားကာလဗဟိုဘဏ်သည် လုပ်ငန်းလုပ်ကိုင်ခွင့်လိုင်စင်လျှောက်ထားခြင်းကို လက်ခံရရှိ ပြီးနောက် လုပ်ထုံးလုပ်နည်းနှင့်အညီ စိစစ်၍ လုပ်ငန်းလုပ်ကိုင်ခွင့်လိုင်စင်ထုတ်ပေးမည်။ ၁၀။ နွေဦးဖွံ့ဖြိုးရေးဘဏ်သည် ၎င်း၏လုပ်ငန်းတိုးချဲ့ခြင်း၊ လုပ်ငန်းလိုင်စင်လျှောက်ထားစဉ်က တင်ပြ ခဲ့သည့် ဘဏ်လုပ်ငန်းနှင့် စီးပွားရေးလုပ်ငန်းဆိုင်ရာ အစီအစဉ်ပါ လုပ်ငန်းတရပ်ရပ် အားရပ်စဲခြင်း၊ လုပ်ငန်း ပုံစံတရပ်ရပ် အသွင်ပြောင်းခြင်းတို့ ဆောင်ရွက်တိုင်း ကြားကာလ ဗဟိုဘဏ်သို့ အသိပေးရမည်။ အခန်း (၅) မတည်ငွေရင်းနှင့်အမြတ်ခွဲဝေခြင်း ၁၁။ (က) နွေဦးဖွံ့ဖြိုးရေးဘဏ်တည်ထောင်ရာတွင် အနည်းဆုံးထည့်ဝင်ရမည့် မတည် ငွေရင်းသည် US$- ၅၀၀,၀၀၀ (အမေရိကန်ဒေါ်လာ ငါးသိန်း)ဖြစ်သည်။ ဘဏ်၏ အစုရှယ်ယာတစ်ခုလျှင် (US$ ၀.၀၀၀၁) ဖြင့် သာမန်အစုရှယ်ယာပေါင်း တစ်ရာဘီလီယံ (၁၀၀,၀၀၀,၀၀၀,၀၀၀) သတ်မှတ်သည်။ ( ခ ) နွေဦးဖွံ့ဖြိုးရေးဘဏ်၏ ခွင့်ပြုမတည်ငွေရင်းကို ဘဏ်အတွက် ဥပဒေအရ ဖွဲ့စည်းတည်ထောင် ထားသည့် ကုမ္ပဏီ၏ အစုရှယ်ယာ အစည်းအဝေးတွင် ဆုံးဖြတ်ချက်အရ သတ်မှတ်၍ ကြားကာလ ဗဟိုဘဏ်သို့ အသိပေး တင်ပြထားရမည်။ အဆိုပါ ခွင့်ပြုမတည်ငွေရင်းကို နွေဦးဖွံ့ဖြိုးရေးဘဏ်၏ နှစ်ပတ်လည် အထွေထွေညီလာခံ ( Annual General Meeting–AGM) ၏ အတည်ပြုဆုံးဖြတ်ချက်ဖြင့် တိုးမြှင့်နိုင်ပြီး ယင်းသို့ တိုးမြှင့်သည့်အခါတိုင်း ကြားကာလဗဟိုဘဏ် သို့ အသိပေး တင်ပြထားရမည်။ ၁၂။ နွေဦးဖွံ့ဖြိုးရေးဘဏ်သည် ကြားကာလဗဟိုဘဏ်၏ ခွင့်ပြုချက်ဖြင့် လုပ်ငန်းစတင်သည့် ပထမနှစ်မှ အပ နှစ်စဉ်အမြတ်ငွေမှ ဒါရိုက်တာအဖွဲ့က သတ်မှတ်သော ရာခိုင်နှုန်းတစ်ရပ်ကို အစုရှယ်ယာရှင်များသို့ အစုပေါ်အမြတ် ခွဲဝေပေးရမည်။ အခန်း (၆) ရန်ပုံငွေများ တည်ထောင်ခြင်း ၁၃။ နွေဦးဖွံ့ဖြိုးရေးဘဏ်သည် အထွေထွေသီးသန့်ရန်ပုံငွေကို တည်ထောင်ရမည်။ ထိုသို့ တည်ထောင်ရာတွင် ကြားကာလဗဟိုဘဏ်၏ သတ်မှတ်ချက်နှင့်အညီ အသားတင်အမြတ်ငွေ ၏ ရာခိုင်နှုန်း တရပ်ကို အထွေထွေ သီးသန့်ရန်ပုံငွေစာရင်းတွင် ထည့်သွင်းခြင်းဖြင့် ဆောင်ရွက် ရမည်။ ၁၄။ နွေဦးဖွံ့ဖြိုးရေးဘဏ်သည် အထူးသီးသန့်ရန်ပုံငွေကိုလည်း ရလမ်းမရှိသောချေးငွေများနှင့် ရရန် မသေချာသော ချေးငွေများအတွက် တည်ထောင်ရမည်။ ထိုသို့ဆောင်ရွက်ရာတွင် နှစ်စဉ် အမြတ်ငွေမှ ဒါရိုက်တာအဖွဲ့က သတ်မှတ်သော ရာခိုင်နှုန်းတရပ်ကို ယင်းအထူးသီးသန့် ရန်ပုံငွေ စာရင်းသို့ ထည့်သွင်း ရမည်။ ၁၅။ ဖွံ့ဖြိုးမှုရန်ပုံငွေကိုလည်း နှစ်စဉ်အမြတ်ငွေမှ ဒါရိုက်တာအဖွဲ့က သတ်မှတ်သော ရာခိုင်နှုန်း တရပ် ထည့်သွင်းပေးခြင်းဖြင့်လည်းကောင်း၊ ကြားကာလလိုအပ်သော ရန်ပုံငွေနှင့်ဖွံ့ဖြိုးတိုး တက်ရေးလုပ်ငန်းများ အတွက် ပြည်တွင်းနှင့်ပြည်ပမှ လှူဒါန်းငွေများ သို့မဟုတ် ထောက်ပံ့ကူညီ ငွေများဖြင့်လည်းကောင်း တည်ထောင်ရမည်။ ၁၆။ ဖွံ့ဖြိုးမှုရန်ပုံငွေမှငွေများကို ကာလရှည်ရင်းနှီးမြှုပ်နှံမှုအတွက် ငွေချေးသက်သေခံ လက်မှတ်များ ဝယ်ယူ ရင်းနှီးမြှုပ်နှံခြင်းကဲ့သို့သော ကိစ္စရပ်များကို ဒါရိုက်တာအဖွဲ့၏ ဆုံးဖြတ်ချက်ဖြင့် ဆောင်ရွက်နိုင်သည်။ အခန်း (၇) အစုရှယ်ယာများ လွှဲပြောင်းရောင်းချခြင်း ၁၇။ နွေဦးဖွံ့ဖြိုးရေးဘဏ်၏ ကနဦးမတည်ငွေရင်းထည့်ဝင်သော အစုရှယ်ယာပိုင်ရှင်များ အပါအဝင် ဘဏ်၏ အစုရှယ်ယာပိုင်ရှင်များသည် ၎င်းတို့၏ အစုရှယ်ယာများအား လူပုဂ္ဂိုလ်နှင့် တရားဝင်ဖွဲ့စည်းတည်ထောင် ထားသော ပြည်တွင်း၊ ပြည်ပငွေရေးကြေးရေးအဖွဲ့အစည်းများသို့ လွှဲပြောင်းရောင်းချနိုင်သည်။ ဘဏ်၏ အစုရှယ်ယာစုစုပေါင်း၏ ၁၀% နှင့်အထက်ပမာဏရှိသည့် အစုရှယ်ယာလွှဲပြောင်းရောင်းချခြင်းများအတွက် ကြားကာလဗဟိုဘဏ်၏ ကြိုတင် ခွင့်ပြုချက်ဖြင့် ဆောင်ရွက်ရမည်။ အခန်း (၈) လုပ်ကိုင်ခွင့်ရှိသောလုပ်ငန်းများ ၁၈။ နွေဦးဖွံ့ဖြိုးရေးဘဏ်သည် အောက်ပါတို့ကိုဆောင်ရွက်နိုင်သည်- (က) ကြားကာလတွင်- အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရ၏ ဘဏ်အဖြစ်ဆောင်ရွက်ခြင်း၊ ( ခ ) ဘဏ်တွင်စာရင်းဖွင့်လှစ်ထားသူများအား ၁ လ ၊ ၃ လ ၊ ၆ လ ၊ ၉ လ ၊ ၁ နှစ် သက်တမ်းရှိသည့် ပုံသေအပ်ငွေစာရင်းများကို မြန်မာကျပ်ဖြင့် အပ်ငွေစာရင်း နှင့် သတ်မှတ်ထားသော နိုင်ငံခြားငွေ ဖြင့် အပ်ငွေစာရင်း တို့ ဖွင့်လှစ်ပေးခြင်း၊ (ဂ) အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရ(NUG)၊ စီမံကိန်း၊ ဘဏ္ဍာရေးနှင့် ရင်းနှီးမြှုပ်နှံမှုဝန်ကြီးဌာန (MOPFI) တို့အား Offshore Entity မှတဆင့် နှစ်ချင်းဆပ် သို့မဟုတ် နှစ်လတ်ချေးငွေများ ထုတ်ချေးခြင်း၊ (ဃ) ဒါရိုက်တာအဖွဲ့၏ ခွင့်ပြုချက်ဖြင့် အခြားချေးငွေများထုတ်ချေးခြင်း၊ ( င ) အပ်ငွေလက်ခံခြင်း၊ အပ်ငွေပြန်လည် ထုတ်ပေးခြင်းတို့ကို ဆောင်ရွက်ရန်ဒါရိုက်တာ အဖွဲ့၏ ခွင့်ပြုချက်ဖြင့် ကိုယ်စားလှယ် (Relationship Managers) များ ရွေးချယ်ခန့်အပ်ခြင်း၊ (စ) NUG pay wallet နှင့် ချိတ်ဆက်၍ လုပ်ငန်းများဆောင်ရွက်ခြင်း ၊ (ဆ) Crypto related လုပ်ငန်းများဆောင်ရွက်ခြင်း၊ (ဇ) Crypto wallet မှစုဆောင်းရရှိသော Crypto currency (USDT) ဖြင့် Fiat Loan များ ထုတ်ချေးခြင်း၊ (ဈ) အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရ ၊ စီမံကိန်း၊ ဘဏ္ဍာရေးနှင့် ရင်းနှီးမြှုပ်နှံမှုဝန်ကြီးဌာန နှင့် အခြား သော တော်လှန်ရေးအထောက်အကူပြု အဖွဲ့အစည်းများ က ဘဏ္ဍာရန်ပုံငွေရှာဖွေရာတွင် ထုတ်ဝေသည့် Product များ အတွက် ငွေပေးချေ ပေးခြင်း၊ NFT (Non-Fungible Token) ထုတ်ပေးခြင်း၊ ကိုယ်စားလှယ်လုပ်ငန်းများ ဆောင်ရွက်ပေးခြင်း၊ (ည) အပိုဒ်ခွဲ(ဈ) ပါ Product များအား ငွေတိုက်စာချုပ်နှင့် အစုရှယ်ယာအဖြစ် ပြောင်းလဲခြင်းကို ဆောင်ရွက်ပေးခြင်း၊ Product များကို ပြင်ပစျေးကွက်မှတဆင့် ရောင်း/ဝယ်/လဲလှယ် နိုင်အောင် ဆောင်ရွက်ပေးခြင်း (ဋ) နွေဦးထီ နှင့် အလားတူ Product များ အတွက် ကိုယ်စားလှယ် ဆောင်ရွက်ခြင်း၊ (ဎ) ကမ္ဘာ့ရွှေစျေးအတိုင်း သတ်မှတ်တွက်ချက်ထားသည့်နှုန်းဖြင့် Gold Certificate များ ထုတ်ပေး ခြင်း၊ ရွှေသက်သေခံလက်မှတ်များစုဆောင်းခြင်း၊ ရောင်းဝယ်ခြင်းများအတွက် ကိုယ်စားလှယ် ဆောင်ရွက်ခြင်း၊ အခန်း (၉) ကော်ပိုရိတ်အုပ်ချုပ်မှုနှင့်ဘဏ်အားစီမံခန့်ခွဲခြင်း ၁၉။ (က) နွေဦးဖွံ့ဖြိုးရေးဘဏ်ကို ဒါရိုက်တာအဖွဲ့ဖြင့် စီမံခန့်ခွဲရမည်။ ( ခ ) ဒါရိုက်တာအဖွဲ့ကို အဖွဲ့ဝင် အနည်းဆုံး (၃)ဦးဖြင့် ဖွဲ့စည်းရမည်။ အဖွဲ့တွင် အောက်ပါ ဒါရိုက်တာအဖွဲ့ဝင်များ ပါဝင်ရမည်- (၁) စီမံကိန်း၊ ဘဏ္ဍာရေးနှင့် ရင်းနှီးမြှုပ်နှံမှု ဝန်ကြီးဌာန၊ အမျိုးသား ညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရ မှ တာဝန်ရှိသူ (၂)ဦး (၂) စီမံကိန်း၊ဘဏ္ဍာရေးနှင့်ရင်းနှီးမြှုပ်နှံမှုဝန်ကြီးက ခန့်အပ်သည့် စီးပွားရေး ဆိုင်ရာမူဝါဒ ကျွမ်းကျင်သူအနည်းဆုံး (၁)ဦး၊ (၃) ကြားကာလဗဟိုဘဏ်ဥက္ကဋ္ဌ သို့မဟုတ် စီမံကိန်း၊ဘဏ္ဍာရေးနှင့် ရင်းနှီးမြှုပ်နှံမှု ဝန်ကြီးက ခန့်အပ်သည့် ဘဏ်ပိုင်ဆိုင်မှုအဖွဲ့ဝင် သို့မဟုတ် ဘဏ်လုပ်ငန်း ကျွမ်းကျင်သူ၊ (၄) သီးခြားလွပ်လပ်သည့် ဒါရိုက်တာ အဖွဲ့ဝင် အနည်းဆုံး (၁) ဦး၊ ၂၀။ (က) ကြားကာလတွင် ဘဏ်၏ဥက္ကဋ္ဌအဖြစ် အမျိုးသား ညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရ၊ စီမံကိန်း၊ ဘဏ္ဍာရေး နှင့် ရင်းနှီးမြှုပ်နှံမှုဝန်ကြီးဌာန တာဝန်ရှိသူ တဦးက ဆောင်ရွက်ရမည်။ (ခ) အသွင်ကူးပြောင်းရေးကာလတွင် ဘဏ်၏ဥက္ကဌအဖြစ် သင့်လျော်သောပုဂ္ဂိုလ်အား အစားထိုး ခန့်အပ်တာဝန်ပေးနိုင်သည်။ ( ဂ ) ဥက္ကဋ္ဌအပါအဝင် အဖွဲ့ဝင်အားလုံး၏ သက်တမ်းသည် တစ်နှစ်ဖြစ်သည်။ သက်တမ်းတိုးခြင်း (သို့မဟုတ်) ပြောင်းလဲခန့်အပ် တာဝန်ပေးခြင်းများကို နှစ်စဉ် ပြုလုပ်သော Annual General Meeting တွင် ဆုံးဖြတ်သွားမည်။ ၂၁။ အောက်ပါပုဂ္ဂိုလ်တို့ကို နွေဦးဖွံ့ဖြိုးရေးဘဏ်၏ အဓိကအစုရှယ်ယာရှင်အဖြစ် လည်းကောင်း၊ ဘဏ်၏ ဒါရိုက်တာအဖွဲ့နှင့် စီမံအုပ်ချုပ်မှုအဖွဲ့ဝင်များအဖြစ်လည်းကောင်း ဆောင်ရွက်ခွင့်မပြုရ- (က) ပြည်သူ့ကြွေးမြီ စီမံခန့်ခွဲမှုဥပဒေကို တတိယအကြိမ် ပြင်ဆင်သည့်ဥပဒေ (၂၀၂၁ခုနှစ်၊ ပြည်ထောင်စု လွှတ်တော် ဥပဒေအမှတ် ၄) ပုဒ်မ ၂၊ ပုဒ်မခွဲ (ဗ) အရ “ကန့်သတ်ထားသော အဖွဲ့အစည်းများ”၊ ( ခ ) ဘဏ်လုပ်ငန်းနှင့် အဖွဲ့အစည်းဆိုင်ရာ ဥပဒေများနှင့် ဆန့်ကျင်လျက် တရားမဝင် ဆောင်ရွက်ချက်များတွင် ပါဝင်ပတ်သက်ဖူးကြောင်း အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရက သတ်မှတ်ခြင်းခံရသူ၊ ( ဂ ) ဘဏ်နှင့်ငွေရေးကြေးရေးဆိုင်ရာ အဖွဲ့အစည်းများ၏လုပ်ငန်းများလုပ်ကိုင် နိုင်စွမ်း မရှိသူ၊ (ဃ) ၂၀၂၁ ခုနှစ်၊ ဖေဖော်ဝါရီလ (၁) ရက်နေ့မှစ၍ အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီအား အဓိက ထောက်တိုင် အဖြစ် ပံ့ပိုးဆောင်ရွက်ခဲ့သူများ (ဃ) လူမွဲစာရင်းခံယူထားသူများ ၂၂။ ဒါရိုက်တာအဖွဲ့၏ အောက်တွင် အောက်ပါကော်မတီများနှင့် ကော်မတီအဖွဲ့ဝင်များကို ဒါရိုက်တာ အဖွဲ့၏ အစည်းအဝေးဆုံးဖြတ်သဘောတူညီမှုဖြင့် ဖွဲ့စည်းတည်ထောင်ရမည် - (က) Asset Management Committee ( ခ ) Audit & Risk Committee ( ဂ ) Remuneration Management Committee ၂၃။ ဒါရိုက်တာအဖွဲ့သည် အထက်အပိုဒ် ၂၂ ပါ ကော်မတီများ၏ လုပ်ငန်းတာဝန်အသီးသီး ကို သတ်မှတ် ပေးရမည်။ အခန်း (၁၀) စာရင်းများပြုစုခြင်းနှင့် ထိန်းသိမ်းခြင်း ၂၄။ နွေဦးဖွံ့ဖြိုးရေးဘဏ်သည် - (က) ဝင်ငွေနှင့်အသုံးစရိတ်၊ ရရန်ပိုင်ခွင့်နှင့် ပေးရန်တာဝန်များနှင့် အခြားသော ငွေရေးကြေးရေး စာရင်းများကို နိုင်ငံတကာစာရင်းကိုင်စံများနှင့်အညီ ပြုစု၍ ကြားကာလဗဟိုဘဏ်သို့ အစီရင်ခံစာများကို သတ်မှတ်သည့်အချိန်ကာလ အလိုက် တင်ပြရမည်။ ( ခ ) စာရင်းမှတ်တမ်းများအား Customer နှင့်လုပ်ငန်းဆက်သွယ်မှု ရပ်ဆိုင်းသည့်နေ့မှ အနည်းဆုံး ငါးနှစ်ထိန်းသိမ်းထားရမည်ဖြစ်ပြီး ငါးနှစ်ထက်ကျော်လွန်ပြီး နောက်ယင်းမှတ်တမ်းများကို ပယ်ဖျက်လိုပါက ကြားကာလဗဟိုဘဏ်(သို့မဟုတ်) ယင်းအားဆက်ခံသော ဗဟိုဘဏ်၏ ကြိုတင် ခွင့်ပြုချက်ရယူရမည်။ အခန်း (၁၁) စာရင်းစစ်ဆေးခြင်းနှင့်အစီရင်ခံခြင်း ၂၅။ နွေဦးဖွံ့ဖြိုးရေးဘဏ်သည် နိုင်ငံတကာအသိအမှတ်ပြု စာရင်းစစ်အဖွဲ့အားငှားရမ်း၍ ပြင်ပစာရင်းစစ် ခန့်ထားနိုင်သည်။ ၂၆။ ဘဏ္ဍာရေးနှစ်အတွက် စာရင်းစစ်၏ စစ်ဆေးတွေ့ရှိချက်အစီရင်ခံစာနှင့် လက်ကျန် ရှင်းတမ်းတို့ကို အများပြည်သူသိရှိစေရန် ထုတ်ပြန်ကြေညာရမည်။ ၂၇။ ကြားကာလဗဟိုဘဏ်၏ စာရင်းစစ်ဆေးရေးမှူးများ သို့မဟုတ် ကြားကာလဗဟိုဘဏ်က ခန့်အပ်သော စာရင်းစစ်များသည် နွေဦးဖွံ့ဖြိုးရေးဘဏ်အားစစ်ဆေးနိုင်သည်။ ယင်းသို့ စစ်ဆေးသည့်အခါ အစစ်ဆေးခံဘဏ်၏ - (က) စာရင်းများ၊ သက်ဆိုင်ရာစာရွက်စာတမ်းများ၊ စာအုပ်များနှင့် အခြားစာရွက် စာတမ်းများကို စစ်ဆေးနိုင်သည်၊ ( ခ ) ဖွဲ့စည်းပုံ၊ လုပ်ငန်းဆောင်ရွက်မှုများနှင့် စပ်လျဉ်းသည့်သတင်းအချက်အလက်များကို သက်ဆိုင်ရာ ကြီးကြပ်သူများ၊ စီမံခန့်ခွဲသူများ၊ ကိုယ်စားလှယ်များနှင့် ဝန်ထမ်းများကို မေးမြန်းနိုင်သည်။ အခန်း (၁၂) ဆက်နွှယ်နေသူများအား ချေးငွေထုတ်ချေးခြင်းဆိုင်ရာ ကန့်သတ်ချက်များ ၂၈။ ဘာဆဲလ် စံသတ်မှတ်ချက်အပါအဝင် နိုင်ငံတကာဘဏ်လုပ်ငန်းဆိုင်ရာ အကောင်းဆုံး လုပ်ထုံး လုပ်နည်းများအရ နွေဦးဖွံ့ဖြိုးရေးဘဏ်သည် ၎င်း၏ အဓိကအစုရှယ်ယာရှင်များ၊ ဒါရိုက်တာ အဖွဲ့ဝင်များ သို့မဟုတ် ဝန်ထမ်းများနှင့် ၎င်းတို့နှင့်ဆက်နွှယ်နေသူများအား ချေးငွေ ထုတ်ချေးပေးခြင်း မပြုရ။ အခန်း (၁၃) အခြားတာဝန်ဝတ္တရားများ ၂၉။ ဤစည်းမျဉ်းအရ နွေဦးဖွံ့ဖြိုးရေးဘဏ်က လိုက်နာရမည့် အခြားတာဝန်ဝတ္တရားများမှာ အောက်ပါ အတိုင်းဖြစ်သည် - (က) ဘဏ်သည် ၎င်း၏အပ်ငွေနှင့် ချေးငွေအပေါ် အတိုးနှုန်းများနှင့်ဝန်ဆောင်ခ အမျိုးမျိုးကို ကြားကာလဗဟိုဘဏ်သို့ (၆)လတစ်ခါ အသိပေးတင်ပြရမည်။ (ခ) နွေဦးဖွံ့ဖြိုးရေးဘဏ်အနေဖြင့် ကြားကာလဗဟိုဘဏ်က စည်းမျဉ်းများထုတ် ပြန်၍ သတ်မှတ်သည့်အတိုင်း မတည်ငွေရင်း လုံလောက်မှုအချိုး၊ သီးသန့်ငွေ လိုအပ်ချက်၊ ငွေကြေး လွယ်ကူမှုအချိုးအပါအဝင် ငွေရေးကြေးရေးဆိုင်ရာ အချိုးများနှင့် စည်းမျဉ်းများ၊ ငွေကြေး ခဝါချမှုနှင့် အကြမ်းဖက်မှုကိုငွေကြေးထောက် ပံ့မှုဆိုင်ရာ လိုက်နာဆောင်ရွက်ရမည့် အချက်များ တို့ကိုလိုက်နာရမည်ဖြစ်သည့် အပြင် ကြားကာလဗဟိုဘဏ်က သတ်မှတ် တောင်းခံသည့်အတိုင်း စာရင်းဇယား များပေးပို့တင်ပြရမည်။ (ဂ) နွေဦးဖွံ့ဖြိုးရေဘဏ်အနေဖြင့် ငွေကြေးခဝါချမှုနှင့် အကြမ်းဖက်ငွေကြေးထောက်ပံ့မှု တိုက်ဖျက်ရေးတွင် နိုင်ငံတကာအဖွဲ့အစည်းများဖြစ်သည့် Financial Action Task Force (FATF) ၊ Asia Pacific Group on Money Laundering ( APG) တို့ကဲ့သို့သော အဖွဲ့ အစည်းများ၏ အကြံပြုချက်များ၊ စံသတ်မှတ်ချက်များ၊ best practices များအား လိုက်နာ အကောင်အထည်ဖော်ဆောင်ရွက်သွားရမည်။ ( ဃ) ဘဏ်၏ဒါရိုက်တာအဖွဲ့ဝင်များ၊ စီမံခန့်ခွဲမှုအဖွဲ့ဝင်များနှင့် ဝန်ထမ်းများသည် နိုင်ငံတကာ နှင့် ဒေသတွင်းဘဏ်များလိုက်နာသည့် လျှို့ဝှက်ချက်များထိန်းသိမ်းရန် တာဝန်ကိုဖြစ်စေ၊ လျှို့ဝှက်ထားရန် တာဝန်အား ခြွင်းချက်ပြုခြင်းကိုဖြစ်စေ လိုက်နာရမည်။ (ပုံ) တင်ထွန်းနိုင် ဥက္ကဋ္ဌ ကြားကာလဗဟိုဘဏ် အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရ..."
