Investment in Burma/Myanmar
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Guidelines on investment in Burma/Myanmar
Individual Documents
| Title: | | Joint Comment on the Reporting Requirements on Responsible Investment in Burma |
| Date of publication: | | 04 October 2012 |
| Description/subject: | | "After submitting a detailed comment [MAIN URL] to the US Department of State expressing concern over weak reporting requirements for US companies considering investing in Burma, EarthRights International, Freedom House, Physicians for Human Rights, U.S. Campaign for Burma and United to End Genocide issued the following statement:
“We continue to be deeply concerned by the US government’s decision to lift all remaining sanctions, and allow corporations unrestricted investment access to Burma despite widespread corruption, ongoing human rights violations and a total lack of rule of law. Although US companies will be required to report on their investments, the current requirements lack specificity about enforcement and consequences for non-compliance. Furthermore, existing loopholes enable companies to designate information as ‘confidential’ as a way to avoid public scrutiny. The US government should take immediate steps to ensure that there is a strong regulatory framework that can effectively promote accountability and transparency..." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) et al |
| Format/size: | | pdf (135K; html) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://physiciansforhumanrights.org/press/press-releases/deplorable-weak-reporting-requirements-for... |
| Date of entry/update: | | 07 October 2012 |
|
| Title: | | Proposing Benchmarks for Corporations in Burma. Are they sufficient - or even appropriate? |
| Date of publication: | | 18 September 2012 |
| Description/subject: | | Below, we publish the third draft of “Guidelines for Corporations Operating in Burma”, submitted to “Civil Society Organizations and Shareholders Addressing Corporations in Burma” by the US Campaign for Burma Committee on SRI at the Unitarian Universalist Association.
Organisations with current input on these benchmarks include Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, US Campaign for Burma, AFL-CIO, International Trade Union Congress (ITUC), Freedom House, Asia Foundation, Open Society, and the Conflict Risk Network of United to End Genocide.
The title of the statement suggests that some companies have already decided to invest in Burma, following “rapprochements” with the regime made by the US, Australian and European governments earlier this year. One would have hoped for a more questioning approach by the sponsors.
The Guidelines state that the “absence of law governing the behavior of corporations in Burma…makes it imperative that NGOs, shareholders, and affected parties inside Burma develop a position regarding what companies in Burma should do in order to operate responsibly”.
Why not, instead, urge companies not to enter (or re-enter) the country before new and binding government regulations are in place?
The authors confine themselves to discussing observance of human (including workers) rights, with only one fleeting mention of environmental and socio-economic issues. However, the latter are huge priorities for many thousands of local people.
We're also told that “'..companies should prepare impact assessment reports on proposed projects in Burma that include impact assessments in the areas of human rights, the environment, gender equality, and poverty…”
Fair enough - except that these need be performed only "where appropriate", rather than being stipulated as mandatory.
Art of the possible?
Similarly, the Campaign urges companies to “[a]dopt a policy that requires [them to]…seek business partners without connections to the military, drug trade, or questionable human rights practices”. But, again, this is only “wherever possible”.
In contrast, the investment conditions published by the US and UK government, appear to proscribe any forging of commercial links with dubious or criminal domestic parties.
It’s unfortunate that, while citing examples of campaigns against foreign corporations operating in Burma, no mention is made of those which have called mining companies specifically to account - notably Ivanhoe-Rio Tinto. See: Wikileaks reveal true nature of Ivanhoe-Rio Tinto's Burmese deal
But the most important question to ask is surely this: might these benchmarks come to substitute for the vital requirement that a truly democratic government introduce its own binding reforms?
Until such a government is freely-elected, there's a clear danger of "corporate creep" into - or even partial takeover - of institutions and regulatory processes which should be firmly under parliamentary control, serving the interests of civil society.
