Sunday 27 May 2012

Burma's energy protests light up the night


Thousands of marginalised Burmese, sick of being left in the dark by their government, are taking part in a series of candlelit demonstrations over electricity shortages around the country.
On Sunday night, around 250 protestors holding candles and handmade placards quietly made their way through darkened streets in the dilapidated former capital of Rangoon, watched by nearly a thousand more, and entered the Sule Pagoda for an address by a local activist group.
The column of demonstrators circled the pagoda, observed by scores of stern-faced riot police, before removing their sandals and filing quietly inside, the small space soon cramped by the hundreds of attentive men, women and children, their faces lit up by hope and candlelight.
Around 200 people listen attentively to an activist address inside Sule Pagoda, Rangoon
Men, women and children kneel together as a small group of activists begins an address, oblivious to the burning wax from melting candles dripping over their upraised arms.
Their demands are simple: give the whole country electricity.
Long-running energy shortages in resource-rich Burma cause frequent blackouts across the country, forcing people to resort to expensive diesel-powered generators to run their shops and homes.
A young man holding up a cardboard placard reading “Please Nay Pi Daw, help us,” says people feel frustrated and abandoned by their government, which relocated to the new administrative capital, some 300 kilometers north of Rangoon in 2009.
“We want electricity, we want democracy, we want this government to change,” he says.
Another holds a printed page with a sarcastic message targeting the government “Hi… Mr Electric, why do you only love Nay Pi Daw? Please, can you love other towns…”
One card paints a picture of the Burmese government’s energy distribution chain – 80 per cent in foreign exports, 19 per cent to the government in Nay Pi Daw, leaving one per cent for millions of citizens.
A plea to the Burmese government... demonstrators in Rangoon on May 27
Angry protestors say the Burmese government prioritises the export of energy from rich oil and gas production to neighbours Thailand and China, while its own citizens struggle with a few hours of power a day and millions more have no electricity at all.
These people say the government’s much-touted reforms have not reached the majority of the impoverished country’s citizens, and they want to see that change.
President Thein Sein’s government has been hailed by the international community for a range of economic and political reforms, including the election of Aung San Suu Kyi to the lower house, since the transition from half a century of repressive military regime to a semi-civilian government in 2010.
Growing public discontent over the country's energy distribution
 The international community, including the EU, US and Australia have rewarded the reforms by easing trade and investment sanctions and increasing foreign aid budgets to the impoverished nation.
However activists say any real change is yet to be experienced at the grassroots level and the country still suffers from endemic corruption and absence of democracy and rule of law.
In Burma, renamed Myanmar by the former regime, the anger over insufficient energy distribution is spreading systemically throughout the resource-rich country.
Despite the Burmese government announcing additional power generators will be installed in various areas surrounding Rangoon and Mandalay, a business source close to the project says the electricity generated will be for commercial use only.
“The ordinary people won’t see much benefit,” the source said.
Sunday night’s demonstration in Rangoon was the last of seven consecutive gatherings held in the country’s former capital every night over the past week and activists say a series of protests are organised for the entire country.
The mass demonstrations were sparked by power shortages that began on May 19 after transmission cables from the Shweli hydropower project were damaged. The government has blamed the Kachin Independent Army for the attack on the power plant, the Myanmar Times reported on May 28.
More than 1,500 protestors attended the first demonstrations in Mandalay on May 20 and have spread to other parts of the country as Burma’s citizens join forces to protest against energy shortages.
In Rangoon the warm, damp air is thick with anticipation - these are the biggest mass demonstrations in Burma since the infamous Saffron Revolution of 2007, where thousands of monks and protesters were fired upon in a brutal crackdown by the former military regime.
But this time the police are only observers and one senior commander walks at the head of the glowing procession, clearing the way for people to walk forwards.
Tonight in Rangoon one thing is clear: There may be power shortages but there is no shortage of people power and protestors say they won't stop until the government starts listening.
-          

Saturday 26 May 2012

Power to the people as Burma's energy protestors join forces

Out of the darkness of downtown Rangoon emerge hundreds of peaceful protestors, holding handmade placards, their determined faces illuminated by the glowing candles in their hands.
The crowd slowly and silently make their way towards the brightly lit Sule Pagoda, observed by scores of stern faced riot police. Men, women and children gathering together with one goal - to send a message to the Burmese government that change is in the air. This week, mass gatherings just like this one have been organised in various cities around the impoverished country as Burma's citizens protest against energy shortages.
The warm, damp air is thick with anticipation - for many of these people this is the first time they have dared to come together and openly express themselves. These are the biggest mass demonstrations since the infamous Saffron Revolution of 2007 where thousands of monks and protesters were fired upon in a brutal crackdown by the former military regime. But this time, 2012, the police look on calmly and one senior commander walks at the head of the glowing procession, clearing the way for people to walk forwards.
Demonstrators gather in Rangoon on May 26, 2012



Men, women and children join forces to protest against energy shortages

As the only Westerner, I cannot read the Burmese handmade placards and the presence of the silent, staring police is unnerving. But I can feel the energy from the hundreds of warm, determined bodies and they smile into my camera lens and hold up their posters. A young man appears at my elbow, guides me through the crowd, answers my questions in broken English. "Don't be scared, you are safe," he tells me when I ask if the people are concerned over the police presence. As the crowd circles the glowing Sule Pagoda, we walk anti-clockwise so I can arrange the best photographs of the procession.
Tonight in Rangoon one thing is clear:
There may be power shortages but there is no shortage of people power.

