MyanmarEleven, July 24, 2014

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NATIONAL: UN ENVOY STRANDED BY LANDSLIDE ✪2

First INDEPENDENT English daily www.elevenmyanmar.com

WEDNESDAY, July 23, 2014

Myanmar tourists spark second boom

INSIDE NATIONAL

As inbound tourism grows, domestic travel is expanding fast and local airlines are spreading their wings

Myanmar steps up effort to contain malaria ✪2 BUSINESS

Govt to construct more low-cost housings ✪5

EPA

ASEAN+ Visitors view items displayed in a shop at BoGyoke Aung San Market, a major bazaar in central Yangon, attracting tourists with arts, crafts, gems and jewellery and other traditional products, in Yangon.

MYANMAR ELEVEN THE TOURISM INDUSTRY is apparently the biggest winner of the country’s reopening, as the number of domestic travellers is growing in tandem with the number of foreign visitors.

“Myanmar people now like travelling. In the previous tourism season, they visited famous places like Chaungtha and Ngwesaung beaches, Shwe Set Taw, Ah Laungdaw Kathapha and Kyaikhteeyoe pagodas as well as Taunggyi, Inlay Lake and Bagan. The numbers are now increasing,” said Than Htay, chairman of the Domestic Pilgrimage and Tour Entrepreneurs’ Association.

In 2011 before the formation of the quasi-civilian government, domestic tour services slumped.

The industry has bounced back vigorously. Last summer season, there were 4.5 million local travellers, up from 3.5 million in 2012.

Tour companies are now planning packages to Loikaw in Kayah State, Thantaung and Myainggyingu regions in Kayin State.

“Although it is now rainy season, the central regions hardly get rain. Some travellers used to

go to the upper regions because the roads are in good condition.

Now, we also go to Kyaikhteesaung pagoda in Mon State,” said Than Htay, a tour operator.

Taunggyi, Inlay Lake, Pintaya, Bagan, Poppa, Ah Laungtaw Kathapha, Shwe Set Taw, Kyaikhteeyoe pagodas and Chaungtha beach are high on the list of destinations for domestic travel agencies.

There is no figure on domestic tourism spending, however.

The Ministry of Hotels and Tourism last month maintained a target of 3 million foreign tourists this year, saying their total spending would surpass US$1 billion.

The number of foreign visitors was 1.05 million in 2012 and about 2.04 million in 2013, generating revenue of $534 million in 2012 and $926 million last year. The ministry said that 85 per cent of the revenue goes to citizens, as it creates jobs.

Tourism-related jobs could rise from about 300,000 in 2012 to about 1.5 million in 2020. This year, the number of hotel rooms is projected to surpass 40,000, up from 34,834 last year. Openings of new four and fivestar hotels in Yangon will include a

Hilton, Rose Garden Hotel, The State House and Novotel Yangon Max, while in Nay Pyi Taw, the Best Western Premier the Grand will open.

The industry is set to grow further thanks to the construction of new roads linking the country with Thailand, which produced about 60 per cent of total foreign visitors. One of the planned roads will link Loikaw with Mae Hong Son. To facilitate transportation within the country, the Ministry of Construction recently borrowed $300 million from China to upgrade the Mon-Taninthayi Road, which links the southern and northern parts of the country.

This coincides with expansion of local airlines. Myanmar Airways International will begin regular flights to Japan and South Korea in October as well as flights to the United Arab Emirates next year. With a fleet of seven aircraft, it now flies to Bangkok, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Guangzhou, Siem Reap and Phnom Penh.

Budget-carrier Golden Myanmar Airlines is also expanding its charter-flight business for domestic travel. A new ATR aircraft will be purchased

and will be chartered at a cost of US$3,000 per hour. It will also be used to expand the number of domestic flights, the carrier said.

Most of its domestic flights operate from Mandalay, though it also has flights connecting the capital and Mandalay with Yangon. From Mandalay, it flies to the capital, Thandawe, Lashio, Tacheleik, Myikyina and six other cities. On international routes, it flies to Bangkok and Singapore, though flights to Bangkok have been suspended since May. Proving the growing thirst for Myanmar visits, in the first five months of this year, AirAsia saw a 15 per cent increase in passengers on its Bangkok-Yangon route, while the BangkokMandalay route saw a 30 per cent increase year on year.

Nadda Buranasiri, chief executive of Thai AirAsia X, said that over the past two years Myanmar’s tourism industry and investment between Myanmar and Thailand had grown rapidly.

Myanmar and Indochina were two markets AirAsia was focusing on by continuously expanding the number of flight routes and frequency, he added.

Soaring land prices in KL driving developers south ✪11

ART&CULTURE

Exhibit shows a graffiti star in the making ✪12

NATIONAL Myanmar stepping up effort to contain drug-resistant malaria

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MYANMAR ELEVEN, Wednesday, July 23, 2014

UN rights envoy stranded by landslide in Kachin State

A girl reads a pamphlet that explains how to avoid contracting malaria.

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MYANMAR ELEVEN

MYANMAR ELEVEN MYANMAR is stepping up efforts to join the global drive to contain drug-resistant malaria, with a host of new initiatives planned to prevent its spread beyond Southeast Asia where it was first detected in 2009, on the Thai-Cambodia border, public health experts say.

Efforts in Myanmar have also included seeking assistance from the private sector. The Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry, the Myanmar Health and Development Consortium, and The Myanmar Business Coalition on AID hosted the first Malaria Forum on Private Sector Response to Artemisinin Resistance in Myanmar in November last year. A second forum is in the works.

Private sector involvement is considered vital as increased investment in development projects is sparking an increase in

the number of migrant workers in the country, considered the most at-risk group for the spread of drug-resistant malaria.

“With rapid economic growth and increasing foreign direct investment in Myanmar, business and development ventures have attracted large local and foreign labour forces,” the consortium said. “With an increasingly mobile workforce, private employers stand to play a pivotal role in the advancement of public health strategies and policies by reaching populations at risk,” it explained.

At present, the 2nd Global Malaria Action Plan has been developed by the WHO and Roll Back Malaria. In Myanmar, the Ministry of Health, the Myanmar Health and Development Consortium and other organisations are involved in the effort to reduce cases of malaria as well as contain drug-resistant malaria.

Nearly 500,000 people in Myanmar suffer from malaria

each year, with about 1,000 people dying from the disease.

USAID launched a multiyear US$24 million anti-malaria project in Myanmar in 2011. It draws on prevention, treatment and containment models developed in Cambodia. In 2012, funding for that year alone reached $20 million in Myanmar, with about half of this coming from the Global Fund, according to the latest figures from the World Health Organisation.

Aside from the drug-resistant malaria, the country is also focusing on reducing the death rate of children. The Health Department announced recently that it would reduce the death rate among children under five, dying of infectious diseases, to 43 per cent of the current rate next year.

To meet the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goal, it also targets to reduce the death cases of children under one to two thirds.

A convoy carrying the United Nations special envoy for human rights, Yanghee Lee, was stranded on MyitkyinaBhamo road due to a mountain landslide on July 22.

Torrential rains in Kachin State led to the landslide on the road past Khala mountain, in Dotphoneyan Township, blocking the route for two miles all around, according to local drivers.

“I have seen landslides in four places on Khala mountain.