[Comment by Nostromo Research, 18 September 2012]. |
| Author/creator: | | Nostromo Research |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | via Mines and Communitiies |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 20 September 2012 |
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Laws and rgulations governing investment
See also the Law and Constitution section
Individual Documents
| Title: | | Myanmar still a high-risk investment |
| Date of publication: | | 03 October 2012 |
| Description/subject: | | "Internal debate over a pending new foreign investment law has exposed divisions between reformers and conservatives in Myanmar. How the power struggle shakes out will determine in large measure the direction and pace of the country's closely watched economic reform program.
Big multinational corporations, including Coca-Cola, Ford Motor Company and General Electric, have expressed initial interest in Myanmar, a market American companies were until recently banned from entering due to US government imposed economic sanctions. Even with that ban lifted, companies have remained wary about committing funds without stronger legal protection of their investments.
In line with his broad reform agenda, President Thein Sein
announced plans for a more liberal investment regime in late 2011. Since then the law to regulate new foreign investment has undergone several rewrites and heated debate in parliament. The new law is designed to replace the extant and outdated 1988 investment law.
A first draft of the law was sent to parliament in March but was rejected by conservative parliamentarians - some with known links to the business associates of former junta leaders - as overly advantageous to foreign interests. Although full details of the legislation have not yet been made public, earlier drafts reportedly included several restrictions on foreign capital, including bans on foreign investment in as many as 13 sectors..." |
| Author/creator: | | Brian McCartan |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "Asia Times Online" |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 11 November 2012 |
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Chinese investment
Individual Documents
| Title: | | Chinese Foreign Direct Investment in Myanmar: Remarkable Trends and Multilayered Motivations |
| Date of publication: | | 2012 |
| Description/subject: | | Abstract: "Following the national responsibility theory in the school of international society which argues that national interest drives a state’s foreign policy, this thesis first attempts to deconstruct China’s foreign direct investment (FDI) in Myanmar since 2004 by picking apart and manipulating financial data in order to determine the resulting trends and developments. It then analyzes how Myanmar’s abundant natural resources could help alleviate China’s rising energy demands and how Chinese FDI can enhance China’s political security, reduce energy costs, diversify its imports, and mitigate mineral shortages. The United States’ marked presence in the region due to a transformation in foreign policy in the Obama administration, as well as the 2011 dissolution of military law in Myanmar, means that the motivation for Chinese FDI no longer solely revolves around the acquisition of natural resources and the previous lack of international competitors in the country. Nevertheless, I argue that China’s national economic interest will continue to serve as the primary incentive to invest billions of dollars into Myanmar, though political interest is beginning to factor more into China’s motivations."...Keywords: China, Myanmar, foreign direct investment, natural resources, national interest |
| Author/creator: | | Travis Mitchell |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Lund University, Graduate School, Department of Political Science |
| Format/size: | | pdf (1.17MB) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 07 October 2012 |
|
| Title: | | Vor der Flut |
| Date of publication: | | 2008 |
| Description/subject: | | Sie werden nicht gefragt, nicht entschädigt und bald einfach fortgejagt: Ein Staudammprojekt am Ayeyarwady in Myanmar bedroht die Natur und die Existenz tausender Flussanwohner. Der Widerstand gegen die Pläne der Militärjunta ist lebensgefährlich. Chinesische Investitionen, Kachin; Chinese Investment. |
| Author/creator: | | Veronika Buter |
| Language: | | German, Deutsch |
| Source/publisher: | | Kontinente |
| Format/size: | | html (16K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 14 December 2010 |
|
| Title: | | Chinese Hydropower Industry Investment in the Mekong Region-Impacts and Opportunities for Cooperation: Perspectives from Civil Society |
| Date of publication: | | October 2007 |
| Description/subject: | | The past decade has witnessed a tremendous surge in investment in hydropower projects in Southeast Asian countries on the part of Chinese corporations at the same time as the PRC continues to overdevelop its own hydropower
