BurmaNet News: February 20, 2001

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______________ THE BURMANET NEWS ______________
        An on-line newspaper covering Burma 
         February 20, 2001   Issue # 1740
______________ www.burmanet.org _______________

INSIDE BURMA _______
*The Nation: Burma not aggressive, Nyunt says
*Deutsche Presse-Agentur: Myanmar copter crash caused by engine trouble, 
not ground fire 
*AP: 14 Myanmar Crash Victims Missing 
*Stratfor.com: Political infighting weakens Burma
*Myanmar Times: UN refugee chief expects lesser role
*People's Daily (PRC):  WHO's Regional Health Secretaries Meet in 
Myanmar

REGIONAL/INTERNATIONAL _______
*Myanmar Times: Malaysian PM does Myanmar?s PR abroad
*Financial Express (India): Myanmar seeks Indian expertise for IT park  
*Xinhua: Nepali FM Ends Visit to Myanmar

ECONOMY/BUSINESS _______
*AsiaWeek : A Boom Town Beckons
*Xinhua: Myanmar to Privatize More State Enterprises 
*Myanmar Times: Carlsberg for Myanmar brewery 
*Ivanhoe Mines Ltd.:Ivanhoe's Exploration Team Discovers a High-grade 
Mineralized Gold System in Myanmar



__________________ INSIDE BURMA ____________________




The Nation: Burma not aggressive, Nyunt says

Nation/Associated Press - February 20, 2001.


RANGOON - Burma's military regime was not "aggressive" in its foreign 
relations and wanted to resolve its border dispute with Thailand 
peacefully, a top Burmese general was quoted as saying yesterday.  

"The current [Burmese]-Thai border problem should be solved with [an] 
optimistic approach based on mutual understanding, respect and 
magnanimity as true good neighbours," Lt-General Khin Nyunt, fourth 
highest official in the state hierarchy, was quoted as saying by all 
three official Burmese newspapers yesterday.  
Earlier this month Burmese and Thai troops clashed when fighting between 
Burmese and rebel Shan State Army (SSA) forces spilt over into 
Thailand's Chiang Rai province. At least five civilians were killed on 
both sides of the border, driving relations to their lowest point in 
several years. Border checkpoints in the region have been closed for 
more than a week.  

Thailand launched a heavy artillery attack to drive out Burmese forces 
that the army said intruded onto Chiang Rai's Ban Pang Noon hill to 
attack the SSA. Burma, meanwhile, accused Thailand of aiding the Shan 
rebels.  

Khin Nyunt said the SSA and "a misunderstanding by some Thai authorities 
who had relied on false information from lower-level Thai officials" had 
been to blame for the dispute.  

"Although our government is a military government, we have no aggressive 
attitude. We promote friendly relations with every country and abide by 
international rules and regulations," Khin Nyunt said at a ceremony to 
mark the end of a teacher-training course on Monday at Phaunggyi, 60 
kilometres north of Rangoon.  

But in an apparent jab at Thailand for allegedly supporting the Shan 
rebels, Khin Nyunt said Burma had never allowed another group to 
endanger other countries from its territory or used such groups for its 
own ends.  

That claim would be contested by Thailand, which has expressed growing 
frustration at the activities of another Burmese ethnic army, the United 
Wa State Army, that produces illegal drugs in the border area adjoining 
Thailand.  

The drug trade is regarded as socially divisive and a major cause of 
violent crime in Thailand. But the Wa army has reached a cease-fire 
agreement with Burma and enjoys virtual autonomy in areas of Shan State 
in eastern Burma.  

Thai Third Army commander Lt-General Wattanachai Chaimuanwong said 
yesterday tension on the northern border would be reduced if Thai and 
Burmese officials could hold a high-level meeting, but Burma would have 
to initiate this.  

"We would lose face if we went up to them and asked for one. We didn't 
do anything wrong. Besides, it's their turn to call a meeting," the 
commander said.  

There was no indication, Wattanachai said, that the Burmese government 
would reconvene the Regional Border Committee (RBC) set up to settle 
border disputes between the two countries. But Thailand believed Burma 
should be the one to call the meeting as it was Burma which "violated 
our sovereignty and territorial integrity".  
The RBC has not met for two years. 

Wattanachai said Thai troops would stand firm on the border, at least 
until there was an indication that the Burmese would pull back.  

According to the Shan Herald Agency for News (Shan) yesterday, ethnic 
Shan living in Thailand have been supplying the SSA.  

"Thanks to the media's kind coverage of our Army's struggle against 
drugs and the Burmese military, Shan exiles in Thailand have been 
visiting us every day with food, clothing, medicine and even cash 
donations," Lt-Colonel Kawnzuen, 39, commander of the SSA's Keng Tung 
front, was quoted by the agency as saying.  
The Keng Tung front is facing 11 battalions, two of which are from the 
United Wa State Army, a pro-Burma rebel army, according to the agency. 