Landslides blocked at the entrance and the exit of the mountain. The mass of land was in a heap twice the size of two houses. Big trees had fallen down,”said driver Zaw Myo Win. Clearing work began immediately but due to the size of the landslide, drivers speculated it would not be finished until later today. Some 70 other cars were also stranded.

“The UN human rights envoy is waiting for the clearing of landslide in Dotphoneyan. I have heard that she may return to Bhamo and the next day will continue her inspecting tour.

The clearing work is still being carried out. Until now, she has not retuned. If the clearing work has not been finished, she may stop over in Bhamo,”said a Kachin government official.

The new envoy arrived in Kachin State on July 21 and met with government officials.

In the afternoon she visited Waingmaw, Thagara and Thayettaw camps for internally

The department stated that about 50,000 children under five died from infectious diseases – dysentery, malaria and pneumonia – per annum.

Of all, dysentery is the most dangerous, causing 25 per cent of the deaths.

Civil society organisations working at refugee camps in conflict areas, also report an

displaced persons (IDPs). In the evening, she proceeded to Bhamo.

On July 22, she visited three IDP camps and the local prison and met with local community organisations. At 2pm her convoy was stranded on her return journey to Myitkyina due to the landslide.

Meteorologists have warned of potential flash-floods and landslides after a combination of heavy monsoon rains and the knock-on effects of Typhoon Rammasun, in the South China Sea, on July 20.

Heavy rain on July 18 and 19 has caused flooding in some areas near the Thandwe River, which swelled to seven feet above the high-water mark, causing some residents to abandon their homes.

“Heavy rain in Putao, Myitkyina, Kani, upper Sagaing and Chin regions as well as rain in lower Myanmar has caused heavy flooding. We have to monitor the situation of river flooding,” said Kyaw Moe Oo, deputy director of the Department of Meteorology and Hydrology.

Residents spoke of heavy rainfall in many parts of lower Myanmar, especially the Ayeyawady delta region prone to seasonal flooding.

Many streets of the commercial capital Yangon were flooded by the rains due to poor drainage, causing long traffic jams and congestion that has become a regular feature during the monsoon months.

increasing number of diarrhea cases due poor hygiene and shortage of clean water.

Challenges to the Health Department’s goal are persisting malnutrition and epidemic diseases in rural areas.

According to Unicef, about 2.5 million infants in Myanmar suffer from hunger and 8 per cent of them die of starvation.

MYANMAR ELEVEN, Wednesday, July 23, 2014

National

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Killer sentenced to death for murder that sparked outrage

NEWS DIGEST NCCT ready for Laiza Conference Delegates from armed ethnic groups under the umbrella Nationwide Ceasefire Coordination Team (NCCT) started preliminary discussions in Laiza, Kachin State on July 22.

The NCCT will be holding a conference on July 24 aimed at discussing the current progress of peace negotiations with the government and resolving key differences in forging a nation-wide ceasefire.

According to delegates, a jointly drafted ceasefire accord with the government’s Union Peace Working Committee is only 70 per cent complete. The remaining issues will be discussed at the Laiza Conference.

Media banned from minister’s graft trial

English language training for teachers

About 30 reporters from local and foreign media groups were banned from the fourth court hearing of ex-religious minister Hsan Sint held in Dhakhina District Court on July 22.

“Local and foreign reporters were banned from covering the news of the fourth court hearing.

Security has been tightened around the court area. The court hearing should be publicised,” said a reporter from a foreign media group.

Hsan Sint was deposed from his position on June 20 before being charged over the misuse of Ks 10 million in public funds.

Journalists were allowed to cover the second court hearing held at Pobbathiri Court, but an unannounced date and venue changes created some confusion and on July 8 an interim court hearing was held banning all reporters from covering the event.

The former minister was reportedly allowed a meeting with family members during the latest hearing.

He has denied any wrongdoing and has suggested that the trial has more to do with politics.

“The case has no transparency at all. It is unnatural for the media to be banned from covering such news. We want the truth,” said MP Khin Maung Win, a representative from Ayeyawady Region.

The fifth court hearing is supposed to be held at Dhakhina District Court on July 29, but considering the high-level of obscurity around the trial reporters say they are uncertain where and when it will take place.

English language training will be given to basic education teachers starting in August, according to the Ministry of Education.

The training will be carried out in cooperation with the British Council and up to 50 foreign volunteer teachers will lecture at 21 education colleges from September 2014 to August 2016.

“Experts from foreign countries will come and train to improve English language skills of basic education teachers. Detailed plans are also being drawn. Places for foreign experts to stay have already been prepared at each college,” said Aung Ba Thein, principal of Magway Education College.

There are weaknesses in the proficiency and learning of English language in local schools, according to a series of government surveys. Officials suggested bringing in foreign experts to help train teachers and school staff to improve English language skills.

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MYANMAR ELEVEN Nay Pyi Taw

Convicted killer Chit Po covers his face under an umbrella while leaving court on June 30.

Wai Linn Aung MYANMAR ELEVEN CHIT Po, 22, has been sentenced to death by the East District Court on July 22 after he was found guilty of murdering a man following a fight.

Chit Po reportedly attacked passer-by Myo Min Oo with a bottle and then stabbed him repeatedly in the chest with the broken glass after they accidentally bumped into each other on a sidewalk on March 15.

Witnesses say that after leaving the crime scene, Chit Po returned half an hour later with a knife to hack at the victim’s head

several times, nearly beheading him.

Although the defendant testified that the murder was not premeditated, court testimonies and evidence from the crime scene indicated that Chit Po had enough time to consider his crime, according to the judge.

“Currently, the country is moving towards a democracy so the rule of law is important. As the local residents felt distressed over this incident, this ruling has been made,” the judge said in his concluding remarks.

Nearly 5,000 residents of Yankin Township staged a protest two weeks after the incident call-

ing on the authorities to sentence Chit Po to the maximum penalty.

The death sentence still needs to be confirmed by the Supreme Court and the defendant can file for an appeal within seven days, according to the judge.

After the ruling, Chit Po asked for permission for a 30-minute consultation with family members. They said they would file an appeal on his behalf.

When he was 16, Chit Po was sentenced to prison for stabbing a Standard 9 student to death on Moe Kaung Road in Yankin Township, according to police records.

Trial of editors, reporters postponed Thet Min MYANMAR ELEVEN A trial implicating the editors and several reporters from the Bi Mon Te Nay Journal has been postponed to August 4, after a preliminary court hearing on Tuesday.

Editors Naing Sai Aung, Aung Thant, Win Tin and Ye Min Aung were charged along with several reporters for a report published on July 7 alleging that that Aung San Suu Kyi and ethnic groups planned to form an interim government.

The story was based on a pamphlet circulated by the Movement for Democracy Current Force – a communitybased activist network. Ko Naung Naung, the pamphlet distributor, is also being charged for false

reporting under the 1950 Emergency Act. “My son wrote the story included in the announcement of the MDCF. The life of a journalist is the news. My son’s writing is not against the government. Is it his false story? He wrote the news as he knew it. In reality, I think press freedom is still distant,” said Khin Aung, father of journalist Min Wa Than who was charged.

The editors were charged and remanded in custody for two weeks since their arrests on July 8 and 9. They will remain in custody until their trial resumes on August 4.

The initial trial lasted only 20 minutes and the defendants were unable to speak to the media.