potential and environmental protection takes greater priorities within the country. In this paper delivered at at a China - ASEAN power forum attended by hundreds of executives of leading PRC power companies, Zao Noam and Piaporn Deetes of Thailand argue that the social and environmental impacts from hydropower development in the Mekong countries must be seriously addressed in order to mitigate damaging impacts to regional economies, food security and rural livelihoods. Without comprehensive and
careful consideration of hydropower's multi-faceted impacts, millions of small farmers and fisher folk whose livelihoods depend on the richness of the Mekong ecosystems will bear most of the costs of the infrastructure development. Civil society in the Mekong region urges the Chinese corporate
sector to conduct hydropower development in the region according to international standards which minimizes socio-economic and ecological harm. |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Living River Siam |
| Format/size: | | pdf (1 MB) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 11 February 2008 |
|
| Title: | | China in Burma:- The increasing investment of Chinese multinational corporations in Burma’s hydropower, oil &gas, and mining sectors |
| Date of publication: | | September 2007 |
| Description/subject: | | "Introductory research conducted by the Burma Project over the past three months has found
more than 26 Chinese multinational corporations (MNCs) involved in more than 62
hydropower, oil & gas, and mining projects in Burma. The projects vary from small dams
completed in the past decade to planned dual oil and gas pipelines across Burma to Yunnan
province announced this year. Detailed information about many of these investments is not
made available to affected communities or the general public, and we hope that the
information here will stimulate additional discussion, research, and investigation into the
conduct of Chinese MNCs in Burma..." |
| Language: | | English, Chinese, Burmese |
| Source/publisher: | | EarthRights International |
| Format/size: | | pdf (English,3.21 MB; Chinese,1.8 MB; Burmese,1.84 MB) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.earthrights.org/publication/china-burma-increasing-investment-chinese-multinational-corp... |
| Date of entry/update: | | 02 September 2010 |
|
| Title: | | Sino-Myanmar Economic Relations Since 1988 |
| Date of publication: | | April 2007 |
| Description/subject: | | Introduction: "One of the key features of the Sino-Myanmar relationship since 1988 has been the growing bilateral
cooperation in the areas of trade, aid or development assistance, and investment. Since 1988, China has become one of the most important sources of trade and development assistance for Myanmar. Though overall investment volumes are small, a hallmark of Chinese investment in Myanmar is its heavy concentration in a few strategic sectors. The pattern of the Sino-Myanmar economic relationship has reflected what the "Modern World System" theorists call "centre-periphery" relations: the wealth flows from the periphery to the centre and the authority or influence
flows from the centre to the periphery." |
| Author/creator: | | Maung Aung Myoe |
| Source/publisher: | | Asia Research Institute, Singapore Working Paper No. 86 |
| Format/size: | | pdf (445 kb) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.ari.nus.edu.sg/showfile.asp?pubid=647&type=2 |
| Date of entry/update: | | 17 February 2008 |
|
| Title: | | Myanmar’s Economic Relations with China: Can China Support the Myanmar Economy? |
| Date of publication: | | July 2006 |
| Description/subject: | | Abstract:
"Against the background of closer diplomatic, political and security ties between
Myanmar and China since 1988, their economic relations have also grown stronger
throughout the 1990s and up to 2005. China is now a major supplier of consumer and
capital goods to Myanmar, in particular through border trade. China also provides a
large amount of economic cooperation in the areas of infrastructure, energy and
state-owned economic enterprises. Nevertheless, Myanmar’s trade with China has failed
to have a substantial impact on its broad-based economic and industrial development.
China’s economic cooperation apparently supports the present regime, but its effects on
the whole economy will be limited with an unfavorable macroeconomic environment and
distorted incentives structure. As a conclusion, strengthened economic ties with China
will be instrumental in regime survival, but will not be a powerful force affecting the
process of economic development in Myanmar."...Keywords: Myanmar (Burma), China, trade, border trade, economic cooperation,
energy, oil and gas |
| Author/creator: | | Toshihiro KUDO |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | IDE DISCUSSION PAPER No. 66 |
| Format/size: | | pdf (510K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 17 February 2007 |
|
| Title: | | The Vanishing Lady Tycoon |
| Date of publication: | | July 2005 |
| Description/subject: | | Stories of murder and mayhem abound in Kachin State’s casino town...
