Specialized Mission to Myanmar on Engineering Rubber Products
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MALAYSIAN RUBBER EXPORT PROMOTION COUNCIL Specialized Mission to Myanmar on Engineering Rubber Products Market Brief 10 – 11 FEBRUARY 2017 YANGON, MYANMAR MARKET BRIEF: MYANMAR 2017 CONTENTS Item Topic Page 1.0 Delegates 2 2.0 Mission Objectives 3 3.0 Country Profile 3 4.0 Information on Related Organizations 4 5.0 Country Information - Myanmar 5 6.0 High Damping Natural Rubber Bearings (HDNRB) 8 7.0 Trade Statistics 14 8.0 Important Contacts in Myanmar 26 9.0 Current Government Cabinet 29 10.0 Flight Itinerary 31 11.0 Weather Forecast, Time & Exchange Rate 32 12.0 Recap of Signed MOA 33 MALAYSIAN RUBBER EXPORT PROMOTION COUNCIL Page 1 MARKET BRIEF: MYANMAR 2017 1.0 DELEGATES Malaysian Rubber Export Promotion Council Ms Low Yoke Kiew Chief Executive Officer Mr Brandon Chan Siew Hon Deputy Chief Executive Officer Mr Adrian Sibuan Executive, Marketing & Development Ms Carmen Lau Junior Executive, Marketing & Development Manufacturers Mr Or Tan Teng Managing Director Doshin Rubber Products (M) Sdn Bhd HP: +6 012 399 5788 Mr Seng Teck Cheng Mr Patrick Tiong Liq Yee Mr Ng Boon Seong Ms Lee Chen Nee Doshin Rubber Products (M) Sdn Bhd Mr Ong Kho Seng Senior Sales Manager Sales & Marketing Department Gummi Metall Technik (M) Sdn Bhd HP: +6 012 5112 564 Speakers Mr Or Tan Teng Managing Director Doshin Rubber Products (M) Sdn Bhd Dr Alberto Dusi Chief Executive Officer/ Principal & Europe Office Director Numeria Consulting Engineers s.r.l, Cremona, Italy/ Base Isolation Technology (Asia) Sdn Bhd MALAYSIAN RUBBER EXPORT PROMOTION COUNCIL Page 2 MARKET BRIEF: MYANMAR 2017 2.0 MISSION OBJECTIVES The mission is organized with the following objectives: Create awareness and promote Made in Malaysia High Damping Natural Rubber Bearings (HDNRB) and other engineering rubber products in Myanmar Create business opportunities on HDNRB and other engineering rubber products in Myanmar for Malaysian manufacturers. Provide opportunity for Malaysian engineering rubber product manufacturers to meet and establish networking with engineers, consultants in engineering, officers from relevant organizations and regulatory authorities in Myanmar. Promote Malaysia as the source of quality engineering rubber products in Myanmar. 3.0 MYANMAR COUNTRY PROFILE Capital: Nay Pyi Taw Population: 54,587,838 (Dec 2016 est.) Area: 653,407 sq km Official language: Burmese (Myanmar) Major religions: Theravada Buddhism Life expectancy: 65 years (men), 68 years (women) Currency: Kyats (MMK) MALAYSIAN RUBBER EXPORT PROMOTION COUNCIL Page 3 MARKET BRIEF: MYANMAR 2017 Main exports: Oil, natural gas, vegetables, wood, fish, clothing, rubber, fruits Main imports: Fuel, vegetable oil, vehicles, pharmaceutical products, construction equipment, polymers, tires, machinery GDP per capita: USD1,161.50 (2015) GDP growth: 8.4% (Sep 2016 est.) International dialing code: +95 4.0 INFORMATION ON RELATED ORGANIZATIONS Myanmar Engineering Society (MES) Myanmar Engineering Society (MES) is an association in Myanmar with membership open to all engineers. Its objectives are to enable active participation of engineers and architects in the development and dissemination of knowledge in nation-building tasks, to maintain and uplift the standard and prestige of engineering and architectural profession and to enable engineers and architects to be fully aware of their duties and responsibilities and the professional ethics and to make contact with overseas academic and economic organizations (non-profitable & non-political organizations) for the benefit of the state and its people. MES was orginally formed in 1916 as “The Burma Engineering Congress”. In 1927, the name was changed to “The Association of Engineers in Burma”. “The Association of Engineers in Burma” resumed its regular activities in 1946 and steadily picked up momentum. However, due to a Government Act abolishing all parties and associations, “The Association of Engineers in Burma”, like all other associations, was abolished in 1963. Thus, the Association of Engineers in Burma was abolished. Various attempts to revive and register the Association proved unsuccessful for 32 years until 1995, when the Diamond Jubilee celebration of the Yangon University was held on a grand scale. One of the activities of the Diamond Jubilee was the gathering of graduates of the Yangon Institute of Technology (Y.I.T) and the new generation engineering and architectural students of Y.I.T. As a result of that gathering, the Committee for the Formation of Myanmar Engineering Society was formed, consisting of engineers and architects from the Y.I.T , the other Government Departments and private sectors. Address : MES Building, Hlaing Universities Campus, Hlaing Township, Yangon, Myanmar. Tel : +95 1 519673~6 Contact Person: U Myint Soe Email : [email protected] Website : www.myiem.org.my MALAYSIAN RUBBER EXPORT PROMOTION COUNCIL Page 4 MARKET BRIEF: MYANMAR 2017 5.0 COUNTRY INFORMATION – MYANMAR Economic Outlook Since the transition to a civilian government in 2011, Myanmar has begun an economic overhaul aimed at