Htin Kyaw, the father of editor Naing Sai Aung, attended the

trial, but family members of the other two editors and the reporters were not informed about the trial and did not attend it.

Many have criticised the treatment of the accused journalists and their denial of bail as reminiscent of media clampdowns during military rule.

“The Special Branch did not report the arrest of media professionals from Bi Mon Te Nay Journal,” said Than Htay, secretary of Myanmar Journalists Network.

“They did not inform the interim Myanmar Press Council. They expressed no respect for the media law,” he added.

“These manners are the same as those used under the previous military junta,” the secretary of Myanmar Journalists Network added.

Step to end child slavery nears Myanmar will begin implementing the International Labour Organisation’s Convention 182, which calls for the elimination of the worst forms of child labour,

by December, according to the Ministry of Labour.

Myanmar agreed to implement the convention during an ILO conference in Geneva last year, and officials have said implementation will begin by December 18.

The convention calls for the elimination of all types of slavery, including the sale and trafficking of children, forced labour to pay off a debt, any other type of forced labour, including using children in war and armed conflict. It also calls for the elimination of all activities that sexually exploit children, such as prostitution, pornography or pornographic performances, as well as any involvement in illegal activities, especially the production or trafficking of drugs. The convention also calls for the elimination of all work that could damage the health, safety or well being of children.

KYAT EXCHANGE

BUSINESS

Buy

Sell

967

976

1,305

1,322

777

788

US $ Euro ¤ Singapore $ Source: KBZ Bank

4 MYANMAR ELEVEN, Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Govt to construct more low-cost housing units THE MINISTRY OF CONSTRUCTION has announced that the government plans to construct more low-cost housing, subsidising apartment prices to Ks 10 million per apartment.

Deputy Minister for Construction Soe Tint also told Parliament on July 22 that the government would reduce the price of housing for government employees and pensioners.

The government is already involved in various low-cost housing projects together with private companies, he said. The projects will depend on the budget from the Union and state governments, land-plot availability as well as the cooperation of private construction companies, the deputy minister said.

Low-cost housing projects are currently underway in Yangon, Mandalay, Magway and Bago regions. The government located about 230,000 land plots for people, including government employees, between 1990 and 2010.

The government is planning to allocate an additional 100,000 or so land plots in various regions and states, the deputy minister said.

MPs have agreed with government plans to build more low-cost housing units to help reduce surging housing prices.

Min Thiha Zaw MYANMAR ELEVEN Total international has exceeded US$ 7.34 billion between the beginning of the fiscal year in April and July 18, according to the commerce ministry’s preliminary figures.

Imports totalled $4.51 billion while exports were $2.82 billion, with the total trade value jumping $450 million over the same period last year, the ministry said.

Myanmar exports – through both land and sea routes – remain narrow: primarily natural gas, teak, and agricultural and fishery products.

The government, however, is in the process of drafting an export law to increase exports and create jobs. It is also drafting anti-dumping legislation to protect local

businesses from unfair foreign competition. An antidumping law will help deter predatory practices by foreign companies in Myanmar, such as attempting to sell products at prices that are less than the cost of production in order to grab market share from Myanmar firms.

The government is also developing an export strategy that will prioritise goods for export as well as develop key sectors.

Myanmar’s garment industry has seen a surge of domestic and foreign investment over the past two years and it is expected that this labour-intensive industry will become a major player in the global supply chain, rivalling Cambodia and Bangladesh, within three to five years, industry analysts have forecast.

SCG investing US$ 400 million to build cement plant MYANMAR ELEVEN Thailand’s Siam Cement Group is investing US$400 million to construct a cement factory in Mawlamyine Townwhip of Mon State.

The construction of the factory is expected to complete in the middle of 2016.

“The priority we are focusing on at this moment is to manufacture cement,” said Kan Trakulhoon, SCG president and CEO. “Later cement-related products, such as ready mixed concrete and

precast concrete blocks will be added,” he said.

“Myanmar is developing progressively and infrastructure is needed, so the cement market will be good. Investments in the industry and housing construction sectors are increasing, especially in major cities, such as Yangon, Mandalay and Nay Pyi Taw,”Kan said.

He added that the cement factory will use a waste-to-energy system, which will see electricity and heat generated from incineration of waste.

The plant is expected to produce a total of 1.8 million tonnes of cement annually.

SCG has been in Myanmar for more than 20 years and its affiliate, the first ready mixed concrete company Myanmar CPAC Service was established in 1996.

SCG business in Asean markets outside Thailand recorded first quarter sales of Bt10.261 billion (about $32 million), an increase of 24 per cent from the same period last year, accounting for 9 per cent of SCG’s total sales revenue.

Foreign companies to supply jet fuel to Yangon airport MYANMAR ELEVEN The import and supply of jet fuel to Yangon International Airport will done in partnership with foreign companies, according to the Myanmar Petroleum Products Enterprise (MPPE).

MPPE, a state agency under the Ministry of Energy, announced a tender for partnership in the jet-fuel business in June of last year.

More than 20 local and foreign companies have applied.

MPPE, however, decided to join

hands only with foreign companies because they have much more experience in the international oil business, officials with the state agency said.

There are 11 airports in Myanmar requiring aviation fuel. Supply has been unable to meet demand, partially a result in the surge in tourist arrivals, officials have said.

The Pioneer Aerodrome Company, which built Nay Pyi Taw Airport, has applied to be a fuel provider at that arirport, according to MPPE director Myint Tin.

A plane heads towards a refuelling station at Yangon International Airport.

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International trade continues to surge

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MYANMAR ELEVEN

MYANMAR ELEVEN, Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Business

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MAI is expanding service to Japan, Korea in October Shun Lae Win MYANMAR ELEVEN MYANMAR AIRWAYS INTERNATIONAL (MAI) will begin regular flights to Japan and South Korea in October, the carrier said.

Aye Maya Thar, MAI’s marketing and public relations manager,

said it had been selling tickets for flights from Yangon to South Korea since last year through a code-sharing agreement with Korean Air and Korean carrier Asiana Airlines. She said it had also commenced charter flights to South Korea and Japan in February.

MAI also signed an agree-

ment with the United Arab Emirates on March 10 to become the first airline from Myanmar to fly to the UAE. The flights will start next year but the exact date has yet to be announced.

MAI has a fleet of seven 180seat A320 Airbus and two 120seat A319 Airbus jets. Its destina-

tions from Yangon are Bangkok, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Guangzhou, Siem Reap, and Phnom Penh.

MAI announced that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with Japan-based HAMA Inc to set up a joint venture to expand flights between the two countries.

Golden Myanmar eyes charter business

The new ATR 72-600. Golden Myanmar will use the shorthaul craft for charter flights.

Shun Lae Win MYANMAR ELEVEN Budget-carrier Golden Myanmar Airlines says it is expanding its charter-flight business following the purchase of a new short-haul craft from ATR, the French-Italian manufacturer.

Golden Myanmar said it had ordered an ATR 72-600 craft for charter flights. An executive at the carrier put the cost of these

flights at about US$3,000 per hour.

The carrier now flies between 12 cities in Myanmar and has two international routes – YangonBangkok and Yangon-Singapore – with two Airbus A320-200 jets. Its Yangon-Bangkok route, however, has been suspended since May. The suspension followed an accident at Yangon International Airport in April when one of the carrier’s planes hit another while taxiing on the

runway. An official with the civil aviation department said Golden Myanmar’s craft was being towed when the accident occurred.