   


___________________________________________________





Deutsche Presse-Agentur: Myanmar copter crash caused by engine trouble, 
not ground fire 

Bangkok 

Feb. 20, 2001


A helicopter crash which killed the fourth most powerful member of 
Myanmar's (Burma's) military junta was caused by mechanical failure, not 
ground fire, government officials and Western diplomats said Tuesday. 

"Considering the poor state of Myanmar's aircraft, both military and 
civil, the most likely cause for the crash was mechanical failure," a 
Yangon-based diplomat, who is also a pilot, told Deutsche Presse-Agentur 
dpa by telephone. 

His point of view conformed with announcements by the Myanmar government 
saying the helicopter crashed due to engine trouble and not, as some 
foreign media reported, as a result of an attack by Karen or Shan 
rebels. 

The Russian-built helicopter crashed Friday morning into the Salween 
River near the town of Pha-An, 160 kilometres east of Rangoon, killing 
State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) Second Secretary Lieutenant 
General Tin Oo. Twenty-one others, including some other top military 
leaders, were on board the aircraft. 

The military government appeared unusually quick in confirming through 
state-controlled newspapers and radio the deaths of the second secretary 
and one other unnamed military officer on Tuesday, just one day after 
the crash. 

"Generally, official announcements of this magnitude are held back for a 
couple, three days. This time, the government has been unusually quick 
in confirming Tin Oo's death, who was one of the junta's top members," 
said the diplomat, who asked not to be named. 

According to Myanmar radio broadcasts, the secretary was still alive 
after the accident but died shortly afterwards in a military hospital 
near the crash site. 

Rescue teams were searching Tuesday for 14 missing passengers who are 
also feared dead, the radio broadcasts said, while refraining from 
commenting on earlier rumours that other prominent military officials 
might be among the missing. 

Ambassadors in Yangon (Rangoon) have received an official invitation by 
Myanmar's foreign ministry to sign a condolence book laid out at the 
ministry to commemorate Tin Oo's death.




___________________________________________________




AP: 14 Myanmar Crash Victims Missing 

 AYE AYE WIN 


YANGON, Myanmar 

Feb. 20, 2001

Rescue workers failed on Tuesday to find 14 people missing in a 
helicopter crash that killed the No. 4 general in Myanmar's ruling 
military junta the worst tragedy to befall the junta in its 12 years in 
power. 

Twenty-nine people were aboard the helicopter when it went down Monday 
in a river 100 miles southeast of Yangon, the capital. In addition to 
the 14 still missing, 13 were known to have survived and two, army chief 
of staff Lt. Gen. Tin Oo and Maj. Aung Phone Naing, were confirmed dead. 


The search effort is difficult because the river is flowing so rapidly, 
a government official said on condition of anonymity. 

Official newspapers reported that the Russian-made Mi-17 helicopter 
crashed into the Salween River in bad weather Monday near Pa-an in Karen 
State. The helicopter was carrying Tin Oo to inspect a new bridge. 

Tin Oo, 67, was an opponent of rebel groups fighting for independence in 
Myanmar and had survived an assassination attempt four years ago. There 
was no indication that the helicopter that crashed had been attacked or 
sabotaged. 

Tin Oo's obituary in official newspapers said he had ''suddenly died 
while serving the country.'' He was the fourth most powerful man on the 
ruling council, a 21-member group of army officers who took power in 
Myanmar in 1988 after crushing a democracy uprising. 

Official media said that of the 14 missing people, nine were government 
officials, two were pilots and the rest were crew members. 

Government officials said the missing included one other member of the 
dominant ruling military council, Maj. Gen. Sit Maung, who is the 
commander of the southeastern forces, and Brig. Gen. Lun Maung, a 
minister in the prime minister's office. 

Ba Thein, president of the Karen National Union rebels, told The 
Associated Press that it believed the accident did not involve sabotage. 


Tin Oo was a veteran of campaigns against ethnic and communist 
insurgents and had often threatened in public to ''annihilate'' 
opponents of the regime. 

He had survived at least one assassination attempt in April 1997, when a 
parcel bomb exploded in his house, killing one of his daughters. Tin Oo 
was in the house but escaped unhurt. 

The government blamed dissidents, but rebel groups said the bombing was 
the result of a power struggle in the junta. 

On Christmas Day in 1996, two bombs tore through a Yangon pagoda that 
Tin Oo had visited hours earlier. Five people were killed, but it wasn't 
clear if Tin Oo was the target. 

Tin Oo rarely spoke about politics and was not regarded as a key 
government policy maker. 

