Political, social and economic dimensions of investment in Burma

See also Activism and Campaigns and Sanctions
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Websites/Multiple Documents

Description: Burma Day 2005 - Selected Documents... Supporting Burma/Myanmar?s National Reconciliation Process - Challenges and Opportunities... Brussels, Tuesday 5th April 2005... Most of the papers and reports focus on the "Independent Report" written for the conference by Robert Taylor and Morten Pedersen. They range from macroeconomic critique to historical and procedural comment.
Source/publisher: European Commission
Date of entry/update: 2005-04-06
Grouping: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: English
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Description: A rich seam of news items, articles and long reports on Burma from 1996. Go to the Home page for more general material. "information from: · United Nations & ILO · companies · human rights, development, labour & environmental organisations · governments · academics · See the section on the UNOCAL case in "Lawsuits against companies: Selected major cases", journalists · etc..."
Source/publisher: Business and Human Rights
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: English
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Description: Frequently-updated links to news items, guidelines, reports, articles, United Nations and ILO documents, company policies, lawsuits against companies, other websites. Plus 56 hits for Burma OR Myanmar (September 2001). Very rich and useful source. Recommended. Sectors: Agriculture Aircraft/Airline Apparel industry: General Clothing & textile Footwear Arms/Weapons Asbestos Auditing, consulting & accounting Auto rental Automobile & other motor vehicles Baby food & baby milk Battery Bicycle Biotechnology Carpet & rug Ceramics Chemical Chocolate Cleaning products Clothing & textile Coffee Construction & building equipment/materials Cookware Cosmetics Diamond Diversified/Conglomerates Dye Electrical appliance Energy & electricity Express delivery Fabric & yarn Fertiliser Finance & banking Fire extinguisher Fireworks Fishing Food & beverage Footwear Furniture Garden supply Glass Health care Hotel Industrial gases Insurance Jewelry Law firms Logging & lumber Machine tools Manufacturing Media Medical equipment Metals & steel Military/defence Mining Oil, gas & coal Packaging Paint Paper Pesticide Pharmaceutical Photographic Plastics Printing Publishing Railroad Real estate Refrigerator & refrigerant Restaurants Retail Rubber Shipping, ship-building & ship-scrapping Slaughterhouses Sporting goods Stone quarries Sugar Supermarkets Tanneries Tea Technology, telecommunications & electronics Tobacco Tourism Toy Trucking Waste disposal Water. See also the section on the UNOCAL case in "Lawsuits against companies: Selected major cases". Good section on tourism.
Creator/author: Chris Avery
Source/publisher: Business and Human Rights
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: English
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Description: "Almost three years after the new regime known as ?the democratically elected government? took power in Naypyidaw, there have been many foreign investors looking into the once-isolated country for their foreign direct investment opportunities. The IMF recently even predicted that the new emerging country would be an Asian frontier or an Asian Tiger if the reform process keeps going on the right track. However, many investors have hesitated to do business in the country. Actually, there are a lot of investment opportunities inside the country such as telecommunications, agriculture, various natural resources, mineral, and fisheries etc. Naypyidaw has earnestly welcomed those investments. For instance, last month Myanmar?s foreign minister said at the Asia Society in New York, referring to American investors, ?I wish to take this opportunity to invite more U.S. business firms and investors to get up and join the gold rush to Myanmar.? However, Naypyidaw expresses at the same time its frustration when holding receptions for hundreds of potential foreign investors: ?investors come talk with us, and then turn away.? So a question is: why have those investors turned away? Why are they still waiting?..."
Creator/author: Aung Tun
Source/publisher: "New Mandala"
2013-10-18
Date of entry/update: 2014-07-15
Grouping: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: English
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Description: "EarthRights International?s Burma Project collects vital on-the-ground information about the human rights and environmental situation in Burma. Since 1995, ERI has worked in Burma to monitor the impacts of the military regime?s policies and activities on local populations and ecosystems. ERI?s staff has gathered a vast body of valuable, rare information about the state of the military regime?s war on its peoples and its environment. Through gathering testimonies, grassroots organizing, and distributing information through campaign work, the Burma Project has made a significant contribution to human rights and environment protection in Burma. Where possible, we link our grassroots fact-finding missions and community organizing with regional and international level advocacy and campaigning. We work alongside affected community groups to prevent human rights and environmental abuses associated with large-scale development projects in Burma. Currently, the Burma Project focuses on large-scale dams, oil and gas development, and mining. We share experiences and resources with local communities, as well as provide assistance relevant to community needs. Over the past 10 years the Burma Project has raised awareness about the alarming depletion of resources in Burma and their relationship to a vast array of human rights abuses, as well as the local, national, and regional implications of these practices."...Sections on Dams, Mining, Oil & Gas and Other Areas of Work.
Source/publisher: EarthRights International
Date of entry/update: 2010-08-20
Grouping: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: English
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Description: Interfaith investment funds, Shareholder action, corporate responsibility, corporate accountability, selective purchasing, sanctions, business in Burma, divstment, companies, corporations, Halliburton, Unocal, Total, MOGE etc... search for Burma, Unocal etc.
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: English
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Description: Final frontier - The rise and rise of Myanmar. "After more than 50 years of stagnation Myanmar is finally opening its doors to investment from the outside world. As well as sitting between the regional heavyweights of China and India, Myanmar offers incredible investment opportunities in energy, mining, infrastructure, agriculture, fisheries and so much more that led the International Monetary Fund to brand the country as Asia?s ?final frontier?. Read inside for your guide to investing in Myanmar..."....."Farmers can benefit with good policies" - Myo Lwin and Victoria Bruce..."Beckoning investments in agriculture": Australian Professor, Michael Montesano, shares his thoughts with Myo Lwin, editor for special publications of The Myanmar Times on how the agriculture sector can be improved..."Opportunities on the horizon for telecoms companies - Government moves to fast-track development of Myanmar?s telecom?s industry into the 21st Century is (sic) peaking foreign interest. With a large untapped market, huge infrastructure challenges, and opportunities for joint ventures touted, the future looks bright for Myanmar telecoms." ..."Myanmar?s ICT industry is in the forefront of discussions as the country needs to embrace technology to integrate into the global economy"..."Myanmar opens up to new investments" - Aye Thidar Kyaw..."Investment in tourism looks set to reach new heights" - Zaw Win Than..."Crisis management key to good investment" - Aye Sapay Phyu..."Laws hold back rush of interest in mining sector": "Lacking in business transparency, Myanmar?s mining sector remains beyond the scope for many, but intrepid investors are showing interest" - "Everything seems negotiable – but no one?s going to sign that kind of deal, its just not profitable" Victoria Bruce...?If they doubt, it will be too late? In an interview with retired director general of the Ministry of Energy, U Soe Myint, The Myanmar Times enquired about the prospects of foreign investment in the country?s oil and gas sector". Myo Lwin and Naw Say Phaw Wa..."Myanmar?s small business not ready for competition" Victoria Bruce..."Easing of sanctions offers mixed encouragement for investors" Victoria Bruce..."What happens after sanctions?" Tim Harcourt..."Growth slows in Chinese overseas investments"..."Investors choice of local partner crucial - While foreign investors desperately want to come here, it?s not attractive right now" . Victoria Bruce..."Banking sector comes under spotlight" Victoria Bruce..."South Korea: an investment partner" - In an exclusive commentary for The Myanmar Times by the South Korean ambassador to Myanmar, Mr Kim Hae-yong shares his views on the potential of foreign investment for the country?s development and where South Korea can help" Kim Hae-yong... "Information proves the latest hot commodity" Victoria Bruce..."Moves to limit FDI in certain sectors ?retrograde?" Victoria Bruce..."Information is key for ?enormous opportunities" Ben White..."Land prices hold back property investment" Victoria Bruce..."Local entrepreneurs welcome FDI, slam government bias" Htar Htar Khin...?Local businesses need to be smart and clever?
Source/publisher: "Myanmar Times"
2012-09-00
Date of entry/update: 2012-09-11
Grouping: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 3.34 MB
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Description: Search for Burma. "Corporate accountability and environmental awareness: We monitor U.S.-based corporations in Asian countries where human rights abuses have been well-documented, such as Burma, and where continued manufacturing will escalate environmental destruction, such as Thailand and Indonesia. The treasury departments of the Maryknoll Fathers & Brothers, the Maryknoll Sisters and the Maryknoll Mission Association of the Faithful also closely follow corporate responsibility issues." Shareholder action, boycotts etc. Good links page to other corporate responsibility sites.
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: English
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Description: Socially responsible investment, selective purchasing, shareholder action, corporate withdrawal, disinvestment etc.
Date of entry/update: 2010-08-20
Grouping: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: English
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Description: International Labur Rights Fund Burma litigation page. Legal documents, images of forced labour and link to articles. Major site for information on the Los Angeles legal action against UNOCAL. ILRF Executive Director, Terry Collingsworth, is lead plaintiffs? counsel in the case. The site contains the appellants? 9th Circuit Opening Brief, the full text of Judge Lew?s Opinion, links to other important reports and articles on forced labour in Burma, a press archive on UNOCAL in Burma and an image gallery of forced labour in Burma. "ILRF is an advocacy organization dedicated to achieving just and humane treatment for workers worldwide. ILRF serves a unique role among human rights organizations as advocates for and with working poor around the world. We believe that all workers have the right to a safe working environment where they are treated with dignity and respect, and where they can organize freely to defend and promote their rights and interests. We are committed to overcoming the problems of child labor, forced labor, and other abusive labor practices. We promote enforcement of labor rights internationally through public education and mobilization, research, litigation, legislation, and collaboration with labor, government and business groups."