Golden Myanmar flights between Bangkok and Yangon had cost as little as $57 one way.

The ATR 72-600 craft will be used to expand the number of flights on its domestic routes, as well charter services. Most of its domestic flights operate from Mandalay, though it also has

flights connecting the capital and Mandalay with Yangon. From Mandalay, it flies to the capital, Thandawe, Lashio, Tacheleik, Myikyina and six other cities.

In July 2012 Golden Myanmar became the first public aviation company to register in Myanmar.

Co-operative Bank chairman Khin Maung Aye is its CEO. Khin Maung Aye is also a member of President Thein Sein’s National Economic and Social Advisory Council.

KBZ Bank picks up another award for excellence MYANMAR ELEVEN Kanbawza Bank was named Best Bank in Myanmar by the UK-based financial markets magazine Euromoney at a ceremony in Hong Kong on July 17, following two awards a week earlier from a regional banking association.

KBZ chairperson Aung Ko Win and director Nan Lai Kham attended the Awards for Excellence 2014 ceremony to receive the award, along with executives from 52 banks in 36 countries.

Since fiscal year 20112012, the bank has paid income tax of more than Ks 50 billion. The bank paid income tax of over Ks 6 billion in FY2011-12, nearly Ks 11 billion in FY2012-13 and more than Ks 17 billion in FY2013-14. It has paid Ks 16 billion in advance tax for FY2014-15 and is expected to pay up to Ks 22 billion for the year.

It was named best bank in Myanmar because of its deposit level, tax payments, number of branches, loan disbursements to entrepreneurs and market share.

Deposits at the bank have risen to Ks 4.1 trillion. It has more than 250 branches across the country.

On July 10, KBZ Bank was named Myanmar’s Best Domestic Retail Bank and selected as the Myanmar bank with the Best Core Banking System Initiative by the Asian Banking and Finance Association.

Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Thailand’s Siam Commercial Bank, Singapore’s DBS Bank, Korea’s Hana Bank and China’s China Development Bank were named best banks in their countries. Switzerland-based UBS was named best global bank.

MYANMAR ELEVEN CIMB Group Holdings plans to seek banking licences in Vietnam and Myanmar as part of its drive to expand in fast-growing Southeast Asian markets, said reports.

Reuters quoted CIMB Group chief executive Nazir Razak as saying that the bank, Southeast Asia’s fifthlargest by assets, is also keen to open a banking business in the Philippines and is studying regulations in the

country. He was in Bangkok on Wednesday to announce that CIMB-Principal AssetManagement Co has signed a deal to acquire Finansa Asset Management Ltd in Thailand.

CIMB is one of 25 foreign banks short-listed in the second round for branch licenses in Myanmar.

On the list announced last week, three of the banks are based in Malaysia. The other two are RHB Bank and Maybank.

REUTERS

CIMB eyes regional growth

Pedestrians pass in front of a CIMB branch in Kuala Lumpur.

ASEAN+ Prabowo will challenge election result in court 6

MYANMAR ELEVEN, Wednesday, July 23, 2014

AFP, THE JAKARTA POST

THE EX-GENERAL who lost Indonesia's presidential election to Joko Widodo will challenge the result in court, his campaign team said Wednesday, a move that could spell weeks of uncertainty for the country.

Widodo, the reform-minded governor of Jakarta seen as a break from the autocratic era of dictator Suharto, was named the winner Tuesday, with results showing he resoundingly defeated his only rival Prabowo Subianto.

On Tuesday evening, the General Elections Commission (KPU) announced the official final vote tally and named Joko "Jokowi" Widodo president-elect with a total vote of 70,997,833, or 53.15 per cent of the vote.

"The KPU declares candidate pair Joko Widodo-Jusuf Kalla as president-elect and vice president-elect," KPU chairman Husni Kamil Malik said at an official announcement broadcasted live on TV from the KPU headquarters in Central Jakarta on Tuesday evening.

During the announcement, KPU chairman Husni Kamil Malik said rival candidate Prabowo had garnered 62,576,444 votes, or 46.85 per cent of the vote.

Elections Supervisory Agency chairman Muhammad also confirmed that the final vote tally result was equal with the agency's data. Before the result was announced, Prabowo - who had also claimed victory in the July 9 vote - angrily announced he was withdrawing from the election

AFP

Jakarta

Indonesian president elect Joko Widodo answers questions from the media. race.

He claimed Widodo's side had tampered with the votes during the long counting process.

Members of his campaign team indicated Tuesday he would not challenge the result in the Constitutional Court, as he had been widely expected to do.

But in a surprise announcement on Wednesday, a spokesman for Prabowo - a top general in the Suharto era who has been dogged by allegations of human rights abuses - said he would

contest the result.

"We are in the process of preparing our challenge to the Constitutional Court," said spokesman Tantowi Yahya.

Prabowo's brother Hashim Djojohadikusumo, a wealthy businessman who has provided financial backing for the campaign, added: "We are looking for justice... We are expecting some fairness."

He also urged foreign leaders not to congratulate Widodo, as "the legal process has not ended

yet". US Secretary of State John Kerry and Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott are among those who have already sent congratulations.

A spokesman for Widodo's team, Anies Baswedan, suggested the court may not even accept the challenge.

"The court has always been selective in accepting cases," he told AFP. "Only cases that have merit and the possibility of changing results will be welcome."

While experts believe there is little chance of a challenge succeeding, Prabowo's gambit may nevertheless prolong uncertainty for several more weeks, as the court does not have to issue a ruling until late August.

There have been concerns about the court's impartiality after its former chief justice was jailed for life last month for accepting bribes in return for favourable rulings in local election disputes.

However analysts believe the court will be desperate to appear clean following the scandal, and the magnitude of Widodo's victory - he won by some 8.4 million votes - means any challenge is likely to fail.

The court would be unlikely to shift such a large number of votes from one candidate to another, said Yohanes Sulaiman, an analyst from the Indonesian Defence University.

"But I don't think Prabowo is going to go to court demanding he has won. I think he will show evidence of cheating and the court could then call for a revote," Sulaiman told AFP. However, he added this was unlikely as the election commission had been "very transparent".

Independent analysts in the world's most populous Muslimmajority nation have said there were some instances of cheating at the election, but in general the poll was free and fair.

The election was the tightest and most divisive since the end of the three-decade Suharto dictatorship in 1998, with each side accusing the other of seeking to rig the outcome.

President-elect Jokowi calls for reconciliation THE JAKARTA POST Starting his victory speech with a special tribute to his rivals, Prabowo Subianto and Hatta Rajasa, on Tuesday evening, president-elect Joko “Jokowi” Widodo called on the nation to unite again after the divisive presidential race, saying that a unified nation would help create a new Indonesia.

Jokowi did not touch on Prabowo’s decision to reject the results of the election, due to the latter’s allegations of massive vote rigging despite failing to come up with concrete evidence to support the allegations. Hatta had earlier distanced himself from Prabowo

and hinted that he conceded defeat to Jokowi and Kalla.

“We highly appreciate and thank Bapak Prabowo Subianto and Hatta Rajasa who have been our friends in the political competition,” the Jakarta governor said in his speech aboard a traditonal phinisi ship in Sunda Kelapa Port in North Jakarta.