His death comes as the military regimes moves to improve relations with 
Myanmar pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. 

It is also seeking to resolve a border dispute with its neighbor, 
Thailand. 

Lt. Gen. Khin Nyunt was quoted in official newspapers Tuesday as saying 
that Myanmar wanted a border solution based on ''mutual understanding, 
respect and magnanimity.'' 

Earlier this month, Myanmar and Thai troops clashed when fighting 
between Myanmar and ethnic Shan rebels spilled into Thailand. The 
fighting drove relations to their lowest point in several years. 




Stratfor.com: Political infighting weakens Burma

Global Intelligence Update
Asia Times, Feb 20, 2001

Summary 

Lieutenant-General Tin Oo, Secretary 2 of Burmese State Peace and 
Development Council (SPDC) and chief of staff of the army, died in a 
helicopter crash on February 19. Tin Oo's death is likely to accelerate 
the factional struggle within the SPDC, as the more liberal factions see 
an opportunity to acquire some of the conservatives' waning power. The 
political infighting threatens not only Rangoon's stability, but also 
threatens already strained relations with Burmese neighbor Thailand.  
Analysis

Lieutenant General Tin Oo, Secretary 2 in Burmese State Peace and 
Development Council (SPDC) and chief of staff of the army, died in a 
helicopter crash on February 19. According to official state media, the 
crash resulted from inclement weather. Earlier reports from Burma and 
Thailand, however, have cited the cause of the crash as engine failure 
or an attack by ethnic rebels.  

Tin Oo, No 4 in the SPDC hierarchy, was responsible for military 
operations and economic affairs. He advocated a strong response to 
Burmese numerous ethnic and political opposition groups and reportedly 
survived three assassination attempts in the last five years. His death 
will likely stir an internal power struggle within the SPDC between 
hard-line leaders and a competing pragmatic faction. The internal 
political strife threatens not only Rangoon's stability, but will 
further strain relations with Burmese neighbor Thailand.  

For several years, the SPDC leadership has been embroiled in an internal 
power struggle over who will replace the aging chairman, Senior General 
Than Shwe. At the center of the battle are SPDC Vice Chairman and army 
Commander in Chief General Maung Aye and SPDC Secretary 1 and Chief of 
the Directorate of Defense Services Intelligence Khin Nyunt, the 
respective No 2 and No 3 within the ruling council.  
Maung Aye holds the support of the armed forces, and as vice chairman 
stands to inherit the leadership role from Than Shwe. The more pragmatic 
Khin Nyunt, who has less support from the military, instead has been 
instrumental in arranging peace deals with various ethnic rebel factions 
and promotes a more moderate and economically open Rangoon.  

Tin Oo, a hard-line element in the SPDC, was rumored to be Maung Aye's 
choice for SPDC vice chairman, supplanting Khin Nyunt in the ruling 
junta. Sources in Burma say that Khin Nyunt has long wanted Tin Oo dead, 
suggesting previous assassination attempts were part of the internal 
power struggle. With Tin Oo gone, both Maung Aye and Khin Nyunt will 
move to fill the vacuum with their own supporters.  
While the competition heats up inside Rangoon, relations with 
neighboring Thailand may suffer. Bangkok and Rangoon share a contentious 
relationship, due largely to Burmese ethnic armies and drug cartels 
along the border. During the term of former Thai prime minister Chuan 
Leekpai, Bangkok pulled back from contact with Rangoon, sending 
relations into an even deeper spiral. Thailand's new Prime Minister 
Thaksin Shinawatra, elected February 9, has pledged to reopen the 
stalled contact with Rangoon.  

On the same weekend that Thaksin was elected, however, clashes between 
the Burma army and Thai army broke out around the Thai border town of 
Mae Sai in Chiang Rai province. The fighting, a spillover from Burmese 
annual spring offensive against ethnic Shan rebels, left at least 19 
dead on both sides of the border, according to The Associated Press.  

While the fighting subsided after three days, a war of words between the 
neighbors continued to intensify. Thailand accused Burma of violating 
its territory and shelling civilians in an artillery barrage. Thaksin, 
who had earlier suggested his first official foreign visit would be to 
Rangoon, criticized Burma for allowing some ethnic minority groups on 
the border to produce drugs. Thaksin added that if diplomatic means 
proved insufficient to solve the long-standing border issue, "We will 
have to deal with it in our own way, and this is an assertive policy," 
according to the Times of India.  
For its part, Rangoon repeated allegations that the Thai military 
supports the ethnic Shan rebels, giving them sanctuary and even 
supplying them with landmines and other explosives. Official Burma media 
said Thailand was suspected of reinvigorating a 50-year-old concept of 
"Greater Thai Policy" which called for the annexation of parts of Laos, 
Burma and China.  