A column of around 200 people circle Sule Pagoda 
Power to the people... a young boy walks proudly beside his father to protest against energy shortages
A message for his government... demonstrators stop to show me an English placard


Tuesday 22 May 2012

More than investment as Burma opens up

More interest than investment as Burma opens up


By VICTORIA HEATHER
businessfeaturepic
A convoy of massive Caterpillar dump trucks waits inside a shipping yard in Rangoon. (Photo by Derek Stout)

Published: 21 May 2012

In the lobbies and bars of Rangoon’s high-end hotels, the shady pasts of Burma’s business elite do not seem to deter the hordes of western businessmen who have come to seek their fortune in the resource-rich country.
“Right now, Burma is a blank canvas,” one investor says. “And we’re the artists.”
And bringing Burma into the 21st century is surely a Michelangelo-esque challenge to these investors, as they sip their cold drinks and discuss plans to paint Southeast Asia’s Sistine Chapel with the bold strokes of new roads, train lines, ports, electrical grids and telecommunications networks.
One of the most under-developed countries in Southeast Asia, Burma’s economy has been crippled by decades of economic mismanagement and restrictive international sanctions.
Access to the country’s business circuit has been controlled by a small, elitist circle of business tycoons with close ties to Burma’s former military regime, which still control the majority of private enterprise.
As Burma opens up for business, foreign investors invariably have to deal with the tycoons who control access to the country’s lagging economy.
Some notable Burmese business figures include Tay Za and Zaw Zaw, the former labelled a “notorious henchman and arms dealer” by the US Treasury for his association with the country’s former junta.
He remains on the EU and US sanctions list and his major business interests include Htoo Group and Air Bagan, the country’s first and only fully privately owned airline.
Zaw Zaw’s friendship with former dictator Than Shwe saw him labelled a “regime crony” by the US Treasury Department, which also slapped him with targeted financial and travel sanctions.
The owner of Max Myanmar Group, Zaw Zaw’s business holdings reportedly range from construction and luxury resorts to rubber plantations, timber and gems.
Advocacy groups and opposition party, the National League of Democracy, have voiced concerns that as the investment boom hits the country, the only Burmese benefiting from the gold rush are the crony capitalists linked to the former regime.
NLD Chairman U Tin Oo, says all new foreign investment is going straight to the pockets of the former regime.
“We are concerned that right now the power and money is concentrated in the hands of just a few cronies,” says Tin Oo.
But this hasn’t deterred eager investors from flocking to the impoverished nation since the easing of sanctions by the international community, the response to a series of reforms by President Thein Sein’s government.
“Some investors think they can just fly in and do a sweet deal over the weekend, but that’s not how it works here”
In the corner of the bustling 50th Street Bar in downtown Rangoon, an American, an Australian and an Italian are discussing the merits of setting up a business council to provide a one-stop advisory shop for western investors.
“It’s a little bit like the Wild West here at the moment and we’re going to see a lot of cowboys coming in,” says one business source.
“Some investors think they can just fly in and do a sweet deal over the weekend, but that’s not how it works here.”
“Currying favour with the movers and shakers of the Burmese business scene is part and parcel of doing business in this country,” he says.
One disillusioned New York property investor arrived two days ago and says he’s already making plans to return home, frustrated by the lack of visible business options.
“I want to buy one of these old buildings, restore it and turn it into a backpackers hostel, maybe stick a jazz bar in there,” he says, gesturing at a looming colonial block across the street from the Traders Hotel.
“But I’m reading the newspapers, there’s no advertising, nothing for sale.”
A French national lights his fifth cigarette from the same number of packets. He’s not a chain smoker but is setting out to sample the various cigarette brands on offer amongst Burma’s bustling tobacco trade.
“We want to sell tobacco processing equipment to the Burmese,” he says, but with the prices ranging from 200 kyat (around $US 0.25) for the cheapest packet to 700 kyat for the popular Red Ruby brand, he’s not sure how the investment will ever pay off.
He says he’s also in negotiations to sell some second-hand aircraft to Burmese business tycoon Tay Za’s Air Bagan, but swears he’d never fly with the domestic airline because their accident rate is too high.
A British representative of Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group’s holiday armsays he’s on a tight itinerary around the major centres to evaluate the potential for packaged tours to the reclusive nation, which promises to be Southeast Asia’s next hot spot for tourists.
At another table, a group of businessmen discuss the best location to grow olives in Burma. They decide Mandalay has the most suitable climate.
Although a lot of deals are being discussed, not much money is actually exchanging hands, says Australian economist and Burma expert Sean Turnell.
“There is certainly a gold rush of interest, but so far little cash on the table from western investors,” Mr Turnell says.
He says many investors are surprised by how difficult it is to do business in Burma and the limited infrastructure and restrictive legal and economic conditions are the main hindrances to international investment.
Burmese economist and former government adviser, Khin Maung Nyo says the country’s economic reforms have opened the playing field however access to capital is one of the greatest barriers to many Burmese would-be entrepreneurs.
He says the greatest advances on the domestic front are small to medium enterprises (SMEs) involved in manufacturing and domestic trade.
“But I’m afraid there are not many businesses which can compete with foreign investors,” he says.
Khin Maung Nyo says the majority of the country’s foreign investment still comes from China, Thailand and Singapore, despite the easing of sanctions by major western economies and a decision by the EU to suspend their economic restrictions on the country for one year.
A British expatriate in the telecommunications industry is optimistic about the government’s reforms but says the international community has not done enough to reward Burma for its progress.
“Myanmar has been judged differently to other countries in Asia. Vietnam is not democratic, Laos is not democratic, China of course is another example, yet Myanmar is the only country which has had punitive sanctions for having a regime government and that’s been unfair.”
He notes a level of frustration amongst the Burmese government and business circuit and says the international community needs to remove sanctions, which are counterproductive to the reform process and the country’s development.
He says the EU’s carrots and sticks approach towards Burma has failed.
“Regarding the EU sanctions, the Burmese government has done everything they were asked to do and the EU has effectively moved the goal posts.”
“They’ve said they’re not convinced and need another year to decide, but what more can the Burmese government do? Suu Kyi taking the seat, that should have been it,” he says.
He says foreign investment and development is crucial to securing reform in Burma.
“The country needs investment to secure the reform, so if you put up barriers that prevent investment, you’re basically giving ammunition to the hardliners to say, see, whatever we do, it’s never good enough.
“That’s a correct argument which gives the hardliners power and could potentially slow things down and reverse with reform process, which nobody wants. It doesn’t make sense.”
-Victoria Heather is a pseudonym for a journalist working in Burma.
Editor’s note: A majority of the investors interviewed for this article spoke on the condition that their name would not be published.