His aides said Jokowi intentionally chose the ship as the venue to address the nation as a symbol of his strong determination to realise his campaign promise to create a strong maritime future for Indonesia. In an earlier TV debate with Prabowo, Jokowi outlined an ambitious programme to revive the coun-

try’s maritime status.

In his speech, Jokowi insisted his victory, with his running mate Jusuf Kalla, belonged to the whole nation — not simply to those people who had voted for the pair, but also to those who wanted Prabowo and Hatta Rajasa to lead the nation for the 2014-2019 period.

“In the last few months our differences in political choices were reason to divide us,” said Jokowi, adding that his victory in the election “was a victory for the entire Indonesian people and we hope that with this win [...] we will be sovereign in politics and self-sustaining in economics and [build] character in culture.”

The former Surakarta mayor also emphasised the urgent need for families, friends, relatives and neighbors who had made different political choices in the election to end their divisions and heal the wounds caused by the presidential race.

Politics should be made a source of joy, good deeds and liberation, said Jokowi, who will succeed outgoing President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in October. The election had also revived the lost spirit of voluntarism and togetherness in society because people found new hope in their lives, he said.

Jokowi added that under his leadership as the country’s president, with Jusuf Kalla as

his deputy, the Indonesian people would be able to enter a new era. And this goal could only be reached, he said, when the nation was strongly united and working together, each according to their position in society.

Therefore he urged his supporters and Prabowo’s supporters to return to their daily lives and forget the bitterness of the election.

“From now on, farmers return to the rice fields, traders to the markets, labourers to the factories, employees to their offices,” said Jokowi.

“Forget number 1 [Prabowo] and number 2 [Jokowi]. Let us become a united Indonesia, a great Indonesia,” said Jokowi.

MYANMAR ELEVEN, Wednesday, July 23, 2014

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MYANMAR ELEVEN, Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Najib’s secret deal wins praise for breakthrough A SECRET deal by Malaysia Prime Minister Najib Razak to secure the release of the remains of passengers of downed Malaysia Airlines (MAS) Flight MH17 ended successfully yesterday, accomplishing what days of intense international pressure by global leaders failed to do.

A train carrying nearly 300 bodies reached the Kievcontrolled city of Kharkiv in the evening, hours after the plane's two black boxes - one containing the flight data recorder and the other the cockpit voice recorder were handed over to Malaysian officials.

The breakthrough came five days after the jet was purportedly hit by an anti-aircraft missile over war-torn eastern Ukraine, killing all 298 people on board.

"These were extraordinary circumstances which called for extraordinary measures. There were risks involved in pursuing this agreement," said Najib yesterday without giving further details about the risks or the terms of the deal.

A report by Reuters yesterday said the separatists made two demands: one, for a signed document to say the black boxes were not tampered with, and two, that the recorders not be handed over to the Ukrainian government.

The agreement surprised many people when it was announced just after midnight on Monday.

Many top officers in the prime minister's Office and the Malaysian foreign ministry were not aware of it as it was a closely-held secret.

Some had earlier wondered

Mysteries linger over ferry owner’s death THE KOREA HERALD The manhunt for a fugitive tycoon, known to be the de facto owner of the Sewol, ended Tuesday, when the police confirmed that a body found last month was that of Yoo Byung-eun.

The death of South Korea's most wanted man, however, remains a mystery as the authorities are still struggling to determine exactly when and how he died. The fugitive’s death is also shrouded in secrecy as the police identified the body as Yoo’s nearly six weeks after it was found by a farmer in a plum orchard near Suncheon, South Jeolla Province.

The police said they sent two DNA samples as the body was badly decomposed when it was found. But questions linger about why it took so long -nearly a month and a half - to identify the body, and why it never occurred to investigators that the body could be Yoo’s, considering the site where it was found and evidence that apparently indicated it was him.

The body was discovered 2.5 kilometres from a country house where Yoo was believed to have been holed up. The police said they found three bottles of liquor beside the body and a bag containing handwritten letters with the phrase “Dreamlike Love”.

“Dreamlike Love” is the title of a book of poetry published by

Yoo. Suncheon police also said they found an empty bottle of shark liver oil, which the businessman was said to have taken for a while. The body was clothed in a designer label winter jacket and shoes, items imported from Italy and Japan.

The police claimed they never imagined that the body could have been Yoo’s until the forensic experts confirmed the identity on Monday afternoon.

“We never suspected the body found near Suncheon, South Jeolla Province, on June 12 was Yoo’s and only learned (that it was his) after a DNA test result that came out on the afternoon of (July) 21,” said Lee Seong-han, commissioner of the Korea National Police Agency.

The police chief said the corpse had been suspected to be that of an unidentified elderly resident in the region and the DNA test was ordered to simply identify the body.

“The initial investigation was carried out with mistakes,” said Lee. The confirmation put an end to a major, months-long search for Yoo, head of the family-controlled company that owned and operated the Sewol ferry that sank on April 16. The doomed ferry was carrying 476 passengers, including 325 high school students who were on a school trip to the resort island of Jejudo. The death toll stands at 294 with 10 victims still missing.

why the 60-year-old premier was guarded for days in his response to the crisis. He disclosed on Monday night that he held his anger in check so as to "work quietly in the service of a better outcome".

Najib was won praise for the breakthrough, even from opposition figures in Malaysia. "The Prime Minister, Najib Razak, is to be commended for the breakthrough," said veteran opposition leader Lim Kit Siang.

News pictures flashed around the world showed rebel commanders handing over the two black boxes and exchanging documents with Malaysian officials in Donetsk, the largest city of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic. In perhaps an indirect response to critics that he negotiated with "terrorists" - a term used by the Ukraine government

to describe the separatists Najib said yesterday: "We felt an obligation to explore all avenues to break the impasse and secure the return of the remains and the black boxes.

"After meeting the families, I felt that we owed it to them to act."

While Najib has succeeded where more powerful leaders have failed, observers said there would inevitably be questions about the precedent set by Malaysia's top leader negotiating directly with a separatist leader like Alexander Borodai, the selfproclaimed prime minister of the Donetsk People's Republic.

But experts said the unusual negotiations with the separatists did not mean Malaysia recognised the rebellion.

Dr Oh Ei Sun of the S. Rajaratnam School of

International Studies in Singapore said Malaysia was merely being pragmatic.

To other observers, the deal with Malaysia, which lost 43 of its nationals in the disaster, was a face-saving measure for Russian President Vladimir Putin and the pro-Moscow separatists.

The alternative - to hand over the remains and blackboxes to international investigators would have made it seem as if Putin and the rebel commanders had wilted under threats of sanctions from the United States and European countries.

Putin might also have helped in the deal, observers said, as Malaysia is among countries closest to Russia in Southeast Asia, with purchases of MiG jet fighters in 1995 and Sukhois in 2003. Part of the purchases was paid with Malaysian palm oil.

Frenchman jailed for 15 years for drug smuggling

AFP

THE STRAITS TIMES

Frenchman Francois Giuily speak with his interpreter before his sentencing.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE Denpasar An Indonesian court jailed a Frenchman for 15 years Wednesday for smuggling a huge stash of crystal methamphetamine into the resort island of Bali.

