Chinese Investment in Myanmar Still Welcome, Says President

than that 11 are in shallow water and 19 in deep water. The closing date for bids to the Ministry of Energy is June 14, and the licenses will be awarded later in the month.

Bidders can apply for up to three blocks. Shallow water licenses will require a local partner but the deeper water blocks can be 100 percent foreign-operated due to the technical expertise and cost involved.

China’s businesses and investment are still welcome in Myanmar, President U Thein Sein told the state-controlled newspaper China Daily. In an interview with the paper, the president rejected reports that Myanmar’s opening up to the West had made China less welcome.

“Chinese investment in Myanmar has not only benefited Chinese investors but also helped Myanmar people,” China Daily quoted him as saying.

The impression that China was less welcome now follows U Thein Sein’s surprise decision in 2011 to suspend construction of the multi-billion dollar Myitsone hydroelectric dam project that was being built by Chinese firms in Kachin State. Most of the huge volume of electricity to be generated by the dam was to be exported to China. The project was suspended on environmental grounds.

The Myanmar president met China’s new President Xi Jinping during a three-day visit to China that started on April 5. He was there to attend this year’s Boao Forum, a summit for government and business leaders.

No details on the transparency of the selection process have yet been published and it appears that the state Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE) will retain close involvement. MOGE was closely linked with the former military regime’s secretive manipulation of Myanmar’s offshore gas riches to date and is widely reported to have been the main reason why plans to hold an offshore blocks auction last September were postponed until now.

1,300 Foreign Firms Enter Myanmar Since Early 2011

More than 5,000 new businesses have officially registered in Myanmar since the beginning of 2011, according to the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration (DCIA), a government agency.

Offshore Gas, Oil Bids Open, and MOGE to Get Involved

Major Western oil companies BP, Shell and Chevron are tipped to be among the likely bidders for 30 new offshore exploration blocks now being offered for licensing by Myanmar’s Ministry of Energy.

Other large firms expected to make offers include China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), Petronas of Malaysia, PTTEP of Thailand and India’s GAIL—all state-owned enterprises.

Details of the blocks have not been made public, other

The total of 5,200 includes 1,300 foreign companies opening branch or representative offices in the country for the first time, said the agency. The foreign firms came from 32 countries and have invested about US $6 billion, while the new domestic businesses had invested $1.16 billion in the last two years.

The latest major foreign company to set up a branch in Myanmar was Germany’s Bosch, a global brand in engineering. Bosch opened a branch in Yangon to promote sales of fire and safety equipment. The company was said to be negotiating with the Myanmar Fire Services Department to develop fire prevention systems and a centralized monitoring system for fire control.

Systems

Dentsu Wins Deal to Promote Myanmar’s SEA Games

One of the world’s biggest advertising and public relations companies, Dentsu of Japan, has won the contract to promote Myanmar’s hosting of the Southeast Asian Games in December. Toykobased Dentsu “has been appointed by the government of Myanmar as its sponsorship management consultant,” the conglomerate said in a statement.

Dentsu, with dozens of subsidiaries across the world and thousands of employees, said the contract would be handled by Dentsu Sports Asia, based in Singapore.

“In its role as sponsorship management consultant, Dentsu Sports Asia will work with the Dentsu Asia branch in Myanmar and other Dentsu Group companies under the Dentsu Asia umbrella to offer integrated advertising communications proposals related to the 27th SEA Games to existing global, regional and local clients as well as to attract new clients,” the Tokyo statement said.

The Games will be held from Dec.11-22 and involve participation by the 10 countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations plus tiny Timor Leste. Sporting events are scheduled for Naypyitaw, Mandalay and Yangon, but concern has been expressed in some quarters about the adequacy of sporting facilities and athletes’ accommodation.

By WILLIAM BOOT