This article was published in the Democratic Voice of Burma on 22 May 2012
http://www.dvb.no/uncategorized/more-interest-than-investment-as-burma%E2%80%99s-opens-up/22076
 
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Myanmar investment reality check

Myanmar investment reality check

120521_10
A large boat owned by the Htoo Group at Botahtaung jetty on Yangon river in Yangon this March. Photograph: Reuters

In the lobbies and bars of Rangoon’s high scale hotels, the shady pasts of Burma’s business elite do not seem to deter the hordes of Western businessmen there to seek their fortune in the resource-rich country.

“Right now, Burma is a blank canvas,” one investor says. “And we’re the artists.”

And bringing Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, into the 21st century is surely a Michelangelo-esque challenge, as these investors sip their cold drinks and discuss plans to paint Southeast Asia’s Sistine Chapel with the bold strokes of new roads, train lines, ports, electric grids and telecommunications networks.

One of the most under-developed countries in Southeast Asia, Myanmar’s economy has been crippled by decades of economic mismanagement and restrictive international sanctions.

Access to the country’s business circuit has been controlled by a small elitist circle of business tycoons with close ties to Myanmar’s former military regime, which still control the majority of private enterprise.

And as the country opens up for business, foreign investors invariably have to deal with the tycoons who control access to the country’s crippled economy.

Some notable Burmese business figures include Tay Za and Zaw Zaw, the former labelled a “notorious henchman and arms dealer” by the US Treasury for his association with Myanmar’s former junta.

He remains on the EU and US sanctions list and his major business interests include Htoo Group and Air Bagan, the country’s first and only fully privately owned airline.

Advocacy groups and opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), have voiced concerns that as the investment boom hits Myanmar, the only Burmese benefiting from the gold rush are the crony capitalists linked to the former regime.

Chairman of democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi’s NLD party U Tin Oo says all new foreign investment is going straight to the pockets of the former regime. “We are concerned that right now the power and money is concentrated in the hands of just a few cronies,” he says.

“Everyone is worried, the whole people are worried that if the investment comes in, all will go by the patronage of the military and go to their cronies,” he says.

Advocacy groups have echoed these concerns and call for greater transparency of revenue in the wake of easing economic sanctions.

A recent report by Arakan Oil Watch warns that Myanmar’s military continues to benefit from oil and gas revenues and the NLD continue to call for all government ministers to disclose business interests.

But this hasn’t deterred eager investors from flocking to the impoverished nation since the easing of sanctions by the international community, the response to a series of reforms by President Thein Sein’s government.

In the corner of the bustling 50th Street Bar in downtown Yangon, an American, an Australian and an Italian are discussing the merits of setting up a business council to provide a one-stop advisory shop for Western businessmen.

“It’s a little bit like the Wild West here at the moment and we’re going to see a lot of cowboys coming in,” one business source says. “Some investors think they can just fly in and do a sweet deal over the weekend, but that’s not how it works here ... Currying favour with the movers and shakers of the Burmese business scene is part and parcel of doing business in this country.”