With increasing numbers of troops on both sides of the border, the 
situation remains tense. On February 19, Thai cabinet members, including 
the foreign minister and defense minister, emphasized they no longer had 
plans for any official visits to Rangoon. For its part, Rangoon played 
up fears of a Thai military coup, releasing an editorial in the official 
New Light of Burma that politicians and military officers in Thailand 
were stirring border problems and arming ethnic rebels in order to 
undermine Thaksin's intentions of rebuilding ties with Burma.  
Tin Oo's death further complicates efforts for the two sides to 
reconcile. While state media blamed weather for the crash, radio reports 
in Thailand and Burma suggest ethnic Shan rebels shot down his 
helicopter - the very group Thailand has been accused of supporting.  
Acceleration of infighting within the SPDC ranks will cause settling the 
border rift with Thailand to take the back seat. Worse, the political 
wrangling in Rangoon could lead to two different sets of negotiations 
with Thailand, likely leading to more chaos.  



         




Myanmar Times: UN refugee chief expects lesser role 

Feb. 5-11, 2001

RAJIV Kapur, a 23-year veteran of the United Nations High Commission for 
Refugees (UNHCR), started work last week as the agency?s new Myanmar 
representative. Formerly head of desk with the UNHCR?s Asia Pacific 
Bureau, Mr Kapur already has three years? experience coordinating UNHCR 
policy on refugee-related programs in Myanmar and South East Asia. He 
replaces Canh Nguyen Tang, who completed his tenure in October.Mr Kapur 
said his focus would be the reintegration of refugees repatriated from 
Bangladesh back into Myanmar.
 


Another priority will be to reduce the overall involvement of the UNHCR 
in refugee repatriation,? Mr Kapur said.?We?ll find a mechanism by which 
Government institutions, with the support of international NGO?s and 
other UN development agencies, can assist the UNHCR to slowly reduce its 
involvement.?We?re not a development agency.There are just too many 
problems in the world today for us to be able to have the luxury of 
devoting all of our resources to this one problem. Whether the issues 
are about health or refugees, I think there is no substitute for 
national institutions putting forward their own initiatives. The UNHCR 
can only be a catalyst in these areas.? Mr Kapur cited the need for a 
concerted effort by the UNHCR to better coordinate plans for 
humanitarian assistance for displaced people along the 
Myanmar-Bangladesh border in the event of the UN agency?s withdrawal 
from the region. 

?The challenge now is how to pull together international NGO?s and 
development agencies, and then link them in with the Government so that 
the UNHCR is not having to constantly fill in gaps.? Mr Kapur said that 
although Myanmar and the UNHCR had developed good relations over the 
past decade, there was still room for improvement. But he felt it was 
premature at this stage to suggest that the agency step in to assist in 
the repatriation of refugees.?In some cases the situation is just too 
unstable. I don?t think the agency would be able to safely run its 
operations,? he said.

?It?s a very complicated situation. The tens of thousands of refugees in 
Thailand are not from one homogeneous group, as you?d imagine. We need 
to understand the nature of the problem before we can address it.?Asked 
whether sanctions by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) ? a 
sister agency to the UN ? would inhibit his own agency?s efforts in 
Myanmar, Mr Kapur said: ?Of course, as a humanitarian agency this 
doesn?t affect us. But we?re all concerned about where the process of 
the ILO resolutions will lead. It is very encouraging, though, that the 
Government appears to be addressing the issue.We don?t want to things to 
snowball out of control.?

  



___________________________________________________




People's Daily (PRC):  HelpWHO's Regional Health Secretaries Meet in 
Myanmar

Feb. 20, 2001

The Sixth Meeting of Health Secretaries of the Countries of the World 
Health Organization (WHO) Southeast Asian Region began Monday in Yangon. 


The three-day meeting will serve as a forum for exchanging views and 
experiences with respect to health and health-related matters in 
countries of the region, said Tuesday's official newspaper The New Light 
of Myanmar. 

Speaking at the opening of the meeting, Myanmar Health Minister 
Major-General Ket Sein urged countries in the region to act accordingly 
to meet the changing conditions and challenges in political, economic 
and social sectors all over the world over the past few years. 

He said that the WHO is always trying to improve and intensify its 
efforts in fulfilling the health development needs of member countries, 
stressing that promotion of health and social development is vital for 
enhancing the quality of life. 

He told the meeting that Myanmar, in accordance with its social 
objective of uplifting the health standards of the entire people, has 
accorded priority in allocation of government budget to the health 
sector, adding that the country's ministry of health is one of the 
largest recipients of budgetary funds. 

