Concerns as 150 repatriatedThe first batch of rescued migrants were returned to Bangladesh yesterday, amid mounting concerns that some might be incorrectly expelled from Myanmar and pressure from MPs to accelerate the process. NEWS 3

Election commission battles lack of funding, trained staffThe head of the Union Election Commission, U Tin Aye, admitted yesterday that his organisation is facing challenges preparing for Myanmars election later this year because of a lack of both funding and properly trained staff.

WWW.MMTIMES.COM DAILY EDITION ISSUE 60 | TUESDAY, JUNE 9, 2015

500Ks.

HEARTBEAT OF THE NATION

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5PHOTO: AUNG MYIN YE ZAW

NEWS 2

After conference, ceasefire further out of reachAt a meeting in Kayin State, leaders of armed ethnic groups agreed not to sign a draft nationwide ceasefire, which they say must take into account the three forces currently fighting the government in Kokang region.

NEWS 4

Parliament to debate halted property projectsFive controversial property developments on military-owned land near Shwedagon Pagoda that were halted in January are expected to be debated during a Yangon Region parliament session that begins today.

BUSINESS 8

Yangon short on affordable housingA development association says the city needs thousands more low-cost housing units, but adding more may prove difficult without additional sources of financing.

BUSINESS 9

Indian state-owned insurer opens officeNew India Assurance, one of the largest insurance companies in India, has opened a Yangon-based office, part of a larger push by the country to boost local business connections.

Union Election Commission chair U Tin Aye speaks to reporters in Yangon yesterday.

2 News THE MYANMAR TIMES JUNE 9, 2015

Fresh blow to ceasefire prospects

LEADERS of ethnic armed groups meeting in Kayin State have dealt a heavy blow to government hopes of signing at least a partial nationwide ceasefire agreement before the elec-tions. The leaders, meeting in the Karen National Union (KNU) strong-hold of Law Khee Lar, Kayin State, have decided not to sign the draft presented to them and agreed upon by their negotiating team in March.

The decision is also a rebuff to the international community, as repre-sentatives of both the United Nations and the Chinese foreign ministry present at the summit had urged the armed groups to sign the agreement.

However, the surprise decision at Law Khee Lar could open the way to a possible political dialogue be-tween the government and the armed groups. With the ceasefire agreement increasingly out-of-reach, some ob-servers expect the government will reverse its earlier ceasefire-first, dis-cussions-later policy and launch po-litical dialogue.

The draft ceasefire agreement put before the summit last week was signed amid great fanfare in March following protracted negotiations, subject to final agreement by the leaders of the armed groups involved. Observers noted, however, that the peace process did not include the three armed groups actively engaged in fighting the government in Ko-kang, northern Shan State: the My-anmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), the Taang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and the Ara-kan Army (AA). The leaders of those groups did not participate in the June 2-7 Law Khee Lar summit either.

Despite earlier indications that the leaders of participating armed groups might sign the draft without significant alteration, their decision not to sign was apparently spurred by fears that the government was trying to split the ethnic movement by pro-posing a two-step ceasefire process, dealing first with the Law Khee Lar group and then launching separate peace talks with the three groups still fighting at Kokang.

Naing Han Thar, chair of the New Mon State Party, told a press confer-ence on June 7 that the leaders had decided not to leave the three Kokang

groups out of the process. They want-ed the armed groups negotiating um-brella organisation, the Nationwide Ceasefire Coordination Team (NCCT), which he leads, to continue to deal with the government on behalf of all its members.

We will not accept to see our brothers left behind. The nation-wide ceasefire must be all-inclusive, he told journalists as the summit concluded.

U Hla Maung Shwe, senior adviser of the Myanmar Peace Center, which has coordinated the ceasefire negotia-tions, told The Myanmar Times that the government negotiating team, the Union Peace-making Central Com-mittee, had found it hard to incorpo-rate the positions of the three Kokang groups.

These three groups emerged only after the current government came to power, so the government had dif-ficulty in recognising them on the same level as the others, he said.

Khun Myint Tun, chair of the Pa-O National Liberation Organisation, said the government would have to take the Kokang groups into account in further discussions on the national ceasefire agreement because they are

members of the NCCT.Minister U Aung Min [who is

leading the governments negotiating team] promised us in bilateral talks with our organisation that he would not leave even small conflicts out of the peace process. This is not a small problem, he said.

The leaders attending the Law Khee Lar summit have been grap-pling for the past six days with more than 15 proposed amendments to the NCA draft, as well as the issue of ex-cluding the three Kokang groups.

The NCCT will now take the amended draft back to the govern-ment for further discussions. It is

not yet clear, however, that the lead-ers have reached full agreement on the remainder of the draft text, or on whether it can be signed before the elections.

Mahn Nyein Maung, a senior member of the KNU, said he believed the agreement should be signed be-fore a new government takes power to ensure progress made to date is not lost. We dont know what the policy of the next government might be, he said.

But Naing Han Thar of the New Mon State Party said the groups should not rush to sign the ceasefire. We dont care if the agreement is signed before or after the election. The important thing is to make clear what we want in the negotiations, he said.

Vijay Nambiar, the UN special rep-resentative, had told participants in the opening meeting of the summit on June 2 that they had only a lim-ited time to act, adding, Myanmars peace is in your hands. He advocated signing the accord before the elec-tion, prompting some ethnic leaders to accuse him of taking the govern-ments side.

In the wake of the summit, moves are already afoot to consider action

on political dialogue.Weve just talked to Naing Han

Thar and [KNU joint secretary-gener-al] Padoh Kwe Htoo Win about meet-ing in Chiang Mai [on June 10], U Hla Maung Shwe of the Myanmar Peace Center told The Myanmar Times yes-terday. He added that the government policy of settling the ceasefire before discussing political dialogue would probably change.

The government might have de-cided to start the political dialogue first, but we havent received any in-structions from the central commit-tee yet, he said, adding that the next meeting between the government and the NCCT could discuss the dia-logue, in Yangon.

We are now thinking about how to move forward toward the political dialogue.

Yesterday a spokesperson for one of the three Kokang groups welcomed the Law Khee Lar decision not to sign the ceasefire agreement.

I appreciate the decision of the conference because weve already said we wanted to sign the NCA, but the government opposed it, said Mai Aike Kyaw of the Taang National Liberation Army.

LAW KHEE LAR, KAYIN STATE

Padoh Kwe Htoo Win of the Karen National Union (left) and Colonel Khun Okkar of the Pa-Oh National Liberation Organization speak to reporters at Law Khee Lar on June 3. Photo: Naing Wynn Htoon

We will not accept to see our brothers left behind. The nationwide ceasefire must be all-inclusive.

Naing Han Thar New Mon State Party

WA LONE EI EI TOE LWIN

News 3www.mmtimes.com NEWS EDITOR: Thomas Kean | tdkean@gmail.com

Speaker rejects foreign pressure

Students threaten to sue police over Letpadan crackdown

THE All Burma Federation of Student Unions says it is planning to take legal action against police responsible for the brutal crackdown on demonstra-tors in Letpadan on March 10 and will involve the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission in the process.

ABFSU leaders, members and sup-porters are among about 70 people still held in Tharyarwady Prison since the crackdown.

Were planning to sue the police who were really responsible for the Letpadan crackdown. We have video

clips, photos, eyewitnesses and other evidence. The government must take action against them, Ko Aung Nay Pa-ing, an ABFSU spokesperson, told The Myanmar Times.

Students are working with Equal-ity Myanmar, a rights group, on draft-ing legal letters and registering a case with the human rights commission.

Students asked me to help. They dont know how to complain about hu-man rights violations to the commis-sion. Equality Myanmar truly believes that Letpadan was a violation of hu-man rights so we have decided to help them, said U Aung Myo Min, execu-tive director of Equality Myanmar.

Equality Myanmar is interviewing students, writing the complaint letter and collecting evidence which it plans to submit within a week. But the organ-isation does not appear very hopeful.

Were not very encouraged by the human rights commission. They al-ways work when orders come from above For example, we can see their efforts in the case of Ko Par Gyi, said U Aung Myo Min, referring to the gov-ernments request to the commission to investigate the death of a journalist in military custody last October.

Equality Myanmar and students have decided to submit their complaint to the ASEAN Intergovernmental

Human Rights Commission if the na-tional commission cannot handle the issue.

During a court hearing last month, Police Captain Phone Myint, a wit-ness for the prosecution against the students detained at Letpadan, said police had followed European Union standards and techniques during the operation.

He did not elaborate but noted that police had held extensive negotiations with the students in failed attempts to get them to stop their illegal protest march against the National Education Law.

However, the EU, which has been

training the police in crowd control techniques since 2013, has condemned the Letpadan crackdown and called for a formal investigation.

U Sit Myaing, deputy chair of the commission, said the human rights body was willing to accept the complaint.