One disillusioned New York property investor arrived two days ago and says he’s already making plans to return home, frustrated by the lack of visible business options.

“I want to buy one of these old buildings, restore it and turn it into a backpackers hostel, maybe stick a jazz bar in there,” he says, gesturing at a looming colonial block across the street from the Traders Hotel. “But I’m reading the newspapers, there’s no advertising, nothing for sale.”

A French national lights his fifth cigarette from the same number of packets – no, he’s not a chain smoker, but instead setting out to sample the various cigarette brands on offer amongst Myanmar’s bustling tobacco trade.

“We want to sell tobacco processing equipment to the Burmese,” he says, but with the prices ranging from 200 kyat (around US$0.25) for the cheapest packet to 700 kyat for the popular Red Ruby brand, he’s not sure how the investment will ever pay off.

He says he’s also in negotiations to sell some second-hand aircraft to Burmese business tycoon Tay Za’s Air Bagan, but swears he’d never fly with the domestic airline as their incident rate is too high.

Deals are being discussed, but not much money is actually exchanging hands, says Australian economist and Burma expert Sean Turnell.

“There is certainly a gold rush of interest, but so far little cash on the table from Western investors,” he says.

He says many investors are surprised by how difficult it is to do business in Myanmar. Limited infrastructure and restrictive legal and economic conditions are the main hindrances to international investment.

Burmese economist and former government adviser Khin Maung Nyo says the country’s economic reforms have opened the playing field, however access to capital is one of the greatest barriers to many Burmese would-be entrepreneurs.

He says the greatest advances on the domestic front are small to medium enterprises (SMEs) involved in manufacturing and domestic trade.

“But I’m afraid there are not many businesses which can compete with foreign investors,” he says.

Nyo says the majority of the country’s foreign investment still comes from China, Thailand and Singapore, despite the easing of sanctions by major economies Australia and the United States and a decision by the European Union to suspend sanctions for one year.

Director of Yangon-based private equity firm E&O Group Christian Oram, whose company is aiming to raise $30 million in funds for a portfolio of projects including the telecommunications, agribusiness and property sectors, says he’s optimistic about the government’s reforms, however the international community has not done enough to reward Myanmar for its progress.

“Myanmar has been judged differently to other countries in Asia. Vietnam is not democratic, Laos is not democratic, China of course is another example, yet Myanmar is the only country which has had punitive sanctions for having a regime government and that’s been unfair,” Oram says.

He notes a level of frustration amongst the Burmese government and business circuit and says the international community needs to remove sanctions which are counterproductive to the reform process and the country’s development.

To contact the reporter on this story: Victoria Bruce at newsroom@phnompenhpost.com

Thursday 17 May 2012

Corruption, resistance to reform behind resignation of Burma’s vice president



Burma’s vice president Tin Aung Myint Oo was pushed out of government for his resistance to reforms and overt corruption, say sources close to the Burmese government.
Burmese media last week reported the vice president would resign for health reasons, however many doubt ill-health was the main reason for the former hardliner’s sudden departure. Sources close to the government say Mr Myint Oo entered a monastery on May 3, but were unable to confirm his resignation.
Chairman of the National League for Democracy (NLD) U Tin Oo said he had heard rumours that Mr Myint Oo was among over members of the former military regime who would be stood down from President Thein Sein’s government as part of a cabinet reshuffle.
“We have heard rumours that former hardliners will no longer taking part in coming activities in their administration,” Mr Tin Oo told reporters in Rangoon.
“But many rumours gradually become true in Burma,” he said.
Sources in Rangoon say a retirement to the monastery is a tactic frequently used by former politicians who want to stay out of the public eye.
Business sources in Rangoon claim overt corruption, controversial business deals and resistance to reforms led to the political demise of Mr Myint Oo.
Mr Tin Oo said the vice president was deeply involved with former general Than Shwe’s military regime.
“Most of the former generals are very much corrupt and involved in rampant corruption and bribery, that’s why they’re trying to save their skins and not expose it,” he said.
Burma watchers say Mr Myint Oo was considered to be one of the most corrupt of the ex-generals serving in the current administration and the government hope his removal will appease the international community and encourage the removal of more western sanctions.
Mr Tin Oo said the government was delaying announcing the formal retirement of the vice president while it decided who would take his place. In the event of his resignation, Mr Myint Oo’s replacement would be chosen by unelected military personnel, who make up one quarter of the Burmese parliament.
NLD chairman U Tin Oo. (Photo by Derek Stout)