Source/publisher: National Unity Government of Myanmar
2023-07-18
Date of entry/update: 2023-07-18
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Description: "Myanmar’s economic recovery slowed by high prices and shortages While economic conditions in Myanmar stabilized in the first half of 2023, businesses continue to face multiple challenges, household incomes remain weak, and food security has become an increasing concern, according to the World Bank’s semi-annual Myanmar Economic Monitor. Economic activity is slowly increasing in Myanmar, but from a low base, the report, A Fragile Recovery, says. GDP is projected to increase by 3% in the year to September 2023, a level still around 10% lower than in 2019. Severe supply and demand constraints continue to limit economic activity. Over the next one to two years, the economy is projected to expand slowly, but with the benefits of growth distributed unevenly across households, firms, and industries. Average annual inflation is projected to ease to 14% in the year ending September 2023, from 18.3% the previous year, and to drop further in 2024. Risks to the outlook include worsening conflict, more slumps in electricity generation, persistent inflationary pressure, and further deterioration in the business environment. The destruction caused by in May by Cyclone Mocha, which caused significant damage in states and regions where humanitarian needs were already substantial, was a reminder of Myanmar’s vulnerability to natural disasters. “While Myanmar is again making economic progress, the growth is unequal and the poorest are being hit hard by consecutive shocks,” said World Bank Country Director for Myanmar, Cambodia, and the Lao PDR, Mariam Sherman. “Worryingly, progress against malnutrition seems to have halted or reversed. More than half of households have been forced to sell assets, increase borrowing, or limit their spending, including on health and education. Such coping strategies will not only damage welfare in the short term, but also affect longer-term earning capacity.” The exchange rate has been stable for most of the last six months, inflation in food and fuel prices have eased, manufacturing output and orders have risen, and sales of local products have reportedly picked up. Passenger and freight transport volumes are rising, and although agricultural production has weakened, profitability is improving as farm gate prices rise and input costs ease, suggesting production may be higher in coming seasons. On the other hand, power outages, conflict, and logistics disruptions continue to constrain productivity, while investment indicators remain very weak. Moreover, with food prices high and ongoing weakness in the labor market, household incomes remain under substantial pressure. Impacts on employment and income have been particularly large in states and regions more affected by the ongoing conflict. The combination of weak employment, fewer hours worked, and increased incidence of casual or self-employed work has reduced the earning capacity of many families. Wages dropped by an average of 15% in real terms between 2017 and 2022 and almost half of Myanmar households reported that their incomes declined over the course of 2022. As a result, food security and nutrition appear to have worsened during the first half of 2023, with coping mechanisms becoming increasingly strained. According to a May 2023 World Bank survey, 48% of farming households worry about not having enough food, up from about 26% in May 2022. The survey also shows a notable drop in the consumption of nutritious foods such as milk, meat, fish, and eggs..."
Source/publisher: World Bank
2023-06-27
Date of entry/update: 2023-06-27
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Description: "Justice For Myanmar welcomes the latest round of US sanctions targeting Myanma Foreign Trade Bank (MFTB), Myanma Investment and Commercial Bank (MICB) and the junta’s Ministry of Defence. MFTB and MICB are state-owned banks that the Myanmar military illegally seized through its coup attempt. The banks are key nodes in the military cartel’s economic networks, supporting the junta’s campaign of terror. The junta’s Ministry of Defence plays a financial role for the Myanmar military as a whole and its procurement of arms and related materiel that are needed for the junta’s ongoing commission of war crimes and crimes against humanity. While these sanctions are positive, Justice For Myanmar urges the US and its allies to urgently impose sanctions on Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE), which is responsible for the junta’s largest source of foreign revenue, and to coordinate sanctions that target whole networks of crony companies and arms brokers, so as to systematically cut the junta’s access to funds and arms. Justice For Myanmar spokesperson Yadanar Maung says: “We welcome the latest round of US sanctions targeting junta-controlled banks that help sustain the junta’s campaign of terror. “However, for sanctions to be effective, far more needs to be done to systematically target the junta’s financial and arms procurement networks by the US and its allies. “Justice For Myanmar calls for urgent sanctions against Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise, which continues to bankroll the junta’s ongoing war crimes and crimes against humanity, as well as the junta’s network of cronies and arms brokers. “These sanctions are a result of the courageous resistance of the people of Myanmar to the military’s failing coup attempt, and the efforts of activists around the world supporting the Myanmar people’s struggle for democracy. “The international community needs to hear to the voices of Myanmar and take decisive action to further cut the junta’s access to funds and arms. The cartel must be dismantled.”..."
Source/publisher: Justice For Myanmar
2023-06-21
Date of entry/update: 2023-06-21
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Description: "Uncertainty weighs on Myanmar’s economy Yangon, January 30, 2023 – Myanmar’s economy remains subject to significant uncertainty, with ongoing conflict disrupting business operations, a World Bank report released today says. While some firms are showing signs of resilience, household incomes remain weak, and Myanmar’s potential for inclusive growth has been severely weakened by recent shocks, according to the report, Myanmar Economic Monitor: Navigating Uncertainty. Gradual economic recovery is expected in the near term and growth is estimated at 3 percent for the fiscal year ending September 2023. Even so, economic activity continues to be adversely affected by conflict, electricity shortages, and changing rules and regulations, with per capita GDP expected to remain about 13 percent below its pre-COVID-19 level. The depreciating kyat, combined with high global prices and ongoing logistics constraints, has caused import costs to rise sharply. The cumulative impact of these shocks fuels inflation and further reduces real incomes. In July and August 2022, almost half of all households in the country reported income losses. Families have been reducing food and non-food consumption in response. “Although business conditions improved toward the end of 2022, the recent economic indicators are mixed,” said World Bank Country Director for Myanmar, Cambodia, and the Lao PDR, Mariam Sherman. “While conflict remains, families suffer from insecurity and violence. Firms, particularly those in the agriculture sector, are experiencing higher costs and delays. Funding for critical health and education services is falling, and lack of trust in public services is increasing. These problems will hinder Myanmar’s long-term economic prosperity.” Economic recovery from the shocks of COVID-19 and the military coup is likely to be constrained by macroeconomic and regulatory uncertainty. The gloomy global economic outlook, which affects Myanmar’s major trading partners including the United States, the European Union, and China, will further weigh on the country’s growth prospects. Frequent changes to rules and regulations have led to greater uncertainty around access to foreign exchange and imports, reducing confidence in payment systems and delaying customs processes. Some businesses are findings ways to cope with the challenging conditions, through access to favorable exchange rates or exemptions from regulatory requirements. Others have switched to informal channels for payments and goods trade. In the absence of more shocks, the economy is expected to expand slowly beyond 2023, but at rates well below those observed before the pandemic. Downside risks include the possibility that conflict may intensify in 2023, while geopolitical tensions could escalate. Growth is likely to suffer in the medium to long term as resources are taken from competitive and export-oriented areas. Lost months of education, with rapid increases in unemployment and internal displacement, will reduce already low levels of human capital and productive capacity over the long term. Myanmar could strengthen economic growth by reconsidering its exchange rate policy, which causes high inflation, fiscal deficits, weak exports and low growth rates. The report recommends a more unified and market-oriented exchange rate system, which would help stabilize the economy, reduce inflation, boost trade, and minimize market distortions..."