Well solve the problem accord-ing to the rules and regulations of our commission, he said yesterday.

The independent commission, comprising 15 retired civil servants and bureaucrats, was formed in 2011 by the government with a brief to investigate alleged human rights violations.

MRATT KYAW THUmrattkthu@gmail.com

PYAE THET PHYOpyaethetphyo87@gmail.com

U KHIN Aung Myint, Speaker of the upper house, yesterday told parliamentarians how he had rejected suggestions from an Australian politician that Myanmar should take in more than 20,000 boat migrants, saying the people of Myanmar would not accept them.

International blame on My-anmar over the boat crisis was coming from those who could not see all aspects of the issue and lacked reasoning, he said.

U Khin Aung Myint shared a conversation he had last week with a former foreign minister of Australia who suggested on the sidelines of the Myanmar Update Conference hosted by Australian National University that Myanmar should take in 20,000 to 30,000 migrants.

When I was interviewed on television about accepting those people, I responded by asking if their faces were simi-lar to ours, or do they speak any language used by Myanmar national races? If the interna-tional community forces Myan-mar to accept them, Myanmar people would not accept it, the speaker said.

He quoted the ex-minister as saying that if he were prime minister he would accept those numbers.

I replied to him by e-mail that these 20,000 to 30,000 people will turn to 200,000 to 300,000 people right now and then turn to 2 to 3 million lat-er, and that I wish for him to become prime minister right now, U Khin Aung Myint said.

The ex-minister conceded he might not get to be prime min-ister in that case, the Speaker added.

People have always crossed the sea for centuries for various reasons, including mass kill-ings, but the current phenom-enon was due to starvation in a country facing a population explosion, the Speaker said, ap-parently referring to Bangladesh.

He urged international co-operation to resolve the causes of the exodus, but also to find out who was organising the mi-grants to identify themselves as Myanmar wherever they go.

U Khin Aung Myint added that with its 677,000 square kil-ometres and 51 million people, Myanmar had sufficient food, good weather and soil, and no population explosion. Trans-lation by Thiri Min Htun

Repatriations begin as MPs wade into migrant crisis

THE first batch of 150 migrants res-cued from smugglers boats off Myan-mars coast were yesterday returned to Bangladesh, with Myanmar eager to deport another 800 people being pro-vided temporary shelter adjacent to the border.

Aid workers on the ground, howev-er, are concerned many may be pushed into the wrong country, a fear that ap-peared to be borne out yesterday when at least one person deported said he was actually from Myanmar.

The repatriated migrants, all men, were transferred under armed guard over the Naf River, returning to where they had fled a life of poverty only to wind up abandoned at sea for three months.

The men were among a group of 208 found last month on an intercept-ed trafficking vessel originally bound for Malaysia. Myanmar insisted all onboard were Bangladeshi, but after an elaborate consular process, Dhaka agreed to take back just 150.

Fifty men from the same vessel re-main in makeshift camps near Taung-pyo in northern Rakhine State, close to the border.

Neither country has so far expressed willingness to accept them, but a source on the ground said yesterday they ap-pear largely to be from Buthidaung and Maungdaw townships in northern Rakhine State, with a smaller number from Sittwe and Pauktaw townships.

Some of them reportedly speak My-anmar; language has often been used by the government to demonstrate the alleged foreignness of Rohingya, who mainly speak Bengali.

Another 735 people rescued by the Myanmar navy, including around 120 women and children, were taken to other shelters near the border. The gov-ernment says nationality verification of this second and larger group is ongo-ing. So far Myanmar says 330 are Bang-ladeshi, a number that has not yet been confirmed by Dhaka.

Myanmar, as well as the original country where boat people left from, needs to do the verification process, said U Thant Kyaw, deputy foreign minister.

But with the long porous border between the two countries, the process has been anything but straightforward. Many rights groups fear that unwanted Rohingya whom the Myanmar gov-ernment insists on calling Bengalis may be pushed over the border.

At least one of the people repatri-

ated yesterday claimed to be from the Myanmar side of the line, according to a source who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The source said he recognised one of the 150 Bangladeshis being trans-ferred as they were both from Buthi-daung and share a mutual friend a claim confirmed independently by The Myanmar Times. The two were able to speak briefly.

He said he lied about being Bang-ladeshi, the source said, adding that the deportee explained that he had been placed under pressure to do so by

some of the officials who facilitated the transfer.

Others in the Taungpyo shelters are believed to have resided in Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh prior to embarking on their abortive voyages. An aid worker on the ground told The Myanmar Times that several of the migrants and asylum seekers allegedly fled Rakhine State in 1991 following violence in the region.

Others may have crossed the bor-der during the most recent outbreak of bloodshed in 2012 that saw hundreds killed and more than 140,000 people uprooted and forced into internally dis-placed persons camps.

At least eight from the first inter-cepted boat were confirmed by Myan-mars foreign ministry to have come from Myanmar. While the Presidents Office said those individuals would be returned to their homes, they are in-stead reportedly in police custody.

The eight were arrested a while ago and sent to jail, according to our moni-tor, said Chris Lewa of the Arakan Pro-ject, a rights group that has been fol-lowing the crisis.

A local official yesterday denied the

account, however.With the nationality process already

under international scrutiny the US has said it is very closely watching de-velopments the issue of repatriation is also causing domestic rifts.

Nationalist hardliners from Rakh-ine State are planning to protest on June 14 against local authorities assist-ing the impoverished and starving peo-ple rescued from the boats.

Amyotha Hluttaw representatives yesterday overwhelmingly voted in favour of a proposal by Union Solidar-ity and Development Party MP U Hla Swe to set a date for repatriating any rescued migrants. The proposal was ap-proved with 163 votes for and just three against.

We saved some of them because of goodwill. But Rakhine [State] already has a lot of problems, said MP U Khin Maung, who expressed support for the proposal.

Election will be taking place soon We cant let things get more compli-cated ... We have to start dealing with this crisis right now.

Additional reporting by Nyan Lynn Aung and Laignee Barron

KAYLEIGH LONG PYAE THET PHYO

Rights groups raise concerns that some rescued migrants may be incorrectly sent to Bangladesh

Migrants are repatriated across the Myanmar-Bangladesh border in Maungdaw township yesterday. Photo: AFP

We saved them because of goodwill. But Rakhine [State] already has a lot of problems.

U Khin Maung Amyotha Hluttaw representative

4 News THE MYANMAR TIMES JUNE 9, 2015

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Yangon hluttaw to debate halted property projects

THE Yangon Region parliament will discuss controversial suspended property developments near Shwe-dagon Pagoda during a session that will get under way today, a prominent MP says.

Five projects being developed on military-owned land south of Shwe-dagon were suspended in January by the Myanmar Investment Com-mission. The most high-profile of these is the US$300 million Dagon City 1 development, which is a joint venture between the Marga Group syndicate and local firm Thu Kha Yadanar.

Daw Nyo Nyo Thin, a representa-tive for Bahan, said she had submit-ted a proposal to discuss the suspend-ed projects during the last session of the regional parliament. She has since been informed by the hluttaw office last week that her motion had been included on the agenda for the upcoming meeting.

I think these projects have no transparency and the ministers have not yet explained properly about them, she said. We need to know whether they are really good or not for Yangon and Shwedagon Pagoda.

She said the regional parliaments views on the projects could be impor-tant in deciding whether they are al-lowed to proceed.

I think that if we object to these projects, they can be repealed, she said. The parliaments decision is important for the future of these projects.

The projects have faced opposition from a broad range of groups due to transparency concerns and fears that

planned towers on the sites will harm views of the pagoda.

Continued delays in a proposed zoning plan have resulted in a dis-pute over height limits in the area, with opponents calling for a 62-foot (18.6-metre) height limit, while de-velopers say the area is zoned for a maximum of 190 feet (57m).

U Thaung Htike Min, chair of Thukha Yadanar, which is a minority stakeholder in Dagon City 1 and the

sole owner of Dagon City 2, said yester-day he was unaware of the plan to dis-cuss the projects in the regional parlia-ment, but was looking forward to talks resulting in a positive outcome.

We dont know about the pro-posal so I cant comment more than that, he said.

Jason Sai, an account executive at PR firm Mangosteen, which has been retained by Marga Group, declined to comment when contacted yesterday.

Informal residents may be eligible to vote

SQUATTERS in Yangon and Manda-lay and other big cities may be able to vote in the November election, elec-toral officials have suggested. Speak-ing at a press conference yesterday, Union Election Commission officials said they were continuing to search for a solution to the question of vot-ing by temporary residents.

An estimated 600,000 squatters, equivalent to more than 11 percent of

the citys population, live in Yangon, according to regional government data.

We are still considering this mat-ter, UEC member U Win Kyi told jour-nalists at the Myanmar Peace Center.

Those who have been resident in a place for more than 180 days could re-quest the electoral sub-commission in their ward to have their name added to the local voters list, he said.