Sources close to the Burmese government say this is only the start of a major reshuffle inside Burma’s government, as President Thein Sein’s cabinet seeks to remove members with controversial links to the former military regime from power.
Mr Tin Oo said another possible casualty of a cabinet reshuffled could be ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) member, U Aung Thaung.
Other heads potentially on the chopping block include USDP member Htay Oo, as well as Information Minister Kyaw San and Electric power Minister Zaw Min.
Mr Myint Oo, one of two vice presidents and former military adviser to junta leader Than Shwe, released a formal statement on May 3 declaring his formal resignation for health reasons, according to Burmese media.
However, the government has still not made an official announcement about his position and Burmese media organisations have reportedly been banned from reporting the speculation.
Advocacy group ALTSEAN Burma says Mr Myint Oo is extremely wealthy and corrupt and has abused his position as head of the Myanmar Trade Council to enrich himself, his family business, and business allies.
He also serves as Chairman of the Myanmar Economic Corporation (MEC), the military’s economic arm.
The NLD chairman said the government would most likely delay announcing the resignation of the vice president until parliament re-opened in July.
-          ENDS -

The winners and losers of Burma's business boom

In the lobbies and bars of Rangoon’s high scale hotels, the shady pasts of Burma’s business elite do not seem to deter the hordes of Western businessmen here to seek their fortune in the resource-rich country.
“Right now, Burma is a blank canvas,” one investor says.
“And we’re the artists.”
And bringing Burma into the 21st century is surely a Michelangelo-esque challenge to these investors, as they sip their cold drinks and discuss plans to paint Southeast Asia’s Sistine Chapel with the bold strokes of new roads, train lines, ports, electricity grids and telecommunications networks.
 One of the most under-developed countries in Southeast Asia, Burma’s, (also called Myanmar) economy has been crippled by decades of economic mismanagement and restrictive international sanctions.
Access to the country’s business circuit has been controlled by a small elitist circle of business tycoons with close ties to Burma’s former military regime, which still control the majority of private enterprise.
And as Burma opens up for business, foreign investors invariably have to deal with the tycoons who control access to the country’s crippled economy.
Some notable Burmese business figures include Tay Za and Zaw Zaw, the former labelled a “notorious henchman and arms dealer” by the US Treasury for his association with Burma’s former junta. 
Last week, hundreds of gigantic yellow Caterpillar dump trucks and expensive mining machinery were sitting in Rangoon’s ports and shipping yards, proof that the business boom has arrived on Burma's shores.           (Photo by Derek Stout)
He remains on the EU and US sanctions list and his major business interests include Htoo Group and Air Bagan, the country's first and only fully privately owned airline.
Zaw Zaw’s friendship with former dictator Than Shwe saw him labelled a “regime crony” by the US Treasury Department, which also slapped him with targeted financial and travel sanctions.
The owner of Max Myanmar Group, Zaw Zaw’s business holdings reportedly range from construction and luxury resorts to rubber plantations, timber and gems.
Advocacy groups and opposition party, the National League of Democracy (NLD), have voiced concerns that as the investment boom hits Burma, the only Burmese benefiting from the gold rush are the crony capitalists linked to the former regime.
Chairman of democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi’s NLD party U Tin Oo, says all new foreign investment is going straight to the pockets of the former regime.
“We are concerned that right now the power and money is concentrated in the hands of just a few cronies,” Mr Oo says.
“Everyone is worried, the whole people are worried that if the investment comes in, all will go by the patronage of the military and go to their cronies,” he says.
Advocacy groups have echoed these concerns and call for greater transparency of revenue in the wake of easing economic sanctions.
A recent report by Arakan Oil Watch warns Burma’s military continues to benefit from oil and gas revenues and the NLD continue to call for all government ministers to disclose business interests.
But this hasn’t deterred eager investors from flocking to the impoverished nation since the easing of sanctions by the international community, the response to a series of reforms by President Thein Sein’s government.
In the corner of the bustling 50th Street Bar in downtown Rangoon, an American, an Australian and an Italian are discussing the merits of setting up a business council to provide a one-stop advisory shop for Western businessmen.
“It’s a little bit like the Wild West here at the moment and we’re going to see a lot of cowboys coming in,” one business source says.
“Some investors think they can just fly in and do a sweet deal over the weekend, but that’s not how it works here.”
“Currying favour with the movers and shakers of the Burmese business scene is part and parcel of doing business in this country,” he says.
One disillusioned New York property investor arrived two days ago and says he’s already making plans to return home, frustrated by the lack of visible business options.
“I want to buy one of these old buildings, restore it and turn it into a backpackers hostel, maybe stick a jazz bar in there,” he says, gesturing at a looming colonial block across the street from the Traders Hotel.
“But I’m reading the newspapers, there’s no advertising, nothing for sale.”
A French national lights his fifth cigarette from the same number of packets – no, he’s not a chain smoker, but instead setting out to sample the various cigarette brands on offer amongst Burma’s bustling tobacco trade.
“We want to sell tobacco processing equipment to the Burmese,” he says, but with the prices ranging from 200 kyat (around $US 0.25) for the cheapest packet to 700 kyat for the popular Red Ruby brand, he’s not sure how the investment will ever pay off.
He says he’s also in negotiations to sell some second-hand aircraft to Burmese business tycoon Tay Za’s Air Bagan, but swears he’d never fly with the domestic airline as their incident rate is too high.
 A British representative of Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group’s holiday arm, Virgin Holidays, tells me he’s on a tight itinerary around the major centres to evaluate the potential for packaged tours to the reclusive nation, which promises to be Southeast Asia’s next hot spot for tourists.
At another table, a group of businessmen discuss the best location to grow olives in Burma. They decide Mandalay would have the most suitable climate.
Although a lot of deals are being discussed, not much money is actually exchanging hands, says Australian economist and Burma expert Sean Turnell.
There is certainly a gold rush of interest, but so far little cash on the table from Western investors,” Mr Turnell says.
He says many investors are surprised by difficult it is to do business in Burma and limited infrastructure and restrictive legal and economic conditions are the main hindrances to international investment.
Burmese economist and former government adviser, Khin Maung Nyo says the country’s economic reforms have opened the playing field however access to capital is one of the greatest barriers to many Burmese would-be entrepreneurs.
He says the greatest advances on the domestic front are small to medium enterprises (SMEs) involved in manufacturing and domestic trade.
“But I’m afraid there are not many businesses which can compete with foreign investors,” he says.
Mr Nyo says the majority of the country’s foreign investment still comes from China, Thailand and Singapore, despite the easing of sanctions by major economies Australia and the United States and a decision by the European Union to suspend sanctions for one year.
Director of Rangoon-based private equity firm E&O Group Christian Oram, whose company is aiming to raise $30 million in funds for a portfolio of projects including the telecommunications, agribusiness and property sectors, says he’s optimistic about the government’s reforms however the international community has not done enough to reward Burma for its progress.
“Myanmar has been judged differently to other countries in Asia. Vietnam is not democratic, Laos is not democratic, China of course is another example, yet Myanmar is the only country which has had punitive sanctions for having a regime government and that’s been unfair,” Mr Oram says.
He notes a level of frustration amongst the Burmese government and business circuit and says the international community needs to remove sanctions which are counterproductive to the reform process and the country’s development.
Mr Oram says the European Union’s carrots and sticks approach towards Burma has failed.
“Regarding the EU sanctions, the Burmese government has done everything they were asked to do and the EU has effectively moved the goal posts.”
“They’ve said they’re not convinced and need another year to decide, but what more can the Burmese government do? Suu Kyi taking the seat, that should have been it,” he says.
Mr Oram says foreign investment and development is crucial to securing reform in Burma.
“The country needs investment to secure the reform, so if you put up barriers that prevent investment, you’re basically giving ammunition to the hardliners to say, see, whatever we do, it’s never good enough,” he says.
“That’s a correct argument which gives the hardliners power and could potentially slow things down and reverse with reform process, which nobody wants. It doesn’t make sense. “
-ENDS -