Source/publisher: International Labur Rights Fund (ILRF)
Date of entry/update: 2003-08-07
Grouping: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: English
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Individual Documents

Description: "Acknowledgements: To have completed such significant and thorough field research in Myanmar over the course of an unprecedented transition certainly would not have been possible without support and help from a great many people, and for that and many other things I am deeply grateful. First, to my family and friends, who supported me throughout this process. Thanks to Sean Turnell, my PhD supervisor, whose help and guidance throughout were essential. A number of people provided useful insights and feedback on various parts of this work at various stages, too many to name. Thanks also to Ian Holliday and Hong Kong University, whose annual conference on Myanmar was an immensely useful experience in 2011, and was always a source of useful feedback on my work. Lastly, thanks is also due to Macquarie University, whose support for both the PhD and the fieldwork made this thesis possible. In Myanmar, the list of people who I should acknowledge is long. First among those is Aung Tun, from Myanmar Egress, who helped me oversee the quantitative business survey in Myanmar and get permission to use the UMFCCI business list. The survey team, of five enumerators from Myanmar Egress, was also essential in helping to carry out the survey. Thanks go to the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry, who allowed the research team to survey their members for this project. Thanks go to the over 200 businesses that were generous enough to give their time to talk to myself or one of the survey team – learning about businesses in Myanmar would not have been possible without this. Thanks also go to The Asia Foundation and Myanmar Development Resource Institute – Center for Economic and Social Development, who funded a separate work on subnational governance of businesses completed by this author, including a range of fieldwork visits. This fieldwork was the primary resource used in the February 2014 report, “Subnational Governments and Business in Myanmar.” This researcher appreciates the support of both The Asia Foundation and MDRI and their willingness to allow this research to be used in this PhD with the appropriate acknowledgement. Thanks are also due to Linn Maung Maung, from MDRI-CESD, who assisted greatly with that fieldwork and was the co-author on the aforementioned report. Needless to say there are many others who have influenced this work, through conversations and writings. Thanks, then, to all those whose names I have neglected but whose influence I have not..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: Jared Bissinger - MA (International Relations, Australian National University)
2015-00-00
Date of entry/update: 2022-03-02
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
Format : pdf pdf
Size: 6.3 MB (Original version), 5.9 MB (Reduce version) - 312 pages
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Description: "Mr. Ralf Wintergerst , Mr. Klaus Josef Lutz and Mr. Christoph Lang, It was with great appreciation that I noted your press release yesterday in which Giesecke+Devrient announced its decision to suspend all deliveries of raw materials, supplies and system components used in the production of Myanmar Kyat banknotes with immediate effect. I commend Giesecke+Devrient for taking this principled stand in response to ongoing crimes against humanity including the murder of peaceful civilians perpetrated by the illegitimate military junta. The people of Myanmar thank you for your leadership. I believe that actions such as this will deal a significant economic blow to the illegitimate military junta, and in doing so, will bring us one step closer to the junta’s inevitable collapse. I also hope that the action taken by Giesecke+Devrient yesterday will create a ripple effect, encouraging more companies to take a similarly principled stand in support of the restoration of our people’s democratic rights and fundamental freedoms. I look forward to resuming our cooperation with Giesecke+Devrient when a legitimate civilian government returns to power. Sincerely, U Tin Tun Naing Acting Minister of Investment and Foreign Economic Relations..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH)
Date of entry/update: 2021-05-13
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Size: 35.22 KB
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Description: "ရည်ညွှန်းချက်။ ။ ဂျာမနီနိုင်ငံအခြေစိုက် Giesecke+Devrient ကုမ္ပဏီ၏ ၃၁/၃/၂၀၂၁ ရက်စွဲပါ ကြေညာချက် ၁။ မြန်မာကျပ်ငွေ (ငွေစက္ကူ) ရိုက်နှိပ်ထုတ်ဝေရန် လိုအပ်သည့် ကုန်ကြမ်းပစ္စည်းများ၊ စက်ပစ္စည်းများ တင်ပို့ရောင်းချ ခြင်းအား ရပ်ဆိုင်းထားလိုက်ကြောင်း လူကြီးမင်းတို့ ကုမ္ပဏီမှ တရားဝင်ထုတ်ပြန်ကြေညာလိုက်သည့် အတွက် အသိ အမှတ်ပြု ထောက်ခံကြိုဆိုပါသည်။ ၂။ မြန်မာနိုင်ငံတွင် လတ်တလော ဖြစ်ပွားလျက်ရှိသည့် အာဏာသိမ်းစစ်အုပ်စု၏ အဆင်အခြင်မဲ့လုပ်ရပ်များ၊ ငြိမ်းချမ်း စွာဆန္ဒပြနေသည့် ပြည်သူလူထုအား အကြမ်းဖက်သတ်ဖြတ်နေမှုများအပေါ် လူကြီးမင်းတို့ ကုမ္ပဏီမှ ခိုင်မာ ပြတ်သားစွာ ဆန့်ကျင်ရပ်တည်လျက် အရေးယူဆောင်ရွက်ခဲ့သည့်အတွက် အထူးချီးကျူးလိုပါသည်။ ၃။ မြန်မာပြည်သူလူထု အနေဖြင့်လည်း လူကြီးမင်းတို့၏ ရဲဝံ့မှန်ကန်သည့် ဆုံးဖြတ်ချက်အပေါ် အလေးအနက် ကျေးဇူး တင် ဝမ်းမြောက်ကြောင်း ပြောကြားလိုပါသည်။ ၄။ ထိုကဲ့သို့ တုန့်ပြန်အရေးယူ ဆောင်ရွက်မှုသည် တရားမဝင် အာဏာသိမ်းစစ်အုပ်စု ကျဆုံးရေးအတွက် ထိရောက် သည့် ခြေလှမ်းဖြစ်သည့်အပြင် ကြီးမားသည့် ထိုးနှက်ချက်တစ်ရပ်လည်း ဖြစ်ပါသည်။ ၅။ လူကြီးမင်းတို့၏ အရေးယူဆောင်ရွက်မှုမှ အစပြု၍ အခြားသော ကုမ္ပဏီများမှလည်း ခိုင်မာပြတ်သားသည့် ရပ်တည် ချက်များဖြင့် မြန်မာပြည်သူလူထု လိုလားတောင့်တနေသည့် ဒီမိုကရေစီ ပြန်လည်ရှင်သန်ဖွံ့ ဖြိုးလာစေရေး၊ အခြေခံ လူ့အခွင့်အရေးများ ပြန်လည်ရရှိရေးတိုက်ပွဲအား အထောက်အပံ့ကောင်းများ ဆောင်ကျဉ်းလာမည်ဟု အပြည့်အဝ ယုံကြည်ပါသည်။ ၆။ တရားဝင်အရပ်သား အစိုးရအနေဖြင့် လူကြီးမင်းတို့၏ကုမ္ပဏီနှင့် ဂုဏ်သိက္ခာရှိသော စီးပွားရေး ပူးပေါင်းဆောင် ရွက်မှုအား မကြာခင် ပြန်လည်စတင်နိုင်မည်ဟု ယုံကြည်မျှော်လင့်ပါသည်။..."
Source/publisher: Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH)
2021-04-01
Date of entry/update: 2021-05-13
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "The United Nations Security Council has condemned the escalating violence in Myanmar and called on the army to show restraint in its response to peaceful protesters, as the United States imposed sanctions on two children of junta leader Min Aung Hlaing. In a statement issued on Wednesday following days of talks that sometimes broke down, the 15-member council said it “strongly condemns the violence against peaceful protesters, including against women, youth and children. “The council calls for the military to exercise utmost restraint and emphasizes that it is following the situation closely.” Language that would have condemned the February 1 coup and threatened possible further action was removed from the UK-drafted text, due to opposition by China, Russia, India and Vietnam. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he hoped the statement would push the military to realise it “is absolutely essential” that all prisoners are released and that the results of a November election are respected. The army has justified the coup by saying that the election, won by Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy in a landslide, was marred by fraud – a claim rejected by the electoral commission. The junta has promised a new election, but has not said when it might take place. Guterres acknowledged that Myanmar was not a “perfect democracy” before the coup. “It was still heavily under military control in many aspects, which makes this coup even more difficult to understand, especially the accusations of electoral fraud by those that were largely in control of the country,” he said. The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, an advocacy group tracking arrests since the military seized power, said on Wednesday night that more than 60 people had been killed since the protests began. Some 2,008 people had been detained with 1,689 still in custody, it said. While welcoming the Security Council statement, rights groups monitoring the situation in Myanmar said more action was needed..."
Source/publisher: "Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
2021-03-10
Date of entry/update: 2021-03-11
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Description: "Myanmar has attracted over 4.4 billion U.S. dollars of foreign investments as of third quarter of this fiscal year (FY) 2019-2020 and is expected to reach its target, state-run media reported on Saturday. Myanmar set its target of foreign direct investments (FDI) to 5.8 billion U.S. dollars in present FY 2019-2020 which lasts from October, 2019 to September 2020. "We only need 1.4 billion U.S. dollars to meet our target. We need to make sure to follow our guidelines such as less economic impact by the COVID-19 pandemic, encouragement through COVID-19 Economic Relief Plan, giving priority to creating job opportunities and paying attention by the government over the recovery of the economic impact by the pandemic," Director-General U Thant Sin Lwin of the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration (DICA) was quoted as saying. During the COVID-19 period, some existing investment businesses have increased capital amount of investment while new investments are flowing into the country, he said. During the first nine months of this FY, power sector attracted most foreign investments, accounting for 25 percent of total inward investments..."
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Source/publisher: "Xinhua" (China)
2020-06-27
Date of entry/update: 2020-06-27
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "Investment capital of over 4.10 billion U.S. dollars from permitted foreign enterprises have entered Myanmar in eight months of present fiscal year (FY) 2019-2020 stating in October, according to figures issued by the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration (DICA) on Monday. The Myanmar Investment Commission (MIC) gave the go-ahead to 178 foreign investment enterprises from Oct. 1, 2019 to May 31 of this FY. During the period, power sector attracted most investment capital with over 1.67 billion U.S. dollars, followed by real estate and manufacturing sectors. From FY 1988-89 to FY 2019-20, the MIC gave the nod to 2,015 foreign enterprises, with investment capital of over 85.9 billion U.S. dollars. Power sector took 26.60 percent of foreign investment, followed by oil and gas sector with 26.51 percent and manufacturing with 14.11 percent, respectively. Singapore, China and Thailand are top leading investors in Myanmar. Regionally, the Yangon region attracts 60 percent of investment from both home and abroad, followed by Mandalay region with 30 percent and the rest flowed into other regions and states. The new Myanmar Companies Law, which was enforced in August 2018, provides tax exemption and relief to investors depending on the development of the regions and states, allowing investors in far-flung areas to enjoy tax breaks of up to seven years..."
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Source/publisher: "Xinhua" (China)
2020-06-15
Date of entry/update: 2020-06-15
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "The power sector topped Myanmar's foreign direct investment (FDI) with over 1 billion U.S. dollars of investment capital from six permitted foreign enterprises in first seven months of current fiscal year (FY) 2019-2020, government figures showed Monday. As of April 30 of present FY, Myanmar attracted a total of over 3.35 billion U.S. dollars' foreign investment, according to figures released by Myanmar's Directorate of Investment and Company Administration (DICA) on Monday. According to DICA's figures, the real estate sector stood second with 895 million U.S. dollars, followed by the manufacturing sector with 544 million U.S. dollars and others. From FY 1988-1989 to April 30 of FY 2019-2020, which started in October, 26.07 percent of foreign investment flowed into the country's power sector with capital of over 22.2 billion U.S. dollars, the DICA's figures said. In last FY 2018-2019, total annual FDI in the country amounted over 4.15 billion U.S. dollars..."
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Source/publisher: "Xinhua" (China)
2020-05-25
Date of entry/update: 2020-05-25
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Sub-title: Financial Action Task Force's 'grey list' designation for money laundering and terror financing will inevitably curb foreign investment and cost of doing business
Description: "A global watchdog’s move to place Myanmar on a list of states perceived as prone to money laundering and terror financing has put renewed international pressure on State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi’s government to reform her nation’s opaque financial system. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a Paris-based intergovernmental agency founded by G7 nations, said in a statement last month that Myanmar had “proactively made progress” on curbing money laundering through new legislation and stiffer regulations on its cash-based remittance system. The FATF, however, also said that Myanmar still needs to improve its understanding of “money-laundering risks in key areas” and strengthen its governance of various financial entities. Myanmar’s new “grey list” designation will inevitably increase the cost of doing business by complicating international financial transactions and bank transfers at a time Suu Kyi’s government seeks more foreign investment. Risk-averse foreign banks will also likely shy from establishing presences in the country due to already significant reputation and other risks, executives and investors say..."