UEC chair U Tin Aye said inter-nally displaced persons will have the same right.

They can submit a form 3 to have their name listed in their current townships of residence even if they are listed elsewhere. In that case, their township of origin will delete their name from its voters list, he said.

If the ward commission officials have confirmed the applicants as Myanmar citizens, their names can be included in the voters lists of the township in which they now live, he added.

As for former white-card holders,

the UEC chair said their voting rights were to be decided by legislation.

Parliament will decide, and we will comply with that decision, he said.

In February, parliament approved a suggestion by President U Thein Sein to grant white-card holders the right to vote in a referendum bill. However, the grant was later revoked after widespread criticism by monks and others. In the 2010 general elec-tion and the 2012 by-election, white-card holders were allowed to vote.

LUN MIN MANGlunmin.lm@gmail.com

YE MON MYAT NYEIN AYE

I think these projects have no transparency and the ministers have not yet explained properly about them.

Daw Nyo Nyo Thin Yangon Region MP

Ministry suspends controversial Yangon tender

THE Ministry of Information has stopped selling application forms for a controversial tender, following a mo-tion in parliament to suspend the ten-der process.

No further tender application forms will be distributed in the case of the 90-acre Yegu transmitter site in Mayangone township, Yangon, at the

corner of Waizayandar and Gandamar roads, an official from the ministry confirmed.

The tender was heavily criticised for apparently being tailored to suit a very small number of possible bidders.

Parliament decided to suspend the tender process on May 27, five days after an urgent motion to that effect submitted by South Okkalapa MP U Aung Thein Linn.

While government officials had

initially said they would wait for a cabinet response to parliaments deci-sion, Ministry of Information deputy director general U Myo Myint Aung confirmed the tender had been halted.

Everything to do with the tender has now stopped, said U Myo Myint Aung. How can we dare to defy the parliaments decision?

Five tender forms had already been sold, at a cost of K1 million (about US$900) each, said U Hla Thwin, the

deputy director of the ministrys My-anma Radio and Television (MRTV).

The tender was announced on May 15, and gave applicants little more than a month to submit detailed plans on proposed usage of the site.

The tender rules stated that the land should be used for a media busi-ness park, including a broadcasting complex, a multimedia university, a theme park, zones for recreation, and both indoor and outdoor stadiums.

SANDAR LWINsdlsandar@gmail.com

A model represents the Dagon City 1 project at a showroom in Yangon. Photo: Aung Htay Hlaing

News 5www.mmtimes.com

JICA to fund water meters in Mandalay

NEARLY 50,000 people in Mandalay will receive piped water following the installation of water meters in five wards, according to officials. Manda-lay City Development Committee says 8900 water meters are to be installed free of charge in the wards of Pyigyita-gun township.

With a contribution of more than US$20 million, Japan International Cooperation Agency will assist in the installation of 8300 of the meters as a first stage. The remaining 600 units will be installed by MCDC, the citys municipal body.

Under the agreement between JICA and MCDC, this project will provide a better water supply system. Nearly 50,000 people will have drink-ing water by 2017, MCDC member U Kyi Tun told The Myanmar Times on June 5.

Thin Pin Kone, Ga, Gagyi, Nga and Ngwe Taw Kyi Kone wards will receive the meters, he said.

JICA carried out studies in the township before the installation, said JICA official Keiichiro Nakazawa. Pyi-gyitagun has inadequate drinking wa-ter. This is not a loan but a contribu-tion, and we will be cooperating with

MCDC [on the project], he said.MCDCs water supply covers only 5

percent of the townships population, while 70pc of the population of four other urban townships Aung Myay Thar San, Chan Aye Thar San, Maha Aung Myay and Chan Mya Tharsi re-ceives water.

It is expected that 90pc of the citys residents will be connected to the mu-nicipal water suppy by 2020, U Tun Kyi said.

Another water supply project, cost-ed at US$2.5 million, is being planned for Amarapura township with the help of a French development agency.

Translation by Zar Zar Soe

Mandalay Mayor U Aung Maung (left) and JICA Myanmar officer Keiichiro Nakazawa shake hands after signing an agreement on June 3. Photo: Si Thu Lwin

SI THU LWINsithulwin.mmtimes@gmail.com

Final two seats get MCDC reps

Election commission boss complains over lack of funds

STAFF shortages, lack of money and grudging cooperation from other government departments are ham-pering electoral preparations, the chair of the Union Electoral Commis-sion told journalists yesterday.

UEC chair U Tin Aye also ex-plained the relatively high number of military personnel working for the commission by saying that the de-fence ministry had offered more staff than other government departments.

A limited number of people are coping with a huge workload. The lack of qualified staff is the biggest challenge that we are facing, he said at the Myanmar Peace Center.

Comparing the effort to prepare for the November elections with last

years census, he said, Why was the census so successful? Because the staff were well paid. The govern-ment provided K3000 and the Unit-ed Nations [Population Fund] paid

another K5000. Thats why they did their work attentively, he said.

Motivation among those who had volunteered to work for the commis-sion was patchy, he added.

We had to ask various ministries to transfer staff willing to work with the UEC. People from different min-istries came, but since the staff are not paid well, they can lack motiva-tion, he said, adding that this result-ed in poor communications and co-operation among the different units of UEC.

Asked about the high composi-tion of military personnel in the commission, U Tin Aye said, Among the ministries who had responded our requests, the Ministry of Defence seconded the most. Thats why the composition of retired military per-sonnel is so high.

U Tin Aye is himself a retired general. His decision to attend the Armed Forces Day parade in March in military uniform prompted re-newed questions concerning the

UECs impartiality and criticisms of the excessive involvement in politics of military men.

He brushed aside these concerns, and said the commission would continue to do our best with the resources it has.

Cooperation is the main thing, particularly between different levels of sub-commissions, he said.

He warned parties defeated in the coming elections not to act inappropriately.

If your party loses the election, you can still work for the develop-ment of the nation as an opposition party, seeking to apply checks and balances to the ruling party. But dont appeal to the international community to apply pressure or sanctions because you lost.

He said international pressure would do nothing to change the countrys political trajectory.

I dont care even if they put us on the sanctions list more than 100 times.

LUN MIN MANG

lunmin.lm@gmail.com

REPRESENTATIVES have finally been chosen for the last two elected seats on Mandalay City Development Commit-tee. Polls in two of the six townships permitted to vote were held, success-fully this time, on June 7.

The elections held last month in Aung Myay Thar San and Chan Mya Tharsi townships were void, one for lack of a candidate and the other because voter turnout fell below 50 percent.

The other four townships in the city Chan Aye Thar San, Mahar Aung Myay, Pyigyitagun and Amarapura elected their representatives on May 3.

I came to vote for a representative for our township. I dont want to have to come out again, said Chan Mya Tharsi township voter U Aung Tun, who also voted in the last election.

U Nyunt Maung was returned as the representative for Aung Myay Thar San, and U Moe won in Chan Mya Tharsi.

The representatives for the remain-ing two townships to sit on Mandalay City Development Committee have now been elected and will soon take up their duties for their townships, an electoral official said. Mg Zaw, trans-lation by Kyawt Darly Lin

MILLION US$

20Grant provided by Japan International Cooperation Agency to improve water

supply in Mandalay

U Tin Aye speaks to reporters at a press conference in Yangon yesterday. Photo: Aung Myin Ye Zaw

U Tin Aye says the commission will do our best to hold the election, despite lack of funds and trained staff

6 News THE MYANMAR TIMES JUNE 9, 2015

Verdict in actors murdertrial expected tomorrowYangons Western District Court is scheduled to hand down a verdict tomorrow in the trial of actor Min Oke Soe, who has been accused of murdering a woman on Christmas Day last year.

Lawyers from both sides presented their final arguments on June 8, with the prosecution outlining the events before and after the death of Ma Tay Nu Yin, who worked at a magazine run by Min Oke Soe. The prosecution called for him to be found guilty of non-premeditated murder un-der section 302(2), which carries a maximum 10-year prison term.

Min Oke Soes lawyer said he agreed his client was guilty, but would fight any attempt to upgrade the charge.

The actor handed himself into police on December 25, saying that Ma Tay Nu Yin had died after he punched and kicked her dur-ing an argument.

Three arrested for rape, murder over K30,000 debtPolice have arrested three men over the death of a woman from Hlaing Tharyar whose body was found on the Sule Pagoda Road railway bridge on May 31.

The men, who are from Bota-htaung, Pabedan and South Dagon townships, will face mur-der charges, police said.

Pabedan township police allege the trio was seen arguing with Ma Chae Su, 26, at about 1am on May 31 in the area where her body was later found.

Under police interrogation, the men said that the fight was over K30,000 that Ma Chae Su owed them. They admitted to punch-ing and raping her. According to police, they then hit her with a piece of concrete and fled the scene with K1500.