Francois Giuily, 49, was arrested in January at Bali airport with more than three kilos (6.8 pounds) of the drug hidden in two plastic bags in his suitcase

lining, according to prosecutors.

Customs officials said at the time of his arrest that the drugs had a street value of around $500,000.

A court in the Balinese capital Denpasar on Wednesday sentenced him to 15 years in jail, lighter than the 17-year term demanded by prosecutors.

His "action was against the government programme in eradicating narcotics", presiding judge I Gede Ketut Wanugraha told the

court. Giuily was also ordered to pay a fine of eight billion rupiah (around $700,000) or have his jail term extended by three months.

The judge said the sentence was lower than requested, as Giuily had a clean record and behaved politely during court proceedings.

His lawyer Suroso said his client would not appeal as he feared that the sentence might be increased.

MYANMAR ELEVEN, Wednesday, July 23, 2014

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Emergency powers for president PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER THE PHILIPPINE House of Representatives is amenable to giving President Aquino emergency powers to deal with a threatened energy supply crisis in 2015 but consumer and business groups and some House members cautioned against the grant of such powers.

Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares said granting Aquino emergency powers was a dangerous idea.

“It is very dangerous to grant emergency powers to anyone with a dictatorial propensity like

President Aquino, as can be seen with his usurpation of Congress’ power and now threatening the Supreme Court when it declared the Disbursement Acceleration Program unconstitutional,” he said. Colmenares said he had proposed a bill which will, among others, prohibit the government from selling what is left of the government’s energy assets and infuse capital to rehabilitate and increase the capacity of these plants, and order the Department of Energy to use the 175-billionpeso (US$4.04 billion) Malampaya Fund to construct power plants.

But Speaker Feliciano Belmonte said the House would surely grant the President emergency powers to address the looming power crisis. “[It is] long overdue. Many people [have been] urging him before,” he said in a text message. But he said it was up to Aquino to specify what sort of emergency powers he wanted.

“Exactly what is this emergency power they want? The House will surely give it.” Energy Secretary Jericho Petilla has proposed that the President declare a state of emergency in the face of an imminent shortage of power sup-

ply in early 2015.

He said the country’s contingency energy reserves would run below the minimum level set by regulators in the middle of March 2015. He asked the President to invoke Section 71 of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (Epira) which authorises him to ask Congress for authority to establish additional generating capacity.

The President has yet to act on Petilla’s proposal but Communications Secretary Sonny Coloma said Aquino was set to meet with Petilla later Tuesday.

GLOBAL BRIEFS Google Doodle tribute to S’pore composer Musicians in Singapore Tuesday welcomed the appearance online of a Google logo paying tribute to Zubir Said, composer of Singapore's national anthem.

The "Google Doodle," featuring a cartoon-like sketch of the composer with musical notes flowing behind him, was created to mark what would have been Said's 107th birthday.

Clicking on the doodle, available on the Singapore and international versions of the website, leads users to a search query about the composer, also known for his soundtracks to Malayan film classics.

"We wanted to celebrate this beloved man's spirit and legacy," a Google spokesman told Channel News Asia.

Said was born on July 22, 1907, in Central Sumatra. He became a band conductor during the Japanese occupation, and later a composer, creating Majulah Singapura, the city-state's anthem, in 1958.

- DPA

AFP

Filipinos advised to defer trips to Israel

A giant green sea turtle accidentally got tangled in a fishing net off a village in Lingayen, Pangasinan province, the Philippines.

Sea turtles are protected under Philippine law and catching them is punishable by at least 12 years in jail.

El Nino seen to hit East of Indonesia THE JAKARTA POST Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) announced Tuesday that the El Nino weather phenomenon would adversely effect the eastern parts of the country next month which, however, could bring possible financial rewards to fishermen.

East Nusa Tenggara climatology station head Juli Setiyanto said water temperatures had become relatively warmer, between -0.5 and 1.5 degrees Celsius, from March to June this year.

“Based on that, we can predict that El Nino will take effect in August,” Juli said, as quoted by Antara news agency.

El Nino is a complex series of climatic changes effecting the equatorial Pacific Ocean and beyond every few years. It is characterised by unusually high water temperatures off Equador and northern Peru, typically occurring in late December. This phenomenon often causes adverse

impacts, such as triggering severe prolonged droughts in eastern Indonesia.

However, the phenomenon could also bring financial rewards for fishermen because the warm water usually make tuna move westward toward Indonesia, while fish from the Indian Ocean may begin entering southern Indonesian waters.

Meanwhile, the BMKG also predicted bad weather for several other provinces in the near future.

The Bangka Belitung provincial office of BMKG announced that the tides surrounding the island were unusually high and dangerous, reaching 2.14 meters in height because of strong winds. BMKG Bangka Belitung spokesperson Omar Mukhtar said his agency had told villagers living along the coast to be careful.

“We have told villagers along the coastline to not enter the sea because the waves are dangerous,” Omar said, as quoted by Antara.

Singapore to host events for 11th China-Asean Expo THE STRAITS TIMES Singapore will be the focus of a slew of events at the upcoming 11th China-Asean Expo in Guangxi region's capital Nanning this September.

As Singapore is the "Country of Honour" this year, a series of forums and dialogues tailored to the city-state have been planned, including a roundtable between Singaporean leaders and chief executives of Chinese companies, officials said at a press briefing yesterday. High-level leaders including Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong are expected to attend the expo, which will run from Sept 16 to 19.

The annual fair promotes trade and investment between China and Asean, where trade volume between both rose 11 per cent to US$444 billion last year.

It was also vital in the development of the NanningSingapore economic corridor, a cross-border channel that also includes Hanoi in Vietnam and Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia.

"Whether in the areas of investment or trade, Singapore has very close links with China," he said. "We're also finding ways to increase ties between Guangxi and Singapore firms in areas like shipping and logistics."

But officials played down the impact that strained ties between China and Asean countries, such as Vietnam, might have on trade figures.

"These disputes should not colour China-Asean relations as a whole," said Chen Zhou, director of the Asian affairs department of the commerce ministry, emphasising the expo's role as a platform for cooperation instead.

The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) advised Filipino tourists who intend to go to Israel on pilgrimage to defer their travels amid continuing conflict between the militant group Hamas and the Israel Military.

“Though tourists will not be stopped by immigration because they are not workers … we discourage them to travel because we cannot tell what will happen in Israel as a result of the ongoing conflict,” DFA spokesman Charles Jose said Tuesday in a press briefing.

Israel is among the countries that Filipino tourists may visit without the need to apply for a visa. Jose said that there were 36,000 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Israel, mostly caregivers.

- PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER

Deocracy to replace Pakistan ‘monarchy’ Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chairman Imran Khan has claimed that his party is ready to do away with ‘monarchy’ and establish ‘genuine democracy’ in the country.

“There is total monarchy in the country in the garb of democracy.

We are coming out on Aug 14 with full force to send ‘Badshahat’ packing and replace it with true democracy,” he said.

He said politics should revolve around the people’s welfare and reiterated his claim that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa would be purged of corruption and people would get rid of politicians and officials who did not serve them.

- DAWN

ASEAN+

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MYANMAR ELEVEN, Wednesday, July 23, 2014

More global brands named in China’s latest food scandal CHINA’S latest food scandal involving expired meat has implicated two more big names, Starbucks and Burger King, in the country.