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Source/publisher: "Asia Times" (Hong Kong)
2020-03-12
Date of entry/update: 2020-05-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "Power sector attracted over 1 billion U.S. dollars of investment capital from six permitted foreign enterprises in first four months of current fiscal year (FY) 2019-2020 which started in October, according to figures released by Myanmar's Directorate of Investment and Company Administration (DICA). As of Jan. 31, Myanmar's power sector topped the list with most investment capital, followed by real estate and manufacturing sectors. From FY 1988-1989 to Jan. 31 of FY 2019-2020, 26.4 percent of foreign investment flowed into the country's power sector with capital of over 22.2 billion U.S. dollars, the DICA's figures said. Meanwhile, Myanmar Investment Commission (MIC) allowed 106 enterprises with a total of 2.08 billion U.S. dollars of investment capital as of Jan. 31 of present FY 2019-2020..."
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Source/publisher: "Xinhua" (China)
2020-02-24
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-24
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Sub-title: Tech giant establishes affiliate company with investments to improve telco infrastructure
Description: "NTT Myanmar is officially in business following a multimillion-dollar capital investment, a new wholesale government licence and the opening of an office in Yangon. Operating as an affiliate company of NTT, the technology provider has secured a business-to-business wholesale licence from The Ministry of Commerce to offer technology solutions and managed services to enterprise clients following a capital investment of US$5 million. This is backed by an investment of US$400 million - revealed in December 2019 - to commence the construction of a ‘MIST’ large-capacity submarine communications cable between Singapore, Myanmar and India (Mumbai and Chennai). The construction is part of a strategic joint venture for international submarine cables in Southeast Asia, with Orient Link, to improve data speed and reduce latency..."
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Source/publisher: "Channel Asia" (Singapore)
2020-02-03
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: " Myanmar attracted investment capital of over 1.83 billion U.S. dollars from permitted foreign enterprises in first quarter of present fiscal year 2019-2020 which started in October last year, said a release issued by the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration (DICA) on Tuesday. From Oct. 1, 2019 to Jan. 24 of this FY, the Myanmar Investment Commission (MIC) gave the nod to 100 foreign enterprises. At a recent meeting of the commission earlier this month, a total of 23 foreign enterprises with investment capital of over 433.8 million U.S. dollars were approved by the MIC. Creating 11,951 local employment opportunities, the investments from the recently approved enterprises entered the country’s power, real estate, livestock and fisheries and manufacturing sectors, respectively. Meanwhile, the MIC gave the green light to 39 Myanmar citizen investment enterprises with over 647.6 billion kyats (431.7 million U.S. dollars) as of Jan. 24 in present FY 2019-2020..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Xinhua" (China)
2020-01-28
Date of entry/update: 2020-01-29
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Sub-title: Over the years, the Myanmar government has stepped up its efforts to bring in foreign direct investment (FDI) to the country. Being more pro-business and open to FDI, potential opportunities for foreign companies willing to invest in Myanmar are vast, particularly in the construction industry as one of the main pillars of the economy.
Description: "YCP Solidiance, an Asia-focused strategic advisory firm, recently hosted a week-long Overseas Market Workshop (OMW) visit for the Singapore Business Federation (SBF), with the aim of helping Singaporean companies in Yangon explore investments in Myanmar’s construction sector. The workshop also coincided with the visit of Singapore’s Minister of Trade & Industry Chan Chun Sing in Yangon, highlighting the importance of greater collaboration between the two countries following the recent signing of the Singapore-Myanmar Bilateral Investment Treaty . This treaty aims to promote greater investment flows between the two countries in many sectors, including construction, by protecting the interests of investors and providing greater certainty and confidence. Singapore is Myanmar’s largest foreign investor with a cumulative investment of US$22.1 billion recorded as of August 2019. Bilateral trade in goods between the two countries has increased by 10 percent and reached US$4 billion in 2018. The workshop indicated new opportunities for investment in the construction sector, following the growth rates of around 11pc in recent years. Transport infrastructure opportunities include trunk road network modernisation, expansion of interconnectivity through roadways and elevated highways, improving access to tier two and three cities via bridges and commuter rails, and alternative transport options such as water-taxi or structured bus system..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Myanmar Times" (Myanmar)
2020-01-16
Date of entry/update: 2020-01-17
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Description: "Myanmar Investment Commission (MIC) recently approved six more investment enterprises from both home and abroad, said a release from the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration (DICA) on Saturday. The enterprises, which will create over 1,300 local employment opportunities, were given the go-ahead at the commission's meeting held on Friday. With investment capital of 257.8 million U.S. dollars and 60.2 billion kyats (40.1 million U.S. dollars), the permitted enterprises engaged in the country's power, manufacturing, hotel and other services sectors, respectively. Meanwhile, the commission approved 39 foreign enterprises with investment capital of over 1 billion U.S. dollars in first two months of present fiscal year 2019-2020 which started in October, the DICA's figures said..."
Source/publisher: "Xinhua" (China)
2020-01-11
Date of entry/update: 2020-01-11
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Sub-title: AIA, Chubb and others hope for rich pickings in South-East Asia’s most populous mainland country
Description: "Ko phoe thar is a cheery 22-year-old liquor-store clerk from Mandalay, a city in central Myanmar. Death, and other less-certain future misfortunes, are far from his mind. A host of insurance companies newly arrived in the country would like to change that. Last week the finance ministry issued licences to foreign life insurers for the first time. Five—aia, Chubb, Dai-Ichi Life, Manulife and Prudential plc—have been permitted to operate as wholly owned subsidiaries. Others are required to find local partners. Foreign insurers have long licked their lips at the prospect of moving into Myanmar..."
Source/publisher: "The Economist" (London)
2019-12-05
Date of entry/update: 2019-12-06
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Description: "British Prudential, Japanese Dai-ichi Life, Hong Kong AIA, US Chubb, and Canadian Manulife have been permitted to issue life insurance policies in Myanmar with their fully-owned subsidiary, more than six months after the five insurers were granted provisional licences. According to Prudential, Myanmar has a fast-growing middle class, as well as an increasingly urbanised and tech-savvy population. The country has around 57 million mobile subscriptions, with a mobile penetration of around 105%. The insurer will attempt to harness its wide-ranging digital capabilities and broad range of offerings in Asia, and implement a digital-led strategy, complemented by face-to-face distribution, to broaden access to life insurance in Myanmar, the insurer said in a statement. The department also granted licences to three life and three non-life joint ventures between foreign and local firms - AYA Myanmar General Insurance and Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Insurance, Grand Guardian General Insurance and Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance, and IKBZ Insurance and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "International Investment"
2019-11-29
Date of entry/update: 2019-11-30
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Description: "Myanmar Investment Commission (MIC) recently approved five more investment enterprises from home and abroad, said a release from the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration (DICA) on Saturday. The local and foreign investment enterprises which will create over 1,001 local employment opportunities were approved at the commission's meeting held on Friday. The permitted enterprises will engage in the country's power, livestock and fishery, and real estate sectors. Meanwhile, Myanmar attracted over 292.1 million U.S. dollars' foreign direct investment in manufacturing, other services and real estate sectors in October, first month of present fiscal year 2019-2020. Regionally, Yangon region attracts 60 percent of both local and foreign investments, followed by Mandalay region with 30 percent and the rest flows into other regions and states..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Xinhua" (China)
2019-11-30
Date of entry/update: 2019-11-30
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Description: "Myanmar tycoon Win Aung is open to foreign investment in the listed industrial-estate provider he oversees, following Ayala Corp's tie-up with a firm traded on the nation's fledgling stock exchange. In an interview in Yangon, Win Aung said a stake sale is an option as he plans to expand Myanmar Thilawa SEZ Holdings, which operates a manufacturing zone where 109 firms have opened factories or plan to do so. "We'll need more capital and technology," Win Aung, the firm's chairman, said on Thursday (Nov 28). "Detailed plans will be revealed later after the authorities officially allow foreigner participation on the Yangon Stock Exchange." Myanmar is trying to expand a stunted bourse that currently has just five stocks by allowing overseas purchases of domestic equities from 2020. The Philippines' oldest conglomerate Ayala is investing in one of those five - First Myanmar Investment - via an US$82.5 million convertible loan that will become a 20 per cent shareholding when rules permit. The four-year-old Thilawa special economic zone is viewed by some as the largest in Myanmar. Japanese, Thai and Malaysian firms account for the bulk of the factories located there, according to Win Aung..."
Source/publisher: "The Straits Times" (Singapore)
2019-11-29
Date of entry/update: 2019-11-29
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Sub-title: The Tatmadaw has a long reach into commercial interests. Companies accountable to a growing range of stakeholders need to assess their exposure to the military.
Description: "RISK and opportunity have always accompanied investors in Myanmar. The recent initiatives by both the United Nations (UN) and the US to ensure that foreign direct investment (FDI) only enriches civilian enterprises and not Myanmar's powerful military-backed entities make it imperative for foreign investors keen on operating in Myanmar to be very sure about the background and military links of their partners. In August this year, the UN's Independent International Fact Finding Mission on Myanmar released an 111-page report outlining how companies affiliated with the Tatmadaw (Myanmar's armed forces) have supported "extensive and systematic human-rights violations against civilians in the Kachin, Shan and Rakhine states." The UN report urged companies to stop doing business with firms linked to the military, in particular the Myanmar Economic Corporation (MEC) and the Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings Ltd (UMEHL). Primarily owned by the Ministry of Defence, MEC and UMEHL between them control businesses that range from golf resorts and sugar mills to telecommunications, breweries and gemstones..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Business Times" (Singapore)
2019-11-28
Date of entry/update: 2019-11-28
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Description: "As Myanmar continues to open to foreign investment, employers from other ASEAN countries and places farther afield have been setting up local operations. Understanding the requirements of Myanmar labour law is, of course, a crucial part of this. By staying in compliance with the country’s regulations on working conditions, leave and holiday entitlements, and other labour regulations, entrepreneurs can increase their likelihood of business success in Myanmar...Working hours and pay..... For shops, companies, trading centres, service enterprises, and entertainment houses, normal working hours are set by the Shop and Establishment Law 2016 at eight hours per day, or a maximum of 48 hours per week. Employees are entitled to at least one day off with pay per week, and the default weekly rest day is Sunday. Overtime working hours must not exceed 12 hours per week, or 16 hours in extraordinarily pressing circumstances. The prescribed minimum rest is at least 30 minutes after four hours of work. Under current practices of the Ministry of Labour, overtime pay must be calculated at double the employee’s basic wage..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Bangkok Post" (Thailand)
2019-10-08
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-08
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Description: "Over 4.15 billion U.S. dollars of investment capital from the permitted foreign enterprises entered Myanmar in the fiscal year 2018-2019 which ended in September, according to the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration (DICA) on Saturday. From Oct. 1, 2018 to Sept. 30 this year, 282 foreign enterprises were approved by the Myanmar Investment Commission (MIC). During the period, the transport and communication sector topped the list with over 1.53 billion U.S. dollars, followed by manufacturing sector with over 1.34 billion U.S. dollars and other services with 650 million U.S. dollars. The figures dropped by over 1.5 billion U.S. dollars, compared to the FY 2017-2018 when Myanmar attracted over 5.7 billion U.S. dollars of foreign investment..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Xinhua" (China)
2019-10-05
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-05
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Description: "Myanmar Investment Commission (MIC) Friday approved six more investment projects from home and abroad, said a release from the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration (DICA). Investment capital of over 143.9 million U.S. dollars and 2 billion kyats (1.8 million U.S. dollars) from the permitted projects entered the country's livestock, manufacturing, hotel and tourism, other services and mining sectors. The projects will create 1,083 employment opportunities for local people, the DICA's release said. Meanwhile, 1,806 foreign enterprises with over 81.59 billion U.S. dollars were permitted by the MIC from the fiscal year 1988-1989 to present fiscal year 2018-2019. During the period, oil and gas, power and manufacturing sectors are in the top-three list with most foreign investments and Singapore, China and Thailand are the leading investors. Regionally, the Yangon region attracted 60 percent of investments from both home and abroad, followed by Mandalay with 30 percent and the rest flowed into other regions and states..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Xinhua" (China)
2019-09-27
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-30
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Sub-title: Leading private equity firms launched the Myanmar Private Equity & Venture Capital Association this month to give institutional investors a collective voice when engaging with the Myanmar authorities.