Saturday 12 May 2012

My second Saturday night in Rangoon


My second Saturday night in Rangoon, Burma. Unlike the exhilaration of last week, this evening I felt quiet and drained, partly from an overdose of dust and garbage and bad smells from the three hour train ride on what Derek and I named the Poverty Express and partly exhaustion from a hungry body crazing substantial sustenance. Several violent bouts of diarrhea and vomiting earlier that week had left my stomach traumatized and sensitive and seeing rotting garbage strewn throughout stinking black water and fly-blown fish by the side of the train tracks had definitely put me off another Burmese dinner. So there’s only so much cheap beer one can stomach and only so much dust and bad smells a body can take before the abused senses retaliate in protest. Neither of us felt up to the effort it would take to blend in to the crowd wining and dining inside the glimmering Traders Hotel, nor did we want to subject ourselves to watching Rhianna's big screen debut in the air conditioned cinema. In the end, Derek went back to his guest house to drink more cheap beer and I did something I hope I’ll never be caught doing back home… stalking the isles of the only Western supermarket in town and buying bright packets of sealed sugary snacks, biscuits, an icy pole, yoghurt and a little bottle of milk to take home to eat in bed while I read my book. Food, oh single serving Western food, no flies, not deep fried, manufactured somewhere out of sight and out of mind where I can happily imagine smiling attendants with rubber gloves over their freshly washed hands.
Still, while I lie on my double bed, my stomach full, freshly showered and enjoying my air conditioning, I’m thinking of the millions of Burmese who haven’t benefited from the suspension of sanctions, who haven’t been granted import permits for the newest round of Japanese cars, who haven’t seen a penny of the money being spilled on the bars at the Traders Hotel by foreign investors and the tycoons who rule Burma’s small business world.
The men and women we saw today up to their waists in filthy black water patiently harvesting water spinach, the oiled-muscled coolies hoisting huge sacks, the children in filthy clothes and rubber sandals picking their way through the piles of rubbish, searching for anything worthwhile amongst the waste. Rangoon doesn’t even have a waste management system, yet three different and equally brightly coloured donut shops have sprung up on the block. Most of its citizens have never even owned a car, not with 160 per cent import tax plus thousands more in bribery and fees for import permits, yet somewhere on the outskirts of the city is a huge scrapyard piled high with the carcasses of old jalopies, freshly pulled from the streets of Rangoon and replaced with newer, shinier Japanese imports.
The old jalopy graveyard outside of Rangoon... The government launched a program to remove old, inefficient vehicles last  September and the streets are filling up with newer Japanese models.
 When I visited in January, the first thing I noticed was the piles of rubbish and filth gathered in the dimly lit streets. Rats the size of kittens sauntered across the street and skittered into stinking drains. Old jalopies gathered dust by the side of the road or belched and farted their way along, adding to the perpetual bluish fog which stings the eyes and cracks the lips. Today, the jalopies are gone, Rangoon’s main streets strangely tidy, cinemas have sprung up side by side showcasing crappy American films and the cheap, 300 kyat (30 cents) cola and lemonade varieties replaced by multinationals Coca Cola and Spite for more than three times the price. A mug of Myanmar draft beer is 600 kyat, yet a can of Sprite costs 1000. There’s a French patisserie, retail outlets selling labelled cotton t-shirts for $30 and Samsung opened a shiny new store today in a blast of music and blue and white balloons.
But what about life for those on the outskirts, far away from the glitz and glamour of the Traders Hotel? What’s really changed for those people, the working class, the poor who put their children to bed on bamboo mats, who can’t afford the luxury of a fan to keep the heat and mosquitoes at bay?
A man uses a handheld net to catch fish and shrimp. Rangoon has three donut shops, but no waste management system and the city's drains are the dumping ground for all household waste, which inevitably end up in the creeks and catchments where vegetables and fish are farmed.