Worker dies on Vietnamese construction projectA worker fell to his death from the 28th floor of a Vietnamese-funded property development in Bahan township on June 6, according to police.

Police said U Kyi Lwin stum-bled and fell while trying to pass timber up to another worker.

The project, valued at about US$500 million, is being de-veloped by Hoang Anh Gia Lai. Covering 73,000 square metres, it will feature four office blocks, a five-star hotel, a retail mall and apartments.

Man charged over pagoda donation box theftA man has been charged after allegedly stealing K14,450 from a pagoda in Mingalardon township.

U Than Shein from the Zanar Man Aung Pagoda board of trustees submitted a complaint to police after security camera footage showed a man entering the pagoda and taking money from a donation box on June 4.

Police later arrested a 29-year-old man, who faces a charge of committing theft in a building, which carries a potential prison term of seven years.

Officer hit and killed in Yangon train accidentA police officer has died after being hit by a train in Yangon on June 6, according to an official.

Police Captain Shwe Zan responded to reports that a man had been hit by the train at Insein Bridge. He found the body of Police Corporal Thein Myint between Insein and Ywarma stations. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Police have released no further details. Toe Wai Aung, translation by Khant Lin Oo and Thiri Min Htun

CRIME IN BRIEF

Govt suspends out-of-town vehicle tax

PUBLIC criticism has forced the Man-dalay authorities to shut down a prof-itable scheme to charge out-of-town vehicles for entering the city. Original-ly suspended temporarily, the scheme has now been stopped at least until a new regional government is installed early next year, following elections in November.

For the first three days of May, Mandalay City Development Commit-tee set up checkpoints around the city and charged all vehicles not bearing Mandalay Region plates to enter and stay in the city. Drivers paid a sliding scale from K2000 for light cars up to a maximum of K10,000 for vehicles weighing 5 tonnes or more.

The toll stations brought in more than K30 million from more than 10,000 vehicles during those three days, said U Khin Maung Tint, secre-tary of MCDC.

The tax was intended as a revenue-generating measure that would also, it was hoped, reduce congestion in the city centre. MCDC said the money would fund municipal activities, in-cluding road construction, improve-ments to the drainage and water sup-ply networks, and cleaning. But the tax attracted residents ire, with some saying it contributed to rather than re-duced congestion.

Opposition to the plan was led by a

Facebook group, Mandalay Tadin Pone Yeik Myar (Mandalay News and Imag-es), which was launched in June 2013 and has more than 50,000 members. Some members of the group threat-ened to stage public demonstrations unless the plan was halted.

The regional government initially said the measure would be suspended until the end of May, to give Mandalay

residents time to change their car reg-istration to Mandalay Region. Howev-er, a regional government official now says that the measure has been put on hold indefinitely.

The collection will be suspended for the tenure of the current govern-ment, he said. Its not sure whether the next government will resume it.

The city still wants motorists to

transfer ownership of vehicles that Mandalay residents bought in other states and regions, and pay tax on them.

We have to change the ownership documents for 150 to 200 vehicles a day, or about 4900 for a month, said U Nay Linn, head of Mandalay Regions Road Transport Administration Department.

Translation by Thiri Min Htun

Vehicles licensed in other regions are seen on the street in Mandalay. Photo: Si Thu Lwin

SI THU LWINsithulwin.mmtimes@gmail.com

MANDALAY

Exam results best in three years

RECORD numbers of students took and passed the matriculation exams this year, say education officials. A to-tal of 590,000 test-takers sat the exam, and the pass rate of 37.6 percent was nearly 6 percentage points higher than last year.

The board of examinations said this years pass rate was the highest in

at least three years.The exam results were released be-

fore dawn on June 6, bringing joy to the 220,000 who passed and opening the way to university admission.

We are proud of the students who passed. We turn out winners with real quality. For those who failed, we urge them to try again after reviewing their weaknesses, said an examinations board official.

Ayeyarwady Region students led the field nationally, with a pass rate of 51.78pc. Yangon Region fared just slightly below this years national aver-age with a 36pc pass rate, while Man-dalay students scored 38.59pc.

The pass percentage of Yangon Re-gion this year is higher than last year. The number of students who passed with distinctions was also higher. Its normal for Yangon Region to have more than 30pc of students pass, and it was students from Yangon who had the highest marks, he added.

Some tutors on social media sug-gested that the higher results were pro-duced by a process of manipulating the raw marks known as moderation.

Ma Su Yadanar of Latha town-ship, Yangon, who matriculated this year, said the pass rate at her school was more than 90pc. All my friends passed. We also heard a lot of rumours

that the results were determined through moderation, at least in two subjects, she said.

In Mandalay, the regional deputy director of education said on June 6 that he was not satisfied with the 4-percentage-point increase in the re-gions pass rate this year.

Of the 87,281 students who took the matriculation exam in Mandalay Re-gion, 33,625, or 38.56pc, passed, com-pared to last years 34.48 percent. The number of students who received a dis-tinction was 6943, while 192 students received distinctions in six subjects, he said. Additional reporting by Mg Zaw, translation by Thiri Min Htun

MAY THINZAR NAINGmaythinzarnaing.mcm@gmail.com

A student takes a picture of the final-year matriculation exam results posted at a school in Yangon on June 7 just before dawn. Photo: Aung Myin Ye Zaw

News 7www.mmtimes.com

ViewsGovt misfires on Oslo conference

THE Oslo Conference to End Myanmars Systematic Persecution of Rohingyas was held from May 26 to 28 at the Norwegian Nobel Institution in Oslo, Norway.

Attended by well-known inter-national scholars, human rights researchers, activists, state leaders and Rohingya, it was addressed by Nobel Prize winners, former state leaders and peace activists through pre-recorded speeches.

However, the conference drew the ire of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which issued a stern statement of objection on May 30.

The conference was organised by the Norwegian Nobel Institu-tion with support from a range of groups. It had a big-name lineup, particularly among those who sent in pre-recorded messages. These included billionaire George Soros a long-time supporter of democracy in Myanmar as well as former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad and Nobel Prize-winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

The speech by George Soros, who drew on his experience growing up in Europe under Nazi occupation, was full of sadness and compas-sion. It also made clear his goodwill toward Myanmar.

He spoke of his visit to Myanmar in January, when he travelled to the Rakhine State capital Sittwe and visited Aung Mingalar ward. Home to many displaced Muslims, he said it can only be called a ghetto.

In Aung Mingalar, I heard the echoes of my childhood. You see, in 1944, as a Jew in Budapest, I too was a Rohingya. Much like the Jew-ish ghettos set up by Nazis around Eastern Europe during World War II, Aung Mingalar has become the invol-untary home to thousands of families who once had access to healthcare, education, and employment. Now,

they are forced to remain segregated in a state of abject deprivation. The parallels to the Nazi genocide are alarming. Fortunately, we have not reached a stage of mass killing.

He said the governments insist-ence that it is keeping the Rohingya in Aung Mingalar for their own protection is not credible.

Government authorities have tried to reassure me. They say things are under control and not as bad as reported by outsiders who they claim dont understand the local culture or the long and complicated history of Rakhine State. I understand that half a century of living in isolation under repression can make a population vulnerable to intermediation and exploitation in all sorts of ways, but I also know that most of the people of Burma are fair-minded and would like their country to be a place where all can live in freedom.

As a longtime friend and supporter of Burma, I hope for a

positive outcome for all the people of the country, but where I once felt a great sense of optimism, I am now filled with trepidation for the future. I hope those in power will immediately take the steps necessary to counter extremism and allow open society to take root. In the lead-up to the elections, its crucial that official acts should be taken to counter the pervasive hate and anti-Rohingya propaganda on social media and the racist public campaigns of the 969 movement. The promise of Burma as a flourish-ing and vibrant open society is still within reach. Its up to Burmas leaders and people whether this promise is fulfilled.

The Oslo conference was designed to call attention to the issue of Roh-ingya Bengalis in Rakhine State. Like George Soros, some scholars who spoke at the event described the gov-ernments treatment of this minority group as a slow genocide.

Typically, the Myanmar govern-ment denied those accusations by issuing a statement on May 30. The Ministry of Foreign Affair said in the statement that the conference made only critical comments and it object[s to] those negative remarks.

The conference failed to recognise the plans initiated by the govern-ment to rebuild trust between the two communities in Rakhine State, restore stability, screen Bengalis who have long lived in the country for citizenship and establish peaceful coexistence within the two commu-nities, it said.

But the Ministry of Foreign Af-fairs response did not match what was said at the Oslo conference. The event highlighted that the plight of the Rohingya has been deliberately created by the government, but the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it was a conflict between ethnic Rakh-ine and Bengalis in Rakhine State.

Whatever the government claims,

we havent seen any evidence yet that it has done anything to encourage peaceful coexistence between two communities in Rakhine State.