attracting foreign investment and reintegrating into the global economy. Economic reforms have included establishing a managed float of the Burmese Kyat in 2012, re-writing the Foreign Investment Law in 2012 to allow more foreign investment participation, granting the Central Bank operational independence in July 2013, enacting a new Anti-corruption Law in September 2013, and granting licenses to nine foreign banks in 2014 and four more foreign banks in 2016. The government’s commitment to reform, and the subsequent easing of most Western sanctions, led to accelerated growth in 2013 and 2014. In 2015, growth slowed because of political uncertainty in an election year, summer floods, and external factors, including China’s slowdown and lower commodity prices. Myanmar’s abundant natural resources, young labor force, and proximity to Asia’s dynamic economies have attracted foreign investment in the energy sector, garment industry, information technology, and food and beverages. Pledged foreign direct investment grew from US$4.1 billion in FY 2013 to US$8.1 billion in FY 2014. A government led by the National League for Democracy (NLD) took office in April 2016 in Myanmar, the first civilian government in decades. The new government has launched new economic policies and accelerated efforts for the peace process under the leadership of the state counselor, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. On 31 August 2016, the Panglong 21st Century peace conference gathered government representatives, military officials, armed ethnic groups and other stakeholders in the capital Nay Pyi Taw. There are now opportunities to further deepen reforms, create shared prosperity for all, and for the country to resume its place as one of the most dynamic economies in Asia. Background of Earthquakes in Myanmar Myanmar is exposed to major earthquakes since a large part of the country lies in the southern part of the Himalaya and the eastern margin of the Indian Ocean. It is situated in the Alpide Earthquake Belt, one of the two main earthquake belts of the world. The Alpide Belt starts from the northern Mediterranean Sea in the west, and extends eastwards through Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, the Himalayas, Myanmar and finally to Indonesia. Earthquake belts are areas of interaction between tectonic plates of the earth. There are a number of faults in Myanmar territory, some of which are active and some, possibly active. Among them, Sagaing Fault is the most active one and the past earthquakes recorded in Myanmar occurred along this fault. Earthquakes in Myanmar have been mainly attributed to the following two plate activities: The continuous subduction of the northward-moving Indian Plate under the Burma Platelet, which is a part of the Eurasian Plate, and The northward movement of the Burma Platelet along the Sagaing Fault from a spreading center in the Andaman Sea. MALAYSIAN RUBBER EXPORT PROMOTION COUNCIL Page 5 MARKET BRIEF: MYANMAR 2017 Figure 1: Alpide Earthquake Belt Vulnerability to Earthquake is also increasing in Myanmar compared to the past earthquakes in history. The population of Myanmar has considerably increased, from 15 million in 1930, at the time of the Bago earthquake, to 54.6 million in 2016. Lifestyles are changing from that of rural agricultural life to that of crowded urban areas with industries. These include congested high-rise buildings supported by sophisticated and potentially hazardous infrastructure like electricity and water supply, waste and sewage disposal, communication and transportation systems; and dams, bridges, air-fields, oil storage tanks, all required for modern living. More importantly, the big cities, Yangon, Mandalay and Bago are located along the active Sagaing Fault. In the rural areas, the non-engineered structures and dwellings are vulnerable to moderate to high intensity earthquakes. At least 18 large earthquakes have occurred in Myanmar's Central Lowland region near the Sagaing Fault that passes through the country. The ADPC's Hazard Profile of Myanmar, published in 2009, reports that the fault, part of the Alpide Belt, and the cause of 13 of 18 major earthquakes in Myanmar in the past 172 years, has been mostly quiet for 75 years. This could mean accumulated stress will be soon looking for a release. Nay Pyi Taw, the capital of Myanmar, is located on this fault; its population of close to one million is exposed to a significant earthquake hazard, according to a January 2011 geophysical study. Among predictions of imminent earthquakes is a geophysical study by researchers in Japan, who warn that an earthquake with a magnitude of up to 7.9 could shake central Myanmar, near the newly built capital, Nay Pyi Taw, at any time. Just recently in 24 August 2016, a powerful earthquake shook Myanmar, killing at least three people and damaging more than 185 brick ancient pagodas in the former capital of Bagan, a major tourist site. The U.S. Geological Survey said the magnitude 6.8 quake was centered about 15 miles west of Chauk, a town south of Bagan. It struck quite far below the earth’s surface at a depth of about 52 miles, the agency said.