Source/publisher: World Bank
2023-01-30
Date of entry/update: 2023-01-30
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Description: "Executive Summary Since the beginning of 2022, Myanmar’s economy has faced a series of external and domestic shocks. The war in Ukraine has caused steep increases in global prices of fuel and fertilizer, which have passed through to a broader range of goods and services. This has led to a sharp rise in input costs across all industries, and fueled inflation which in turn further strained real household incomes. Domestic electricity shortages have also impacted households and businesses across the country. The security environment has deteriorated further in northern and southern regions, while Chin and the Dry Zone remain embroiled in severe conflict. This has disrupted economic activity, with one fifth of all firms (and two fifths of all agricultural firms) surveyed by the World Bank in May 2022 indicating that conflict was the most important challenge to their operations. Notwithstanding these shocks, some parts of the economy have stabilized and even recovered somewhat since late 2021, demonstrating the resilience and adaptability of Myanmar’s businesses. Firms have reported operating at higher capacity in 2022 than in 2021, particularly in the manufacturing sector. The manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index reached neutral levels in the first half of 2022, after a long period of contraction. Garment manufacturers – mainly reliant on external demand –seem to have recovered relatively strongly, as demonstrated by the ongoing expansion in manufactured exports since mid-2021. Construction activity has also picked up as work on several projects has restarted after a long pause last year. This improvement in economic activity has been supported by a rise in mobility, with workplace mobility returning to pre-pandemic levels in June after substantial dips in 2021. The fourth wave of COVID-19 transmissions was much less severe than expected in January, with the number of recorded cases (and the severity of those cases) significantly lower than during the third wave in mid-2021. But activity in other industries and services remains weak, as declining real household incomes have weighed on domestic demand. Despite the recovery in mobility at retail and transport venues, World Bank household survey results from April 2022 suggest that real consumption – particularly of discretionary nonfood items – had declined from a year earlier. Household survey results indicate that job losses, reduced work hours and lower wages and incomes from household farms and businesses have all contributed to a reduction in nominal household incomes. Real household incomes were further eroded by sharply rising inflation, with the latest available data indicating that CPI inflation accelerated to 17.3 percent (yoy) in March, driven by sharp increases in the prices of food and fuel. The weakness in private consumption was corroborated by the May 2022 firm survey results, which indicated that retail and wholesale firms’ sales had fallen by more than a quarter from a year earlier. Rising costs have affected the operations of all businesses, squeezing profit margins. Increases in global oil prices – exacerbated by the Ukraine conflict – have driven pronounced increases in domestic fuel prices and transport costs, as well as in the cost of running diesel generators to compensate for recurring electricity outages. Over the first half of 2022, the local price of fuel rose by around 70 percent. Kyat depreciation, supply chain disruptions and the spillover effects of higher transport prices have resulted in price increases for a broader range of imported inputs, squeezing already thin profit margins. Increases in the price of fertilizer and other agricultural inputs have prompted a reduction in their use, with negative implications for future crop yields. Despite a narrowed current account deficit, external balance of payment pressures have become acute. The current account deficit narrowed in the year ended September 2021, due to a narrower goods trade deficit (with imports contracting by more than exports in FY2021), sharply lower travel and other services receipts, and a 30 percent decline in recorded overseas remittances. But there were more pronounced pressures on the financial account, with foreign direct investment down by about two thirds from the previous year, substantial outflows of foreign currency deposits, and sharp declines in other net financing flows through the year. Together these resulted in a recorded reduction in foreign exchange reserves of close to US$ 1 billion in the September quarter 2021. To the extent that these trends have continued, it is plausible that foreign exchange reserves have fallen to insufficient levels as at mid-2022 (with some reserves also inaccessible due to foreign sanctions). More recent data indicates that the US dollar value of goods imports has increased by more than goods exports in the first half of 2022, driven largely by rising imports of intermediate inputs, while FDI commitments remained very weak. This implies that neither net trade flows nor FDI flows have provided additional support to the balance of payments this year. External pressures have been compounded by reversals of previous policy reforms. Undoing previous gains in macro-economic management, the authorities abandoned the managed float exchange rate regime, fixing the official reference exchange rate at an overvalued level not reflective of market supply and demand. In a bid to stem foreign exchange pressures the authorities also imposed foreign exchange restrictions. This has led to shortages of US dollars and a growing spread between official and parallel market rates (which had reached around 20 percent as at mid-July). In combination with onerous import license requirements, these foreign exchange restrictions have led to particularly significant impacts on the domestic supply of fuel, resulting in shortages and the emergence of a parallel fuel market to circumvent the authorities’ efforts to impose price controls. Meanwhile, the imposition of kyat conversion and surrender requirements on foreign exchange earnings (and deposits) has effectively acted as a tax on exporters, with signs that the external price competitiveness of agricultural exports has been adversely affected since these measures were imposed in April. A recent central bank direction requiring banks to facilitate the temporary suspension of foreign loan repayments is intended to ease external liquidity pressures, but if implemented will likely reduce the creditworthiness and market access of Myanmar’s corporate and financial sectors. While cash liquidity constraints appear to be easing, weak financial sector balance sheets are constraining credit growth. Discussions with industry representatives indicate that non-performing loan and delinquency rates are high, having continued to rise since the start of the pandemic in 2020, with banks providing relief and rescheduling repayments on a customer-by-customer basis. Ongoing declines in asset quality have in turn prompted a cautious approach to new lending. While withdrawal limits remain in place, it has become easier to obtain kyat from ATMs and bank branches, in part due to a recovery in bank deposits. The fiscal position has deteriorated, accompanied by shift of public spending away from critical public services. Tax collection declined from 6.5 percent of GDP in FY2020 to 4.9 percent of GDP in FY2021. Losses in large energy State Economic Enterprises (SEEs) have also contributed to an overall decline in revenue (in nominal kyat terms) of almost 30 percent. The fiscal deficit rose to around 9 percent of GDP in FY2021, with spending also falling – due to weak budget execution – but by less than the decline in revenue. Given reductions in other financing sources, there has been a return to reliance on central bank financing, in another sign of reversal of previous macro-fiscal reforms. Despite the critical importance of health, education, and social protection for livelihoods and human capital accumulation, public spending on these services has declined and budget allocations to these sectors have been sharply curtailed. The impacts of COVID-19 and the aftermath of the military coup are estimated to have erased nearly a decade of poverty reduction progress. Estimates based on the latest available data indicate that poverty has doubled compared with its level in March 2020, with about 40 percent of the population now living below the national poverty line in 2022, matching levels of poverty a decade ago. Inequality is estimated to have worsened, with those already poor falling into deeper destitution. Moreover, household survey data indicate a movement of labor away from service industries and into agriculture over the past 18 months, as internal migration from cities to rural areas has been used as a coping mechanism to deal with job loss. However, this shift to lower productivity agriculture implies an overall decline in labor productivity, which in turn has dampened household incomes. Lower household incomes in conjunction with higher food and fuel prices and ongoing credit/liquidity constraints have magnified risks of food insecurity, though these risks may have been at least partially offset by a pick-up in subsistence production. Household surveys indicate that coping mechanisms are under increasing strain, with over half of all households reporting cuts to non-food consumption, and significant proportions across the income distribution reporting cuts to food consumption, borrowing from friends and family, and sales of assets. While livelihoods have come under increased stress since 2020, public sector support has declined sharply, with virtually no households reporting receiving any form of social assistance in May 2022, in contrast to the 43 percent of households which reported receiving cash assistance in October 2020. Amid persistent domestic and external headwinds, the economy is projected to only recover modestly in FY2022, implying continued pressure on incomes and livelihoods. Following the estimated 18 percent contraction in FY2021, GDP is projected to increase by 3 percent in the year to September 2022. The absence of a substantial rebound in FY2022 – with GDP still around 13 percent lower than in 2019 – is indicative of the severe supply- and demand-side constraints that continue to impact economic activity. At the aggregate level, the slight upward revision of our growth projection from the 1 percent growth forecast in the January MEM reflects the much less severe than expected impact of the fourth wave of COVID-19 in February and March. The manufacturing and construction sectors are driving most of the modest growth expected this year, with services sector activity constrained by weak demand and agricultural production hampered by higher input prices, logistics constraints, and conflict. Inflation is projected to remain elevated given persistent impacts from kyat depreciation, logistics constraints, and still-high global prices (despite a recent easing in some food and fertilizer prices). CPI inflation is projected to average 15 percent in FY22, with year-on-year inflation peaking in the second half of the year). The current account deficit is expected to widen slightly, with goods imports increasing by more than goods exports in the year to date, and services exports expected to remain weak. The fiscal deficit is expected to remain elevated in the twelve months to September 2022. Both expenditure and revenue outturns worsened significantly in FY21, and only a partial improvement in each is expected in the following 12 months..."
Source/publisher: The World Bank (Washington, D.C.)
2022-07-21
Date of entry/update: 2022-07-21
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "YANGON, July 21, 2022 –Myanmar’s economy has faced a series of external and internal disruptions which have impeded recovery from the large contraction in economic activity last year. The absence of a substantial rebound in growth – with GDP in 2022 estimated to still be around 13 percent lower than in 2019 – means that livelihoods and coping mechanisms will continue to be severely strained. About 40 percent of the population is living below the national poverty line in 2022, unwinding nearly a decade of progress on poverty reduction, according to The World Bank’s Myanmar Economic Monitor released today. Myanmar’s economy is projected to grow 3 percent in the fiscal year ending in September 2022, following an 18% contraction last year. Weak economic activity is indicative of the range of constraints facing the Myanmar economy. These include a sharp rise in the prices of imported inputs and consumer goods, partly attributable to the war in Ukraine; elevated levels of domestic conflict; electricity outages; and persistent logistics and financial sector disruptions. Recent policy shifts have added to challenges for businesses. Burdensome trade license requirements, the abandonment of the managed float exchange rate regime, and the imposition of foreign currency surrender rules have resulted in shortages of key imported inputs and inhibited exporters. Uncertainty among businesses has increased due to the rapid issuance of new policy instructions, including exemptions to previously imposed restrictions, followed by subsequent attempts to revoke those exemptions. “Myanmar last year experienced one of the worst economic contractions in the world, and the limited growth we forecast this year leaves its economic recovery far behind other countries,” said World Bank Country Director for Myanmar, Cambodia and Lao PDR Mariam Sherman. “This will continue to test the resilience of the Myanmar people, with household incomes declining and coping mechanisms against food insecurity and poverty increasingly under strain amidst ongoing internal conflict.” While the overall economy has faced headwinds, some sectors have stabilized or recovered over the past twelve months, driving the modest growth expected for this year. Some firms have reported operating at a higher proportion of their capacity in 2022 than was the case in 2021, particularly in the manufacturing sector, and manufactured exports are recovering. Construction activity has also picked up as work on several projects has resumed after a long pause last year, and the pipeline of issued permits has grown. A rise in mobility at workplaces, retail outlets, and transport hubs has supported overall activity, although indicators of consumer spending are weak. “Despite severe constraints, economic activity has picked up in some areas over the last twelve months, demonstrating the adaptability of Myanmar’s businesses,” said World Bank Senior Economist for Myanmar Kim Edwards. “However, industries more dependent on domestic demand are facing challenges from lower household incomes and rising prices, while agricultural production remains constrained by increased input prices, transport disruptions, and ongoing conflict”. The spike in inflation has disrupted the operations of all businesses. The latest available data indicate that CPI inflation increased to 17.3 percent (yoy) in March. Increases in global oil prices have driven pronounced increases in domestic fuel prices and transport costs, as well as in the cost of running diesel generators to compensate for recurring electricity outages. Kyat depreciation, supply chain disruptions and the spillover effects of higher transport prices have resulted in price increases for a broader range of imported inputs, squeezing already thin profit margins. Beyond the projected 3 percent growth in 2022, the outlook remains weak and subject to substantial risks. Domestic prices for food, fuel, and other imported inputs are likely to remain elevated over the short to medium term, constraining both production and consumption. The balance of payments situation is of growing concern, with U.S. dollar shortages already limiting the availability of several imported products, including fuel. Elevated levels of conflict in many areas of the country are expected to continue to constrain productive activity. As a result, a return to pre-pandemic levels of economic activity is unlikely in the near term, in sharp contrast to the rest of the East Asia and Pacific region, where GDP in all large countries is estimated to have recovered to above 2019 levels or is projected to do so in 2023. Recent policy shifts are likely to have longer-term effects: inhibiting potential growth, worsening macroeconomic instability, and impairing the efficient allocation of resources. Trade and foreign exchange restrictions have unwound previous reforms to liberalize trade and unify the exchange rate. Stepped up promotion of import substitution and self-sufficiency is reversing much of the increased openness and liberalization that has been a key driver of Myanmar’s strong growth record over much of the last decade. These policy changes have also allowed the authorities greater control over the allocation of resources in the economy, which is likely to benefit some, but ultimately divert resources from their most efficient use. Lessons from Myanmar’s economic history suggest that to the extent that these trends continue, investor confidence and the business environment will weaken further, constraining Myanmar’s growth potential over the longer-term..."
Source/publisher: The World Bank (Washington, D.C.)