The scrutinisation of the citizen-ship credentials of the Rohingya has been pending for more than 20 years. Meanwhile, those who were forced to flee when violent conflict erupted in 2012 have not yet been permitted to go back to their homes. There appears to be little prospect that they will be able to return any time soon.

Rather than steadfastly resist all criticism from international com-munity just as the former military regime did before it, U Thein Seins government should practically deal with the issue by consulting with ethnic people, including the military and political leaders. Only in this way can the country arrive at the best path to solve this longstanding problem.

Translation by Zar Zar Soe

SITHU AUNG MYINTnewsroom@mmtimes.com

A Muslim man sits inside a shelter in a camp for people displaced by communal conflict in 2012 in Sittwe township, Rakhine State, last month. Photo: Naing Wynn Htoon

8 THE MYANMAR TIMES JUNE 9, 2015

Business

YANGON is facing an affordable housing shortage and will need to build thousands of new apartments over the new few years to prevent homelessness, but high costs and a lack of funding are likely to delay progress.

Yangon has just 17,000 units of affordable housing, which is not nearly enough to cater for all those who need accommodation, said U Kyaw Kyaw Soe, managing director of System Engineering Co, Ltd and a member of the Myanmar Con-struction Entrepreneurs Associa-tion (MCEA).

Yangon has a population of more than 5 million, which is grow-ing by 6.6 percent a year. This means that 330,000 people are moving to Yangon every year and they need a place to live. But not all of them can buy a property on the market because its expensive. Even the price of affordable housing can be too high, he told The Myanmar Times.

In particular, those who have moved to Yangon from other states and regions in Myanmar will re-quire low cost housing. Since 2012,

the Ministry of Construction has built affordable housing projects across Myanmars major cities, but the price of apartments is around K30 million per unit.

It costs a private developer around K20,000 to build each square foot of a low-cost housing project, not including the cost of land and supporting infrastruc-ture, said U Kyaw Kyaw Soe. As a result, apartment prices cannot be cheap.

This is one of the problems with asking private companies to develop affordable housing. The price for the buyer rises even fur-ther when you add on the cost of land and infrastructure. Even if they pay in instalments, they will have to pay up to 40pc upfront, he said.

Private companies also have to pay high interest rates to the banks, said U Aung Min, direc-tor of Myat Min Construction. To build low-cost buildings, we face many difficulties. We need a bank to offer a loan with a low interest rate. The CHD Bank interest rate for contractors is very high, and its

inconvenient, he said. The Construction and Housing

Development (CHD) Bank, which opened in July 2013, is the first bank in Myanmar to offer loans to contractors of low-cost housing projects and to the buyers of low-cost apartments.

Most affordable housing devel-opments in Yangon are built by the Ministry of Construction or Yan-gon City Development Committee (YCDC), but sometimes they ask private companies to develop cer-tain projects.

But in some cases, YCDC issues a tender for a low cost housing pro-ject through one of the government newspapers, but never announces who the winner is, or even if any-one won the tender, said U Aung Min.

A major problem for buyers is that there is no mortgage system in Myanmar. Mortgages are long-term bank loan,s of 25 or 30 years, that allow people to buy apartments even if they dont have enough mon-ey to pay immediately. The cost of the apartment is then paid back to the bank in installments.

The amount of money you have to repay each month is around the same as rental fees. So everybody could afford to buy an apartment if the banks offered mortgages, said U Kyaw Kyaw Soe.

CHD Bank currently only offers loans of up to eight years. At the

moment, it also only issues loans to buyers of government projects including Shwe Lin Ban low cost housing, according to a company spokesperson.

We cannot give loans to people who dont buy apartments from government projects, as the con-tractors dont have an agreement with our bank, they said.

Government low-cost housing units are awarded through a lot-tery process and are often hugely oversubscribed.

Affordable housing has become a key area of focus for the govern-ment and US$100 million has been budgeted this fiscal year (2015-16) to build 10 affordable housing projects with 18,000 new units, according to the Department of Human Set-tlement and Housing Development (DHSHD). Seven of these projects will be in Yangon.

This year, 10,080 low-cost hous-ing units will be built in Dagon Seikkan township, 2592 units in Mingalardon township, 1440 in Thanlyin township, 384 units in South Dagon township and 240 in Thingangyun township, said a DH-SHD official.

In many big cities, there are specific areas set aside for building affordable housing units. In Singa-pore, this area is Bukit Merah Sur-bana, in Malaysia it is Banda Kat-suya, and in Yangon, Dagon Seikkan township can become the centre for low-cost housing projects, said Gidgetelena Ong, senior vicepresi-dent (ARCH) at Surbana Interna-tional Consultants.

Surbana is managing an afford-able housing project in Dagon Seik-kan township in cooperation with the Myanmar government. We are providing master planning and ar-chitectural consultancy services, as well as civil, structural, mechanical and electrical services for a 220-acre residential development within the township, she said.

It is easy for citizens to buy af-fordable housing in Singapore, they just need to save 20pc of their sal-ary to own low-cost housing, she said.

But in Myanmar, there is no government system that allows this to happen, there is no bank to offer a long term payment plan and low-cost housing is not cheap.

Yangon urgently needs low cost housing

myatnyeinaye11092@gmail.com yadanar.mcm@gmail.com

MYAT NYEIN AYE

TIN YADANAR

HTUNAYE

TIN YADANAR

THOUSAND

17Units of affordable housing in Yangon far less than demand, according to

experts

FIRST it was the buses. Now passen-gers are complaining that Yangons taxi drivers are demanding fare in-creases because of congestion and heavy rain.

Last week, the head of Yangons transportation regulator revealed that unscrupulous bus conductors were demanding extra money from passengers at night, in heavy rain, or in congestion. U Hla Aung, chair of the Yangon Region Supervisory Committee for Motor Vehicles, better known by its Myanmar acronym Ma Hta Tha, said overcharging was the most common customer complaint received by the committee.

Now he has confirmed that the same is true of taxis, which, at least nominally, have been controlled by Ma Hta Tha since last October.

We cant control taxi fares be-cause drivers prefer to negotiate the fare with passengers rather than us-ing the meter. If the passenger agrees to pay the fare proposed by the driv-er, they will use that taxi, said U Hla Aung, adding that passengers should be charged an appropriate fare that would not result in drivers making a loss.

But sometimes, passengers feel they have no choice but to agree.

At South Okkalapa township, near Baeli Bridge, the congestion has been terrible because of road con-struction. Most cabs refuse even to

go there. Some will agree only if you pay an extra K1000 or K1500, said Ma Thazin, who lives in North Dagon township.

Taxi drivers also seem to have the upper hand when negotiating with passengers about the fare to destina-tions likely to be flooded.

We rely on taxis when it rains,

but that doesnt mean weve got lots of money. We just want to get home early. I think the drivers are just tak-ing advantage, which is wrong, said Ko Zaw Htun of Kamaryut township.

Cabbies also reportedly demand higher fares to go to popular high schools downtown, if they agree to go at all, because of the added concern

of congestion.Taxi drivers say it is necessary they

increase fares, as traffic jams become more pervasive, driving down the number of fares they earn in a day.

I do ask more money than be-fore, said one taxi driver. If pas-sengers give what I ask, I make more money. If the passenger bargains me

down, I dont go lower than the old price. So on the whole, I make more money.

The gouging habit seems to have spread among cabbies who know which destinations are the most con-gested, or likely to be subject to flood-ing in a downpour.

Passengers fear the practice is be-ing institutionalised.

At first they just asked for a lit-tle more, but then they started asking for more. We know the shortest route, and how much it should cost. But we have to pay what they ask, because we need them, said Ko Maung Myo of South Okkalapa township.

Two weeks ago, Phay Phay May May company announced that it would introduce a taxi call centre of-fering fixed fares, starting later this month.

According to this system, the company would survey the routes and set an appropriate fare. But the drivers have to agree, said U Hla Aung.

A taxi driver and a passenger chat during a ride. Photo: Staff

Taxi drivers say traffic and rain forces fare increaseAYE

NYEINWIN

ayenyeinwin.mcm@gmail.com

We rely on taxis when it rains, but that doesnt mean weve got lots of money. We just want to get home early.

Ko Zaw Htun Reluctant taxi passenger

9BUSINESS EDITOR: Jeremy Mullins | jeremymullins7@gmail.com

Exchange Rates (June 8 close)Currency Buying Selling

EuroMalaysia RingittSingapore DollarThai BahtUS Dollar

K1217K294K807

K32.5K1112

K1237K302K820

K34.5K1114

India considers compensation demand after noodle scare

Cambodias Europe duty-free access under scrutiny

BUSINESS 10 BUSINESS 11

TRADEMARK CAUTION

Federal Express Corporation, a Company incorporated and existing under the laws of the United States of America, and having its registered office at 3620 Hacks Cross Road, 3rd Floor, Building B, Memphis, Tennessee 38125, the United States of America, here by declares that the Company is the Owner and Sole Proprietor of the following Trademark.