The US coffee chain yesterday acknowledged that some of its stores previously sold products containing chicken from Shanghai Husi Food, which was shut down by local regulators on Sunday following allegations that it sold expired chicken and beef.

Burger King, in a statement posted on its Twitter-like Sina Weibo account late on Monday, said it had removed all meat products supplied by Shanghai Husi - a unit of US-based OSI Group - from its shelves. It added that it was investigating the matter. Both companies join a growing list of restaurants, including McDonald's and KFC's parent Yum Brands, that have been implicated in the food scare.

A television report on Sunday showed Shanghai Husi workers repackaging chicken and beef that had passed their sell-by dates.

The scandal has also spread offshore with McDonald's confirming that meat from the supplier had been sold to its branches in Japan, according to a Bloomberg report. But all tainted products have since been removed.

In Singapore, Starbucks managing director Jane Lau said the company does not get its supplies from Shanghai Husi or any other Husi company. Separately, a McDonald's spokesman assured customers that it does not import chicken and beef from China.

The latest allegations renew concerns about unsafe food in China following a string of scandals, including fox DNA being found in donkey meat, cadmiumtainted rice and recycled "gutter oil" being used for cooking. In 2008, baby formula laced with melamine, a toxic compound used in plastics, led to the deaths of six infants.

In response to the latest inci-

AFP

THE STRAITS TIMES

People walk past a McDonald’s restaurant in Shanghai. dent, China's food watchdog said on its website yesterday that it has ordered regional offices to carry out "thorough spot checks" on restaurants that have used Shanghai Husi products.

It also ordered investigations into all other China food-production operations that OSI Group had invested in, adding that the case could be handed over to the police if crimes were suspected.

Experts say that while many Chinese look to foreign brands as a benchmark of higher safety standards, the latest incident highlights the difficulty in ensuring quality and safety along China's supply chain.

"Food safety is an issue that all countries deal with. There are always a few cunning businesses that are the black sheep and regulation is not always enough to deal with them," scholar Zhu Yi of the China Agricultural

University told The Straits Times.

Still, China's attempts to strengthen food safety by imposing higher penalties for violations, increasing scrutiny on food safety information and raising compensation for consumers in a

new draft law are positive steps.

This is because the harsher punishments are likely to dissuade some from flouting the law, she added.

The official China Daily also weighed in on the issue in an edi-

torial yesterday, calling for regulators to be given more power and be made more accountable.

"If any evidence shows that they have failed in their duties, they should also be punished in accordance with the law," it said.

McDonald’s growing in Asian markets DEUTSCHE PRESSE-AGENTUR Washington While European and American tastes for McDonald's are waning, its successes in Asian markets helped it attain higher revenues overall in the second quarter, the world's largest fast food chain said Tuesday.

McDonald's worldwide profit

increased by 1 per cent to US$7.2 billion in the quarter ended June 30.

Strong performance in China and other new markets helped the American company increase its overall sales in the Asia/Pacific, Middle East and Africa by 1.1 per cent.

McDonald's has long struggled with its established markets in Europe and the US, and

that trend continued as sales dropped by about 1 per cent.

The main criticism by Western customers continues to be food quality and working conditions, but McDonald's is avoiding the topic and will be offering more deals on menu items and rolling out new beverages to lure customers to its European stores.

Laos acts to preserve prime agricultural land VIENTIANE TIMES The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry is committed to putting stronger measures in place to conserve agricultural lands, notably those located nears dams, weirs and along irrigation channels. Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Vilayvanh Phomkhe was responding to a question raised by National Assembly (NA) members at the ongoing NA session recently.

NA members found that many hectares of agricultural land have been converted into other classifications, in particular those located nearby irrigation systems. The NA members

were concerned that the conversion issue could affect agricultural production and food security in Laos.

Vilayvanh said the ministry will focus on dema rcation and mapping agricultural land for conservation and will absolutely not allow the conversion of this type of land, stipulating measures to penalise thos e who violate the regulations and laws related to this issue.

The ministry will cooperate with local authorities to manage prime agricultural land to prevent instances of land use change from occurring again in the future. In 2012, the ministry established an agricultural land management and development department to serve as the

secretariat for the ministry to handle this task. In June this year, Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong issued an order banning people from converting agricultural land along the Gate 3 irrigation system downstream from Nam Theun 2 hydropower project.

The ministry will also conduct a detailed survey and allocation for coffee plantation areas on the Bolaven plateau, the area for khao kai noy rice plantation in the provinces of Huaphan and Xieng Khuang and also livestock husbandry areas in Xieng Khuang province.

Vilayvanh said the government will focus on encouraging farmers to boost productivity by formulating an incentive

policy for them to continue farming instead of converting their agricultural land to other categories of use.

He said his ministry will cooperate with other sectors including the urban planning sector to clearly define development areas and agricultural areas. Vilayvanh told the NA session that currently there is limited funding to conduct a survey and allocation of agricultural land, resulting in many hectares of land for agriculture being converted to use for other purposes.

In Vientiane alone, thousands of hectares of agricultural land have been converted into residential and commercial areas over the past decade

due to growing urbanisation.

The problem arose partly due to a lack of coordination between the sectors concerned and the weakness of the law enforcement sector in Laos, which has resulted in many people violating the law to convert agricultural land to other uses. The loss of prime farming areas due to residential and industrial expansion has sparked concerns over the government's efforts to boost rice production and to expand the area of agricultural land to 2 million hectares by 2020.

Currently Laos has about 1.2 million hectares of agricultural land including 0.9 million hectares of rice fields.

MYANMAR ELEVEN, Wednesday, July 23, 2014

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Soaring land prices in KL driving developers south THE STAR More Malaysian developers are choosing to relocate their developments towards the south of the Klang Valley due to escalating land prices in and around Petaling Jaya and Kuala Lumpur.

“Escalating land prices within Greater KL have reduced the supply of affordable landed properties, which remain in demand,” said AllianceDBS Research in a report yesterday.

“The mass rapid transit (MRT) connectivity at Kajang (ready by 2017) and the ready infrastruc-

ture with several highways have made Kajang/Semenyih the natural choice for developers to expand township developments.”

The research house said this was supported by the availability of large tracts of land and these districts recording among the strongest population growth in Selangor.

“The close proximity to KLCC and the Putrajaya federal administrative centre will ensure KL South continues to thrive.”

AllianceDBS Research noted, however, that Greater KL and the Klang Valley remain the core of

the government’s Economic Transformation Programme.

“The government wants to grow the Greater KL population to 10 million by 2020 from an estimated seven million currently. This means the Greater KL population has to grow by 5.2 per cent per annum on average, much higher than the national average of 1.4 per cent.

“If the goal materialises, then this would translate into stronger demand for housing of 80,000 units per annum in Greater KL alone visà-vis 78,000 units completed for the whole country in 2013.”

GLOBAL BRIEFS China’s super rich snap up jets, yatchs After a slight dip in the Luxury Consumer Price Index last year, it rose by 4 per cent in 2014, according to a Hurun Research Institute report released on Tuesday.

This year, the spending was mainly on luxury property, yachts and jets, as well as education. Last year, however, the most significant categories were luxury travel, accessories and skincare products, and automobiles.