2022-07-21
Date of entry/update: 2022-07-21
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Sub-title: New measure barring local possession of foreign currency threatens to alienate the few foreign investors left in the benighted nation
Description: "After a year of political, social and economic self-destruction, Myanmar’s coup-installed junta appears now to be committing financial suicide. On April 3, Myanmar’s central bank issued a directive requiring all Myanmar citizens to change their foreign currency holdings and transmittances from overseas into Myanmar kyats at state-licensed banks. The directive, published in state media and branded by critics as a desperate money grab, said the transfer must be done within “one working day.” It is still unclear how the crude measure will be enforced and implemented but follow-up guidance has said that US dollars must be changed at a rate of 1,850 kyats to the greenback, yielding the central bank a windfall on the exchange at the prevailing market rate of 2,015 kyats to the dollar. Other currencies will be calculated at similar, most likely unfavorable, rates dictated by the central bank. According to the World Bank, Myanmar’s foreign reserves stood at a mere US$7.8 billion as of December 2020, just over a month before the February 2021 coup and the last reliable public data on the country’s reserve position. Myanmar’s foreign debt is estimated at between $10 and $11 billion. Western sanctions imposed in punitive response to the military’s seizure of power from Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected administration have targeted the military’s key economic interests and certain top personages. According to the central bank’s first statement on the new measures, all transfers of foreign currency “must be carried out through [authorized] banks with the permission of the Foreign Exchange Supervisory Committee.” All foreign currency account holders will also be forced to convert holdings acquired before April 3 into kyats, with a vague option to apply for an exemption to the new rules. It was also announced that some foreign currency may be kept in approved banks following approval by relevant authorities, including the Myanmar Investment Commission. The foreign investment community is understandably up in arms over the surprise and draconian order. On April 4, the Japanese Embassy sent a letter to the junta saying “Japanese companies operating in Myanmar will face serious challenges in following the new regulation, which will cause difficulties in continuing their businesses in the country. It will also be detrimental to the function of the Embassy of Japan and other official organizations.” Two days later, the Singaporean Embassy issued an almost identical statement that merely changed “Japanese companies” to “Singapore companies.” Both embassies requested exemptions for companies from their respective countries, which are among Myanmar’s top providers of foreign investment. On April 8, a dozen business groups — among them the French Myanmar Chamber of Commerce, AustCham Myanmar, EuroCham Myanmar, the British Chamber of Commerce in Myanmar, and the German Myanmar Business Chamber — issued a joint statement saying that the new foreign currency rule “needlessly lowers the living standards of the Myanmar people, halts foreign business activity, stops the flow of foreign direct investment (FDI), and creates trade tensions with other countries.” Restriction on the use of foreign currencies, the statement noted, “disconnects Myanmar from the global economy and global financial system.” According to well-placed sources in Yangon, not even local banks seem to know what the new rules actually mean, how they will be enforced by military authorities, and what will happen if the banks are deemed to have violated them. Analysts and observers believe there are three main reasons behind what many see as a desperate move to gain access to foreign currency at a time the local economy has nearly collapsed due to the military’s February 2021 coup and the nationwide unrest that has followed. The first and most obvious motivation stems from the fact the junta has nearly depleted its foreign reserves and desperately needs a way to earn, or in this instance, take foreign currency to avoid defaulting on foreign debts. Another reason may be to control, and possibly strangle, money flows from foreign donors and exiled groups to anti-junta activists and civil society groups inside the country. The new measure will effectively make it illegal to hold foreign funds, making it easier for authorities to track and check transfers to such groups. Only entities registered with authorities will be allowed to receive funds from abroad — and then that money would in any case have to be changed into kyats unless they have acquired an exemption from that rule. But holders of kyat accounts may withdraw only 500,000, or the equivalent of less than US$250, per week under the military junta rules. That, of course, has raised the question of whether the central bank actually has enough kyat reserves to cover the conversion of all foreign holdings into local currency. The third reason for the move became clear when the Japanese and Singaporean embassies issued their statements requesting exemptions from the new rules. Inadvertently, perhaps, the pleas were made to the “Ministry of Foreign Affairs” of “The Republic of the Union of Myanmar” and thus amounted to de facto official recognition of the coup-installed government that has otherwise been shunned and sanctioned by the West. Whatever the case, the economic and diplomatic benefits the junta may derive from the new rules are bound to be dwarfed by the negative consequences of such an ill-conceived measure to assert more military control over the economy. It’s unclear if the Japanese and Singaporean companies that are still in the country since the coup will consider uprooting if not given the exemptions they have requested. The rules will also likely deter other foreign companies from investing in the country, which was already a tough sell amid the post-coup political upheavals and devastation caused by Covid-19. But Myanmar needs more, not less, foreign investment to revive the economy. The International Labor Organization (ILO) stated in a January 2022 report that Myanmar is on brink of economic collapse one year after the coup. According to the ILO, the country’s employment losses in 2021 amounted to 8% of the workforce, or 1.6 million lost jobs. It said Myanmar’s construction, garment, tourism and hospitality industries were among the hardest hit, as were rural farmers. Similarly, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) issued a statement in December 2021 that estimated “by early 2022, nearly half of Myanmar’s 55 million population — some 25 million people — will be living below the national poverty line. There now appears little doubt that the country’s poverty headcount is likely to return to levels not seen since 2005, effectively erasing 15 years of pre-pandemic economic growth.” Kanni Wignaraja, director of the UNDP Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific, was quoted as saying: “A slide into poverty of this scale could mean the disappearance of the middle class – a bad omen for any rapid recovery from this crisis,” she noted. In many ways, Myanmar’s broad economy, especially foreign-exposed sectors like tourism, was until now a dollar-based economy, with many transactions conducted in foreign rather than local currency. Trying to eliminate that economy overnight, analysts and observers predict, is bound to put more strain on an already fragile economy that contracted 18% in the year ended September 2021. The World Bank predicted a paltry 1% growth on that contraction in 2022, though the projection was made before the de-dollarization measure was announced. But Myanmar’s increasingly isolated generals may not care, particularly if they think sympathetic allies like China will turn the other cheek on the foreign currency measure and bail them out if the economy slips deeper into crisis. The junta’s lurch towards de-dollarization might thus give rise to a new yuan-based financial order – and even greater dependence on Beijing..."
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Source/publisher: "Asia Times" (Hong Kong)
2022-04-19
Date of entry/update: 2022-04-20
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Description: "Strapped for hard currency, the Myanmar junta has moved to seize foreign currencies in the country by ordering that foreign exchange earned by locals must be converted into the local currency at the “official rate” within “one working day.” Financial experts and the business community voiced concern that the order would not only hurt the country’s US dollar-dependent export-import industry, but also worsen inflation, adding to the already severe burden on the people of Myanmar, whose economy has been in a downward spiral since the military coup in February last year. In a notice dated April 3, the junta-controlled Central Bank of Myanmar said foreign currencies must be deposited in accounts at licensed banks and exchanged for the local currency within 24 hours. It said the new directive would also apply to foreign currency that came into the country before April 3. Those who fail to comply would face legal action under the Foreign Exchange Management Law, it said. The central bank’s official exchange rate is currently 1,850 kyats per US dollar. However, the rate is around 2,050 in the market, meaning exporters and foreign currency account holders will be hurt by the new policy. The regime didn’t offer any reason for the order. However, financial experts suggested the new policy showed the regime is suffering a dollar deficit and is desperate for hard currency to pay its debts—estimated to amount to at least US$10 billion—and purchase key supplies such as oil, gas and weapons, mainly to combat the growing armed resistance in the country. Myanmar’s military regime has been hit hard by a series of international sanctions over the coup it staged against the democratically elected government last year, and its subsequent brutal crackdown on protesters. So far the junta has killed more than 1,700 people. The takeover also prompted the departure of foreign investment from industries ranging from brewing to the energy sector, leaving the country’s economy in disarray. International assistance programs have also been put on hold since the coup. “They cannot get loans from the World Bank, ADB [Asian Development Bank] and JICA [Japan’s development agency] and the exemption period to pay back loans due to COVID-19 will end soon. So, they need to repay the loans. That’s why they want to control the US dollars in the country,” a local observer said. The central bank has not imposed restrictions on dollar transactions since 2012; anyone in the country had been able to buy and sell dollars freely since then. “But now, once you deposit the foreign currency at the bank, it is automatically bought at 1,850 kyats per dollar. You have no choice,” said local businessman Dr. Soe Tun. One economist who asked for anonymity said the move could see the country’s exports grind to a halt, and may ultimately affect agricultural produce growers, who depend on imported fertilizer. “Not only exporters, but also local farmers that grow export items will be hit as a result. How much foreign currency does the central bank still have? And can the bank manage it? It appears that the bank can’t. Its new policy will only worsen the situation. As far as I know, they are still holding one meeting after another on how to proceed with its policy,” he told The Irrawaddy. Furthermore, Myanmar’s banking sector has been in chaos following the coup. Shortly after the coup, the central bank limited cash withdrawals from banks and automated teller machines, restricting the cash flow as many customers rushed to take out their money fearing the possible economic consequences of the takeover. The bank has eased restrictions over the past year, but still, individuals, unable to withdraw as much money as they want from their savings accounts in banks, have to pay around 3 percent to mobile money agents in order to withdraw cash from their mobile wallets. In the early days after the coup, they were paying at least 7 to 10 percent. A local financial expert said the central bank’s new policy would push dollar exchange transactions into the black market, as the bank cannot sell all the US dollars that import companies need. “The importers will have to struggle to get US dollars on the black market at a higher price. As a result, the cost of their products will be high and inflation will rise,” he said..."
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
2022-04-06
Date of entry/update: 2022-04-06
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Description: "(Singapore/Oslo, 17 January 2022) Telenor Group and Yoma Strategic have entered into an agreement to sell Telenor Group’s 51 percent share of Digital Money Myanmar Limited (“Wave Money”) for USD 53 million to Yoma MFS Holdings Pte. Ltd, a subsidiary of Yoma Strategic. This subsidiary is to be funded by a consortium of investors led by Yoma Strategic which remains subject to completion and final funding. When the transaction is concluded, Yoma Strategic will become the largest and controlling shareholder of Wave Money, ensuring that the company continue operations and further extend its leading role in Myanmar’s fintech sector. Wave Money is a leading provider of money transfer and digital payment solutions in Myanmar. The company was launched in November 2016 as a joint venture between Yoma Bank and Telenor Group, after the fintech pioneer was awarded a license to become the first non-bank institution to work under Myanmar’s new Mobile Financial Services Regulation. In 2020, Wave Money processed a total of USD 8.7 billion in remittance and payments, which represented around 12 percent of Myanmar’s GDP. The company runs a network of more than 45,000 active agents or “Wave Shops” in urban and rural areas across 295 out of the 330 townships nationwide. The business has seen a significant recovery in volumes since June 2021 with the trend expected to continue. “This acquisition reinforces Yoma Strategic’s desire to build a strong financial and technology ecosystem in the country over the long term. The digitization in the economy, in particular in financial services, has been remarkable for Myanmar. We are pleased that Wave Money has positively transformed the way of life of people in Myanmar, bringing financial inclusion to the mass,” says Melvyn Pun, CEO, Yoma Strategic. “Telenor is proud to have been part of Wave Money’s journey to empower the people of Myanmar with country-wide access to financial services. We have worked in partnership with Yoma Strategic to ensure that anyone from anywhere can digitally send and receive money, make contactless and secure payments in-stores or online using the market leading mobile Wallet App of Wave Money. We are confident that Yoma have the commitment and vision to take Wave Money forward to the next level of driving financial inclusion”, says Lars Erik Tellmann, Head of Financial Services in Telenor Group. The agreement between Yoma Strategic and Telenor Group completes the divestment process announced in June 2020. The transaction is subject to various conditions to be completed, among them regulatory approval from the Myanmar Central Bank..."
Source/publisher: Telenor Group
2022-01-17
Date of entry/update: 2022-01-18
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Description: "Almost eight months after the military coup, Myanmar’s currency depreciated to a record low this week, prompting fears of worsening social and economic instability in the country, which has been devastated by the takeover. On Tuesday, the US dollar exchange rate rose to a record high of around 2,500 to 2,700 kyats per dollar. Prior to the Feb. 1 coup, the exchange rate was between 1,300- 1,400 kyats per USD. The rates on Wednesday are the same as yesterday, according to sources from different money exchanges and the black market. The value of gold on the domestic market reached a record high of more than 2.25 million kyats per tical on Tuesday, up sharply from a little over 2 million kyats the previous day. Gold shops had to close on that day and the market reopened only on Wednesday afternoon with prices at 2.2 million kyat per tical. The tical is a traditional Burmese measurement of gold weight equal to16.33 grams (just over half an ounce). The gold price before the coup was 1.32 million kyats per tical. People are only looking to buy US dollars in the currency market, with almost no one willing to resell, pushing the value of the greenback up sharply against the local currency, according to market sources. “Dollar sales are almost nonexistent and demand [for US currency] is rising as more people want to buy than previously,” said a businessman who spoke on condition of anonymity. Under the junta, the Central Bank of Myanmar has been selling reserve dollars to some companies importing key commodities such as petrol, cooking oil and pharmaceuticals through local private banks on a quota basis. However, the businessman said, there is a large demand for dollars in the market. Since the coup, the central bank has sold more than 190 million US dollars to the market in an attempt to stabilize the exchange rate. Of that amount, some $60 million was sold in September alone. However, unwilling to accept the drop in the Myanmar currency’s value, the junta set the official exchange rate at around 1,755 kyats per USD on Wednesday. Economists told The Irrawaddy that the economic slowdown, the banking crisis and political instability in the aftermath of the coup have led to volatility in the US dollar/kyat exchange rate, adding that the banking crisis had escalated into a currency crisis. A business analyst in Rangoon said, “It is mainly based on political instability. As the political situation becomes more volatile, some rich people will buy gold and dollars. The Central Bank also tries to monitor [the situation]. But as the bank does not have a lot of dollars, it can’t control things.” He said the current economic problems in the Southeast Asian country could not be resolved through economic policies alone, but only through political change. The rise of the US dollar/kyat exchange rate has seen petroleum prices increase steadily to more than 1,400 kyats per liter. At the end of January, fuel prices ranged between 660-770 kyat per liter. As a consequence, transportation costs have risen, as well as domestic commodity prices and the prices of some imported goods. On Wednesday, some companies abruptly halted their sales of imports due to the serious drop in the kyat’s value. An economist said: “People have lost faith in the kyat and are reluctant to deposit in banks. So they purchase the commodity they trust. People are trying to save dollars rather than spending.” He said that due to a decline in exports, the cessation of foreign investment and the absence of international aid, the junta’s income from foreign currency had dried up, limiting its ability to control the US dollar/kyat exchange rate. “They can’t solve this crisis. It is clear that they cannot do it. The whole economy is collapsing because of them,” he said..."
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
2021-09-29
Date of entry/update: 2021-09-30
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "Within a few days of the Feb. 1 coup, attention focused on pressuring the military coup-makers by blocking the military’s access to hard currency. There was a flurry of news about the US freezing Myanmar’s account at the Federal Reserve and Singapore’s banking authority stating that its checks had found “no significant funds from Myanmar companies and individuals” in Singapore banks. These statements presaged or coincided with US sanctions targeting members of the State Administration Council (SAC), their children, military enterprises and other parties that the US authorities deem responsible for the coup and the ongoing violence. The list of sanctioned individuals and entities continues to expand. Interestingly, the SAC ruling body is now listed separately on the US Treasury’s sanctions list in addition to the individual listing of council members. Unless the US Treasury clarifies that this designation of SAC does not apply to the government ministries and departments that are now acting at its behest, the implication is that the entire government is now sanctioned. As I previously wrote in this publication, US sanctions prohibit not only US individuals and companies from dealing with the sanctioned parties, but also prohibit financial transactions that involve US dollars or transit the US financial system, even if the party dealing with the sanctioned party is not a US individual or entity. The effectiveness of sanctions therefore depends greatly on compliance by international banks. Despite assured statements from Singapore banking authorities, it is almost certain that banks in Singapore, a global financial center and the source of most foreign investment in Myanmar, hold sizable deposits of sanctioned Myanmar citizens and entities. There are also reports that Singaporean banks hold sums of Myanmar’s foreign reserves. Myanmar banks, including military-owned Myawaddy Bank, also have correspondent relationships with Chinese, Korean, Malaysian, Singaporean, Taiwanese and Thai banks. In general, banks are the weak links in the sanctions regime and are some of the worst offenders, as evidenced by recent penalties of over US$15 billion imposed on the likes of BNP Paribas and HSBC. Despite implementing compliance programs and putting “know your customer” internal systems in place to screen transactions, banks may not always have the motivation to do rigorous checks. By now, the measures taken by those wanting to evade sanction controls are well documented. These include falsifying and manipulating financial payment documents and using intermediaries to hide the parties to the transaction. For Myanmar sanctions compliance, banks should also update their compliance programs with “negative news” research of individuals and companies known for dealings with sanctioned parties. Banks should also be vigilant about not aiding the informal remittance networks (hundi) that are widely used to transfer money in and out of Myanmar. Sanctioned individuals and entities are considered threats to the national security and foreign policy of the US, and consequently the US Treasury will aggressively pursue violations. Through its enforcement arm OFAC, the US Treasury has several resources to aid its work. Financial institutions may voluntarily disclose violations, possibly reducing potential penalties. OFAC also relies on information sharing with government agencies including the State Department, FBI, CIA and NSA. Whistleblowing from employees is another asset, and under federal law rewards of up to $1.6 million may be claimed if the bank has a presence in the US. Banks are now on notice that any failure to conduct thorough checks and properly vet sanctioned parties may be tantamount to “trading with the enemy” of the US. After the record penalties totaling $15 billion on BNP Paribas ($8.9 billion), HSBC ($1.9 billion) and UBAF ($4.1 billion), OFAC is once again aggressively taking action against financial institutions. In January 2021 alone, OFAC imposed billion-dollar penalties on Saudi Arabia-based and France-based financial institutions for conducting business in US dollars on behalf of sanctioned parties. Similar actions are expected to increase under the Biden administration. International financial institutions are now under the spotlight and face a clear choice: either fully commit to sanctions compliance or risk crippling penalties and losing access to the US financial system..."
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Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
2021-06-12
Date of entry/update: 2021-06-12
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Sub-title: Mobile money agents and informal brokers have been meeting the demand for cash at a time when banks are severely limiting withdrawals, but some accuse them of profiteering by charging steep fees.