He also disclosed that aimed at increasing equity, efficiency and 
quality of health services, the Myanmar Health Ministry has carried out 
health sector reform which encompasses policy, organization, 
institutional development, human resources, health financing and the 
private sector. 

He described the meeting as a very useful one, saying that such meetings 
have not only been able to address regional health problems but also to 
formulate sound plans of actions and strategies to tackle the issues of 
common concern. 

He was convinced that inter-country cooperation can be further 
strengthened to effectively reduce the burden of ill health in the 
countries of the region. 





___________________ REGIONAL/INTERNATIONAL___________________
				



Myanmar Times: Malaysian PM does Myanmar?s PR abroad 

Feb. 5-11, 2001
 
Malaysia PM Dr Mahathir 
THERE could be ?no doubt? that the Myanmar Government had opened up the 
country and sought ways to improve the living conditions of its people, 
Malaysian Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has said.Dr Mahathir said 
that no country liked foreign interference in internal affairs, and that 
the less the west interfered in Myanmar ?the better for solving the 
problems?.?Let the people of Myanmar decide for themselves,? he said.Dr 
Mahathir, whose backing secured Myanmar?s membership of ASEAN in 1997, 
made his comments during an interview with the Mainichi Shimbun 
newspaper in Japan, where he attended the launch of his book Reflections 
on Asia and delivered a keynote address at a symposium organised by 
Mainichi newspapers.Extracts of his question-and-answer interview were 
published in the New Straits Times in Kuala Lumpur last week.

Dr Mahathir was in Myanmar last month, his visiting overlapping that by 
fellow Malaysian national Razali Ismail, the United Nations? Special 
Envoy to Myanmar.The Malaysian PM told Mainichi Shimbun he made the 
visit because Senior General Than Shwe had been given insufficient time, 
at the ASEAN summit in Singapore in November, to explain ?what the 
actual situation in Myanmar was like?.?Myanmar tried to explain to all 
the ASEAN leaders, but there were only 15 minutes. So I went to listen 
to (Sen Gen Than Shwe), to find out what progress Myanmar has made and 
what can be done in order to solve this problem about Myanmar being 
accused of having oppressive dictatorship, bad labour practice, using 
slave labour, etc,? Dr Mahathir said.?The (Myanmar) Government may not 
be an elected Government. But there is no doubt that the present 
Government has opened up Myanmar to foreign investments. They are trying 
to improve the living condition of the people of Myanmar. 

?The accusation that they use slave labour is not true. In all the 
countries in East Asia and South East Asia, we are used to using 
voluntary labour. If we are building a road for a certain village or 
town, the people of the village or town must contribute the labour. This 
helps to reduce the costs for a poor country. ?When the British were 
ruling Myanmar, they also used the same kind of labour. For a poor 
government, it is a way of taxing the people; contributing the labour 
instead of money.?Asked to evaluate the state of play between the State 
Peace and Development Council (SPDC) and National League for Democracy 
(NLD), Dr Mahathir told Mainichi Shimbun that it was ?something which 
cannot be solved through confrontation?.?What is needed is to put the 
interest of Myanmar above party interests. And I think the Government is 
willing to discuss with (Daw Aung San) Suu Kyi to find solutions for 
Myanmar.

 
Dr Mahathir 

?That is good for the whole of Myanmar and its people,? he said.?I 
suppose eventually they would have to have elections. But before they 
do, they must understand the conduct of elections. ?We see sometimes 
elections being held in many countries but they do not reflect the 
feelings of the people. When elections are held, people must understand 
elections have limits. And not to use elections to undermine 
authority.?Dr Mahathir said that from his discussions with Sen Gen Than 
Shwe, at which he ?spoke about these things generally?, he believed the 
SPDC Chairman and Head of State was ?willing to hold the elections 
eventually?.?The elections will not be held this year or next. It should 
be held in a few years,? the veteran Malaysian politician said. ?They 
have to determine proper voter registration. You have to do it step by 
step. Even those countries which have accepted elections as a means of 
setting up the government have not been able to carry out the elections 
properly,? he said, in a pointed reference to the recent US presidential 
vote.

Asked by the Mainichi Shimbun journalist if his personal involvement in 
Myanmar meant that ASEAN was shifting away from its policy of mutual 
non-interference, Dr Mahathir said: ?No, it is because Myanmar is a 
special case?.?The west is trying to pressure Myanmar, pressure ASEAN,? 
he said. ?While we do not want to interfere in the internal affairs of 
other countries, we feel that the benefits of the kind of liberal 
democracy that we have in ASEAN countries should be exposed and made 
known to the people and Government of Myanmar so they will not reject 
the system. ?Because this system is good and will ensure that the 
country can have the Government of its choice.? 
 