THE WORLD ON TIMEReg. No. IV/6442/2015 (20 May 2015)

The above trademark is used in respect of pick-up, transportation, storage and delivery of documents, packages and freight by land and air in International Class 39.

Any fraudulent imitation or unauthorized use of the above mark or other infringements whatsoever will be dealt with according to law.

Daw Thit Thit Kyaw, (H.G.P.)For Federal Express Corporation,c/o BM Myanmar Legal Services Limited (Baker & McKenzie)# 1206, 12th Floor, Sakura Tower,339 Bogyoke Aung San Road,Kyauktada Township, Yangon, The Republic of the Union of Myanmar.Dated: 9 June 2015

Skyscrapers are moving to the suburbs. Work is seen under way at a project near Parami Hotel in Mayangone township.

IN PICTURES

Photo: Zarni Phyo

INDIAs ambassador to Myanmar told the story of Ganesha, the elephant-headed deity and remover of obsta-cles, at the launch of the first Indian insurance representative office in My-anmar late on June 7.

New India Assurance became the second Indian financial sector state-owned enterprise to open an office in Yangon within a week, joining the State Bank of India. Together, they represent the growing presence of Indias financial sector in Myanmar, said Gautam Mukhopadhaya, Indian ambassador to Myanmar.

This is a homecoming for us. In the past we were one of the largest insurance companies in this coun-try, said chair and managing direc-tor of New India Assurance G Srini-vasan during the launch at the Sule Shangri-La Hotel, Yangon.

New India Assurance opened in 1919 and has a presence in 27 coun-tries worldwide. It is the largest non-life insurance company in India and has an AAA rating from domestic ratings agency CRISIL, a Standard & Poors company.

The 100 percent state-owned com-pany is the first government-owned insurance firm to open an office in Myanmar, according to deputy fi-nance minister Dr Maung Maung Thein.

Trade and investment statistics

between Myanmar and India may not be that impressive yet, said Mr Mukhopadhaya. Bilateral trade stands at US$2 billion and invest-ment at $500 million, he said. But [these figures are] growing very rap-idly. We hope to be able to achieve $3 billion within a short time, maybe within this year.

He said the relatively low fig-ures are largely due to a hiatus in relations over the past 50 years. In other words, he added, many countries with higher investment and trade figures are much more saturated in their economic rela-tionship with Myanmar, whereas

Indias is only just beginning. India is taking a number of initia-

tives that will mature in the next one to three years, to boost both trade and investment between the two countries, said Mr Mukhopadhaya.

Once the trilateral highway is complete and the trade infrastruc-ture on the border [between Myan-mar and India] is upgraded, border trade can be a major contributor. We have started a direct shipping service which will also contribute to trade, and in the latest budget the govern-ment earmarked a fund for invest-ment in Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam, he said.

The greater the presence of our fi-nancial sector in Myanmar the greater the possibility of being able to lever-age and utilise this fund for Indian investment here, and the greater the possibility channeling Indian invest-ment to Myanmar, he added. Further-more, the Indian embassy is planning to organise a Myanmar investment road show to India later this year.

New India Assurance is the 17th foreign insurance representative of-fice to open in Myanmar within three years. The government has recently issued provisional underwriting li-cences to three foreign insurers to operate at Thilawa special economic zone, according to Dr Maung Maung Thein. These include Mitsui Sumito-mo Insurance Company Limited and Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Insurance.

That is just the beginning of the beginning, there are many more things coming, he said.

New India Assurance launch shows growing ties: ambassadorSHWEGU THITSARkhaingsabainyein@gmail.comCLARE HAMMONDclarehammo@gmail.com

MYANMARS state-owned My-anmar Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE) came in second-last in a survey covering the transparency of 45 large state-owned enterprises around the world.

The firm finished just ahead of Turkmenistans Turkmengaz, ac-cording to a survey conducted by the New York-based Natural Re-source Governance Institute, the results of which were discussed in Yangon last week ahead of the re-ports official launch.

MOGE failed to publish or in-completely published the amount they are producing and what their balance is. That made their rank-ing worse, said Patrick Heller, head of legal and economic programs at Natural Resource Governance Insti-tute, at the event last week.

MOGE officials have declined to comment on the ranking when con-tacted on the issue.

Mr Heller said natural resources is often the most corrupt sector, adding it is important Myanmar employs managerial-level staff based on their skills and merit, rather than for political expedi-ency. These departments must also be properly audited by independent civil organisations, and that parlia-ment has a large degree of control over state firms.

A bid to bring transparency to

the extractive industry sector has been a central piece of ongoing gov-ernment reform.

In July 2014, Myanmar has been recognised as a candidate of the Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI), a global standard to promote open and accountable management of natural resources.

Stakeholders have been working to prepare the first EITI-compliant report for January 2016.

If Myanmar becomes compli-ant with the standard, Myanmars state-owned extractive companies must publicly show their income, spending and money flows to the public.

The resource industries must be carefully managed, as resources have their limit, said Mr Patrick.

The Natural Resource Govern-ance Institute list did not survey any other state-owned enterprises in Myanmar, though there are at least eight others currently operat-ing in resources.

In the survey, Norways state oil and gas company Statoil and Mexi-can firm Pemex received first and second place respectively.

MOGE is the domestic oil and gas industrys main player.

Myanmar held a high-profile round of bidding for offshore and onshore energy blocks last year. The bidding drew a number of high-profile energy companies, though the blocks are still years away from being developed.

The local and international bid winners have now mostly signed production sharing contracts with MOGE, and are now beginning en-vironmental and social surveys.

MOGE comes second-last in transparencyKYAW PHONE KYAWk.phonekyaw@gmail.com

The greater the presence of our financial sector in Myanmar the greater the possibility of being able to leverage and utilise this fund for Indian investment here.

Gautam Mukhopadhaya Indian ambassador to Myanmar

INDIAS government is preparing to seek damages from Nestle after a food scare involving excessive lead in its hugely popular Maggi noodles sparked a nationwide recall, an official said yesterday.

The consumer affairs ministry is to seek an undisclosed amount of com-pensation from the Swiss giant for false advertising after the food safety regulator branded the noodles un-safe and hazardous.

Ministry deputy secretary GC Rout said the case would be filed in the Na-tional Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, a semi-judicial body that can levy fines against companies.

We are going to file a case against Nestle and are presently collecting the material for the case, Mr Rout said, adding the minimum amount that could be sought was 10 million rupees (US$156,000).

There are sections of the con-sumer protection act that empower state and central governments to file a case in the larger interest of the consumers.

A Nestle spokesperson said the company was not willing to comment as it had not yet seen the case.

The Food Safety and Standards Au-thority of India (FSSAI) banned Nestle on June 5 from making and selling the noodles after tests by some states found lead levels above statutory limits.

Nestle, which denies the charges and says the noodles are safe to eat, had already announced it was pulling

the product from sale as it seeks to contain growing safety concerns.

At least six states including Indias capital have announced temporary bans on the sale of the instant noodles in the past few days, after officials said test results showed high lead levels.

The case came as the FSSAI an-nounced yesterday it was ordering testing of other brands of noodles as well as packet pasta amid growing concerns over the food safety scare.

FSSAI said the 33 products made

by nine companies including Nestle India and ITC (Indian Tobacco Com-pany) will be tested for lead, arsenic and 19 other substances.

Nestle global chief executive Paul Bulcke said on June 5 its noodles were safe for consumption after flying into India to try to reassure consum-ers over the safety scare.

Nestle has been selling its Maggi brand for over three decades in India, and has 80 percent of the countrys in-stant noodle market. AFP

10 Business THE MYANMAR TIMES JUNE 9, 2015

TRADE MARK CAUTION

NOTICE is hereby given that Fila Luxembourg S..r.L a Company incorporated in Luxembourg and having its principal office at 26, Boulevard Royal L-2449, Luxembourg is the Owner and Sole Proprietor of the following trademarks:-

(Reg: No. IV/592/2008) (Reg: No. IV/593/2008)

(Reg: Nos. IV/4149/1995 & IV/591/2008)The above three trademarks are in respect of:-Spectacles, frames adapted for spectacles; scientific, nautical photographic, cinematographic and optical apparatus and instruments and timepieces in Intl Class: 9Clothing footwear, headgear, in particular for sports in Class: 25 for registration number 4149/1995.

Any fraudulent imitation or unauthorized use of the said trademarks or other infringements whatsoever will be dealt with according to law.

U Kyi Win Associates for Fila Luxembourg S..r.L P.O. Box No. 26, Yangon.Phone: 372416 Dated: 9th June, 2015

SMALL BUSINESS

STREET commerce, naturally, de-clines during the rainy season. Few people want to sit at a stall and slurp noodles, or search for shirts and sun-glasses, during a downpour.