Description: "When U San Lwin arrived at his local KBZ bank at 7:30 one recent morning, he gazed despondently at the long line of customers already waiting at the ATM. Like so many others, lining up at ATMs has become a daily ritual for San Lwin. Since the February 1 coup he’s been desperately trying to withdraw money from his account because he fears that under a military regime he’ll end up losing everything. “It’s only getting worse,” he said of the difficulties accessing his own cash. “I’m so worried the banks will collapse before I can withdraw my savings. Everyone else is worried, too – that’s why we’re here every day.” To prevent banks running out of cash, the Central Bank of Myanmar introduced withdrawal limits of K2 million a week for individuals, including a maximum of K500,000 a day from ATMs. But with the Central Bank unwilling to provide private banks with adequate liquidity, the banks have been forced to ration their reserves even further by putting daily caps on the number of customers and setting lower withdrawal limits. This has only increased the panic, however, and the length of the queues. At first San Lwin lined up to withdraw money from branches, but when that became too time-consuming – he had to line up one day for a token, and then another to withdraw money – he instead turned to ATMs. Now he queues up most of the day just to withdraw K200,000 – if he can find an ATM that still has cash in it. For those without the time or patience to line up, or who need larger amounts of cash, there are other options. But these come at a price, ranging from the equivalent of a few dollars to possibly thousands on larger transactions. Inside the cash hustle For many like San Lwin, queuing for hours outside a bank or ATM at the height of the hot season is a hardship. But for those with time on their hands – and a willingness to rise early – it’s an opportunity to make some money. Ma Pyae from Yangon’s Thingangyun Township quit her job at a bank late last year. In March she began offering a unique service, one that didn’t exist prior to the coup: she would line up for you at an ATM for a fee of K10,000. Ma Pyae would head out into the early morning darkness – in violation of the nightly curfew – to get a spot at the front of an ATM queue. By the time curfew ended, there would usually be anywhere from 70 to 100 people behind her. Once Ma Pyae was in line, a friend would post in several Facebook groups offering her help to withdraw cash. If the client trusted her, they would transfer the money directly to Ma Pyae’s account and she would withdraw it using her own card; otherwise, they would come to the ATM and transfer the money to her after she had already withdrawn the cash. But she described this enterprise as a “lottery”, because the banks do not usually announce which ATMs they will fill until 9am. “If this ATM doesn’t work, is there another one we can go to? We would ask our friends and get there as soon as possible,” she said. Ma Pyae preferred to line up at CB Bank ATMs, because the bank has higher withdrawal limits – K300,000 a day, compared to K200,000 a day for rivals banks KBZ and AYA – and she knew from experience that if she wasn’t among the first 100 people then she was probably wasting her time. Ma Pyae is far from alone. On Facebook, there are hundreds of people offering to line up at ATMs in exchange for a K5,000 to K10,000 fee – or 1.66 percent to 5pc of the total withdrawal amount, depending on the bank. Ma Thet, from South Okkalapa Township in Yangon, also prefers to line up at CB Bank ATMs. Like Ma Pyae, she rises before dawn each day, sometimes lining up together with friends so they can all exchange their spots for K10,000. “It’s about trust,” she said. “Some people trust us and just transfer the money and then wait somewhere else. Once we take out the money, we just have to go and give it to them. Others who don’t trust us, they come and wait [by the ATM] until the cash is out.” Recently, Ma Pyae decided to stop lining up ATMs. The final straw was an argument with a woman who took her spot when she went for lunch. “The bank staff didn’t help at all – they just said it wasn’t their responsibility,” she said. “That’s kind of true, but this mess is partly because they’re making it hard for us to withdraw cash.” Instead, she now sells the tokens needed to get inside a branch to withdraw cash, charging K3,000 to K5,000 for each token. The fee is lower, she said, because she doesn’t have to get up early and queue for many hours. Instead, Ma Pyae calls one branch after another, from 9am to 3pm, to try and secure a token for an appointment. When she gets one, she advertises it in Facebook groups. “Often the buyers are mobile money agents – those who work with Wave Money want appointments with Yoma Bank, while KPay agents buy tokens for KBZ,” she said.....Money in a hurry: These mobile money agents are another potential source of quick cash for those wanting to avoid queuing at ATMs or bank branches, but there’s a catch. “The fees are rising all the time,” complained San Lwin. “At the end of March, it was 2 percent. A month later it was 3pc. Then it was 4pc or 5pc. You have to pay money just to get your own money.” The two largest mobile money providers, Wave Money and KBZPay (often referred to as KPay), allow their agents to charge cash withdrawal fees ranging from 3pc for K10,000 to 0.8pc for K500,000. But since cash shortages began to bite, agents have started charging additional or higher fees. These started only slightly above the official rates but have gradually risen, in some cases hitting 15pc or more. Agents told Frontier they were facing the same difficulties as bank customers, and the higher fees reflect the time and money they spend trying to get cash to give to customers. “I’m an agent for Wave Money and KBZPay. They give us a small commission, which works well during normal times when there is money flowing in and out,” said agent Daw Nyunt Nyunt Than. “But since the coup, customers only want to withdraw money. That means your account at the bank fills up, but you have no cash in hand. You have to wait days to get it out of the bank and you can never get enough.” Ko Hein Thwin Soe, a Wave Money agent from Yangon’s Sanchaung Township, said he’s charging a 10pc withdrawal fee because, similar to Nyunt Nyunt Than, it has been difficult for him to get cash out of his account at Yoma Bank. “Most agents are doing the same,” he said. “We’re all facing the same problem.” A KBZ employee, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the bank had opened a “KPay Centre” at its MICT Park branch in Yangon on April 9 to make it easier for customers to access their cash. They are able to withdraw up to K500,000 a week at the centre and are charged K4,000, or 0.8pc. However, the withdrawal limit has since been cut to K300,000 and access to the KPay Centre is also limited through a token system, with the bank issuing 250 digital tokens a day through the KPay app. “Last week I was charging 10pc but now I’ve increased it to 12pc, like most agents,” Daw Myint Myint Khin, a KPay agent in Sanchaung, told Frontier on May 20, adding that this hadn’t hurt demand. “Even though the fee has gone up, there are still many people who want to withdraw money.” Because money is only going one way – out of customers’ accounts – she’s only serving 20 customers a day, allowing them to withdraw up to K150,000 each. “No one transfers or puts cash into their account anymore, so I’m always running out of money,” she said. Even Wave Money customers willing to pay the extra commission have found it harder to withdraw cash from their mobile wallets in recent weeks, because of attempts by the company to rein in the fees. On May 21, it issued a statement saying it was aware some agents were “overcharging” customers and was “investigating”. “[A]ppropriate actions will be taken against those proven to have engaged in corrupt practices,” it said. Since then, many Wave Money agents have simply stopped offering services, because they are unwilling to let customers cash out at the fee level set by the company. Mr Brad Jones, chief executive officer of Wave Money, said the company had seen a significant drop in over-the-counter transactions – either cash transfers or withdrawals – but the company would stick to a “zero tolerance approach” to agents overcharging customers. “We are aware that many of our agents are facing challenges including [a] cash shortage. However, we don’t authorise any agent surcharge, condone overcharging in any way or other dishonest behaviour,” Jones said, adding that complaints had decreased since the company gave official warnings to some agents and suspended others. But some are refusing to comply. Nyunt Nyunt Than said while she was aware of the announcement, she would only stop charging extra fees when access to cash returns to normal. As of June 4, she was still charging 10pc for Wave Money and KPay withdrawals. Because of her limited cash reserves, she’s only serving 10 customers a day and limiting each withdrawal to K100,000. “I don’t want to charge extra,” she said. “But if we want to withdraw our money, we have to go to the bank and line up with everyone else, so we have to charge a small fee. “I think 10pc is still cheap for [customers] – I’ve heard that some agents take 20pc, while others won’t let you withdraw money at all. So I don’t feel guilty about it; I’m helping people as much as I can.” A spokesperson for KBZ did not respond to a request for comment. The big money game There are other options for those wanting to access larger sums from a bank account. A market for deposits has emerged under which customers use internet banking to transfer their balance to a third party, who then gives them cash – again, for a fee. Similarly, some dealers will buy cheques at below face value, pocketing a percentage of the total. Although some of these transactions are handled through existing money exchange and informal remittance networks, many seemingly ordinary people with cash in hand have been advertising their services on new Facebook groups created to link buyers and sellers. Back in March these dealers and agents were charging as little as 1pc, but the fee has risen steadily and hit around 13pc in early May. As online discussion of deposit transfers hit fever pitch, the Central Bank warned on April 15 that such dealings were “illegal” under section 99(b) of the Central Bank of Myanmar Law, which prohibits the trading of currency notes or coins for a profit without the permission of the CBM. It accused some businesses of piling up cash instead of depositing it in the banks so they could profit from these money transfers. Anyone involved could be sentenced to two years in prison, it warned. This threat did little to stop the practice, but the rising fees eventually sparked a backlash, with some users expressing their frustration on the Facebook groups. “Unless you need money for a life-saving situation, don’t take out money [from a broker]. The charges are far too high. 3pc is still reasonable, but most are just trying to take advantage of the situation … I am fed up with those engaged in profiteering,” wrote one user on May 14. Many users flocked to the comment section of the post to discourage others from transferring their deposits. Some alleged that “most of the brokers are bank staffers”, something that has not been proven. Others claimed that they’d been cheated by brokers who failed to give the cash after they had transferred their deposits. Ma Pyae said those buying deposits in large quantities were using them to buy gold with electronic transactions, and then selling the gold for cash. “Gold shops demand cash from small buyers, but they were letting some buyers use electronic transactions for large amounts,” she said. After gold hit a record local price on May 12, the authorities tried to tame the market. On May 17, the Yangon Gold Entrepreneurs Association said it was working with the Bureau of Special Investigation, the government’s economic crime-fighting force, “to stabilise the gold price”. The association added that it had instructed members to only accept cash for gold sales, and at a meeting at the end of the month, members decided to stop selling gold to those “who purposely manipulate the market”. On May 20, meanwhile, police arrested a woman from Yangon’s North Okkalapa Township for allegedly offering illegal “door to door” remittance and withdrawal services. The arrest was only announced on May 31, with state media reporting that the woman, who also runs an online shop, had charged from 4pc to 8pc. Vowing to crack down on brokers offering to buy deposits for cash, the police said the woman had been “taking advantage” of the “cash withdrawal situation” – a euphemistic reference to the banking crisis. News of the arrest seemed to have an immediate effect, with many of the once-active Facebook groups now scrubbed of all their earlier posts in which users advertised their services and rates.....Entrepreneurs or profiteers?: While those buying deposits for cash have been castigated as unscrupulous profiteers, they have played an undeniably important role in providing businesses with the cash they need to pay staff, suppliers and other expenses. Edmund Malesky, a professor of political science at Duke University in the United States who has studied Myanmar’s economy, said those willing to provide cash could be seen as “entrepreneurs taking risks to provide a valuable service that is keeping economic transactions moving forward”. “They did not create the banking crisis, but they are finding ways to make cash available to those who believe they can best use it. The fees they are charging compensate them for their risks and the prices are likely driven upward by those who most need cash for their operations, and who believe they can still make profits at those higher prices,” he said. He said he doubted that any “top-down regulation or punitive measure” would stop the practice of charging for cash amid the current scarcity. “A critical part of the banking crisis has to do with the fact that financial markets do not function well in climates of low trust and political uncertainty,” he said. Malesky said the cash shortage was likely hurting not only customers unable to access their savings, but also the economy more broadly. When people have trouble accessing cash, it limits the number of transactions that are possible and reduces the “velocity of money”, which is an indicator of the health of an economy. “When velocity is high, it means that people are making and selling goods and services, earning returns, which they use to buy other goods and services,” he said. “Artificial cash shortages interrupt this process and raise the cost of daily transactions, slowing economic activity and impeding growth.” But for San Lwin, the fees are hard to stomach. “I’ve heard some KPay agents are charging as much as 20pc … I think they are just taking advantage of the bad political situation,” he said. “A handful of capitalists are working with a lot of money and making a big profit from the fees,” San Lwin said, suggesting the public should follow his example by shunning the brokers and joining ATM queues. “I want to encourage other people to line up to withdraw money rather than support the capitalists by paying these exorbitant fees.”