___________________________________________________


Financial Express (India): Myanmar seeks Indian expertise for IT park  


Feb. 20, 2001
Our Corporate Bureau   



New Delhi: Myanmar Computer Federation (MCF) and Confederation of Indian 
Industry (CII) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to 
collaborate in the field of information technology. "India can serve as 
a model for Myanmar in the IT sector, and we have sought support for the 
development of an IT park in our country," Myanmar's deputy minister for 
science and technology U Hlainng Win said while addressing a meet 
organised by CII here on Monday. Setting of this IT park is being viewed 
as an opportunity for boosting bilateral ties between the two countries, 
he added. 
Complementing India's progress in the IT sector, Mr Win said, "India is 
churning out world-class IT professionals, software solution providers, 
technical know-how, IT-enabled services, and also has a large domestic 
market, apart from the overseas market, for these services. Myanmar has, 
therefore, asked for Indian expertise in the setting up of the IT park." 
The government will help Myanmar in preparing a draft of the master plan 
for the development of this sector, where IT is the main thrust.


http://www.financialexpress.com/fe/daily/20010220/fco20011.html



___________________________________________________



Xinhua: Nepali FM Ends Visit to Myanmar

2001.02.19 23:14:22  

YANGON, February 19 (Xinhuanet) -- Nepali Foreign Minister Chakra  
Prasad Bastola left here Monday after concluding his three-day  official 
visit to Myanmar. 

During his visit, Bastola met with Chairman of the Myanmar  State Peace 
and Development Council Senior-General Than Shwe. 
He also met with his Myanmar counterpart U Win Aung and the two 
ministers discussed maintenance of friendly relations between the  two 
countries and mutual cooperation.  

At the invitation of U Win Aung, the Nepali foreign minister  arrived 
here last Tuesday and first attended as an observer the  two-day Third 
Trade and Economic Ministers' Meeting of the BIMST- EC (Bangladesh, 
India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand-Economic  Cooperation) before 
starting his official visit to Myanmar on  Friday. 
This is the first visit to Yangon of a high-ranking official of Nepal in 
five years during which there were almost no economic and trade 
activities between the two countries except maintenance of  cultural 
exchange. 


_______________ ECONOMY AND BUSINESS _______________
 

AsiaWeek : A Boom Town Beckons

FEBRUARY 23, 2001 VOL.27 NO.7


Business radars are on alert in the wake of political talks. But is 
investment wise? By ROGER MITTON

The meeting was unusual enough, but the outcome even more so. On one 
side were two generals from Myanmar's military junta, and on the other 
were members of Yangon's leading chambers of commerce. The businessmen ù 
local and foreign ù had a common gripe: too much bureaucratic red tape 
getting in their way. Could the generals help them cut through it? Yes, 
came the answer. The next day, a trader in the fisheries industry 
received a call from his bank. He had complained to the generals about 
currency exchange problems that dogged his export business. The bankers 
asked him to drop by so they could devise a solution. An efficient 
response, in anyone's commercial language. 

Myanmar is back in business. With a moribund economy and biting 
sanctions, the generals are bending over backwards to keep the vital 
signs ticking over. Indeed, business interests may have helped spur the 
recent talks between the junta and its determined nemesis, National 
League for Democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The dialogue may lead to 
nothing, but the fact that it is even taking place has already warmed 
the international climate toward pariah state Myanmar. The new U.S. 
administration has hinted that economic sanctions imposed in 1997 due to 
political repression may be lifted. The European Union is scrambling to 
establish meaningful ties after years of avoiding eye contact. Is it the 
beginning of real change for Myanmar, or just a cynical gambit by the 
military dictators? 

Whatever the case, developments have foreign investors rubbing their 
hands ù and the generals licking their lips. "Economic stability is the 
key to political stability," says respected Myanmar analyst-in-exile 
Aung Naing Oo. "The junta sees sanctions as obstacles to economic 
development and thus a threat to their future hold on power." Despite a 
shambolic economy born of decades of mismanagement, Myanmar is often 
rated Southeast Asia's richest nation in terms of natural resources. And 
now the time seems ripe for a sustainable boom. "When foreign investors 
hear the talks {with Aung San Suu Kyi} are going on, they feel a glimmer 
of hope," says Moe Kyaw, who heads a market research company in Yangon. 
"They feel Myanmar may no longer be ostracized." 

If only it were that simple. Yes, out of self-interest, the junta has 
sent unmistakable signals that it is preparing to come in from the cold. 
And yes, the generals are increasingly eager to make life easy for 
investors. But ethical dilemmas remain. Will increased engagement result 
in a rapprochement between Suu Kyi and the generals, ending the 13-year 
military dictatorship? Or will it serve to prop up the regime? Will 
investment make a difference to the lives of ordinary Burmese, or will 
the junta cream the benefits? Not least, will forced labor be used to 
build this new Myanmar? ASEAN countries, plus China, India, South Korea 
and Japan, have already made up their minds: business opportunities are 
too hot to ignore. For the rest of the world, the writing on the balance 
sheet isn't hard to read. Says Bo Olson of the nongovernment 
Sweden-Democratic Burma Friendship Association: "The West is just dying 
to get in there." 