"Welcome to the Macao of northern Burma: Maija Yang, once a backward Kachin State border village but now a bustling boom town with more than a dozen casinos catering to Chinese gamblers sidelined by restrictions in their own country.
The frontier-style administration of Maija Yang, 160km north of the Kachin capital Myitkyina, is effectively in the hands of the Kachin Independence Organization, which is said to earn around 8.5 million yuan (more than US $1 million) annually from the Chinese-run casinos. Prostitution, drugs and alcohol probably net the town even more money.
The first of the casinos was built four years ago under a KIO development program originally intended to provide local people, traditionally reliant on the opium trade, with an alternative source of income. The high-minded plan went awry, however—the casinos employ mostly Chinese staff, and the drugs problem is only getting worse..." |
| Author/creator: | | Khun Sam |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 13, No. 7 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 30 April 2006 |
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Foreign investment in oil and gas
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Arakan (Shwe) gas field
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The Shwe Gas Movement
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"The Shwe Gas Bulletin" (English)
Individual Documents
| Title: | | "Shwe Gas Bulletin" Volume 3, Issue 10, May 2010 |
| Date of publication: | | May 2010 |
| Description/subject: | | No Breakthrough against Forced Labour in
Myanmar: ILO...Chinese Oil Companies Damages (sic) peoples’ lives in
Burma (Editorial)...US Banks Involved in Shwe Gas Project...Shwe Gas Project Will be Completed by March 2013:
Hyundai Heavy...Joseph Stiglitz:
Developing Nations
Need to Attempt to
Reverse Natural
Resource Curse...Vietnam & Myanmar
sign Multiple
Economic Pacts...Oslo-Listed Seadrill leaves Burma...India’s Essar Arm Gets Govt. Contract for
Kaladan Muli Modal Transit Transport Project’... China Signs Myanmar Pipeline Deal to Boost
Oil Supply...First Village Forcibly relocated for
Irrawaddy Dam Project. |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | The Arakan Oil Watch |
| Format/size: | | pdf (348K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 09 June 2010 |
|
| Title: | | "Shwe Gas Bulletin" Volume 3, Issue 9, Dec-Jan, 09-2010 |
| Date of publication: | | January 2010 |
| Description/subject: | | -China Tie Economic with Burma’s Military Regime Including Energy Sector
-CNPC Starts Work on $1.5 Billion Oil Pipeline and Oil Terminal in autumn
-Burma Has Gas Money: No Financial Help Needed (Editorial)
-Burma Control Import Sale Gasoline and Diesel Fuel
-Burma Plans to Hand over 3 Yangon Ports to Private Firm
-Burma Buys 20MiG-29 Fighter Jets
-Malaysian and Singaporean Firms to explore oil and gas in Burma
-Burma Is Not Broke
-India to Obtain Stake in Shwe Gas Pipeline
-Bangladesh, Burma to Resolve border Dispute
-Five Facts about China-Burma Relation
-Houses and Rice Fields Confiscated for China’s Oil Pipeline and Sea Port
Project |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | The Arakan Oil Watch |