Source/publisher: "Frontier Myanmar" (Myanmar)
2021-06-06
Date of entry/update: 2021-06-06
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "If you need cash in Myanmar, you have to get up early. Queues start forming outside banks at 4 a.m., where the first 15 or 30 customers are given a plastic token that will allow them to enter the bank when it opens at 9:30 a.m. and withdraw cash, according to more than a dozen people who spoke to Reuters. If you do not get a token, you either have to queue for hours for the few functioning cash dispensing machines outside or go to black-market brokers who charge big commissions. The cash crisis is one of the most pressing problems for the people of Myanmar after the Feb. 1 military coup. The central bank, now run by a junta appointee, has not returned some of the reserves it holds for private banks, without giving any reason, leaving the banks short of cash. The banks themselves have been closed or open only intermittently as many staff have gone on strike to protest against the coup. Meanwhile, internet outages make online transactions difficult and international transfers have largely stopped working. That presents problems for Burmese people and small businesses as they try to navigate an economy rapidly crumbling under the country’s new leaders and the collapse of tourism, one of Myanmar’s fastest-growing sectors. The Burmese kyat has dropped some 20% in value since the coup. “It’s now very difficult to operate a business,” said Hnin Hnin, an entrepreneur in her mid-20s who supplies shampoo and bedsheets to high-end hotels. “Traders don’t accept bank transfers now. They want cash. So we need to find the cash.” As a result, Hnin Hnin, who agreed to be identified only by a part of her name to discuss sensitive matters, has been one of the thousands of people queuing daily in front of the few functioning cash machines in major cities. Some people band together in groups of five, she said, so one person can take out money for the whole group. She has also been forced to figure out ways to pay her suppliers overseas, by making an agreement to swap money with a partner holding cash in an account in Thailand. Under the agreement, the partner gives Hnin Hnin access to her Thai baht account, so she can pay suppliers in Thailand, and Hnin Hnin pays her back with physical kyat notes in Myanmar. The central bank and the junta did not respond to requests for comment. Reuters put questions to Myanmar’s four largest private banks, including Kanbawza Bank and CB Bank. They also declined to respond. It is now almost impossible to get hold of U.S. dollars or other overseas currency at regular exchange centres in Yangon, a dozen people told Reuters. Black-market traders will take online transfers in exchange for physical notes in various currencies, they said, but add a commission of up to 10%. Myanmar's private banks were in trouble long before this year’s coup, at least partly because of their habit of lending money to well-connected customers who rarely bothered to pay them back, at least four bankers, including then-deputy central bank governor, told Reuters in 2017. The coup and the protests against it now mean there is no functional banking system, according to Richard Horsey, an independent political analyst specializing in Myanmar. “You have a three-pronged hit to the banking system,” said Horsey. “The pre-existing problems with the banks, which will be all the more difficult to resolve now; you have the economic impact of the coup which has produced a virtual hard stop to the economy without any kind of ability by the regime to manage that or inject stimulus; and then you have the banking sector strike itself.” People want to withdraw cash now to buy food and other essentials, said Horsey, and also because they fear the banking system will collapse. POVERTY RATE COULD DOUBLE The cash crisis is the most immediate sign of much deeper economic problems facing Myanmar, some experts said. Financial research firm Fitch Solutions said in April it expected Myanmar's gross domestic product to shrink 20% in 2021. The United Nations Development Programme said last month that Myanmar faces economic collapse due to the combined effect of the new coronavirus and the coup, which in its worst-case analysis could put nearly half the country’s 54 million people into poverty, compared to about a quarter in 2017. “If the situation on the ground persists, the poverty rate could double by the beginning of 2022,” said UNDP in its report. "By then, the shock from the crisis will have resulted in significant losses of wages and income, particularly from small businesses, and a drop in access to food, basic services and social protection." Millions are expected to go hungry in the coming months, the United Nations’ World Food Programme said in an analysis published in April. Some workers have trickled back to resume their jobs at banks in the past few weeks, but financial analysts see no immediate alleviation of the cash shortage. In Yangon, the country’s commercial capital, an egg and cooking oil trader who identified herself as Khin told Reuters the flow of eggs, oil and other agricultural commodities had slowed substantially and was no longer sufficient, forcing her to raise prices by 25%. While groceries are available in markets and in shops, some country analysts said they worry that farmers will not have access to seeds or credit to buy them before the monsoon planting season around June. “Farming in rural areas has already slowed down and the impact will be huge in the next season," said Khin. "Beans suppliers and chicken farm owners aren't sure if they can start another cycle." The commercial chain has been grinding to a halt, a major rice trader who works with hundreds of Myanmar farmers told Reuters. That trader said he lacks the cash to buy rice from farmers, which means in turn the farmers do not have money to buy equipment or pay workers to produce the rice. Many of the private banks’ loans were collateralised against real estate in Yangon, where property prices have collapsed since the coup, according to Myanmar economy analysts. Private banks in Myanmar are required to deposit a certain percentage of their customers’ money with the country’s central bank, as a way of protecting savings. Two bankers told Reuters their banks had deposited more than is required, but were denied permission by the central bank to withdraw any surplus, leaving them short of cash to dispense to customers. A banker at a major Myanmar bank said the closure of branches in the first two months after the coup prevented a run on the banking system with a rush to withdraw savings. “It was a good thing that the branches haven’t been open,” said the executive. “If the branches were open, we wouldn’t have enough cash to pay out..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Reuters" (UK)
2021-05-14
Date of entry/update: 2021-05-15
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Topic: Chevron, collapse, Coup, earners, Exports, financial, flows, foreign currency, forestry, Imports, inflows, junta, lifeline, Military, Mining, NLD, NUG, Oil and Gas, regime, revenue, rule, SAC, Sanctions, Shipping, support, textiles, Total, Tourism
Topic: Chevron, collapse, Coup, earners, Exports, financial, flows, foreign currency, forestry, Imports, inflows, junta, lifeline, Military, Mining, NLD, NUG, Oil and Gas, regime, revenue, rule, SAC, Sanctions, Shipping, support, textiles, Total, Tourism
Description: "Tougher action is urgently needed to cut off foreign currency flows to the Myanmar military regime, suggested local and foreign financial experts, who argued that severing its financial lifeline would hasten the collapse of military rule. “The largest inflows of foreign currency to the military are from the oil and gas and mining sectors. We need to totally shut off the flow of foreign currency that is keeping the junta alive,” a local economist who asked not to be named told The Irrawaddy. “The international community must pressure all the parties that sustain military rule in Myanmar. It is critical to act before it is too late,” he said. Last week, an anonymous group, Independent Economists for Myanmar (IEM), suggested that effective sanctions limiting the ability of the regime’s State Administrative Council (SAC) to collect revenue from natural gas, mining, forestry, shipping including port fees and airlines could change the military’s calculus. It estimated that such measures would cut off roughly US$2 billion per year in financing for the military. Earnings from natural gas, jade, metallic minerals, land rentals, telecommunications fees and businesses involved in trade such as port operators, transport and logistics companies, and Myanmar National Airlines provide the largest inflows of foreign currency to the military, totaling around $2.5 billion per year.....Cash in hand: IEM estimated that that military’s “access to foreign currency is significant but constrained,” saying it controls at least $4 billion, roughly two-thirds of Myanmar’s stock of foreign currency. However, it also controls about half of the inflows that remain following the collapse of several sectors that generated foreign currency, such as textiles and tourism. Additionally, around $1 billion of foreign assets are held at the US Federal Reserve and were frozen by the US government in early February. Foreign currency is important for the military since it not only pays for military equipment like tanks and guns, as well as supplies like fuel, but is also needed to service military-owned companies that rely on foreign inputs. Military-owned factories rely on foreign equipment to keep functioning, while military hospitals purchase medication from abroad. IEM said that prior to the coup, Myanmar had enough foreign reserves to maintain imports for three months. However, since then, exports have shrunk, import demand has crashed, and the military has confiscated much of the country’s foreign reserves. Myanmar imports roughly $28 billion worth of goods and services in an average year, including $3 billion in fuel, more than $500 million in medication, $1 billion in cooking oil, and $1.2 billion in meat and vegetables. Myanmar’s official exports have shrunk by more than 20 percent and imports by more than 35 percent since October 2020. Before the coup, the textile and footwear industries generated a quarter of all foreign currency inflows for the country, but almost all of their operations have dried up since the Feb. 1 military takeover. Moreover, none of the military-owned companies are known to hold significant foreign assets. The scarcity of foreign exchange is evident in the 20 percent depreciation of the kyat versus the US dollar between Feb. 1 and April 19, despite limits on kyat withdrawals and hoarding of cash, the economists said. Subsidiaries of Myanmar Economic Corporation (MEC) and Myanma Economic Holdings Limited (MEHL)—two military owned conglomerates—normally earn roughly $200 million annually from domestic sales. These include Dagon Beverages Company, Myawaddy Bank, Mytel, Aung Thitsa Oo Insurance and Bandoola Transportation Company. However, both MEHL and MEC are likely to suffer financially, with Myanmar Brewery, Myawaddy Bank and Mytel expected to see declines in revenue of 80 to 90 percent due to domestic consumer boycotts. The combined effect could be to reduce MEHL and MEC’s domestic revenue by between $100-150 million, the economists estimated. Many of the Myanmar state’s most valuable assets were sold off in the 1990s and 2000s, meaning the SAC regime cannot raise much capital from asset sales. Further, widespread instability and insecurity are depressing asset prices and the National Unity Government—a shadow government formed by elected lawmakers ousted by the coup—considers void any investment agreements signed between domestic or foreign companies and the SAC, IEM said. “In short, without new foreign currency inflows, the military will soon need to ration foreign currency. The SAC regime will need to choose between purchasing fuel, medication, equipment and food for itself and providing foreign exchange liquidity for the rest of the population,” it said. Even without forceful targeted sanctions in place, the military is already being forced to choose between its own priorities and providing financing to import the fuel and equipment needed to generate the electricity and food, fertilizers and medications people need to survive, IME said. The military has already starved public services and the private sector of foreign exchange, so further reductions in its access to foreign currency are likely to predominantly impact the military rather than civilians, the IME said. “Such actions, and preventing military businesses from accessing foreign inputs, could help pressure the military to compromise on its own needs,” the economists suggested.....Bankrolling crimes: Foreign currency inflows from natural resources—oil, gas, minerals, gems and forestry products—represent more than a third of Myanmar’s export earnings, according to official records. The oil and gas sector, in which many international energy giants have invested, has become a target of rights groups, which are demanding an end to foreign firms’ financing of the military’s crimes. Since the military takeover, at least 769 civilians have been killed and 4,734 people arrested by the regime. On Tuesday, Myanmar’s ambassador to the United Nations urged the US Congress to play a decisive leadership role in resolving the Myanmar crisis. Ambassador U Kyaw Moe Tun, a representative of elected lawmakers from the National League for Democracy (NLD), urged the US to impose “targeted, coordinated and tougher sanctions” on the Myanmar military and its businesses such as Myawaddy and Innwa banks, the state-owned Myanmar Foreign Trade Bank (MFTB) and Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE). “I wish to stress that Myanmar is not just witnessing another major setback to democracy, but also the crisis is threatening the regional peace and security,” U Kyaw Moe Tun said. Oil and gas revenues earned Myanmar $1.5 billion in annual income in fiscal 2019-20, with around 80 percent of that income derived from the offshore natural gas sector, according to official figures. Recently, US senators urged the Biden administration to impose sanctions on MOGE. Natural gas joint ventures involving companies such as France’s Total, the US’s Chevron, South Korea’s POSCO, Thailand’s PTT, Malaysia’s Petronas and China’s CNPC are currently the most significant sources of foreign exchange revenue for Myanmar. MOGE collects income through its joint ventures and revenue sharing agreements with international corporations. US giant Chevron has a longstanding partnership with MOGE. The two companies are joint investors in the Yadana offshore gas project, located off the southwest coast of Myanmar, which accounts for 42 percent of all oil and gas production from Myanmar’s offshore projects. Chevron paid around $50 million to Myanmar between 2014 and 2018, according to the Myanmar Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative report (MEITI). Total reported that it paid $257 million in taxes and other payments to Myanmar in 2019. Petronas’s Yetagun gas project paid $208 million to the government in 2018, while the Shwe project, run by South Korea’s POSCO, paid $194 million, according to MEITI. The Zawtika gas project, run by Thailand’s PTT, paid $41 million in 2018. International and local pro-democracy supporters have repeatedly pressured oil and gas companies to cut ties with the military or pay revenue into a trust or protected account either to be held until such time as Myanmar has a legitimate and democratically elected government or to be used for humanitarian purposes. Elected lawmakers from the NLD sent a final notice in March calling on foreign-owned oil and gas companies operating in Myanmar to suspend business ties with the military regime, warning that the money from sales of the oil and gas would be used to reinforce human rights violations in the country. However, both Total and Chevron remain reluctant to follow those demands. A New York Times report revealed that Chevron has intensively lobbied the US State Department and key congressional offices against sanctions, warning that they could disrupt its joint ventures in Myanmar. An investigation by France’s Le Monde newspaper published on Tuesday revealed that Total’s gas operation in Myanmar has been propping up the military junta by diverting funds from gas sales to offshore accounts instead of the government. According to documents accessed by the French newspaper and released after the military coup, the Yadana gas field, which supplies gas to local markets in Myanmar and Thailand, is diverting revenue to the MOGE, which is managed by army executives and retired officers. Human rights group Justice for Myanmar (JFM) said on Wednesday that Total’s CEO claimed his company is continuing to do business as usual in Myanmar for humanitarian reasons. However, their business conduct in Myanmar and deep ties to the military suggest otherwise, JFM said. “We demand Total to immediately suspend all payments to the military junta and place funds in a protected account until democracy is restored in Myanmar,” JFM said. Another foreign currency earner is the mining sector, which generates about $470 million a year. The gems sector accounts for $300 million. Legally, the state should collect approximately 10 percent in royalties and taxes on jade, but 60 to 80 percent of gemstones produced in Myanmar bypass the formal trading and export system. The forestry industry officially generated between $350 million and $1.65 billion per year in exports over the last decade. In a bid to deprive the military government of funds, the US Treasury Department in April imposed sanctions on a Myanmar state-owned gems enterprise, as well as Myanmar Timber Enterprise and Myanmar Pearl Enterprise. MEHL and MEC have also been sanctioned by the US and UK. “In terms of blocking revenue from timber and gems, the US alone is not enough. We need collective action from the international community,” a local economist said. The state also earns foreign currency through port fees, shipping and Myanmar National Airlines sales. However, each of these is controlled by an off-budget state-owned enterprise that retains 55 percent of profits and does not submit financial information to the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Industry. Net foreign earnings from these entities remain unknown.....Stepped-up sanctions: Another local financial expert who asked not to be named told The Irrawaddy that Myanmar’s largest trading partners in the region including Singapore, China, India, Indonesia, Japan and Thailand should consider imposing trade sanctions. “It is a very unlikely scenario. Most of them have historically close ties with the military. But if they can do it, it would be very effective in reducing foreign currency inflows,” he said. In March, the US imposed trade sanctions against Myanmar’s ministries of Defense and Home Affairs as well as MEC and MEHL. “I would say that the steps taken against the regime by the international community are still modest. Myanmar needs more effective sanctions targeted at blocking foreign currency flows to the regime,” the local financial expert said. “They should identify, target and freeze all foreign currency revenues and foreign exchange reserves held in accounts outside of Myanmar,” he said. The independent economists from IEM said the popular Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM), in which civil servants and some private sector workers are refusing to work under the regime, is unlikely on its own to convince military leaders to negotiate or give up power. “Cutting the SAC regime off from foreign credit could also be key, but would require substantial international agreement,” the economists said..."
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
2021-05-05
Date of entry/update: 2021-05-06
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Sub-title: Banking apps go back online but the regime maintains its authoritative grip
Description: "Myanmar's junta has relaxed internet restrictions on selected business apps, signaling the return of an old censorship board that this time will control who can access what on their digital devices. Some telcos have enabled internet access to banking and business mobile applications. Consumers using service providers such as state-run MPT can now access Office 365 email and messaging applications run by Microsoft as well as local banking applications. The junta has also recently lifted the nightly internet blackout for fiber-to-the-home providers. "What we are seeing is essentially the re-establishment of the old censorship board, but for the internet space this time," said Oliver Spencer, legal adviser to digital rights group Free Expression Myanmar, referring to a body that inspected and censored news publications before being disbanded by President Thein Sein in 2012 as part of his political reforms. "It empowers the junta to control the internet, offering businesses, media and social platforms access only if they abide by military diktat. "For the banks and businesses, it's short-term benefits and long-term costs." Spencer warned that the junta can "take down internet access of companies or banks at whim." Businesses have been feeling the heat from the regime, with tycoons, bank staffers and supermarket employees threatened or detained by the security forces in recent days. According to telecom industry representatives who asked for anonymity, the relaxation came upon instructions from the authorities, and reconnections began during the weekend. The decision indicates the junta might change its approach to regulating the internet. In recent years, the authorities could block individual websites; now they are set up to allow access only to platforms they approve. The "whitelist" method, which opens connections only to specific IP addresses, is mainly designed to facilitate services necessary for banking operations. The list of approved apps has not been made public. Since the coup on Feb. 1, the regime has, at various points, imposed total blackouts and a nightly internet ban, blocked mobile and wireless services, and censored social media platforms and websites. Going dark has severely hurt businesses and helped push the economy toward collapse, with service providers who rely on digital platforms paralyzed and local banks struggling to carry out digital transactions. Investors have repeatedly complained. On March 19, all foreign chambers of commerce representing Western businesses, except the British and Australian chambers, jointly condemned the military's atrocities and repeated their calls for unrestricted information access and a free flow of information. The Australian and British chambers joined the chorus on March 30. The move reflects that the junta is "at least listening to their own people," said a senior internet service industry source, referring to local banks and big businesses disrupted by the internet restrictions. Selectively allowing business apps to operate is intended to minimize the impact on commerce while allowing the junta to retain a firm grip on communications and information access. The move could ease pressure on the junta to resume internet services, the source added, calling it "the Chinese and North Korean way" of regulating cyberspace. "Are they trying to build a 'Walled Garden of the Internet?'" the source wondered. Said Vicky Bowman, Myanmar Centre for Responsible Business director: "Obviously telecom operators want users to have full internet access, and not just to a limited number of apps, otherwise the Myanmar people are denied their rights. I would expect the companies with a commitment to respect for human rights to continue to press the government for a lifting of all restrictions."..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Nikkei Asian Review" (Japan)