Yet vendors say it is street newspa-per sales that can be the hardest hit.

Newspapers are easily affected by the rain, and care must be taken that they are covered in the event of a downpour. This is easy enough for stalls, but considerably more difficult for roving vendors who sell at bus sta-tions or traffic lights.

U Nyi Nyi, a resident of Hlaing Tharyar townships, sells his journals at Dhammazedi traffic light in Bahan township.

He purchases the papers from a wholesaler and then sells them with a mark-up to idling traffic.

The rainy season always destroys papers. We try to cover newspapers, and we order newspapers that are proven sellers, because when it rains we cannot display new titles easily, he said.

In the rainy season, people stick with the old standbys. In the summer, we can show new titles and see if peo-ple want to buy them.

Still, the weather is secondary to the quality of the issue. U Nyi Nyi says he buys more papers for resale when it contains items he reckons may be of more interest to readers.

We think about the current news situation first, he said. If theres some hot news that comes out in the rainy season, we still buy more papers.

Others change where they sell newspapers with the beginning of the rains.

U Myint Soe is a resident of North Dagon township but sells papers in Bahan township.

He stops selling on the streets and moves to a Bahan taxi station when the rain starts, as he is much less likely to make a sale during the rainy season.

In the rainy season, few people make purchases and I have much more luck with taxi drivers, he said. Our business declines by one-third now compared with other seasons.

There are other factors affect-ing the seasonality of the newspa-per business.

English Premier Leauge football generally lasts from late August to the end of May, coinciding with the best time to sell football journals and publications.

U Myint Soe said it is a learned trick to protect newspapers, and as a veteran of the trade, he rarely ends up with destroyed papers. He also aug-ments his newspaper sales by flog-ging betel and cigarettes, which have more constant custom.

Other newspaper sellers have dif-ferent demands on their time.

Ko Naing, a 13-year-old, sells newspapers at Tarmwe township traf-fic light.

I sell only in the summers when school is closed, so Ive never

experienced newspaper sales in the rainy season, he said. In the sum-mer, sales are good.

While the most visible newspaper sellers are on the streets or moving car to car, others specialise in home delivery. Some agents distribute more than one newspaper.

Ko Tu, a resident of South Ok-kalapa township, said home delivery requests do not drop off in the rainy season, but he has the additional challenge of keeping his papers dry.

In the rainy season we face challenges in delivering newspa-pers without getting them wet, he said. Transportation is also one of the key factories making the busi-ness difficult.

Streetside newspaper sales are a little trickier in the rainy season. Photo: Staff

Weather weighs on the sidewalk newspaper trade

MYAT NOE OO

myatnoe.mcm@gmail.com

CHINESE authorities are investi-gating a top executive of the coun-trys largest coal producer Shenhua, the company said, the latest sus-pected criminal case involving an official of a major state-owned firm.

Hong Kong-listed China Shen-hua Energy Co (CSEC) said senior vice president Hao Gui is being in-vestigated by judicial authorities, according to a statement to the stock exchange issued on June 7.

It gave no details but said Mr Hao was unable to properly per-form his duties.

The board of directors of the company will make [a] further de-cision on the matter according to the progress of the investigation, it said, adding the listed unit was informed of the probe by parent Shenhua Group Corp.

Mr Hao is also the vice general manager of the parent firm.

China has launched investiga-tions into executives of several state-owned enterprises with Zhou Yongkang, the former security chief and previously head of oil major China National Petroleum Corpora-tion among the most high-profile.

Chinese President Xi Jinping launched a much-publicised drive against corruption after he came to power more than two years ago, vowing to target both high-level ti-gers and low-ranking flies.

CSEC said production and op-eration remain normal and unaf-fected.

Investors were unmoved by the news. In afternoon trading, CSEC was up 1.99 percent in Hong Kong and 2.21pc higher in Shanghai where it is also listed.

AFP

China graft probe catches coal exec

BEIJING

NEW DELHI

India seeks damages with noodles

An Indian shopkeeper removes packets of Nestle Maggi instant noodles from the shelves in his shop in Siliguri on June 5. Photo: AFP

International Business 11www.mmtimes.com

CHINESE imports fell for a seventh straight month in May while exports also sank, according to official data yesterday, as the worlds second-biggest economy shows protracted weakness even in the face of government easing measures.

The disappointing figures also come as leaders try to transform the econo-my from one where growth is driven by consumer spending rather than by gov-ernment investment and exports.

Imports slumped 17.6 percent year on year to US$131.26 billion, the Gen-eral Administration of Customs said in a statement.

The decline was much sharper than the median forecast of a 10pc fall in a Bloomberg News poll of economists and followed Aprils 16.2pc drop.

The May trade data ... suggest both external and domestic demand remain weak, said Julian Evans-Pritchard, an analyst with research firm Capital Eco-nomics, in a note.

Exports dropped for the third con-secutive month, falling 2.5pc to $190.75 billion, Customs said, although that was better than the median estimate of a 4pc fall in the Bloomberg survey. The sharp decrease in imports meant the trade surplus expanded 65.6pc year-on-year to $59.49 billion, according to the data. In yuan terms imports fell 18.1pc and exports decreased 2.8pc.

The figures provided further evi-dence that frailty in the Chinese econ-omy, a key driver of world growth, has extended into the current quarter de-spite intensified government stimulus measures.

Gross domestic product (GDP) grew 7.4pc in 2014, the lowest rate in nearly a quarter of a century, while the new year has shown few signs of a reversal in the slowing trend.

AFP

Chinese weakness continues in May

BEIJING

PHNOM PENH

THE European Union is increasingly scrutinising abuse of its Everything But Arms treaty with Cambodia, un-derscoring both the importance of the zero-tariff agreement to the king-doms economy and the potential for its misuse.

Under the EBA, least-developed countries (LDCs) such as Cambodia export all goods except for weapons duty-free to the European market. Myanmar also receives duty-free access to Europe under the program.

Thanks to the EBA and similar trea-ties, Cambodia enjoys one of the most important advantages to neighbouring countries such as China, Thailand and Vietnam, said Hiroshi Suzuki, presi-dent of the Business Research Institute of Cambodia.

Jean-Franois Cautain, ambassa-dor of the EU in Cambodia, said in a statement that the EBAs purpose was to help Cambodia and other LDCs bet-ter integrate into the global market which comes at a cost to European tax collectors.

For a total of 3 billion euros (US$2.7 billion) that Cambodia exported to the EU last year, member states lose a com-bined amount of circa 250 million eu-ros on imported duty tax, he said.

The interest of the EU is to ensure compliance with the regulations that frame EBA.

In Cambodias rice sector, fears that cheap rice from neighbouring coun-tries is being mixed with Cambodian rice exports to benefit illegitimately from the EBA have recently led the Ministry of Commerce to take action.

A May 11 letter from the ministry said surprise inspections would be launched into rice millers to investi-gate the issue, while certificates of ori-gin would not be issued to violators.

David Van, senior adviser to the Cambodia Rice Federation, said the Ministrys move should help stave off concerns by taking preventative meas-ures before formal complaints are filed.

I absolutely have no clue if it is go-ing to be efficient or not, but at least what the ministry is showing is that they are taking a proactive stance to demonstrate to the EU that they are not just sitting and waiting.

According to Mr Van, there have been no recent proven cases of EBA abuses when it came to rice exports.

But that is not the case for another Cambodian industry.

Last month, the European Commis-sion said it uncovered a scheme under which Chinese-sourced bikes were be-ing exported to Europe through Cam-bodia to circumvent an anti-dumping duty imposed on China in 2013.

In response, the Commission slapped 48.5 percent import duties on

Cambodian bicycle imports, save for three companies it found to have been exporting legitimately.

The companies affected by the du-ties have to wait for one year before they can have their exemption requests

reviewed by the EU, according to the Commission.

The investigation also revealed that local authorities in Cambodia and other countries that were inspected do not carry out cross checks between the

Chinese export statistics and respective local import statistics.

Ministry of Commerce spokesper-son Ken Ratha said he could not cur-rently elaborate on the bicycle scheme in detail, although he said the ministry was now collecting information on bi-cycle producers potentially affected by the duties.

Lets see how much impact [the duties] have on those companies.

However, for the industry which benefits the most from the EBA, in-stances of companies abusing the agree-ment are uncommon, said Ken Loo, secretary general of the Garment Manu-facturers Association of Cambodia.

Since the Cambodian government allows garment firms to import raw materials duty-free as long as they are re-exported after processing, numer-ous checkpoints are already in place.

Because of this duty exemption at the point of import for raw materials, theres a lot of inspection going on, Mr Loo said, adding that the EU annually inspected garment factories to ensure they complied with the EBA.

Cambodian garment exports also benefited greatly from a loosening of EBA certificate of origin requirements in 2011, allowing the heavily import-de-pendent industry to massively increase its benefit from the deal.