But should it? That depends on whom you ask. Broadly speaking, three 
schools of thought have emerged. One says that whatever political game 
the junta is now playing, more business activity will inevitably enrich 
the population. Even if the generals and their cronies rake off most of 
the profits, the man in the street will still benefit. Big business is a 
leading proponent of this line. U.S. oil company Unocal arrived in 
Myanmar in 1993 to help build the Yadana offshore gas pipeline to 
Thailand, now among Myanmar's most profitable legitimate operations. The 
Washington sanctions barred U.S. companies from setting up new business 
deals, but Unocal, as an established outfit, was allowed to remain. It 
retains a small foreign workforce of managers and technicians on the 
pipeline with its French partner Total ù and points to the jobs and 
community facilities it provides for local maintenance workers. "Real 
change and improvement will come when there are dozens of Yadana-size 
projects," says Unocal spokesman Barry Lane. Critics say forced labor 
was used to build Yadana. The companies deny this.  

A second school of thought is more cautious. It has few problems with 
investment, but does want to see evidence of political progress. Olson 
believes that foreign investment on the whole is a positive thing: 
"Naturally the generals get most out of it, but ordinary people can get 
jobs and can sell their produce if the economy is rolling." Yangon-based 
lawyer and foreign business consultant Alec Christie thinks investment 
can only improve standards of living for all. "If you ask me what are 
the areas where there are problems, it would be infrastructure," 
Christie says. More money would improve telecommunications, electricity 
supply and roads ù especially outside the capital. "If there is 
investment and international aid, things would be better," he says. 
Compromise, however, remains a dirty word for many Burmese. Kanbawza 
Win, a dissident and visiting professor at the University of Winnipeg, 
Canada, believes that investment merely strengthens the dictatorship. 
"The system put in place by the junta aims to prevent the growth of the 
middle class ù which has the potential to lead the country to 
democracy," he says. "Only the top brass and the cronies get richer 
while the mass of the people remain poor." The rallying cry of Western 
labor groups, too, remains "sanctions on, business off." Says Phillip 
Fishman, the assistant Asia director for the American Federation of 
Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations: "What would most help the 
citizens of Burma would be the restoration of civilian, democratic 
governance and the rule of law, and an end to widespread corruption." 
That's a big wish list, but one that helped convince mostly U.S. 
companies to abandon Myanmar in 1997. Pepsico Inc., for instance, which 
had an estimated 80% share of the soft-drink market, sold its 
joint-venture stake with a local company in 1996. The next year it 
closed shop completely by canceling supplies of Pepsi syrup. The company 
said its decision was "based on our assessment of the spirit of current 
U.S. government policy." In fact, its involvement in Myanmar had 
resulted in boycotts by U.S. students ù the company's main domestic 
market ù which soon translated into shareholder concern. Other U.S. 
firms quick to toe the domestic-opinion line included Levi Strauss, 
Amoco, Apple and Eastman Kodak. 

Did their withdrawal make a difference? Possibly. But for almost every 
outfit that left, one arrived. Tiger Beer (Singapore), Rothmans (U.K., 
tobacco), Japanese conglomerates Sumitomo and Mitsui, Clough Engineering 
(Australia) and Ivanhoe Mines (Canada) are well established. Oil and gas 
players Premier (U.K.), Petronas (Malaysia) and Nippon (Japan) jostle 
with Unocal and Total. Singapore companies, the biggest investors, have 
hotels, garments, defense supplies, banking and travel services. A 
French-Myanmar fisheries joint venture began operations in November. The 
bottom line, says market researcher Moe Kyaw, is that if you know how to 
do business, you can do it in Myanmar. So long as  you are not too fussy 
about the company you keep.


Xinhua: Myanmar to Privatize More State Enterprises 

YANGON, February 20 


Five more state-owned enterprises, which include a land plot, a saw mill 
and three cinemas respectively located in the country's Bago and 
Mawlamyine townships, will be sold through competitive biddings, 
official newspaper The New Light of Myanmar reported Tuesday. 

These state enterprises are the first batch to be privatized in this 
year. 

Myanmar has been implementing a privatization plan for its state-owned 
economic enterprises since January 1995, aimed at systematically 
transferring them into effective business organizations. 

The plan, being implemented by the government-formed Privatization 
Commission, is carried out by auctioning and leasing out the enterprises 
or establishing joint-ventures with local and foreign investors. 