A Burmese boy slumbers in his mother's lap as she reads a paper with democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, affectionately known as the "Lady" on the cover.

Wednesday 9 May 2012

Burmese artists struggle to survive as piracy flourishes


By VICTORIA HEATHER
Published: 8 May 2012
Thxa Soe chats with a friend yesterday on the set of a collaboration music video featuring several of Burma's hip-hop and rock stars. (Photo by Derek Stout)
Media piracy and police corruption are sucking millions of dollars out of Burma’s struggling music and film industry every year, says a Burmese musician.
Hip hop icon Thxa Soe says Burma’s local artists are suffering because fake copies of CDs and DVDs are undercutting album sales, draining more than $US1 billion from the industry each year.
“Media piracy is killing our industry,” Thxa Soe says.
“In Myanmar, people love to listen to music, but because of piracy our music and film industries are dying,” he says.
A popular musician and celebrity, the hip hop star is renowned for his style of combining the beats from historical Burmese spiritual music, called nat doe, with original rap lyrics.
The 31-year-old studied audio engineering in London and says he grew up listening to hip hop icons Dr Dre and the Beastie Boys.
He says local artists miss out on the revenue from their movies and album sales, which is pocketed by vendors selling cheap bootleg copies and the police who protect them.
Thxa Soe says corruption is rampant among the police force that, instead of protecting local artists by targeting and arresting those selling pirated copies, benefit from the proceeds of piracy.
“The government needs to control the police. Because right now, there’s no law on the block,” he says.
He says media piracy is a major obstacle to Burmese artists, who are also controlled by strict government censorship which dictates artistic expression, from what they can sing to what clothes they wear on stage.
And the majority of Burmese artists whose songs and films do gain government approval rarely make any money from their works.
"The government needs to control the police. Because right now, there's no law on the block." Photo by Derek Stout.
 Despite Burma’s President Thein Sein announcing a series of recent reforms, freedom of expression is not guaranteed by law and publications, including newspaper articles, song lyrics and movie scripts are subjected to strict censorship by the Burmese government.
While the government has said in the past that it would draft new intellectual property legislation, the Burma Copyrights Law, enacted under British colonial rule, is still on the books, which does little if anything to curb the country’s piracy scourge.
The 2012 Index of Economic Freedom states corruption in the impoverished country is rampant and continues to be a serious barrier to sustained economic development.
“The government controls everything which we sing through censorship, then even if we are approved and release an album, piracy and police corruption takes our money,” says Thxa Soe.
He says the restrictions on freedom of expression have widely discouraged artists from writing their own lyrics and instead the music industry has been flooded with western cover songs.
Thxa Soe has experienced firsthand the frustrations of government censorship, after nine songs were from his recent album were rejected and an MTV screening of his live performance banned in the country.
His debut album in 2001 sold more than one million original copies in Burma; however, his newest release in 2010, sold less than 6,000 copies.
“But when I walk around the streets, I can see pirate copies of my CD on every corner,” he says.
The musician says fake copies of his CDs are undercutting sales of his album, which retail for around US$2, while makeshift stands on street corners sell pirated copies for around $US50 cents.
“The music industry is going downhill because the real artists cannot survive, so they’re leaving the country,” says Thxa Soe.“People need money to survive, they need to eat and feed their families. If they can’t sell their art, what can they do?”
The hip hop star is part of a group of artists who plan to lobby Burma’s President Thein Sein and demand intellectual property laws as well as a crackdown on corrupt police.
“The president needs to control the police and stop media piracy,” he says.
“I’m going to vote for whoever can stop piracy and guarantee us freedom of expression.”
- Victoria Heather is a pseudonym for a journalist working in Burma
Author: VICTORIA HEATHER              Category: In Focus, Uncategorized