Description: "“This launch marks a milestone in the development of the Myanmar economy since the country started opening up in 2012. The investment community has reached critical mass,” said association chair Josephine Price, who is co-founder of Anthem Asia. The membership organisation also counts Delta Capital, Japanese Daiwa PI Partners, London-listed Myanmar Strategic Holdings, Trust Venture Partners’ Yangon Capital Partners and YGA Capital among its founding members. After Myanmar opened up its market in 2012, the country attracted the interest of private equity investors looking to inject their funds. In 2018, startups in Myanmar raised around US$62 million. Online travel firm Oway secured $14.7 million from Japanese multinational business conglomerate Daiwa and the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation. This year, British government-owned Commonwealth Development Corporation has invested $30 million into internet service provider Frontiir, the parent company of Myanmar Net, as the first direct equity investment in the country..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Myanmar Times" (Myanmar)
2019-09-23
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-23
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Description: "Myanmar-German Business Entrepreneurs Association held a conference on foodstuff processing, beverage production, packaging and machines at the meeting hall of Mandalay Region Federation of Chamber of Commerce and Industry on September 10. At the conference, foodstuff entrepreneurs, and live stock breeding and agriculture entrepreneurs discussed packaging and market situations. Meat production was also discussed at livestock breeding sector. Market opportunities have been found in the meat production sector, but law expresses restrictions. Those present discussed sales and export as well. "For example in poultry farming, the farmers bred hundreds of chickens in the past. Now, they are breeding tens of thousands of chicken. They need many machines. Packaging types are changing in the market, but not reached an encouraging level yet. Restrictions have been found in the meat production sector. There are many chances of exporting meat to foreign markets, but the poultry farmers can't enjoy good price due to unnecessary laws," said Dr Kyaw Htin of Mandalay Region Livestock Breeding Federation. Now mangoes are being exported to foreign countries. Later mangoes are changed into value-added products and exported to foreign countries, but weaknesses are found in the packaging process. The conference was jointly organized by Myanmar-German Business Entrepreneurs Association and German Industrial Engineering Association..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Eleven Media Group"
2019-09-11
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-11
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Topic: Economy, FDI, Finance, Foreign Investment, Investment, Myanmar Investment Commission
Topic: Economy, FDI, Finance, Foreign Investment, Investment, Myanmar Investment Commission
Description: "Myanmar is likely to fall short of its foreign investment target in the 2018-19 fiscal year, according to U Thant Sin Lwin, director of the Myanmar Investment Commission (MIC). Myanmar has so far only received US$4.1 billion (6.29 trillion kyats) of inbound foreign investment in the current fiscal year, which ends on Sept. 30. “We still need US$1.7 billion to meet our target,” said U Thant Sin Lwin. Some foreign investors have inquired about the potential to invest in the infrastructure, electricity and energy sectors, which require substantial investment. Discussions are ongoing and the potential investment in the next two weeks will not make up for the current deficit, added U Thant Sin Lwin. The Japanese-backed Thilawa Special Economic Zone in Yangon Region has attracted US$223.68 million in foreign investment this fiscal year..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy"
2019-09-09
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-10
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Topic: Economy, FDI, Finance, Foreign Investment, Investment, Myanmar Investment Commission
Topic: Economy, FDI, Finance, Foreign Investment, Investment, Myanmar Investment Commission
Description: "Myanmar is likely to fall short of its foreign investment target in the 2018-19 fiscal year, according to U Thant Sin Lwin, director of the Myanmar Investment Commission (MIC). Myanmar has so far only received US$4.1 billion (6.29 trillion kyats) of inbound foreign investment in the current fiscal year, which ends on Sept. 30. “We still need US$1.7 billion to meet our target,” said U Thant Sin Lwin. Some foreign investors have inquired about the potential to invest in the infrastructure, electricity and energy sectors, which require substantial investment. Discussions are ongoing and the potential investment in the next two weeks will not make up for the current deficit, added U Thant Sin Lwin. The Japanese-backed Thilawa Special Economic Zone in Yangon Region has attracted US$223.68 million in foreign investment this fiscal year..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy"
2019-09-09
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-10
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Sub-title: Yangon Region Chief Minister U Phyo Min Thein welcomed the establishment of the Myanmar-Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MHKCCI) and urged more Hong Kong manufacturers to set up shop in the commercial capital.
Description: "The MHKCCI was launched on September 3 to promote responsible investment in Myanmar and attract market entrants into the country. The event attracted more than 300 guests, including investment and foreign economic relations ministry permanent secretary U Aung Naing Oo, Yangon Mayor U Maung Maung Soe and Yangon region Kayin ethnic affairs minister Daw Naw Pann Thinzar Myo. “Last November, I personally received a group of investors from Hong Kong and I am pleased to learn that a few of them are already considering to expand their manufacturing in Yangon, near the New Yangon City,” the chief minister said during the launch. “Luen Thai Garment from Hong Kong is already employing some 8000 workers in Yangon, and new members of the Hong Kong manufacturing sector are most welcome,” he added. The new chamber was eager to highlight its all-female secretariat headed by executive director Clara Tang, which reflects its emphasis on gender equality and female empowerment. “This approach represents our commitment to diversity and is in line with the common practice of Hong Kong businesses’ in empowering women and local expertise,” said MHKCCI vice chair Adrian Short, who heads the Myanmar operations of Jardine Cycle and Carriage..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Myanmar Times"
2019-09-09
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-10
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Description: INTRODUCTION: "Over the years, the Human Rights Foundation of Monland (HURFOM) has produced a number of accounts highlighting the hardship faced by Mon people who have become victims to land confiscation. In this report, HURFOM reports on the effects from the recent surge of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) coming into Burma. This FDI report aims to elaborate on the activities of and express solidarity with local people who are directly or indirectly being affected by FDI, especially linked to companies that will burn coal to fire their power plants. To exhibit current challenges and bring into focus some of the key obstacles and changes in the Mon context, this report uses case studies of appeals and direct interviews with people living in Mon State, who are also living in the vicinity of new investment projects. It will specifically look at different Townships in Mon State which have new or older investment projects. HURFOM recommends effective and immediate solutions to the problems that these foreign investors create, especially in relation to environmental destruction and displacement. This report will discuss the different and complex ways in which FDI influences and changes the lives of local people, not only changes in agriculture but also how they have to adjust their way of life. FDI cripples their livelihoods, physically and mentally, changing Burma?s minority ethnic communities. This report is considered essential for raising awareness and gaining a better understanding of good governance shortcomings in relation to violations by industries, especially concerning the protection of the livelihoods of local people. Furthermore, it may serve as an input for discussions and formulations of guidelines, rules and legal documents to protect local people against exploitation, land-grabbing, land confiscation and unfair compensation. Finally, it will support the country in tackling the present day and future challenges in order to create a prosperous future in equality, not only for a few, but for all people of Burma..."
Source/publisher: The Human Rights Foundation of Monland ? Burma [HURFOM]
2016-07-00
Date of entry/update: 2017-03-25
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: Burmese (မြန်မာဘာသာ)
Format : pdf
Size: 12.94 MB
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Description: INTRODUCTION: "Over the years, the Human Rights Foundation of Monland (HURFOM) has produced a number of accounts highlighting the hardship faced by Mon people who have become victims to land confiscation. In this report, HURFOM reports on the effects from the recent surge of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) coming into Burma. This FDI report aims to elaborate on the activities of and express solidarity with local people who are directly or indirectly being affected by FDI, especially linked to companies that will burn coal to fire their power plants. To exhibit current challenges and bring into focus some of the key obstacles and changes in the Mon context, this report uses case studies of appeals and direct interviews with people living in Mon State, who are also living in the vicinity of new investment projects. It will specifically look at different Townships in Mon State which have new or older investment projects. HURFOM recommends effective and immediate solutions to the problems that these foreign investors create, especially in relation to environmental destruction and displacement. This report will discuss the different and complex ways in which FDI influences and changes the lives of local people, not only changes in agriculture but also how they have to adjust their way of life. FDI cripples their livelihoods, physically and mentally, changing Burma?s minority ethnic communities. This report is considered essential for raising awareness and gaining a better understanding of good governance shortcomings in relation to violations by industries, especially concerning the protection of the livelihoods of local people. Furthermore, it may serve as an input for discussions and formulations of guidelines, rules and legal documents to protect local people against exploitation, land-grabbing, land confiscation and unfair compensation. Finally, it will support the country in tackling the present day and future challenges in order to create a prosperous future in equality, not only for a few, but for all people of Burma..."
Source/publisher: The Human Rights Foundation of Monland ? Burma [HURFOM]
2016-07-00
Date of entry/update: 2017-03-25
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 5.93 MB
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Description: "In the volatile and fragile context of Myanmar?s nascent democratic reform, investment protection treaties must not be allowed to negatively affect processes that would make Myanmar more peaceful and democratic...Following a reform process initiated by the previous military-backed government of President Thein Sein, there has been great interest among international governments and the business sector to promote foreign investment and trade with Myanmar. This momentum has been furthered by the subsequent endorsement by the country?s democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi for the West to drop most of its economic sanctions. In order to facilitate this relationship, Western and Asian governments have pushed Myanmar to sign so-called ?investment protection treaties”. While the Myanmar military government had signed investment protection treaties with China and India, since 2013 new treaties were signed with Japan and South Korea. Currently, now led by Aung San Suu Kyi?s National League for Democracy, the Myanmar government is negotiating an investment protection agreement (IPA) with the European Union (EU). There is also an investment protection clause in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). This is a proposed Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the ASEAN member states and Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand. While the benefits of signing investment protection agreements are highly overstated, the risks are seriously underestimated, and they could have major negative impacts on democratic development and sustainable peace in Myanmar. When signing these treaties, governments give away their sovereign right to regulate in the interest of the people and the environment, and they expose themselves to expensive lawsuits. The incentives offered to foreign investors come at a high price, depriving countries like Myanmar of the necessary policy space to harness investment to serve sustainable development and peace. Under the provisions of the investment protection agreements, foreign investors can challenge almost any government intervention if they consider that it will affect its current or future profits..."