The first phase of the scheme covered 51 such enterprises including 
processing and manufacturing factories, livestock breeding farms and 
cinemas. 

According to official statistics, 118 state enterprises in 1999 and 19 
of such enterprises in 2000 were covered by the privatization plan. 

These enterprises include land plots, rice mills, saw mills, cinemas, 
hotels, biscuit and garment factories and timber shops. 

It is reported that there is a total of 1,760 state enterprises in 
Myanmar, mostly being industrial enterprises. 



___________________________________________________






Myanmar Times: Carlsberg for Myanmar brewery 

Feb. 5-11, 2001

THE managing director of one of the world?s best known beer brands, 
Carlsberg, has expressed its interest in opening a brewery in Myanmar. 
Michel Iuul told Bangkok Post that the Danish company which manufactures 
the household name brand expected to establish a brewery here once 
political barriers could be overcome. Mr Iuul said Myanmar was the only 
big market in South East Asia that Carlsberg had yet to enter, the Post 
reported. Meanwhile, the company has formed an equal joint venture with 
the Asian Chang Beverage Co, which produces Thailand?s Chang lager, to 
promote that beverage outside Thailand. 

The venture company is called Carlsberg Asia Ltd. Mr Iuul, who oversees 
Carlsberg Asia, did not specify the prime targets for Chang beer 
exports, but said they could include neighbouring countries where the 
brand was already known, and possibly China, the Post reported. Chang is 
brewed by the Beer Thai company owned by liquor tycoon Charoen 
Sirivadhanabhakdi, a major shareholder of Carlsberg in Thailand and a 
key partner in Carlsberg Asia Ltd, which was launched in January with 
its head office in Singapore. Mr Iuul said the company could be listed 
on the Singapore stock market within three years. The Post reported that 
Asia?s total beer consumption was 333 million hectolitres in 1999, up 
from 84 million in 1997.




Ivanhoe Mines Ltd.:Ivanhoe's Exploration Team Discovers a High-grade 
Mineralized Gold System in Myanmar

Feb. 18, 2001

[Abridged]

Recent work by Ivanhoe's exploration team has discovered a promising new 
gold-bearing vein system in a concession located in central Myanmar, 
approximately 100 kilometres north of the capital city of Yangon. The 
project is accessible by road and is 10 kilometres from a major highway. 
For competitive reasons, the exact location is not being disclosed at 
this time. To date, exploration has focused on driving adits, trenching 
and channel sampling on a number of quartz veins in the prospect area. 
Throughout the prospect area, measuring three kilometres by two 
kilometres, visible gold occurs in persistent quartz veins, which 
outcrop over a 400-metre vertical interval.
Surface rock-chip samples collected across the width of the vein system 
are strongly mineralized, with a maximum gold value of 3,475 grams per 
tonne (112 ounces per tonne) over 1.3 metres. DGSE Laboratories in 
Myanmar assayed all the samples. Two internationally accredited 
laboratories, MAS Laboratories, of Bangkok, Thailand, and Analabs, of 
Perth, Australia, conducted check assays on the preliminary surface 
samples and pulps, and have verified the initial high-grade gold 
results.

A list of assay results from adit and trench samples assayed to date is 
posted on the Ivanhoe Mines website (www.ivanhoemines.com), on the 
Myanmar exploration page. Assays on recent samples from adits and 
trenches are pending.
  	    
Ten adits are currently being driven at depths of up to 30 metres below 
the surface to access the veins and the near-surface oxide 
mineralization. This work will help to ascertain the strike lengths, 
widths and grades of the veins and potential near-surface gold 
mineralization. It is unknown at this time whether future exploration 
will confirm the existence of an economic mineral resource on the 
project.
Ivanhoe's wholly-owned subsidiary, Ivanhoe Myanmar Holdings, has an 83% 
interest in a joint venture to explore and develop the concession. 
Ivanhoe's joint-venture partner is the Myanmar Department of Geological 
Survey and Mineral Exploration.

Ivanhoe Mines is an international mining company producing LME Grade A 
copper from its Monywa joint venture in Myanmar and high-quality iron 
ore products from ABM Mining's Savage River mine and Port Latta pellet 
plant in Australia. Ivanhoe Mines acquired ABM Mining on December 31, 
2000. Ivanhoe Mines and ABM had combined revenues of approximately 
US$84.8 million (CDN$127.2 million) in 2000 on net sales of 
approximately 13,350 tonnes of copper, 2.19 million tonnes of iron ore 
pellets and 19,400 tonnes of iron ore concentrate.

Ivanhoe is a public company whose shares are traded on the Toronto and 
Australian stock exchanges under the symbol IVN.


  






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