Date of entry/update: 2021-04-28
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Topic: ADB, Amata Corporation, Asian Development Bank, Électricité de France, Coup, EDF, junta, Kirin, MEHL, military regime, Myanmar Economic Holdings Limited, National League for Democracy, NLD, Singapore, Toyota, World Bank
Topic: ADB, Amata Corporation, Asian Development Bank, Électricité de France, Coup, EDF, junta, Kirin, MEHL, military regime, Myanmar Economic Holdings Limited, National League for Democracy, NLD, Singapore, Toyota, World Bank
Description: "Before last year’s November election, the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank predicted that Myanmar would bounce back strongly from the economic impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic, with the economy set to grow at around 6 percent in 2021. In the immediate aftermath of the military’s Feb. 1 coup, junta leaders sought to keep the economy on track by presenting themselves as business-friendly and saying that economic policies would remain unchanged during the state of emergency. The junta even appointed some individuals to Myanmar’s key economic ministries who were already well-connected and well-known to the international community. But now the World Bank’s latest forecast reveals that Myanmar’s economy is in dire jeopardy and is projected to contract by 10 percent this year due to the impact of the military takeover. 80 days after the coup, there are already many signs that the economy is in freefall, with new investment drying up, the withdrawal of existing investment and the halting of key international-backed infrastructure projects, as western countries sanction the military regime. Western business groups including the United States, United Kingdom, European, Italian and French chambers of commerce rejected the regime’s invitation to meet with its cabinet members in March. Moreover, nearly 50 international companies including Coca-Cola, Telenor and Heineken, signed a joint statement expressing their deep concern over developments in Myanmar. The impact of the coup has been to reverse the country’s economic reforms and the economic progress made during the last decade. The coup has pushed Myanmar—previously one of the region’s fastest-growing economies – back into dire poverty and left the economy on the brink of collapse. The Irrawaddy looks at what has happened to Myanmar’s economy since the military takeover and how that has impacted people across the country.....Number of new companies slumps: Company registration figures from the government investment agency, the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration (DICA), reveal a huge slump in the number of new companies being registered. DICA data shows that the number of new registered companies was 1,373 in January, 188 in February and 163 in March. The figures reveal that the number of registered companies has declined nearly 87 percent compared with the same period last year. In 2020, under the National League for Democracy (NLD) government and even with the COVID-19 crisis, the number of new registered companies was 1,415 in January, 1,298 in February and 1,015 in March.....Internet restrictions cripple digital economy and Fintech market: The emerging digital economy and Fintech market collapsed after the military regime introduced large-scale internet restrictions across Myanmar. The internet blackouts have affected everything from mobile money to e-commerce and online food delivery services. Access to mobile money services including Wave money and KZB pay has been crippled since March, when the regime blocked mobile internet and broadband services. E-commerce business is down by 75 percent, while online food delivery services nationwide are down 80 percent following the coup, according to reports. The result is that thousands of young people are now out of work.....Garment sector in jeopardy: The garment sector has also been paralyzed after the largest foreign brands halted orders over concern at the politically unstable situation, while deadly crackdowns in industrial areas have also forced factories to close down and workers to return to their hometowns. Myanmar earned between US$4 billion and US$6 billion from cut, make and pack garment exports in 2020 and the industry employed 500,000 people before the coup. Now, over 80 percent of the garment sector has been forced to suspend operations since mid-February. Labour organizations say that over one-third [200,000] of garment industry workers have lost their jobs since the junta launched deadly crackdowns on anti-coup protesters and imposed martial law in industrial areas. Since the coup, the sector has also lost major foreign brands including Italy’s Benetton and Swedish Retailer H&M after they decided to pause new orders from Myanmar. H & M, the world’s second-biggest fashion retailer, has had around 45 direct suppliers in Myanmar for the last seven years. But the company has suspended new orders, citing “practical difficulties and an unpredictable situation”. Italy’s Benetton Group has also suspended all new orders from its suppliers in Myanmar, citing concerns over the increasing use of deadly violence against pro-democracy supporters.....Thousands of construction workers out of a job: Around 300,000 to 400,000 workers in the construction sector lost their jobs following the coup, according to the Construction Workers Union. The union said that the political instability since the coup has forced a halt on all major infrastructure projects in Yangon, Myanmar’s commercial capital, including the Korean Industrial complex, the Japan-backed Yangon-Thanlyin Bridge and the extension of the Thilawa Special Economic Zone.....Stock trading at a record low: The value of shares traded on the Yangon Stock Exchange (YSX) in March declined to its lowest level in history following the coup, according to YSX records. The records reveal that the value of stocks traded on the exchange in March was just 110 million kyats. In the same period last year, the value of stocks traded on the exchange peaked at 1.425 billion Kyats. The value of stocks traded in February this year also dropped drastically compared with the figures in February 2020. YSX records show that 442 million kyats worth of shares were traded on the exchange in February, compared to 1.48 billion kyats traded in February 2020.....South Korea suspends finance for infrastructure projects: In response to the military coup, the South Korean government has decided to halt financing for Myanmar government infrastructure projects until next year, according to Korean media reports. Korea’s Ministry of Economy and Finance has temporarily suspended financial support through its Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) for any new infrastructure projects by the military regime, according to the reports. The Korean government set up the EDCF to provide support for industrial development and economic stability in developing countries and to promote economic cooperation between Korea and those countries. The EDCF signed with the ousted NLD government to provide $1 billion worth of loans to Myanmar until 2022 to support industrialization and economic growth through various infrastructure projects. Under the agreement, the Export-Import Bank of Korea also agreed to support a nearly US$63 million loan to help Myanmar build a Korea-Myanmar Industrial Complex.....Banking and cash flow crisis: Myanmar’s banking system has been paralyzed since the coup as hundreds of branches of at least 31 local banks and 13 foreign ones have closed their doors due to staff strikes. All banking services have been halted in the country except for mobile banking and ATM services. As a result almost all trading companies, especially those engaged in sea-bound trade, have been forced to halt operations, as the banks are unable to issue the documents needed to import and export goods. Companies are also struggling to pay salaries, as banks are not providing payroll services. Businesses are also suffering from a cash shortage as bank branches have closed down and the regime has ordered limits on cash withdrawals for both individuals and companies. Moreover, businesses have been constrained by cash shortages for months. Foreign businesses are also suffering from a money shortage as both cash withdrawals from the local bank and importing new funding from abroad has become difficult. Under the previous government, the review process for new transactions from abroad took only a week. Currently, business people are not allowed to know how the review process works.....Foreign firms to exit: Large foreign firms are under pressure to pull out of any businesses which help bankroll the military regime, Australia’s Woodside Petroleum said it has decided to withdraw its 100-odd workers from an offshore drilling project in Myanmar. The company said the move is a response to human rights violations following the coup, with Woodside saying that it will keep all business decisions under review until they see the future outlook for Myanmar and that political stability has improved. The company completed pulling staff and machinery out of Myanmar in March. South Korean Steel Makers Coated & Color Steel Co Ltd, an affiliate of POSCO, said that a plan is underway to end its joint venture with Myanmar Economic Holdings Public Co Ltd (MEHL), one of the country’s two military-controlled conglomerates. The company is already discussing a plan to buy MEHL’s 30 percent stake so that it can continue operations as the sole owner. The joint venture company produces sheet metal for residential and factory roofing and made profits of around US$1.7 million in the last year. The move came after the company came under pressure from human rights group in both Myanmar and Korea to end its ties with military-linked companies in Myanmar.....World Bank forecasts 10 percent slump in growth: Myanmar’s economic growth is set to shrink by 10 percent this financial year as military rule hammers one of the region’s fastest-growing economies, according to the World Bank. The global financial institution forecast in December that Myanmar’s economy would start to recover from COVID-19 in March. But it said that since the coup Myanmar has been heavily affected by protests, strikes, military action, reductions in mobility and disruption to public services, like banking, logistics and internet access......ADB halts funding for government projects: One of the Myanmar’s biggest development partners, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), has also put on hold funding for Myanmar government development projects ranging from transport and energy, to education and information technology, following the lethal crackdowns on peaceful anti-regime protesters that have killed over 700 civilians. The ADB said in a statement that it remains “deeply concerned about recent developments in Myanmar, especially the loss of life during civil protests”. The bank stated that the change in the country’s circumstances will have a serious impact on Myanmar’s economic and social development. Under the latest loans agreement, the ADB approved a US$484 million loan in November 2020 to construct a new expressway connecting Bago Region and Mon State. Both areas lie along Japan’s planned East-West Economic Corridor, a grand infrastructure scheme for the Greater Mekong Subregion.....French energy giant halts hydropower project: French energy giant Électricité de France (EDF) has suspended a hydropower project worth more than US$1.5 billion in Myanmar’s Shan State over human rights concerns, as the military regime continues to use deadly force against anti-coup protesters across the country. EDF said that it has halted development of the Shweli-3 Project, including the activities of its subcontractors. Led by EDF, the 671 MW project was being jointly developed with Japan’s Marubeni Corporation and the locally owned Myanmar Ayeyar Hinthar Company. The companies received a Notice to Proceed in 2018 under the NLD government. It was expected to generate 3 billion kWh of electricity annually for the national grid and supply power to more than 8.5 million people nationwide.....Singapore’s businessman leaves: Prominent Singaporean businessman Lim Kaling has pulled out of a joint venture with ties to the Myanmar military-owned conglomerate MEHL. One week after the military staged their coup and detained State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and President U Win Myint, Lim said that recent events in Myanmar had caused him “grave concern”. Lim Kaling disposed of his one-third stake in the joint venture that owns RMH Singapore Pte Ltd. MEHL and RMH jointly operate Virginia Tobacco Co. Ltd. (VTCL). RMH owns a 49-percent stake in VTCL, while MEHL owns the remainder. It has been operated as a joint venture since 1993. VTCL has a virtual monopoly on the cigarette market in Myanmar, producing the country’s most popular cigarette brands, Red Ruby and Premium Gold.....Kirin cuts tie with Myanmar Military-owned firm: Five days after the coup, Japanese beverage giant Kirin cut ties with a Myanmar military-owned conglomerate saying it was deeply concerned by the recent actions of the military, which are against their standards and human rights policy. Kirin Holdings Co. Ltd. announced that it would end its joint-venture partnership with MEHL. Kirin held 51 percent of both the Myanmar Brewery and Mandalay Brewery, with MEHL holding the rest.....World Bank halts payments to Myanmar: The World Bank, one of Myanmar’s largest development partners, announced that it had put a hold on disbursements for its existing development operations in the country in sectors ranging from electricity and education to technical assistance, following the military takeover. The bank is involved in at least 24 ongoing projects in Myanmar worth billions of dollars, according to the World Bank’s development project list.....Singapore: wait and see: Singaporean conglomerate Sembcorp has decided to halt a plan to develop an industrial park in Yangon’s Hlegu Township. Sembcorp President and CEO Wong Kim Yin told media that his company would wait until the political situation stabilizes, saying the company also needs to see how its customers respond as well. The Myanmar-Singapore (Hlegu) Industrial Park is expected to be built on 436 hectares of land in Hlegu Township at an estimated cost of $230 million. The project received approval from the Myanmar Investment Commission in 2020. The project was a joint development by Sembcorp CSSD Myanmar Co.—a subsidiary of Sembcorp Industries — and Myanmar’s Pahtama Group and Myanmar Agribusiness Public Corp. The development was a priority project under the ousted NLD government’s plan to secure foreign investment to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Myanmar’s economy......Toyota postpones plan to open new plant: Toyota, the world’s biggest car manufacturer, has delayed opening a vehicle production plant in the Thilawa Special Economic Zone (SEZ) on the outskirts of Yangon, with the company citing concerns over political instability following the coup. Toyota Myanmar announced its plan to build the US$52.6 million production plant in 2019, and said it anticipated employing more than 150 staff in Myanmar. The company said in 2019 that it expected the plant to produce around 2,500 Hilux trucks annually, starting from 2021.....US$1 billion industrial complex halted: One day after the coup, work on a US$1 billion industrial hub project backed by the Amata Corporation, Thailand’s largest industrial estate developer, was suspended due to possible sanctions by Western countries. Envisioned as an industrial complex on 2,000 acres of land near Laydaunkkan Village in East Dagon and South Dagon townships in Yangon, the project was one of a number launched by the former NLD government to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Myanmar’s economy. The NLD government inaugurated the project in late December last year and it was expected to create 33,000 jobs, attract foreign investment and boost the Yangon Region’s industrial output and exports..."
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
2021-04-22
Date of entry/update: 2021-04-22
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "Connecting Myanmar with Asia for 26 years, Bangkok Bank has been a part of the Myanmar business community, connecting business and promoting trade flows and investment from ASEAN and beyond..."
Source/publisher: "Bangkok Post" (Thailand)
2021-01-04
Date of entry/update: 2021-01-07
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors today approved a $200 million credit from the International Development Association (IDA) to increase agricultural productivity and diversification and enhance market access for Myanmar farmers, with a strong focus on inclusion for smallholder farmers, women and other vulnerable groups. Measures to contain the spread of COVID-19 in Myanmar—including the temporary shutdown of wet markets and animal feed factories, movement restrictions, the disruption of logistics and transport systems, and tightened restrictions on cross-border flows—has created disruptions in the agriculture and food system. Supply chain disruptions have resulted in market losses and increased feed costs to poultry farmers, small enterprises, and meat producers. According to the Myanmar Economic Monitor, released by the World Bank yesterday, economic growth is estimated to drop from 6.8 percent in FY18/19 to just 0.5 percent in FY2019/20, with significant downside risks. Agriculture is the source of livelihood for nearly 70 percent of the population and accounts for nearly 30 percent of national GDP and merchandise exports. It is the main sector of employment for the poor with 85 percent of the rural population living in a household with one or more members engaged in agriculture. The National Food and Agriculture System Project will support parts of the government’s COVID-19 Economic Relief Plan (CERP), which aims to mitigate the economic impacts of COVID-19 and facilitate the country’s economic recovery..."
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Source/publisher: World Bank via "Reliefweb" (New York)
2020-06-26
Date of entry/update: 2020-06-27
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: " The battle for control of Irrawaddy Green Towers could lead to a rare acquisition financing in Myanmar and the country’s largest-ever syndicated loan. International banks are discussing a US$300m-$400m loan with shortlisted bidders that include private equity firm CVC Capital Partners and edotco Group, a unit of Malaysia’s Axiata Group. The preferred bidder is expected to be picked by early July. A financing of that size would be Myanmar’s largest syndicated loan and only the second leveraged buyout in the country, if a financial sponsor emerges victorious. The loan will test liquidity for a market that is seldom on the radar for lenders, many of which don’t have country limits for Myanmar. “Country limits will present a key challenge for the debt financing,” said a Singapore-based senior loans banker. “It might not be easy to put this together.” The sale of IGT comes in a subdued period for mergers and acquisitions in Asia Pacific as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. That could encourage lenders to add to their exposure given that an IGT financing is likely to pay higher yields than those that are found elsewhere in Asia. This year, some borrowers from Myanmar have raised club loans totalling US$370m from half a dozen Asian banks, for property sector credits such as Kajima Myanmar Holding and conglomerate Shwe Taung Group..."
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Source/publisher: "Reuters" (UK)
2020-06-19
Date of entry/update: 2020-06-19
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Sub-title: KBZ Bank is suing the owner of Myanmar Industrial Port over alleged unpaid debts of more than US$200 million, in a case that is symptomatic of the problems facing the country’s leading banks as they seek to resolve legacy non-performing loans.
Description: "The country's largest private bank, KBZ, is taking a leading businessperson and his company to court, alleging unpaid debts in excess of US$200 million in what is believed to be Myanmar’s largest ever loan default. KBZ has filed suits against businessman U Ko Ko Htoo and Myanmar Annawa Swan A Shin Company Limited at the Yangon Region High Court, alleging he and the company had failed to repay loans and had accumulated a total debt including interest of around K326 billion (US$221.4 million at current exchange rates). Ko Ko Htoo is the managing director of MAS and his family holds 100 percent of the company, according to the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration. MAS owns and operates one of the country’s busiest ports, Myanmar Industrial Port in Yangon’s Ahlone Township. In 2016, the International Finance Corporation provided a $40 million convertible loan to MAS to expand the port but the relationship later soured over corporate governance issues, according to two sources with knowledge of the deal. The loan was envisaged as the first phase of a $200 million financing package that would also have included $160 million in long-term senior loans from the IFC and other foreign lenders, but the second phase never materialised. IFC confirmed to Frontier that it exited the project in December 2018 after MAS repaid the $40 million loan. KBZ commenced litigation against Ko Ko Htoo and MAS in December 2019 and this month the bank began presenting evidence to support its claim. Frontier understands it is the largest such claim to be heard in a Myanmar court, and that, taken together, Ko Ko Htoo and MAS are possibly the largest private sector debtor in the Myanmar banking system. At a January 13 hearing attended by Frontier, lawyers for KBZ alleged that Ko Ko Htoo owed the bank more than K63 billion in principal and interest as of October 30, 2019. In a separate hearing the following day they alleged that MAS had accrued debt of K262.8 billion to November 6, 2018..."
Source/publisher: "Frontier Myanmar" (Myanmar)
2020-01-22
Date of entry/update: 2020-01-24
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "The World Bank forecast Myanmar's economy growth to reach 6.4 percent in present fiscal year (FY) 2019-2020 which started in October, according to the Myanmar Economic Monitor Dissemination Workshop on Tuesday. The new World Bank report "The Myanmar Economic Monitor for December 2019" was launched at the workshop which was held in capital city Nay Pyi Taw. The country's economic growth is estimated to show a gradual increase from 6.2 percent in FY 2017-2018 and from 6.3 percent in FY 2018-2019 which ended in September last year. The report said that the reforms have lifted Myanmar quickly in the recent World Bank Group's Doing Business Index, underlining that firms in Myanmar need greater access to inputs including finance, land, and skills, better connectivity and an enabling business environment to support a responsible private sector. The report also highlighted that the presence of armed actors and conflicts add challenges for business in much of Myanmar..."