Creator/author: Pietje Vervest
Source/publisher: Transnational Institute (TNI)
2016-10-17
Date of entry/update: 2016-10-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "... In February 2011 media outlets worldwide reported that China had surpassed Thailand as the largest foreign investor in Myanmar.1 China had US$8.25 billion of approved investment in fiscal year 2010?11 (which in Myanmar runs April to March), all for projects in the extractive and power sectors. It was the biggest investor in Myanmar?s FY2010?11 Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) windfall of almost $20 billion — more than the previous twenty years combined.2 This was just slightly higher than Vietnam?s approved investments for the corresponding fiscal year, which totalled $19.9 billion.3 Yet the 2010?11 FDI figures exemplified a decade long trend of investment being overwhelmingly concentrated in the extractive (mining and oil and gas) and power sectors. Only 1 per cent of the FDI from FY2010?11 was outside these sectors, evidence that foreign investors saw few other viable investment opportunities in Myanmar?s challenging business climate. The majority of these investments came from neighbouring countries, most notably China, but also Thailand and South Korea. This is partly the result of Beijing?s often overstated but still sizable influence in Naypyidaw, as well as its desire to secure natural resources from abroad and bypass the strategic chokepoint that is the Straits of Malacca.4 But the source of Myanmar?s FDI is also shaped by other factors, including different home country investment patterns. China, for example, is historically a major investor in resource projects. Singapore and Japan tend to invest more in sectors such as real estate and manufacturing, yet because these projects were less viable in Myanmar for the last decade, investors from these countries have often turned elsewhere. Despite oft-cited competition for resource investment in Myanmar, India?s actual investment in the country has been miniscule, though Indian investors have in recent years spent approximately 80 per cent of their FDI on mergers and acquisitions, which are rare in Myanmar. The concentration of FDI has important implications for Myanmar?s economic development, as contrary to common perceptions FDI is not inherently or uniformly beneficial for a host country. Instead, the positives vary depending on the source and sector of investments, the forward and backward linkages they create with other parts of the economy, the number and types of jobs created, and the host country?s economic policies. Most of the FDI that has come into Myanmar in the last decade has created little direct employment and few linkages with existing industries, limiting their positive benefits. Despite this, FDI is still rightly viewed as an important part of Myanmar?s economic development. This paper reviews changes in the source country and economic sector of FDI in Myanmar using actual and approved investment data from 1989 until 2011. The data has been disaggregated by country, sector, and for select years both. It looks at FDI in two periods: the first from the passage of the Foreign Investment Law in November 1988 to the end of FY1999?2000, and the second from FY2000?01 to the present. This division was selected because it falls at the end of a decade, during a lull in both approved and actual investment (after most of the projects approved before the 1997?98 Asian Financial Crisis had been fulfilled), and around the time when the changing trends in Myanmar?s FDI were first becoming evident. The paper starts by noting some caveats of FDI figures in Myanmar. It then reviews recent literature on FDI in Myanmar, before examining the major trends in the country?s investment data. The next section compares these trends with those of Myanmar?s neighbours, Vietnam and Laos. The paper then engages with the theoretical literature on FDI to explore what these investment patterns reveal about the macro economy, and how they are shaped by geopolitics, sanctions, commercial concerns and the specific investment patterns of each home country. The paper closes with a brief examination of whether these FDI projects can contribute to broad-based economic development in Myanmar..."
Creator/author: Jared Bissinger
Source/publisher: Macquarie University
2012-08-03
Date of entry/update: 2016-04-23
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 603.46 KB
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Description: INTRODUCTION: "The November 8, 2015 elections in Myanmar marked a historic milestone in the country?s political and economic transition that began in 2011. Incoming policy makers are preparing to pick up the baton and deliver on the people?s strong aspirations for a harmonious and prosperous Myanmar. In this series of policy notes, the World Bank Group seeks to promote dialogue on critical development challenges and on options for policies and reforms that can contribute to shared prosperity for the people of Myanmar. Myanmar has strong medium-term growth potential. Efforts to open up and liberalize the economy over the past 4 years have revealed pent up demand, brought in new investments, and increased productivity from a very low base. Between 2011 and 2014 Myanmar?s economy grew at an average real rate of 7 percent per year, which is among the fastest in East Asia, and comparable to other high performing countries in their initial phase of liberalization. In the coming years, further removal of economic controls could help Myanmar to maintain a strong pace of growth. Myanmar has a real opportunity in ensuring that growth is also inclusive. This not only means sustaining a strong pace of growth, but doing so through a diversified economy that can absorb the labor force into higher productivity sectors. The agriculture sector, which suffers from low productivity, contributing on average only 10-15 percent to annual real GDP growth over the past 4 years, employs over half of the country?s labor force. The manufacturing and construction sectors on the other hand, which have the highest value added per unit of labor, employ only 10-15 percent of the labor force. Policies that can enable a structural shift to more productive and labor intensive activities could make a big dent on poverty and inequality in Myanmar. These would include expanding access to essential public services. This could enable a bigger share of the population to benefit from the agglomeration of economic activities around Myanmar?s growth poles, namely Yangon and Mandalay, which account for roughly 35 percent of national GDP. The sound governance and use of Myanmar?s natural resource wealth are also critical to inclusive growth. Around 10 percent of Myanmar?s official GDP is derived from natural resources, though some estimate unofficial trade in natural resources at more than 20 percent of official GDP. This not only concentrates wealth from non-renewable national assets in the hands of a few, but also finances conflicts, which have created vicious cycles of poverty that are geographically and ethnically concentrated. Policy reforms since 2011 have started to promote inclusion so that a growing share of Myanmar?s people can take advantage of new opportunities and benefit from economic growth. Higher tax collections from non-agriculture sectors and rising natural resource rents have enabled Myanmar to reprioritize public spending towards critical economic and social service needs. Foreign exchange, trade and investment liberalization have opened up economic opportunities and the space for investment beyond a small group of highly protected sectors. Increased public sector transparency and decentralization have started to gradually bring the state closer to the people. Given this context, how can Myanmar advance reforms to close the disparities across its geography, ethnic communities, and income groups; and to promote productivity and competitiveness? This is the question that this series of policy notes, ?All aboard! Policies for shared prosperity in Myanmar,” aims to generate debate and ideas. The theme ?All aboard” is meant to reflect inclusivity and imminent departure on a positive journey. The policy notes focus on six interconnected areas that are likely to be high priorities for shared prosperity (figure 1). The first is on closing the gap in access to social services for improving Myanmar?s human development outcomes. This could help to strengthen the productivity and employability of Myanmar?s current and future labor force, which is the critical input to inclusive growth and a precondition to success in all the other areas. The second policy note is on growing together by reducing poverty in rural areas. Policies to boost agriculture productivity and accelerate the delivery of essential services in rural areas, where they lag the most, could help to supply the much needed labor and food for the rapidly expanding industrial, manufacturing and service sectors. Investment in higher productivity sectors is also likely to require breaking business as usual to foster competitiveness and a dynamic environment for private sector growth across the country, which are discussed in the third policy note. These include policies that are targeted at reducing the costs of doing business and engaging in international trade. The relative impact of these could be enormous in terms of incentivizing private sector investments, expanding access to economic opportunities for rural and urban populations, and diversifying the sources of growth. Enabling these to drive major structural transformations in the economy is likely to require policy reforms in two important areas. The fourth policy note therefore looks at options to expand Myanmar?s ability for financing the future through an open, modern, and inclusive financial system. This is important not only for channeling savings to large private investments, but also to finance public sector operations and service delivery, facilitate the expansion of international trade, and enable the transfer of increased remittances to rural areas. The fifth policy note is on energizing Myanmar by enhancing access to sustainable energy for all. Myanmar?s growing economy will need more energy than is currently supplied ? not only for productive sectors, but also for the delivery of public services across the country."
Creator/author: Habib Rab + team
Source/publisher: World Bank
2016-02-23
Date of entry/update: 2016-03-01
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English, Burmese (မြန်မာဘာသာ)
Format : pdf pdf pdf pdf
Size: 1.5 MB 2.1 MB 1.37 MB 1.57 MB
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Description: Abstract: "Foreign Direct Investment is one of the main factors to improve trade in each and every country to boost its economy. The Union of Myanmar government announced the Foreign Direct In vestment Law in 2011. Then the new law was enacted on 2nd November 2012. It includes a lot of business which are "restricted or prohibited" items such as timber, forests, oil and gas, jade, pearls and precious stones, post and telecom, air and railway transport, banks, insurance, mining, power generation, defense related manufacturing. Those items are allowed on a case by case in doing joint venture or production sharing contracts. In Myanmar, there are some barriers which have been found in most of the Least Development Countries. And there are many favourable conditions to invest in Myanmar such as intrinsic strength, favourable location and international support. To achieve a step change in FDI and get closer to meeting the economy?s largest need for investment, as well as to contribute to diversely the sectors to which FDI goes, Myanmar needs to prioritise two main areas: developing a targeted FDI strategy led by a high performing agency and improving Myanmar?s business environment.".....Paper delivered at the International Conference on Burma/Myanmar Studies: Burma/Myanmar in Transition: Connectivity, Changes and Challenges: University Academic Service Centre (UNISERV), Chiang Mai University, Thailand, 24-­26 July 2015.
Creator/author: Thin Thin Kyi
Source/publisher: International Conference on Burma/Myanmar Studies: Burma/Myanmar in Transition: Connectivity, Changes and Challenges: University Academic Service Centre (UNISERV), Chiang Mai University, Thailand, 24-­26 July 2015
2015-07-26
Date of entry/update: 2015-09-06
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 199.3 KB
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Description: "The government of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar has announced a series of political and economic reforms since Mr. Thein Sein became the first president in March 2011. More than a few companies which had hesitated to invest in Myanmar from the EU, the United States, Japan and ASEAN have now started to seek a way to invest in the country effectively with minimal risk. Many other companies, however, have not changed their ?wait and see? attitude without making a decision to invest in Myanmar. Nevertheless, for the Myanmar government, it is necessary to make adequate preparations for attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) irrespective of the realization of an investment boom in the country. Here, in order to give input to the government and business community of Myanmar, we would like to consider the positive and negative effects of FDI in accordance with the experiences of other East Asian countries..." ...The Burmese version was publised in the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commers & Industry, Vol.16 No.11, November 2012.
Creator/author: Masami Ishida
Source/publisher: IDE-JETRO Policy Review on Myanmar Economy No. 6
2012-09-00
Date of entry/update: 2012-12-01
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English, Burmese/ မြန်မာဘာသာ
Format : pdf
Size: 911.58 KB
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Description: "After submitting a detailed comment [MAIN URL] to the US Department of State expressing concern over weak reporting requirements for US companies considering investing in Burma, EarthRights International, Freedom House, Physicians for Human Rights, U.S. Campaign for Burma and United to End Genocide issued the following statement: ?We continue to be deeply concerned by the US government?s decision to lift all remaining sanctions, and allow corporations unrestricted investment access to Burma despite widespread corruption, ongoing human rights violations and a total lack of rule of law. Although US companies will be required to report on their investments, the current requirements lack specificity about enforcement and consequences for non-compliance. Furthermore, existing loopholes enable companies to designate information as ?confidential? as a way to avoid public scrutiny. The US government should take immediate steps to ensure that there is a strong regulatory framework that can effectively promote accountability and transparency..."