| Format/size: | | pdf (203K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 15 February 2010 |
|
| Title: | | "Shwe Gas Bulletin" Volume 3, Issue 8 |
| Date of publication: | | November 2009 |
| Description/subject: | | Rights Groups Call for China to Halt
Construction of Pipeline in Burma...China must halt oil and gas pipeline projects
in Burma (Editorial)...CNPC starts China-Burma Oil pipeline
construction with abuses...Hyundai Heavy to build US$ 1.4 billion Shwe Gas
Plant in Burma...Why Dealing with Burma Is a Very Bad Idea...Army continues forced labour along gas pipeline
in Burma’s Mon State...Singapore firm inks massive Myanmar gas deal...Burmese Junta Confiscates Public Oil Wells
and Refinery for Chinese Company |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | The Arakan Oil Watch |
| Format/size: | | pdf (523K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 08 December 2009 |
|
| Title: | | "The Shwe Gas Bulletin" Volume 3, Issue 7 |
| Date of publication: | | July 2009 |
| Description/subject: | | China to Start Building Shwe Gas Pipeline in
Sept Despite Concerns over Rights Abuses, June 27, 2009 (SGB)...Editorial: "China Deepens Burma Relationship"..."Korea Rejects Burma Gas Project Complaint"
June 15, 2009 (DVB)..."Myanmar’s Trade Ties Let Junta Ignore
Democracy Calls" By Daniel Ten Kate..."Asean’s Burma Burden -
Sanctions can help bring down the junta"
By Eva Kusuma Sundari, "Wall Street Journal Asia"...Six Villages relocated for Dam project in Arakan"
6/11/2009 (Narinjara News)..."Officials Fired Burmese Secret Tunnels’
Publicity", June 23, 2009 (The Nation). |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | The Arakan Oil Watch |
| Format/size: | | pdf (356K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 06 July 2009 |
|
| Title: | | "The Shwe Gas Bulletin" Volume 3, Issue 6 |
| Date of publication: | | March 2009 |
| Description/subject: | | "China and Burma to Jointly Develop Oil and
Gas Pipelines in Burma", March 28, 2009 (SGB)...Editorial: "Abuses Continue as China and India Battle
Energy Interests In Burma"..."CNOOC Starts Myanmar Drilling Despite
Uproar over Human Rights"
By Erwin China, Singapore (Feb 26, 2009)..."Biofuel Gone Bad: Burma’s Atrophying Jatropha" By TIME Staff (Mar. 13, 2009)..."The Scramble For A Piece of Burma" By HANNAH BEECH/ Arakan State (Mar 19, 2009)..."Norway’s Vast Oil Wealth Fund Drops Chinese
Firm" AP March 13, 2009..."Foreign investment in Myanmar doubled in 2008" AP, (March 19, 2009)..."South Korean Firm ,Seeks Mining Rights", Xinhua, Feb 6, 2009..."India’s Essar Oil Abuses Human Rights in
Burma" March 21, 2009 (SGB). |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | The Arakan Oil Watch |
| Format/size: | | pdf (1.4MB) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 07 July 2009 |
|
| Title: | | "The Shwe Gas Bulletin" Volume 3, Issue 5 |
| Date of publication: | | January 2009 |
| Description/subject: | | Shwe Gas Will Be Piped to China for 30
Years Starting from 2012 - Construction to begin in 2009 despite human rights concerns...Editorial: "Big Oil Companies Flouting Intl. Standards in
Lawless Burma"..."Human Rights Abuses in Myanmar?"