AFP

Cambodias EU access under threat

A Cambodian man makes a bulk delivery.

Photo: AFP

12 International Business THE MYANMAR TIMES JUNE 9, 2015

AS a schoolgirl in Manila, Vilma Fe-tesio would stand at the dock each month with her brother and other children, waiting for boatmen to bring them money from their par-ents on other islands. Sometimes, in rough weather, the boats didnt come.

We waited at the port the whole afternoon, at times the whole day, said Ms Fetesio, now 42 and a teach-er back on her native Culion island. During the typhoon season when no boats sailed, some of us would go hungry.

Culion, a days journey across the South China Sea from the capital, once housed the worlds largest lep-er colony and was called the land of no return. Its one of 604 munici-palities in the Philippines that dont have a bank, a deficit the monetary authority is trying to overcome by encouraging the adoption of mo-bile phone transactions. Reaching the 78 million Filipinos who dont yet use their mobiles for payments may yield about US$2 billion in additional monthly transactions, according to Bloomberg estimates based on data from the central bank and telecom firms.

Its expensive to reach the un-banked, to know them, to under-stand them, develop products for them, said Pia Bernadette Roman-Tayag, head of inclusive finance ad-

vocacy at Bangko Sentral ng Pilipi-nas. Technology is narrowing that cost.

There are no banks in more than a third of the countrys 1600 cities and municipalities, from the moun-tainous Kibungan town north of Manila to the Turtle Islands in the southern-most province of Tawi-Ta-wi. In contrast, the ratio of mobile SIM cards to the Philippine popula-tion was 114 percent last year, high-er than the 95pc global average.

If you go to the mountains, you wont find an armoured truck, said Lorenzo Tan, president of Bank-ers Association of the Philippines, the countrys largest group of lend-ers. The only way you can transfer money is through your phone.

About 50 million Filipinos, or three-quarters of the countrys

adults, dont have a bank account. That compares with about one-fifth in Malaysia and Thailand, accord-ing to the World Bank. Most are poor farmers or live in remote parts of the 7000-island archipelago. In their cash-based economy, many turn to pawn brokers or loan sharks who advance money against land or jewellery and charge interest of up to 20pc a month.

Its a huge market at the bottom of the pyramid, said Rob Nazal, chief development officer at BPI Globe BanKO, or BanKO, which had more than 1 million electronic bank accounts last year. There are so many barriers to traditional bank-ing.

The Philippines is seeking to rep-licate the success of models includ-ing M-PESA in Kenya and bKash in Bangladesh. In the Philippines, it is the central bank thats leading the charge. Bangko Sentral allowed banks and mobile services com-panies to offer mobile-banking ac-counts in 2009, and by 2014 there were 27 million of them, more than half the 45 million traditional bank deposit accounts in the country.

BanKO, a venture of Ayala Groups Globe Telecom and Bank of the Philippine Islands, was the first to offer a mobile-payments service. Telecom firm Smart Communica-tions, part of the Metro Pacific In-

vestments, offers remittances and bill payments via mobile.

There were 217 million mobile-phone transactions in the Philip-pines in 2013, worth $692 million a month, a 64pc rise in value from 2010, central bank data showed.

Now, central bank Governor Amando Tetangco plans to expand the system with the introduction of a national mobile-phone payment gateway this year as the centerpiece of the banks financial inclusion pro-gram. The plan will be unveiled July 1.

The expansion helps bring more money into the formal banking system, which can mobilise funds quicker and more efficiently, said Peter U, dean at the University of Asia and the Pacific School of Eco-nomics in Manila. Funds from the unbanked can be put to more pro-ductive uses like lending to indus-tries or small enterprises.

On Culion, where the US-built leper colony was finally converted to a municipality in 1995 after 89 years, Ms Fetesio now sends money to her children studying in Manila via her mobile phone. They can withdraw it within minutes at an agent in the city.

My son and daughter dont have to wait at the port like I did, Ms Fetesio said. It helps me sleep at night. Bloomberg

MANILABANGKOK

Philippines takes to mobiles to make money payments

MILLION

50Number of Filipinos without a bank

account about three quarters of the adult population.

THAI property prospects remain promising with the imminent arrival of regional economic integration at the end of the year.

But political stability, greater com-petitiveness, clear-cut regulations and an agile government are vital compo-nents for drawing foreign investment to the Thai real estate market, say property consultants.

Alastair Hughes, chief executive of property consultant Jones Lang La-Salle Asia-Pacific, says international investors like certainty. They will al-ways consider stable government and clear laws. If Thailand can ensure political stability with a new constitu-tion [in place], foreign investors will not hesitate to resume their property investment, Mr Hughes said.

According to the Bank of Thai-lands figures, foreign direct invest-ment (FDI) in the real estate sector which includes residential property, commercial property, hotel projects, industrial estates, healthcare facilities, leisure groups and infrastructure re-mained in the doldrums in the first quarter of 2015, falling 40.6 percent year-on-year to US$169.8 million.

Full-year FDI in real estate fell to $1.34 billion in 2014 from $1.55 billion in 2013. The Bangkok Post

Thai property counts on ASEAN

International Business 13www.mmtimes.com

JAPAN posted stronger-than-expected growth in the first quarter as a pick-up in capital spending powered the worlds number-three economy, but some economists warned that the re-covery could be short-lived.

The 1.0pc expansion in January-March or 3.9pc on an annualised basis was sharply up from an initial estimate of 0.6pc growth, according to the Cabinet Office figures.

The upbeat data is good news for Tokyos efforts to boost the economy, but household spending remains stub-bornly weak as the Bank of Japan struggles to push up prices in a bid to end decades of deflation.

Despite wage rises at big firms and a tighter labour market, convinc-ing people to splash out on consumer goods has been a struggle after Japan raised sales taxes last year to help pay down a huge national debt.

The rise hammered consumer spending and pushed the economy into a brief recession. Japan limped out of the red in the last three months of 2014 with yesterdays surprise fig-ures offering some hope for better times ahead.

The figures show the Japanese economy is gradually heading for re-covery, said Credit Suisse economist Takeshi Saito.

Corporate investment rose 2.7pc from the previous quarter, well above an initial 0.4pc expansion.

The growth figures were in line with the Bank of Japans assessment that the economy was on the upswing, and may delay any further central bank stimulus.

At the moment, [the Bank of Japan] is less likely to introduce another round of monetary easing, Mr Saito said.

However, bank chief Haruhiko Kuroda has been forced to push back a timeline for hitting a 2.0pc inflation target a cornerstone of Prime Minister Shinzo Abes plan to kickstart the deflation-plagued economy although he insists that healthy price rises are around the corner.

In Asian forex trading, the dol-lar was slightly lower at 125.44 yen, against 125.56 yen on May 5 in New York where the US currency climbed briefly to a 13-year high of 125.86 yen.

The data yesterday contrasted

with revised US figures that showed the worlds top economy contracted an annualised 0.7pc in the first three months of the year, with the impact of a ports slowdown and cautious con-sumer spending worse than originally estimated.

The US is a major market for Japa-nese exporters and despite the appar-ent strength of yesterdays figures, they also raised a red flag as firms inventories grew from three months earlier.

This [inventory buildup] implies that the underlying pace of demand was not nearly as strong as the head-line suggests, Marcel Thieliant from Capital Economics said in a commen-tary, adding that consumer spending and industrial output remained lack-lustre.

We ... expect a sharp slowdown in GDP growth in Q2.

Separate data yesterday showed Japans current-account surplus made a six-fold jump to 1.32 trillion yen (US$10.5 billion) in April, thanks to an improving trade picture and buoyant returns on company investments.

AFP

ISRAEL has invited the head of Frances Orange group to visit and explain his plan to review ties with a local telecoms firm that has stirred a boycott row, a government official said on June 7.

The telecoms giant reacted swiftly, saying it welcomed the in-vitation and that its CEO, Stephane Richard, would travel to the Jewish state soon, as both sides seek to defuse the row.

The trip would allow Mr Rich-ard to clarify the misunderstand-ing, a spokesperson said.

He said the CEO would provide all the necessary precisions to put an end to this controversy and reaf-firm the groups commitment.

The governments invitation was the latest stage in the controversy which erupted last week when Mr Richard said in Cairo that his firm sought to withdraw its brand from Israel. The country reacted furi-ously, accusing him of bowing to a Palestinian-led boycott campaign.

Mr Richard quickly tried to limit the damage, insisting there was no political motivation and saying on the weekend that he sincerely re-grets the furore. His remarks were dismissed by Partner, Israels second-largest mobile operator which has a licence to use the Orange brand.

Denouncing his remarks as a smokescreen, the firm demanded Mr Richard explain himself in per-son on June 6.

Mr Richard was understood to be seeking a meeting with Yossi Gal, Israels ambassador to France, but the envoy had been instructed to decline, an Israeli government