Source/publisher: Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) et al
2012-10-04
Date of entry/update: 2012-10-07
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 134.6 KB
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Description: နောက်ဆုံးမျက်နှာစာ... တဆင့်ပြီး တဆင့်တိုးတက်လာသော မြန်မာ... ရင်းနှီး မြှပ်နှံလိုသူတွေ အနေနဲ့ ဒွိဟဖြစ်ပြီး စောင့်နေ ရင် နောက်ကျ မှာပဲ... မြန်မာဆောက်လုပ်ရေး လောကအတွက် ကောင်းဖို့လား၊ ဆိုးဖို့လား (နိုင်ငံခြားသား လုပ်ငန်းရှင်တွေ နည်းတူ ပြည်တွင်း လုပ်ငန်းရှင်တွေ ကိုလည်း အခွန်ကင်းလွတ်ခွင့် တန်းတူ ပေးဖို့ ဆောက်လုပ်ရေးလောက က အလိုရှိနေကြပါတယ်)... ပွင့်လင်းမြင်သာမှု နဲ့ နိုင်ငံရေးတည်ငြိမ် မှု မျှော်လင့်လျှက်ရှိ... နိုင်ငံတကာလေကြောင်း လိုင်းတွေ ပြည်တွင်းပြည်ပ ခရီးစဉ် သစ်တွေ စီစဉ်နေ... ရင်းနှီးမြှပ်နှံသူနည်းစရာ အကြောင်းတော့ မရှိပါဘူး... နိုင်ငံခြား ရင်းနှီးမြှပ်နှံသူတွေ စောင့်ကြည့်နည်းပဲ ကျင့်သုံးနေကြဆဲ... တောင်ကိုရီးယားဖွံ့ဖြိုးမှုများကို ဆန်းစစ်ကြည့်ရာဝယ်... မြန်မာ အက်စ်အမ်အီးတွေ နိုင်ငံခြား ကုမ္ပဏီတွေနဲ့ တန်းတူ အခွင့်အရေး ရလို... မြန်မာ့စီးပွားရေး ဖွံဖြိုးတိုးတက်စေနိုင်မယ့် တောင်ကိုရီးယားရင်းနှီးမြှပ်နှံမှု... ပြည်တွင်း ဆက်သွယ်ရေးကုမ္ပဏီ သုံးခု ပြည်ပ ကုမ္ပဏီများနဲ့ ဖက်စပ်လုပ်ကိုင်မယ်... ရင်းနှီးမြှပ်နှံမှု မစတင်မီ ဈေးကွက် သုတေသန လုပ်ဖို့ အလွန်အရေးပါ... ဘဏ်လုပ်ငန်း ပိုပြီးအာရုံစိုက်ပြုပြင်ဖို့ လိုအပ်လာ... စီးပွားရေးနာလံ ထူနိုင်ဖို့ လမ်းသစ်ကို သွားနေတဲ့ ခြေလှမ်းတချို့ ... မြေဈေး က နိုင်ငံခြား ရင်းနှီးမြှပ်နှံမှုကို ဟန့်တားနေ... သဘာ၀ ကပ်ဘေးဆိုင်ရာ စီမံခန့်ခွဲမှု ကောင်းတွေလည်း လိုအပ်... အထူးစီးပွားရေးဇုန် စီမံကိန်း မြန်မြန်အကောင် အထည်ဖော်ရန်တိုက်တွန်း... ပိတ်ဆို့မှုတွေဟာ စီးပွားရေး အတွက် အနှောင့်အယှက်
Source/publisher: "Myanmar Times"
2012-09-00
Date of entry/update: 2012-09-15
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: Burmese/ မြန်မာဘာသာ
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Description: "The US government should not ease sanctions on business activities in Burma until adequate safeguards are in place to prevent new investment from fueling human rights abuses. A US presidential order imposing a ban on investment and financial services in Burma is scheduled to expire on May 20, 2012, unless it is renewed or revised. In early April, in response to Burmese government pledges of reform and electoral gains by Burma?s main opposition party, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced that the US government was prepared to relax certain business-related sanctions. A new presidential order easing business restrictions is expected to be issued soon. ?The US government should not reward the Burmese government?s nascent and untested changes by allowing an unregulated business bonanza,? said John Sifton, Asia advocacy director at Human Rights Watch. ?Tough rules are needed to ensure that new investments benefit the people of Burma and don?t fuel human rights abuses and corruption, or end up strengthening the military?s control over civilian authorities.?..."
Source/publisher: Human Rights Watch
2012-05-15
Date of entry/update: 2012-05-16
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: Engish
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Description: "Singapore Inc is in hot pursuit of business opportunities in Myanmar, where a recent reform drive aims to lure more foreign direct investment. A long time ally to Myanmar?s former military regime, Singapore is well placed to reap first-mover advantages vis-a-vis Western countries that maintain but are slowly lifting economic sanctions against the country. Last month, a delegation representing 74 Singapore-based companies traveled to Myanmar for networking and business matching with Myanmar counterparts in construction, education, finance, infrastructure and logistics. Organized by the trade promotion groups Singapore Business Federation (SBF) and International Enterprise (IE) Singapore, the trip featured site visits, the signing of a memorandum of understanding to promote economic relations and trade ties, and courtesy calls on reformist President Thein Sein and many of his ministers..."
Creator/author: Megawati Wijaya
Source/publisher: Asia Times Online
2012-03-20
Date of entry/update: 2012-05-06
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "As governments continue to discuss how to ease sanctions in Myanmar, fears are increasing that a sudden massive influx of foreign investment could be detrimental to the delicate ongoing transition. "I see a rush of over-investment, to the extent that things that can be done to slow down investment may be in the long-term interest of the country," Lex Rieffel, an economist and Southeast Asia expert with the Brookings Institution, said on Thursday at the Council on Foreign Relations, in Washington. ?I can assure you that even if we keep sanctions in place, there is going to be plenty of investment in this country. But what we will probably see is underinvestment in people - the government is currently meeting with every Tom, Dick and Harry, but there is no time being set aside for important decision-making or implementation.?..."
Creator/author: Carey L Biron
Source/publisher: Asia Times Onlie
2012-05-05
Date of entry/update: 2012-05-06
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "...Burma has vast oil, gas, hydropower and mineral potential, located mainly in the ethnic minority regions which continue to be areas of conflict. Keen on tapping these resources, the international business community is already a forceful advocate for overturning the sanctions regime and is actively scouting investment prospects. In particular, major oil companies – Chevron, Total and Exxon Mobil – are seeking to further penetrate Burma?s market. While international sanctions have limited investment over the last decade, foreign direct investment has recently increased. Foreign investment from 2010 to 2011 represents nine times the cumulative foreign investment between 2006 and 2010, with a staggering percentage benefiting the energy and extractive industries. Investors should exercise extreme caution. Burma is a volatile area for investors, without the rule of law and without constitutional assurances that the judiciary will protect property or investments. Despite economic reforms over the past year, the military continues to dominate the Burmese economy. It controls the Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings which manages the gem trade and the banking and construction industries. It also oversees the Myanmar Economic Corporation which controls economic activities as varied as tourism, trading companies and the sale of petroleum and natural gas. The recent reforms and election results provide reasons for cautious optimism in Burma, but the transition is tenuous and incomplete. Given the integration of the military in all aspects of Burma and its historically poor record of democratization and human rights abuse, the international community must seek to use every avenue of engagement with Burma to ensure the establishment of accountability mechanisms to protect human rights. Such mechanisms may be most important of all in the resource-rich ethnic minority regions..."
Source/publisher: Conflict Risk Network
2012-04-00
Date of entry/update: 2012-04-23
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 730.49 KB
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Description: "Myanmar?s highly anticipated by-elections, held on April 1 for some 45 parliamentary seats, has borne its first diplomatic fruit. The United States announced a relaxation of certain economic sanctions and movement on the resumption of full diplomatic relations with Naypyidaw in reward for the country?s recent democratic progress. However, the opposition National League for Democracy?s landslide victory of 43 out of the 45 seats may be somewhat overstated and questions remain about the sincerity of President Thein Sein?s government?s commitment to sustainable reform..."
Creator/author: Brian McCartan
Source/publisher: Asia Times Online
2012-04-06
Date of entry/update: 2012-04-11
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "Burma, also known as Myanmar, is an important case study in wider international debates on the politics of sanctions versus constructive engagement, and the role of companies and NGOs in controversial states. Since 1962 Burma has been ruled by a succession of military and quasi-military regimes. All the main political actors, including the armed forces, agree that it should eventually return to some form of democratic rule. The questions are: when and by what route? And how, if at all, can the international community assist? One of the most important features of the Burma debate is the role played by non-state actors ? particularly NGOs, but also companies. A loose coalition of advocacy groups has put pressure on Western governments to impose sanctions on Burma, and on companies to withdraw from the country. Petroleum companies, in particular, have been accused of collaborating with an illegitimate regime. But such campaigns raise further questions: what role should advocacy groups play in foreign policy-making? And what are the real responsibilities of international companies in controversial states?..."
Creator/author: John Bray
Source/publisher: Royal Institute for International Affairs (Briefing Papers, New Series No. 24)
2001-10-00
Date of entry/update: 2010-09-02
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "The Corporate Engagement Project (CEP) is a collaborative effort, involving multinational corporations that operate in areas of socio-political tensions or conflict. Its purpose is to help corporate managers better understand the impacts of corporate activities on the contexts in which they work. Based on site visits, CEP aims to identify and analyze the challenges for corporations that recur across companies and across contexts. Based on the patterns that emerge, CEP develops management tools and practical options for management practices that respond to local challenges and address stakeholder issues. In this context, Doug Fraser, Independent Consultant, and Luc Zandvliet, Project Director of CEP, visited Myanmar from April 22 ? May 3, 2003 to visit the Yadana pipeline project, operated by Total, as a follow up to our first visit conducted in October 2002. This visit was the second CEP visit to the Yadana Project in what is planned as a series of three visits. To avoid duplication, this report should be read in combination with the first report (available at http://www.cdainc.com/cep/cep-casestudylist.htm). Our purpose, as in all CEP field visits, was to examine the interaction between corporate operations and surrounding communities, as well as the impact of corporate operations on the wider context of conflict. The CEP team intends to visit Thailand to explore allegations from several international NGOs that people originating from the pipeline area were displaced into Thailand. If people had to leave Myanmar/Burma recently for reasons related to the pipeline or the presence of oil companies, this would be important for CEP to know. The trip will serve the following purposes: ! To learn additional information related to the impact of the pipeline on local civilians. We want to address the possibility that we only hear positive stories about the pipeline from people currently residing in the corridor, while people that were possibly forced to leave the corridor might tell of a different reality. ! To verify why CDA?s observations in the pipeline area differ from the observations in some of the reports produced by international NGOs about the impact of the pipeline on the local contexts. ! To explore rumors in the business community in Thailand and Myanmar/Burma (and among NGOs themselves) that some NGOs make a ?business” of producing allegations against companies, based on testimonies from Myanmar/Burmese refugees. This is of concern to CEP because if CEP is unable to confirm allegations that ?NGOs fabricate ?evidence,” it supports the credibility of the NGOs that make allegations or advocate on behalf of Myanmar/Burmese refugees. On the other side, if the fabrication of evidence is confirmed, this would support sentiments in the business community that allegations should not be taken seriously. This undermines the ability of individuals with genuine grievances against companies to be heard. CONCLUSION: The second visit to the Yadana pipeline confirmed the positive impact that the presence of the oil companies currently has on the population within the pipeline corridor. It is also evident that these positive impacts in the pipeline corridor will not convince outside critics about Total?s positive contribution to the country at large. The company will continue to be criticized and remain vulnerable to outside pressure from some stakeholders until it is better able to address concerns on the larger socio-political context in the country. The single most important observation revealed in this report is the need for the co-investors to develop a vision of the role they want to play in Myanmar/Burma and the strategy they will use to achieve this. With a clear vision and strategy, efforts to achieve this outcome can be focused, and new working partnerships can be built and nurtured. Within these, creative solutions to the challenges of working in Myanmar can be formulated."