By David Watermeyer
(Dec 2008 / "The Korea Times")..."Myanmar’s Farmers Pay for China’s Oil
Thirst", By Marwaan Macan-Markar
Nov 4, 2008 (Inter Press Service)..."China Leads Surge in Foreign Investment in
Myanmar during First 9 Months", Jan 5, 2009 (AP)..."Myanmar, Russia to Jointly Explore Oil, Gas", www.chinaview.cn 2008-09-09..."Vietnamese Companies to Explore Oil and
Gas in Myanmar Offshore Area", www.chinaview.cn 2008-04-10..."Thai PTTEP’s Blocks M7 & M3:
Lack of Commercial Viability Costs Millions"
Jan 2009 (SGB)..."Thailand Delaying Plans to Build Another Gas Pipeline in Burma"
Jan 2009 (SGB)..."Exploration heightens tensions between
Burma and Bangladesh",
Jan 21, 2009 (SGB). |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | The Arakan Oil Watch |
| Format/size: | | pdf (316K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 06 July 2009 |
|
| Title: | | "The Shwe Gas Bulletin" Vol. 3 No. 4 |
| Date of publication: | | July 2008 |
| Description/subject: | | Indian Essar Oil Company Exploration
Damages People Properties; Time for US’s Chevron to Leave Burma (Editorial); Gas Found
During Tube Well
Drilling in Arakan; Treasury Sanction on Myanmar Traffickers
Implicate CNOOC (Forbes, 27 Feb 2008); Myanmar Resources Offer Few Riches; PTTEP and CNOOC Swap Gas Blocks in
Burma; NZ govt under fire for Burma contract; Electric Power Sector Major Attractor of Foreign
Investment in Myanmar; Russian Company to Explore Gold in Myanmar; Nobel Winners Seek UN Action for Arms Embargo
and Targeted Banking Sanction on Burma; TOTAL OUT OF BURMA - Protesters in London called for French’s Total to stop
fuelling oppression in Burma on Jan 19, 2008; |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | The Arakan Oil Watch |
| Format/size: | | pdf (300K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 08 July 2008 |
|
| Title: | | "The Shwe Gas Bulletin" Vol. 3 No. 3 |
| Date of publication: | | March 2008 |
| Description/subject: | | Indian Essar Oil Company Exploration
Damages People Properties...Time for US’s Chevron to Leave Burma (Editorial)...Gas Found
During Tube Well
Drilling in Arakan...Treasury Sanction on Myanmar Traffickers
Implicate CNOOC...Myanmar Resources Offer Few Riches...PTTEP and CNOOC Swap Gas Blocks in
Burma...NZ govt under fire for Burma contract...Electric Power Sector Major Attractor of Foreign
Investment in Myanmar...Russian Company to Explore Gold in Myanmar...Nobel Winners Seek UN Action for Arms Embargo
and Targeted Banking Sanction on Burma...TOTAL OUT OF BURMA - Protesters in London called for French’s Total to stop
fuelling oppression in Burma on Jan 19, 2008. |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | The Arakan Oil Watch |
| Format/size: | | pdf (222K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 02 March 2008 |
|
| Title: | | "The Shwe Gas Bulletin" Vol. 3 No. 2 |
| Date of publication: | | January 2008 |
| Description/subject: | | Burma’s Oil and Gas: Events of 2007...China Wins Rights to Myanmar’s Gas...Gas-Rich Burma but harsh fuel price on citizens - People Protest for “Freedom from Starvation” (Editorial)...CNPC and Yunnan sign refining agreement - China plans to build an oil pipeline from Yunnan to Myanmar...Than Shwe’s Gas Powered Regime to Look
now on China...Protests against Fuel
Price Hike Break out
Despite Junta
Crackdown...Gas Sales to Thailand Account for 43% of
Burmese Exports...Burma’s FDI more than Doubled:
Thailand is the Largest Investor...Junta Proffers Entire Arakan Gas Reserve to
China: Dual Oil, Gas Pipeline Plans Threaten
Rights abuses in Burma...Burma, China, Russia: Oil and Arms
China, Russia rejected Burma at UNSC...Burma Cashes up on Energy, But Locals
in the Dark...World Wide
Protests against
the Shwe Gas
Project...Foreign investment in
Myanmar dominated by
oil, gas and power...India signed US$ 150
million contract for 3
offshore blocks despite
unrest in Burma. |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | The Arakan Oil Watch |
| Format/size: | | pdf (338K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 02 March 2008 |
|
| Title: | | "The Shwe Gas Bulletin" Vol. 3 No. 1 |
| Date of publication: | | November 2007 |
| Description/subject: | | India signed US$ 150
million contract for 3
offshore blocks
despite unrest in
Burma...