Among all categories, luxury property has increased the most, with its growth rate reaching 12.6 per cent in 2014. The sustained growth of the Chinese economy, the rising numbers of wealthy Chinese and the increasing popularity of golf have caused luxury property prices to rise, said Rupert Hoogewerf, chairman and chief researcher of Hurun Report.

—CHINA DAILY

AllianceDBS Research said the housing demand in Greater KL is likely to remain healthy going forward, adding, however, that buyers would be picky because of the steep pricing, no thanks to a slew of cost-push factors, including inflationary pressure, subsidy rationalisation and the implementation of minimum wages.

“Faced with the risk of margin compression, property developers will naturally look to landbank in areas where land cost is relatively low and there is ready infrastructure and a growing population.”

AFP

Vietnam officials yet to move on bitcoin

Bottles of Fanta are displayed in the cooler of food truck.

World Cup could not help Coca-Cola’s bottom line DEUTSCHE PRESSE-AGENTUR New York Coca-Cola sold more beverages in the second quarter, worldwide brand Coca-Cola volume grew 1 per cent, Sprite rose 6 percent, and Fanta was up 2 per cent due to sponsorship of the FIFAWorld

Cup, the company said Tuesday.

Improved gross margins in the quarter were largely offset by increased marketing costs and weaker foreign currencies, the company said.

The soda maker reported a 3-per-cent decline in profits to US$2.6 billion dollars, compared

to $2.68 billion a year earlier.

Revenue slid 1.4 per cent to $12.6 billion.

“As we now reach the midpoint of the year, we have delivered sound financial performance year to date and demonstrated sequential improvement in our global volume growth,”

said Muhtar Kent, chairman and chief executive of the Coca-Cola Company.

“While I am pleased with our progress to date, we remain focused on the work required to return our business to the level of sustainable growth we and our shareowners expect.”

Garuda’s wings are clipped by massive losses THE JAKARTA POST Indonesian flag carrier PT Garuda Indonesia’s net loss skyrocketed to US$211.7 million in the first half of the year due to a jump in operational costs and flat revenue.

This year’s first-half net loss was 19 times the $10.92-million net loss it booked in the same

period a year earlier.

The company said in its financial statement that operational costs saw the highest increase with a hike of 15 per cent, to $1.96 billion in the first semester from $1.7 billion yearon-year, kontan.co.id reported on Tuesday.

Its revenue stayed relatively flat at $1.74 billion in the first

six months of the year, a thin increase from $1.73 billion from the same period last year.

The company also blamed its net loss on inflating foreign exchange, with losses amounting to $12.86 million.

Garuda is exposed to aviation turbine fuel price volatility, foreign exchange losses and interest rates, but it said it tried

to hedge its fuel transactions to avoid great losses from fuel price volatility.

“We also tried to consume fuel efficiently,” Garuda president director Emirsyah Satar said in the financial report.

Fuel cost accounts for around 30 to 40 per cent of the company’s average operational costs.

It’s been a week since the Vietnam real-time bitcoin exchange was launched, but the public is yet to see the authorities take action against crypto-currencies as they had promised.

The State Bank of Viet Nam (SBV) has consistently announced that bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies are not legal tender or permitted means of payment in Viet Nam. Bui Quang Tien, Head of SBV’s Payment Department that is supposed to manage electronic money, on July 12, vowed to work with the public security forces to seize operators of Viet Nam realtime bitcoin exchange (VBTC).

Despite the vocal warnings and the central bank’s announcement explaining the fluctuating nature, complications and risks of virtual currencies, VBTC has 1,692 members and trading statistics are updated every day.

—VIET NAM NEWS

Manila may import more rice from VN The Philippines is considering importing an additional 400,000 tonnes of milled rice from Vietnam, double the volume that was previously announced.

Additional imports on top of the 800,000 tons that were bought last April was on the table in Tuesday’s National Food Authority Council meeting as the intensified release of NFA rice into the market threatened to deplete the agency’s inventory.

According to the Philippine Statistical Authority, the NFA was holding as of June 1 only 1.08 million tonnes or 12 days’ worth of supply.

—PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER

ARTS&CULTURE A GRAFFITI STAR IN THE MAKING

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MYANMAR ELEVEN, Wednesday, July 23, 2014

MYANMAR ELEVEN

SINCE its introduction to Myanmar sometime after 2007, graffiti had never caught the imagination of the public until the young graffiti artist Arkar Kyaw created “Obama graffiti” to welcome US President Barack Obama’s state visit to Myanmar in 2012.

Ever since Arkar Kyaw has become a household name with a slew of invitations to international art shows. In this exclusive interview with Eleven Media, the ambitious artist talks about his recent exhibition at River Gallery and what lies in store for him.

Q: Tell us about your first solo art exhibition.

A: This art exhibition was one of my dreams. I felt very excited as it was my first exhibition. River Gallery offered to host the show. I put on display various forms of art in this exhibition. Many people recognise me for my street art. Actually, street art, graffiti, and art paintings are all the same. They are all branches of art. That’s why I was trying to cover them all as much as I can in my exhibition.

Q: Which artworks were showcased in your exhibition?

A: Up to 27 paintings were on display including those from the “Dream” and “Night” series plus a collection of portraits. I plan to donate parts of the proceeds from the sale of my paintings to [local] charities.

Q: You were invited to a world-renowned graffiti showcase in April. What was it all about?

A: Myanmar participated in the worldwide graffiti event “Meeting of Style” (MOS) for the first time.

Graffiti artists from around the world created graffiti in their own style at this event.

There were two categories of graffiti in the event: letter and character. I picked the first one and tried to create masterpieces in my own way. I gained much experience from [a series] of meetings with international artists. This event was not only about graffiti but also about sharing cultures of different countries so there were many things to observe.

Q: What are you preparing for the 25th anniversary of the Asean-ROK ceremony that you’re joining in August?

A: I will show some of my new creations at the ceremony. It’s a secret for now. As a graffiti artist from Myanmar, I’ve been selected as one of the “New Icon Artists” as part of Asia’s pop culture.

Q: How has graffiti been evolving as an art form?

A: Many people have become more interested in graffiti than ever. I think graffiti has received much more recognition. I still need to try harder.

Q: Any future exhibitions?

A: I'm planning to hold more exhibitions and attend international events. I will create new graffiti and put it on display in exhibitions.

BOGYOKE LIVES ON IN ART EXHIBIT MYANMAR ELEVEN Yangon

An art exhibition titled “Bogyoke is Our Father “is being staged at Ahla Thit Gallery to commemorate the 67th death anniversary of Gen Aung San, Myanmar nationalist leader and assassinated hero who secured Myanmar’s independence from Great Britain. On view are 75 paintings and portraits by 45 artists.

"We’ve been planning to hold this exhibition of Aung San portraits for a long time.

We originally planned to hold the exhibition on his birthday, but to no avail. So we decided to stage it on Martyrs' Day (July 19). Our aims are to honour his work

and for the Bogyoke (a general) to be etched on the audience’s memory forever," said Yan Naing of Ahla Thit Gallery.

The portraits portray Gen Aung San in various activities from delivering a speech and meeting with ethnic people to spending time with his family.

"This exhibition is being held in memory of Bogyoke.

A unique feature of this exhibition is that visitors not only get to see real-life portraits of Bogyoke, but also imaginary ones created by the artists. We have yet to decide whether part of the proceeds from the sale of these paintings will be given to charity,” said curator Nan Nwe.