Creator/author: Luc Zandvliet, Doug Fraser
Source/publisher: Collaborative for Development Action
2003-07-00
Date of entry/update: 2010-09-02
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "In response to enquiries about foreign investment in Myanmar, the Committee for International Investment and Multinational Enterprises (CIME) asked the Secretariat to prepare a paper, under the responsibility of the latter, that would provide background information to interested parties. This paper was not only to shed light on business activity in Myanmar, but also to consider the broader challenges of conducting business responsibly in countries characterised by civil strife and extensive human rights violations. The present paper responds to this request and focuses on issues that are of particular relevance to extractive industries. This sector?s share of global investment is quite small, but its significance for particular host societies is large and the underlying issues for corporate responsibility affect the welfare of millions of people. While not ignoring the problems that have arisen in connection with multinational enterprise activity in troubled host countries, this paper also seeks to promote and highlight the positive roles that some companies have played in the search for solutions to these countries? very complex problems..."
Creator/author: Kathryn Gordon
Source/publisher: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
2002-05-00
Date of entry/update: 2010-09-02
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: The case before the U.S. Supreme Court on the right of Massachusetts and several California localities to promulgate regulations on foreign trade—specifically, to impose sanctions on Myanmar, formerly Burma, for human-rights violations—is a clear test of the post-Cold War maxim to "think globally, act locally."
Creator/author: Catharin Dalpino
Source/publisher: Brookings Institute
2000-04-17
Date of entry/update: 2010-09-02
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: Joint-Venture for sugar mill • Foreign cash ATMs • San Francisco bans Burmese business • Japan insurer sets foot in Burma • Divestment Movement: South Africa stle • Thailand eyes Burmese ports • Burma to join BIST-EC [to make BIMST-EC]
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy", Vol. 5. No. 3
1997-06-00
Date of entry/update: 2010-09-02
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: " Burma is ruled by a military dictatorship renowned for both oppressing and impoverishing its people, while enriching itself and the foreign businesses that work with it. TOTAL Oil, the fourth largest oil company in the world, is in business with Burma?s dictatorship. It has been in Burma since 1992 against the wishes of Burma?s elected leaders, many of whom are being detained by the Junta. Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma?s pro-democracy leader, has said that ?Total has become the main supporter of the Burmese military regime.” . She told the French weekly Le Nouvel Observateur that "TOTAL knew what it was doing when it invested massively in Burma while others withdrew from the market for ethical reasons”. She added, ?the company must accept the consequences. The country will not always be governed by dictators.” The National League for Democracy (NLD), led by Aung San Suu Kyi, won 82 percent of the seats in Burma?s 1990 election. It has called on foreign companies not to invest in Burma because of the role investment plays in perpetuating dictatorship in that country. All the major ethnic leaderships from Burma have whole-heartedly supported this position too. Therefore, the mandate from which companies are asked not to invest in Burma comes from within the country. This report gathers together much of the available evidence relating to TOTAL?s role in fuelling the oppressive dictatorship in Burma. Broadly, it covers human rights abuses associated with TOTAL?s gas pipeline, TOTAL?s financing of Burma?s dictatorship and TOTAL?s influence on French foreign policy and therefore on European Burma policy as a whole. TOTAL?s presence in Burma has consequences far beyond its 63-kilometre pipeline across Burmese territory. Its destructive influence goes to the heart of international policy towards one of the world?s most brutal regimes. For that reason it is essential for all those who want change in Burma to deal with the problem of TOTAL Oil. As long as TOTAL remains in Burma, the dictatorship will be satisfied that the chances of real pressure against it are unlikely. This report has been produced to coincide with the launch of a new international campaign calling for TOTAL?s withdrawal from Burma. The campaign comprises 43 organisations across 18 countries..."
Source/publisher: The Burma Campaign, UK
2005-02-00
Date of entry/update: 2010-07-04
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "...In this inquiry I have explored the multiple interactions between corporate, state and civil society actors through which understandings of ‘responsible? corporate engagement in Myanmar are created, enacted and transformed. I have identified and conceptualised four social processes at work in these interactions, which I describe in the grounded theories of: (1) Commercial Diplomacy (describing the use of enterprise as a conduit for foreign policy by states, particularly as it relates to ‘ethical? business activity) (2) Stakeholder Activism (critiquing the aims and strategies of transnational civil society organisations who advocate for ‘responsible? corporate engagement) (3) Corporate Engagement (explaining variation in the motivations and terms of corporate engagement, specifically different forms of divestment or engagement, as strategic responses to stakeholder activism, commercial diplomacy and other factors which influence the enterprise context) (4) Constructive Corporate Engagement (a conceptual framework, grounded in multiple stakeholder-views and drawing from the international development discourses of state fragility and human security, for considering the potentially constructive impacts of corporate engagement). Working within and between these four theories, I generated an overarching grounded theory of (5) Corporate Citizenship in Fragile States. From these theories I offer a critical analysis of Corporate Citizenship as the normative basis for a new articulation between the economic, social and political spheres in pursuit of a more equitable global order..."
Creator/author: Nicola M. Black
Source/publisher: Te Waananga o Waikato (The University of Waikato)
2009-00-00
Date of entry/update: 2010-04-02
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: Zu Beginn der neunziger Jahre reagierten die EU und die USA auf die 1988 erfolgte Machtübernahme des Militärs in Birma und die Nichtanerkennung des 1990 errungenen Wahlsiegs der Opposition mit der öffentlichen Verurteilung dieses Regimes und einer Reihe wirtschaftlicher und politischer Sanktionen. Die ASEAN-Staaten wie auch UNO-Generalsekretär Kofi Annan setzten hingegen auf eine Strategie des »konstruktiven Engagements«, die durch einen intensiven Dialog mit der Regierung in Rangun den Weg zu politischen Reformen zu ebnen versuchte. Beide Strategien haben bislang nicht zu den beabsichtigten Ergebnissen geführt. Ausgangspunkt dieser Studie ist daher die Frage, welche Faktoren zu jener fast unauflöslich erscheinenden Konfrontation zwischen der Militärregierung einerseits und der birmanischen Opposition sowie den westlich orientierten Staaten andererseits geführt haben und welche Strategie von außen, vor allem von der EU, entwickelt werden sollte, um eine Neugestaltung der politischen Machtverhältnisse und eine Verbesserung der mehr als desolaten Lebensverhältnisse vieler Einwohner Birmas zu erzielen. Die Studie kommt zu dem Schluß, daß die politische und wirtschaftliche Krise Birmas nur durch einen langfristigen und umfassenden Transformationsprozeß bewältigt werden kann, in dem Veränderungen der sozioökonomischen Basis und der politischen Strukturen eng miteinander zu verknüpfen sind. Von Seiten des Auslands - nicht zuletzt der EU - kann und sollte dieser Transformationsprozeß nach Kräften und in den unterschiedlichsten Bereichen gefördert werden. Hierbei müssen positive Anreize und Druck einander nicht ausschließen, sondern es wäre im jeweiligen Einzelfall zu prüfen, ob eine Zusammenarbeit möglich und nützlich erscheint oder aber verweigert werden muß. Ways out of isolation, Burma's national and international reconciliation process, transition and democratisation
Creator/author: Gerhard Will
Source/publisher: Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik
2003-08-00
Date of entry/update: 2005-07-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: Deutsch, German
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Description: Mit Zwangsarbeit, ethnischen Umsiedlungen und ausländischen Investitions-Dollars sichert die Militärjunta ihre Machtstrukturen in Myanmar. Forced labour, internal displacement, foreign investments, power structures.
Source/publisher: politikerscreen
2005-04-29
Date of entry/update: 2005-06-10
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: Deutsch, German
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Description: Quelles sont les conséquences des investissements étrangers en Birmanie et du maintien de relations commerciales avec ce pays ? Quelles sont les règles du jeu ? Quels en sont les bénéficiaires ? Au détriment de qui ?... Table des matières:- 1. Introduction; 2. A qui appartient l?économie? (Avec qui doit-on traiter lorsqu?on veut faire du commerce avec la Birmanie? Une firme étrangère peut-elle avoir des contacts commerciaux à titre indépendant en Birmanie? 3. Volume d?IDE (investissements directs étrangers) et flux commerciaux; 4. Quelle partie de cet argent finit-elle dans les caisses de la junte? Autre source de revenus: les taxes en tous genres; Troisième source de revenus: le change de devises étrangères ; 5. Que font les généraux de tout cet argent? 6. Corruption, transparence et trafic de drogue; 7. Existe-t-il un lien entre l?IDE et la politique? 8. Y a-t-il des liens directs entre IDE et abus des droits des travailleurs? 9. Quelle est l?incidence des sanctions sur les citoyens ordinaires?
Source/publisher: Confédération internationale des syndicats libres (CISL)
2005-01-25
Date of entry/update: 2005-02-08
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: Francais, French
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Description: What are the consequences of investment in or trade with Burma? How does it work? Who profits? Who suffers from it?... Contents: 1. Introduction; 2. Who owns the economy? (When you do business with Burma, who do you need to deal with? Can a company have independent business links in Burma?) 3. Levels of FDI and trade; 4. How much of this money is going to the junta? Another source of income: all kinds of taxes; A possible third source of income: the exchange of foreign currency; 5. What do the generals do with this money? 6. On corruption, transparency and drugs; 7. Is there a link between FDI and politics? 8. Are there direct links between FDI and abuse of workers? 9. What is the effect of sanctions on ordinary citizens?