This article was first published on the Democratic Voice of Burma website on May 8, 2012:

  

Friday 4 May 2012

Morning of my last day

My last morning in Bangkok and I'm awake at dawn as the warm, bright light penetrates the grubby window of my curtainless room. I prop myself up on one elbow and gaze sleepily out across the shabby tin rooftops.
A black cat, a well-endowed Tom with a wide, flat head picks his way across the roof. His gait is stiff, perhaps from age or a night of brawling, judging from the dull-coloured patches of fur missing from his coat.
I yawn and head towards the shower. My hair has unwound from its loose plait, conducted guerrilla warfare and formed brittle, blonde dreadlocks overnight. Time to indulge in my one luxury, some decent conditioner, and subdue this raging mane for at least the rest of the day.
Freshly showered, time to hit the streets for a new bottle of water from the 7/11, at 13 baht for a litre it's half the price of the cafes, then to save myself from impending scurvy by scoffing a big bowl of freshly chopped fruit salad. Mango, banana, pineapple, brightly-coloured but disappointingly bland dragon fruit.
It's still early and the most of the Farang continue to slumber off the revelries of the night before. I encountered a red-eyed, dry-retching male specimen on my way to the showers. However the Thai are wide awake and preparing for a new day, blue smoke hangs in the air over the street food stalls, delicious smells of freshly chopped sweet basil and sizzling meats waft through down the alleyway.
The old Bitch dog I saw the night before is awake, making her way stiffly down the steps, to be greeted by an eager male. I feel sorry for her, one black and white ear permanently folded over, sagging teats hang off her pot belly, her vulva grossly swollen, and undetectable to humans, obviously giving off the dizzying, delicious scent of being on heat. Male dogs, all sniff and tail wag, trailing her up and down the street, oblivious to her snarls until at last she gives in and allows them to mount her. In a few months she'll deliver yet another litter of puppies who will incessantly demand all the sustenance her old body can give and the cycle will continue. It's a shame someone couldn't have locked her away for a couple of days until she no longer was so desirable.
Breakfast finished, I sit in the undercover patio of the hotel which has been home for the past few nights, $10 a night for a small concrete box with a fan, although it still gets so unbearably hot and stuff that the only way to get to sleep is to drape a wet face cloth across your bare skin and have a water bottle handy to keep it damp throughout the night. I opened the window late last night and greedily gulped in the cool, midnight air... toyed with leaving it open throughout the night but fears of creepy crawly things with too many legs scuttling inside to share my sleeping quarters compelled me to close it again.
Soaking up the free WiFi and doing last minute research before entering the Great Firewall of Burma. Last time I was there it could easily take five minutes for a webpage to load in one of Rangoon's few internet cafes so I transfer my contacts onto hard copy and poke around travel blogs for tips on cheap hotels.
When I flew into Rangoon in January, hotels were packed and hordes of eager backpackers quizzed one another in the departure lounge, do you have accommodation, where will you stay, I tried to call so many places but couldn't get through. I met up with some lovely Canadians and ended up bunking five in a room on my first night, later on transferring to a shipping container on the roof of a huge marble tower called the White House. If I don't have the same luck this time I can always put my sleeping bag to good use... and have the rats come and nibble my ears and keep me warm during the night.
A distant rumble swiftly becomes a roar, as without warning, the sky decides to open up and dump cooling rain upon the city. All other noise becomes a muffled blur underneath the rage of the rain and laughing locals quickly scatter for shelter. Almost instantly, the cracked piping coughs and splutters jets of soapy water into the rapidly filling gutters, washing away streams of dirty brown water, bottle lids, leaves, debris.
The old black and white bitch creeps in under a chair and settles down for a nap.
Then, just as suddenly as it started, the rain stops, the moisture disappears into the cracks and crevices and the silent void left behind swiftly fills up with the chatter and noise of another morning in Bangkok.

Breakfast beside the river of life

Sitting in a street cafe hoping whatever they serve me looks as good as the what the people on the next table are enjoying. A 20 baht plate of yumminess and I've already got a fresh bottle of chilled green tea ready to combat the burn of the chilli. Bring it on, breakfast!
 The Bangkok heat is pressing down upon the entire city, flattening and slowing everything into a melted, sluggish crawl.
I'm planning to spend most of my day on the river, 15 baht per ride and as many sticky river kisses from the damp, humid breeze as you like.
The bright, white-hot sun is glaring through sullen dark clouds, swollen and black with moisture but seemingly sulking by refusing to give up their watery bounty of cool, refreshing rain.
Beyond cheerful flowering trees and squat grey condos the golden peaks of the Royal Palace glimmer in the sun.
From brightly coloured longboats, their oversized outboard motors hanging off the back like grossly swollen testicles of an old dog, to the larger, sleeker passenger ferries, their coloured flags signifying the level of speed and comfort and reflected by the price of the ticket, to the squat, square sloops of the Thai navy and the occasional jolly green tugboat bravely towing immense concrete barges, the river is a hive of activity equal to any vehicular highway.