Source/publisher: "Xinhua" (China)
2020-01-14
Date of entry/update: 2020-01-17
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Sub-title: Local subsidiary viewed as best model
Description: "Siam Commercial Bank is seeking approval from the Central Bank of Myanmar (CBM) to upgrade SCB's representative office to operate under a bank subsidiary licence in the neighbouring country. The subsidiary model would offer SCB greater opportunities to do banking business in Myanmar, said chief executive Arthid Nanthawitthaya. Among the three options that the CBM has offered to foreign banks, a subsidiary licence is the most suitable model for SCB, Mr Arthid said. In the event that SCB gains a subsidiary licence in Myanmar, the bank must inject fresh funds to upgrade its representative office to a subsidiary bank as required by CBM regulations, he said. The CBM permits foreign banks to operate business in Myanmar under three licence types: subsidiary, foreign bank branch and equity holding in a local bank..."
Source/publisher: "Bangkok Post" (Thailand)
2020-01-16
Date of entry/update: 2020-01-16
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "Kasikornbank (KBank) wants to expand its footprint in Myanmar, acquiring a sizeable stake in a bank there. If the acquisition deal goes through, it will mark the second purchase of a stake in an overseas financial institution by a Thai bank in two months, after Bangkok Bank's acquisition of Indonesia's PT Bank Permata worth US$2.7 billion (81.3 billion baht). KBank is studying a suitable business model in Myanmar after the Central Bank of Myanmar (CBM) opened to more business opportunities for foreign banks, said co-president Kattiya Indaravijaya. Foreign banks are allowed three licence types in Myanmar: establishment of a commercial bank as a subsidiary, a foreign bank branch and application for equity participation with a local bank..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Bangkok Post" (Thailand)
2020-01-15
Date of entry/update: 2020-01-15
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "With gross domestic product (GDP) growth consistently above 5 percent throughout this decade, and in double digits for much of the previous decade, Myanmar has been one of South East Asia’s fastest-growing economies for quite some time. What’s more, this newly liberalised nation is being touted to likely continue growing expeditiously well into the 2020s. That said, recent years have seen Myanmar’s growth showing a distinct sign of waning from its once lofty heights: Some believe this ongoing slowdown may continue over the next few years. The International Monetary Fund (IMF), for instance, recently stated that Myanmar’s economy appears to be losing momentum. “Myanmar’s economy is expected to gain steam over the medium term albeit at a somewhat slower pace than previously envisaged and subject to greater downside risks” was the IMF Executive Board’s recent assessment. Part of the concern over Myanmar’s economic outlook is directed at the National League for Democracy (NLD) government, which came to power in 2016 after a thumping election victory put an end to decades of military rule. But since then, the NLD has come in for much criticism for the economy’s overall performance, as well as the slow pace at which reforms are being enacted that would enable Myanmar to make the full transition into a liberalised market economy. Perhaps the economic underperformance of recent years is understandable. After all, achieving peace in all regions of the nation continues to remain elusive, meaning that the government has been primarily focused on reconciliation before it can move ahead with other priorities, such as bringing about economic prosperity. Even today, tensions persist, not only between the NLD and the military but also between the military and armed ethnic groups in various parts of the country..."
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Source/publisher: "International Banker"
2019-06-26
Date of entry/update: 2019-12-16
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "50 Community groups from Burma country and overseas signed a petition rejecting the World Bank’s proposed “Peaceful and Prosperous Communities Project” (PPCP), planned for conflict-affected areas in Eastern Burma..."
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Source/publisher: KIC (Karen Information Center)
2019-11-27
Date of entry/update: 2019-12-02
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "WILLIAMS MEDIA spoke with Colliers International Myanmar who understands that foreign institutions are most likely to choose Grade A or Grade B quality office space as the Central Bank of Myanmar plans to allow more foreign banks to provide services. Demand for quality office spaces is predicted to rise given the reforms regarding the easing of sanctions for foreign banks and foreign insurance providers. SoeThein, deputy governor of the Central Bank of Myanmar (CBM), said Myanmar’s financial sector reforms gaining momentum; this will further the country plans to allow more foreign banks in to provide limited services. Click here to see profiles of Leading Yangon Office Buildings Eleven Myanmar reported that he said the third round of issuances of licences for foreign banks would be opened by the end of this year. The CBM’s foreign banks selection committee already approved 15 criteria for the selection of an eligible consulting firm to provide advisory services for the process of awarding licences to foreign banks that already have a representative office in Myanmar. SoeThein said the CBM would finalise the selection of the consultancy firm by early next month. Myanmar will select only one consultancy firm among the four finalists, Deloitte Touche Myanmar Vigour Advisory Ltd; PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) Myanmar Co; EY UTW Advisory Ltd; and Roland Berger Co. “In late May, we invited a total of eight consultancy services to submit proposals for providing advice on the selection of foreign banks. Half of them submitted RFP [request for proposal] on June 24,” he said. According to Colliers demand for quality office spaces is predicted to rise given the reforms regarding the easing of sanctions for foreign banks and foreign insurance providers..."
Source/publisher: "RETALK ASIA"
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-14
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "As recently as 2013, CNN described Myanmar?s banking system as ?outdated and debased, open for decades to abuse by the previous regime, and shunned by about 90 percent of the population.” The article described the story of a man who kept only a small portion of his money in the bank, and he only did that for fear of a house fire. The majority of his wealth he held in cash, in his home. That story exemplified the skepticism with which people viewed the banking system, and the situation is not entirely different today. Mistrust of the financial system pervades the majority of Myanmar?s 53 million people. ?The banking system doesn?t cater to the mass market,” said Brad Jones, CEO of mobile financial services provider Wave Money. But the circumstances are changing, thanks to Wave Money and other financial tech platforms that are democratizing financial services in the country. Access to online services has skyrocketed in Myanmar in recent years, with mobile phone penetration reaching at least 50% and 80% of first-time phone buyers choosing smartphones. Mobile phone penetration was roughly 10% in 2014... One thing most people in Myanmar?s tech community will tell you is that change is happening fast and not always in predictable ways. Regulations and business opportunities can take months to come together but once they do, businesses must be ready to move immediately. ?It?s glacial and it?s lightning,” Kershaw said. ?All parts of the Myanmar financial system are trying to develop simultaneously, as everything is starting from a low base,” Kloiser-Jones said. For a country that only reopened to foreign investment within the past decade, the rate of change is unprecedented. ?I?ve never witnessed anything like what I?ve experienced in that market,” Kershaw said. ?It?s like four-dimensional chess and the rules change every day.”"
Creator/author: Casey Hynes
Source/publisher: Forbes
2016-10-31
Date of entry/update: 2016-11-01
Grouping: Individual Documents
Category: Banking
Language: English
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Description: "Amid widespread anxiety over the impact of the Central Bank?s decision to revoke thousands of US dollar accepter and holder licences, a senior official has promised authorities have no plans to return to old ways..."
Creator/author: Aye Thidar Kyaw
Source/publisher: "Myanmar Times"
2015-10-21
Date of entry/update: 2015-10-22
Grouping: Individual Documents
Category: Banking
Language: English
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Description: "The Central Bank of Myanmar (CBM) has revoked foreign exchange licences held by hotels, airlines and thousands of other businesses, in a bid to counter dollarisation..."
Creator/author: Aye Thidar Kyaw
Source/publisher: "Myanmar Times"
2015-10-19
Date of entry/update: 2015-10-22
Grouping: Individual Documents
Category: Banking
Language: English
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Description: ABSTRACT" "This study focuses on financial sector reform-it?s impacts on banking sector in CLMV during 1990s. The objective of this study are (a) to provide an overview of the major financial reform and the impacts of interest rate deregulation on financial sector development in the CLMV countries; (b) to examine fiscal imbalances financed by monetary expansion that increases inflation and thus represses the banking system; (c) to evaluate the impact of high reserve requirements on banking sector; and (d) to analyze the effect of capital flight and dollarization on banking sector. One of the major financial reforms in CLMV is interest rate liberalization together with controlling inflation, this results in a positive real interest rate that contributes to financial deepening. Financial depth, as measured by broad money to Gross Domestic Product appears to increase in these economies, especially in Cambodia, Laos, and Viet Nam. The growth of broad money was mainly contributed by foreign currency deposit particularly in Cambodia and Laos. Viet Nam, however, local currency deposit was the main contributor of growth. While in Myanmar, the growth of broad money started to decline as a result of real ii negative interest rate. In some of CLMV, banks? lending portfolios have been weakening because of direct lending to the priority sector. Apart from that the major factor that weakens the financial intermediation is the inflation acceleration particularly in Laos and Myanmar. Inflation is a consequence of budget deficit financed by borrowing from financial system since these countries are at the early stage of financial market development. Laos and Myanmar pursued credit expansionary policy particularly providing loans to public sector that often results in increased fiscal deficit. By expanding public sector borrowing, government invested in the long term infrastructure projects and provides the subsidized loans to SOEs or SEEs who exhibited weak financial performance and loss making. The greater amount of public sector loans, the more non performing loans occur in the banking system, eventually discouraging financial intermediation. Another factor discouraging the financial intermediation is high reserve requirements in Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar. The high reserve requirements imposed by central bank raised the margin between lending rate and deposit rate. As a result, this has reduced the amount of loanable fund for the expansion of productive investment projects, creating hindrance to the financial intermediation functions. Financial liberalization together with inflationary finance induce capital flight, dollarization and misallocation of resources. In the situation, when a country has underdeveloped financial market, there could be capital flight or dollarization; as a result, this leads to financial disintermediation. The banking system in Myanmar is not allowed to offer foreign currency deposits; the response is increase in foreign currency holding outside banking system or holding durable assets. Myanmar maintains interest rate ceiling lower than the market determined rate and the overvaluation of fixed exchange rate that encourages the capital flight To avoid capital flight, the governments allow commercial banks to offer foreign currency deposits in Cambodia, Laos, and Viet Nam. The result is that foreign currency deposits grow rapidly and there has limited opportunities for lending in foreign currency. The option available for banks is to transfer the excessive fund in foreign currency to deposit in foreign banks and this lead to a so called capital flight and final outcome is hindrance to the financial depth."
Creator/author: TIN TIN HTWE
Source/publisher: Graduate School for International Development and Cooperation Hiroshima University
2005-09-00
Date of entry/update: 2010-01-01
Grouping: Individual Documents
Category: Banking
Language: English
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Description: "...The transformation of Burma into a fully institutionalised liberal democracy based on a market economy will be a multi-faceted process. One aspect of this must be, however, the creation of a properly functioning financial system. Financial institutions are integral to economic development. In a market economy they provide the central coordinating mechanism through which resources are allocated. At best, they do this in ways that maximise the wealth and welfare of their respective national economies. The foundations of a proper functioning financial system are transparency, accountability and the effective transmission of market signals. Burma?s existing financial system, unfortunately, possesses few of these virtues. Worse, its principal financial institutions may be little more than facades for the activity of criminals and a narco-state. Reforming Burma?s financial system, in particular the banks that make up its core, will require the privatisation of its state banks, the legitimisation of its existing private banks and the opening up of the sector to foreign competitors. Before these measures can be undertaken, however, fundamental institutional reform will be necessary. Burma must become an economy and a society ruled by law and not the whim of generals. The Burmese people must have rights to property in order to best liberate their latent skills and energy. Financial regulation must adopt practices that have been demonstrated to work elsewhere. Macroeconomic policy must leave the irrational world and enter that which reason and history teaches us can achieve all that governments are able. Burma?s political economy, in short, awaits its transformation..."
Creator/author: Sean Turnell
Source/publisher: The Burma Fund (Technical Advisory Network of Burma) WP07
2002-11-00
Date of entry/update: 2007-06-10
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English, Burmese
Format : pdf
Size: 287.24 KB
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Description: "Burmese banks are thriving, even as the country?s economy suffers its worst slump in years. Their secret, say businessmen in the know, is the nexus of generals and drug lords..."
Creator/author: Maung Maung Oo
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy", Vol. 9, No. 2
2001-02-00
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: February 26, 2003—"Burma?s banks are more like a dubious "Ponzi" or pyramid scheme than well-run commercial banks. Between 1962 and 1988, the banks in Burma were all state-owned, and lent primarily to state owned enterprises. After 1988, the declaration of a so-called open market economy made way for private commercial banks, but they were never built on strong capital..."
Creator/author: Kyi May Kaung
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" Commentary Archive
2003-02-26
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Category: Banking
Language: English
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Description: "A country?s financial system provides its means of exchange and is the mechanism through which its resources are mobilised and allocated. The financial system is the arena in which economic risk can be managed, government debt can be financed, foreign capital can be accessed and managed, and it is the vehicle through which monetary policy can be implemented. According to Larry Summers, the former Secretary of the US Treasury, a country?s financial system provides the ?wheels? for its development...The foundations of a proper functioning financial system are transparency, accountability, governance and the effective transmission of market signals. Burma?s financial system possesses few of these virtues. Burma?s banks do not fulfil the role allotted to such institutions in allocating resources in ways beyond the whims of the military. Worse, they may be little more than facades for the activity of criminals and a narco-state. Unfortunately the history of financial sector reform in Burma does not lend optimism to the hope that this might change without more fundamental changes in the country. Like so much else in Burma, the emergence of a viable banking system must await the political reform that is so long overdue." Extra keywords: money laundering, joint venture regulation, exchange controls.
Creator/author: Sean Turnell
Source/publisher: Burma Economic Watch
2001-07-00
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : htm
Size: 105.3 KB
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Description: "... Burma is currently undergoing one of its periodic monetary and financial crises. Unusually, however, this time the crisis is not a characteristic de-monetisation episode, but a failure of confidence in the country's nascent private banking sector. In this sense the current crisis is probably less immediately destructive of the 'wealth' of ordinary Burmese than previous dramas (as shall be examined below), but its longer-term damage to Burma's economy and to key institutions is likely to be severe indeed. Trust is the foundation of banking and the key ingredient of a country's social capital. There must be little of this (already scarce) commodity in Burma today. The following is an attempt to make sense of some of the developments that have been taking place in Burma's banking sector in recent weeks. It suffers from the usual information difficulties that come with attempting real-time commentary on the opaque world of Burma's political economy. It is hoped, nevertheless, that it might prove useful in at least shining a dim light into some very dark corners. It is not a comprehensive account of individual events either, but it arguably provides a sufficient outline upon which to begin a process of analysis. Extensive use is made throughout of a more detailed examination of the structure of Burma's banking system contained in Turnell (2002). We have made wide-spread use of many other sources, where possible indicated below. Finally, comments and suggestions would be greatly welcomed.
Creator/author: Sean Turnell, Alison Vicary
Source/publisher: Burma Economic Watch
2003-03-06
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : htm
Size: 81.15 KB
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Description: How much further will Burma?s banks slide?...After the crash of more than a dozen finance houses that funded outside business ventures with their depositors? money, anxious bank customers rushed to withdraw their savings, thus precipitating a rundown on reserves of the national currency, the kyat. Other banks in Burma face similar problems. At the end of last year, top bankers were forecasting a boom for 2003. Last month, however, predictions were rife that the collapse of financial houses would drag down all the 20 banks with 350 branches nationwide..."
Creator/author: Naw Seng
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 11, No. 2
2003-03-00
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Category: Banking
Language: English
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Description: Sean Turnell, Economics Department, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia. Abstract: "A country's financial system plays a critical role in its economic development. It is the vehicle through which the means of exchange are created, resources are mobilised and allocated, risks are managed, government spending is financed, foreign capital is accessed, and it is via financial institutions that individuals can protect themselves against economic fluctuations. Notwithstanding this essential role, Burma has not had a properly functioning financial system for four decades. The present system, an unstable mix of monolithic state-owned institutions and a cohort of new private banks of dubious legitimacy, is a serious brake on Burma's economy. This paper examines the role financial institutions can play in a country's development, explores how Burma's current system falls far short of this ideal and broadly outlines how it might be reformed. It argues the case for the standard remedies professed by economists of liberalisation, stabilisation and privatisation but, critically, suggests that these must be preceded by more fundamental reforms that create the legal, regulatory and other infrastructure that are the prerequisites of a modern, and efficient, financial system. ..". Keywords: Burma; Banks; Regulation; Supervision; Financial Liberalisation; Economic Development. Paper presented to the 1st Collaborative International Conference of the Burma Studies Group, Gothenburg, Sweden, 21-25 September 2002
Creator/author: Sean Turnell
2002-09-25
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf doc htm
Size: 238.51 KB 187 KB 380.24 KB
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