Source/publisher: International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU)
2005-01-25
Date of entry/update: 2005-02-07
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 262.13 KB
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Description: Washington, D.C. ? EarthRights International's new report, "In Our Court: ATCA, Sosa, and the Triumph of Human Rights," analyzes the history of the Alien Tort Claims Act (ATCA), its use in human rights cases over the past two decades, and the political debate between the human rights community, the business lobby, and the Bush Administration over how ATCA should be used. "In Our Court" is the first report to trace the use of ATCA and provide a comprehensive discussion of how and why it has become an important tool for human rights advancement, and why it has come under attack by the business community and the Bush Administration. Using case studies from Burma, Nigeria, and Sudan, the report explains the need for ATCA and the link between the victims of human rights violations and the corporations that have gained from the abuse. The U.S. Supreme Court's June 2004 decision on Sosa v. Alvarez-Machain was a victory for human rights groups such as EarthRights International and the victims they represent. The Supreme Court ruled that ATCA continues to afford non-citizens a way to sue perpetrators of egregious human rights abuses in U.S. federal courts. Concluding with a legal analysis of the Sosa decision, "In Our Court" explores the implications of the Supreme Court's ruling for victims of human rights abuses, their defenders, corporations, and the Administration, and makes recommendations for preserving the ability of victims and survivors to seek legal redress in U.S. courts.
Source/publisher: EarthRights International
2004-07-27
Date of entry/update: 2004-08-25
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : html
Size: 219.44 KB
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Description: Executive Summary: The political stalemate in Burma will not be broken until the military regime considers it to be in its own self-interest to commence serious negotiations with the democratic and ethnic forces within the country. This paper outlines how the international community can bring about a political and economic situation which will foster such negotiations. Burma is ruled by a military dictatorship renowned for both oppressing and impoverishing its people, while enriching itself and the foreign businesses that work with it. The regime continues to ignore the 1990 electoral victory of Aung San Suu Kyi and the National League for Democracy. The regime has shown no commitment to three years of UN mediation efforts. It has failed to end the practice of forced labour as required by its ILO treaty obligations and demanded by the International Labour Organization. It continues to persecute Burma?s ethnic peoples. It continues to detain more than 1,350 political prisoners including Aung San Suu Kyi. Any proposal of a road map to political change in Burma will fail to bring about democracy in this country unless it is formulated and executed in an atmosphere in which fundamental political freedoms are respected, all relevant stakeholders are included and committed to negotiate, a time frame for change is provided, space is provided for necessary mediation, and the restrictive and undemocratic objectives and principles imposed by the military through the National Convention (ensuring continued military control even in a ?civilian” state) are set aside.
Source/publisher: Burma Campaign UK
2004-03-00
Date of entry/update: 2004-03-28
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 120.04 KB
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Description: Free access not available anymore! The document needs to be purchased. Foreword: "An intellectual ?tectonic shift? is underway, making a precarious policy even harder to justify. This rather unusual issue of the NBR Analysis does not stem from an NBR-sponsored project or study. Instead, it emerged as an initiative from an extraordinary assemblage of Burma scholars, all of whom regard last year?s announcement of a ?road map? for constitutional change, the ongoing progress toward cease-fires with ethnic insurgents, and the worsening impact of sanctions on the general populace, as an opportunity to re-examine U.S. relations with Burma. Recognizing that the current situation may be conducive to taking a fresh perspective, and noting the significance of so many top Burma specialists reaching similar conclusions and working together, we decided to publish their essays. The scholars in this volume represent a range of perspectives. What is especially notable is that they collaborated in this enterprise and concur that the U.S. policy of sanctions is not achieving its worthy objective—progress toward constitutional change and democratization in Burma. Moreover, as some of these authors argue, viewing U.S.-Burma relations solely through this lens, important as it is, may be harming other U.S. strategic interests in Southeast Asia, both in terms of the ongoing war against terrorism and long-term objectives regarding the United States? role as a regional security guarantor. The desperate humanitarian situation in the country, as detailed in many of these essays, and concerns about possible WMD-related activities only underscore the importance of looking at this issue again. U.S. policymakers in particular ought to consider whether it is now appropriate to take a more realistic, engaged approach, while easing restrictions on humanitarian assistance, programs to build civil society, and the forces of globalization that are needed for the Burmese peoples? socio-economic progress and solid transition to civilian government and democracy..." Richard J. Ellings, President, The National Bureau of Asian Research... "Strategic Interests in Myanmar" - John H. Badgley; "Myanmar?s Political Future: Is Waiting for the Perfect the Enemy of Doing the Possible?" - Robert H. Taylor; "Burma/Myanmar: A Guide for the Perplexed?" - David I. Steinberg; "King Solomon?s Judgment" - Helen James; "The Role of Minorities in the Transitional Process" - Seng Raw; "Will Western Sanctions Bring Down the House?" - Kyaw Yin Hlaing; "The Crisis in Burma/Myanmar: Foreign Aid as a Tool for Democratization" - Morten B. Pedersen;
Creator/author: John H. Badgley (Ed.); Robert H. Taylor, David I. Steinberg, Helen James, Seng Raw, Kyaw Yin Hlaing, Morten B. Pedersen
Source/publisher: "NBR Analysis" Vol.15, No. 1, March 2004 (The National Bureau of Asia Research)
2004-03-03
Date of entry/update: 2004-02-29
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "...a team of three (Mary B. Anderson, President of the Collaborative for Development Action; Doug Fraser, Independent Consultant; and Luc Zandvliet, Project Director of CEP) traveled to Myanmar from October 18 ? 30, 2002 to visit the Yadana pipeline project, operated by TotalFinaElf (TFE). Our purpose, as in all our visits, was to examine the interaction between corporate operations and surrounding communities, as well as the impact of corporate operations on the wider context of conflict. While our focus was on these interactions at many levels, our review inevitably also included a consideration of the corporation?s effects on the human rights situation in the region of the pipeline and beyond in the country at large. ...this visit was focused on analyzing present operations and policies and their positive or negative consequences on people living in the contexts of operations. This focus follows the same approach... This visit was the first CEP visit to the Yadana Project in what is planned as a series of three. We invite feedback on the observations laid out in this report. We hope, as well, that this report will contribute to broader discussions within the company and between the company and stakeholders, on the options for corporate engagement in the Myanmar/Burma context. CONCLUSION: "The participation of TFE in the Corporate Engagement Project consists of three visits for the duration of the program (ending at the end of 2003). This report forms the beginning of that process. As this report will be a public, we welcome constructive feedback and reactions. This will allow us to be better informed and prepared for a next visit to Myanmar/Burma in the spring of 2003. The Myanmar/Burma operations confront TFE with the inevitability to make choices about the manner in which it wants to operate: maintaining the current status quo is not going to improve the company?s relationship with external stakeholders. Meanwhile, adaptation of the operational strategy in Myanmar offers viable options and opportunities to ?get it right”. The incentives for achieving mutual agreement with external stakeholders about the role of the company in Myanmar/Burma are rewarding; if the company is successful in Myanmar, the process of achieving this may contribute to setting a new standard for the industry."
Creator/author: Anderson, Mary B.; Fraser, Doug; Zandvliet, Luc
Source/publisher: Corporate Options: Constructive Engagement in Conflict Zones
2002-11-00
Date of entry/update: 2003-08-17
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "As foreign investors flee, prices rise, and foreign reserves dwindle, many wonder how much longer Burma?s military regime can hold off the rising tide of unrest...The announcement that U.S. oil giant ARCO and telecommunications powerhouse Ericsson are pulling out of Burma is one more sign that the country?s economy is both closing and collapsing. ARCO?s announcement that it was abandoning its rights to develop offshore blocks of natural gas in Burma?s Andaman Sea and Ericsson?s hasty withdrawal are only two of a number of major projects that have fallen victim to Burma?s economic collapse and political impasse. The $800 million ?three-in-one” project which was to have been built by Total, Unocal and Mitsui was quietly shelved late last month. The project would have built a $300 million gas pipeline up from the Yadana pipeline to fuel a $200 million fertilizer plant and a $300 million electrical generating plant. The gas was to have come from the regime?s share of the Yadana field gas with the government and its three partners sharing construction costs..."
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy", Vol. 6, No. 5
1998-09-00
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: Various articles, links, actions etc.
Source/publisher: Trillium Asset Mangement
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: (The writer is a pro-democracy activist and former political prisoner. She lives in Rangoon.) "Like many Burmese, l am tired of living in a fairy tale. For years, outsiders portrayed the troubles of my country as a morality play: good against evil, with no shade of gray in between-a simplistic picture, but one the world believes. The response of the West has been equally simplistic: It wages a moral crusade against evil, using such "magic wands" as sanctions and boycotts..."
Creator/author: Ma Thanegi
Source/publisher: Far Eastern Economic Review (5th Column)
1998-02-19
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : htm
Size: 11.09 KB
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Description: Various articles, pro and con., including at the September 7, 1995, US Congressional hearing on "Recent Developments in Burma" which was called by the Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific of the House Committee on International Relations. Excerpts from documents submitted as evidence in a lawsuit filed by Peregrine Myanmar Ltd. and Peregrine Capital Myanmar Ltd. against American businesswoman, Miriam Marshall Segal who had been doing business in Burma in one form or another for nearly two decades.
Source/publisher: "Burma Debate", Vol. III, No. 1
1996-02-00
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: An Issue Paper of EarthRights International?s Burma Project. Since 1988, when the Burmese military regime opened up the country to foreign investment after a generation of isolation, the country has seen no improvement on a whole range of indicators, such as education, health and poverty, that investment is supposed to help improve. Instead, investment has brought a doubling in the size of the country?s army and major arms purchases that have in turn furthered the repression. Investment has also been concentrated in extractive industries, namely logging, gems and natural gas, resulting in the selling off of Burma?s natural resources at alarming rates. The stream of refugees and migrants out of the country -- fleeing the human and economic devastation brought about by the regime -- is perhaps the clearest indicator that investment and business engagement with Burma are not working.
Creator/author: Tyler R. Giannini
Source/publisher: Earthrights International
1999-10-00
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "Everyone has heard the argument that economic sanctions never work, that the best way to encourage dictators to change their policies is to give them lots of money, then ask them to change, then give them even more money if they refuse. Economic sanctions only hurt the poor, the big investors tell us, while investment dollars "trickle down" from the generals and help everyone. Not only is there no evidence anywhere to support this argument, but in the case of Burma foreign investment directly leads to suffering..." "Even the Wall Street Journal admitted that foreign investment in Burma is wrong, stating "We have argued for commerce and investment where it strengthens civil societies vis-a-vis dictators. But these deals, by putting money directly into SLORC?s pocket, only make a richer prize out of political power. The prospect of vast petrodollars gives the generals yet another reason to cling to office no matter how many bodies of their fellow citizens pile up." There is no argument for raping Burma?s resources and handing money to SLORC, and it is about time investors and their governments started admitting it..."
Creator/author: Kevin Heppner (Karen Human Rights Group)
Source/publisher: Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG Articles and Papers)
1995-10-01
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: The SPDC is seeking new ways to tell the world that Burma is open for business. But it is having a hard time finding a medium that doesn?t threaten to open the floodgates of political debate.
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy", Vol. 8. No. 2 (Businss section)
2000-02-00
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "The OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises are non-binding recommendations to enterprises, made by the thirty-three governments that adhere to them. Their aim is to help Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) operate in harmony with government policies and with societal expectations ..."
Source/publisher: Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
2000-00-00
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: Burma row brews over US state law • UK clothing firm cuts Burmese ties •
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy", Vol. 5. No. 4-5
1997-08-00
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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