BG Group and Australia’s Woodside Energy Ltd to commence offshore exploration work
UK-based BG Group (BG) and Australia’s Woodside Energy Ltd (Woodside) will commence offshore exploration before the end of November 2015. BG will undertake 3D seismic surveys in blocks A-4 and AD-2 in the Rakhine basin off the western coast of Myanmar. Woodside will carry out 3D seismic surveys with a Ramform Titan vessel in deep water block AD-5 and shallow water block A-7. The first stage of the exploration process is expected to last until mid-April 2016. The joint venture partners were awarded the right to exploration and production activities in the two shallow water and two deepwater blocks in 2013. The two companies have committed to invest more than US$1 billion across the four blocks over a six-to-eight-year exploration period. (Source: http://www.mmtimes.com/index.php/business/17687-bg-group-and-woodside-to-start-offshore-exploration.html, 19 November 2015)
Centralised rubber market to be established at Mawlamyine
Myanmar’s first centralised rubber market to be established at Mawlamyine in Mon State. The Government has identified rubber as a key commodity in Myanmar’s National Export Strategy. Mon State is the country’s top rubber producer. The market will be constructed on Ministry of Commerce-owned land, and will be jointly managed by the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation, and the Myanmar Rubber Planters and Producers Association (MRPPA). The new market will be based on an MRPPA study of rubber markets in Thailand. The construction is expected to commence in 2016. Myanmar is currently applying for membership at the Malaysia-based International Rubber Association. Myanmar’s rubber growers have struggled to produce high-quality products. (Source: http://www.mmtimes.com/index.php/business/17536-rubber-market-to-be-built-in-mawlamyine.html, 11 November 2015)
Marsh Singapore establishes Myanmar representative office
Marsh Singapore (Marsh), a wholly owned subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan Companies, has opened a representative office in Yangon. Marsh’s Yangon representative office will conduct market research and feasibility studies for insurance broking business in Myanmar, and provide business support and liaison activities on behalf of Marsh’s businesses. According to Mr Martin South, Chief Executive Officer of Marsh Asia-Pacific, Marsh is “well-positioned to play [its] role in further stimulating the economy and enabling businesses to leverage on our extensive experience and network to manage their risks, and achieve operational excellence and business success.” (Source: http://asia.marsh.com/hongkong/PressReleases/ID/45418/Marsh-Singapore-Yangon-Representative-Office-Opens-in-Myanmar.aspx , 30 October 2015)
South Korea’s LS Cable wins transmission cable contract from the Ministry of Electric Power
South Korea’s LS Cable & System Private Ltd (LS Cable) has entered into a US$13 million purchasing agreement with the Ministry of Electric Power (MEP). Pursuant to the agreement the MEP will purchase up to half of its annual cable requirements from LS Cable’s Vietnamese subsidiary. The agreement is the result of a tender process which attracted submissions from Chinese and Indonesian firms. LS Cable said that due to its price competitiveness it has the potential to become the MEP’s sole transmission cables provider in the future. (Source: http://www.thuraswiss.com/update/myanmar-news-database, 29 October 2015)
Lotte E&C and Halla Corporation seek to develop Yangon expressway
South Korean construction conglomerates Lotte E&C and Halla Corporation will enter into a joint venture with local company Capital Diamond Star Group to develop the new US$620 million Yangon Urban Expressway Development (Expressway Development). The Expressway Development will consist of an elevated 20.5-kilometre four-lane highway to run from Bogyoke Aung San Road and Yay Kyaw junction in downtown Yangon, to Mingalardon Garden to the north of the city. The South Korean Government owned Expressway Corporation is the project operator. The joint venture partners have already submitted a project proposal to the Myanmar Ministry of Construction. The Expressway Development is a public private partnership project and part of the Urban Transport Plan for Greater Yangon. The Myanmar Government will contribute 20% of the project costs. It is expected to take five years to complete. (Source: http://www.mmtimes.com/index.php/business/17382-korea-myanmar-group-proposes-620m-yangon-expressway.html, 5 November 2015)
Norfund to take a 25% share in Myanmar Finance International Ltd
The Norwegian Investment Fund for Developing Countries (Norfund) has agreed to take a 25% share in Myanmar Finance International Ltd (MFIL), a new joint venture company which will be one of Myanmar’s first commercial-scale microfinance operators. Myanmar Investments International Ltd and Myanmar Finance Co. Ltd will each take a 37.5% share in the new company. Norfund will contribute US$1.4 million of MFIL’s total initial capital of US$5 million. Norfund is a financial development institution established by the Norwegian Government to combat poverty in selected countries through private sector development. Norfund specialises in equity and debt micro-financing. Myanmar’s microfinance sector is still in its infancy. Only about 5% of the Myanmar’s population have bank accounts. (Source: http://www.frontiermyanmar.net/en/norfund-invests-myanmar-microfinance-joint-venture, 17 November 2015)
Myanmar Investment Commission to delegate power to state authorities
The Department for National Planning and Economic Development has announced that proposed amendments to the Myanmar Citizen Investment Law and the Foreign Investment Law will allow the Myanmar Investment Commission to delegate power to regional authorities. Local approval of foreign investments is expected to speed up the approvals process and expedite regional economic development. The delegation of power will be in relation to certain investments only and will be subject to certain restrictions such as the security-related restriction contained in the existing Foreign Investment Law prohibiting foreign companies from investing within 10 miles of Myanmar’s borders. A key assessment criterion is whether or not a particular investment will create job opportunities locally. (Source: http://www.mmtimes.com/index.php/business/17688-myanmar-investment-commission-to-delegate-power-to-state-authorities.html, 19 November 2015)
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