India’s oil minister noted the
contract was a very happy
development between two
countries...Monks Back on Streets,
Protests Continue...More companies need to withdraw (Editorial)...“Words” from Oil and
Gas Companies:
Refuse to Exit Burma...EU Sanctions Fall Short on
Burma’s Major Revenue Earner,
the Oil and Gas Sector...Japan Adds to
Pressure on Burma...The Whole World must Act (By Gordon Brown, Oct 24, 07/Guardian)...Region’s Energy Needs Enable Burma Junta...Exploration proceeds off
Myanmar as crisis boils...ICRC Deeply Worried’ About Burmese
Detainess... |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | The Arakan Oil Watch, |
| Format/size: | | pdf (276K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 02 March 2008 |
|
| Title: | | "The Shwe Gas Bulletin" Vol. 2, No. 12 |
| Date of publication: | | September 2007 |
| Description/subject: | | Burmese
Junta
Confirms
Agreement to
Sell Shwe Gas
to China; Protests against Fuel Price
Hike Break out continually in
Burma despite Junta
Crackdown; Gas-Rich Burma but harsh fuel price on citizens --
People Protest for “Freedom from Starvation” (Editorial); ASEAN Lawmakers to China, India: Don’t
Support Burmese Junta; Reaction on Burma’s
Deteriorated Situation:
“Wards of the Month”; Fuel Price Policy Explodes in Burma (Larry Jagan, "Asia Times"); India eyes more gas
fields in Burma; China Conducts Survey for Oil Terminal
in Burma. |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | The Arakan Oil Watch |
| Format/size: | | pdf (322K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 09 September 2007 |
|
| Title: | | "The Shwe Gas Bulletin" Vol. 2, No. 11 |
| Date of publication: | | August 2007 |
| Description/subject: | | Gas Sales to Thailand Account for 43% of
Burmese Exports; Save Our Natural Resources (Editorial); PTTEP Discovers Large
Gas Deposit, Plans to Begin
Production Next Year; China to Build Large Seaport in Arakan; China’s Thumb in every Burmese Pie (Larry Jagan); Bangladesh Looks to World Bank & ADB for
Burmese Hydropower Investment; UN says Burma’s Junta is Fueling Poverty; ANC: Stop Arakan Hydropower Project. |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | The Arakan Oil Watch |
| Format/size: | | pdf (223K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 20 August 2007 |
|
| Title: | | "The Shwe Gas Bulletin" Vol. 2, No. 10 |
| Date of publication: | | June 2007 |
| Description/subject: | | Burma’s FDI
more than
Doubled:
Thailand is
the Largest
Investor; Regime extends Suu Kyi detention; Foreign Investors have Burmese Blood
on their Hands (Editorial); Hydropower and
Oil&Gas Sectors
Dominate Burma’s FDI; Burma Prefers China as Gas Buyer; India
Sees Red (Anupama Airy); First as Tragedy, Second as Farce: PTT at a
Crossroads (Matthew Smith); Thailand’s PTT Exploration discovers
natural gas off Burma coast; Daewoo Sends Legal Experts to Burma; Russia to Build Nuclear Centre in
Sanctions-Hit Burma
(Conor Humphries); Villagers Attack Chinese Company in Arakan |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | The Arakan Oil Watch |
| Format/size: | | pdf (153K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 01 June 2007 |
|
| Title: | | "The Shwe Gas Bulletin" Vol. 2, No. 9 |
| Date of publication: | | May 2007 |
| Description/subject: | | SPDC Proffers Entire Arakan Gas Reserve
to China: Dual Oil,Gas Pipeline Plans
Threaten Rights abuses in Burma; End China Exchanges Its
Support for Burma Gas (Editorial); China signs new
hydropower deal
with Burma; China Seeks route around the Malacca
Dilemma’ (Graham Lees,World Politics Watch); Burma Cashes up on Energy, But Locals in
the Dark; Daewoo Consider Legal Action Against
Burma: Gas To Go To China; |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | The Arakan Oil Watch |
| Format/size: | | pdf (457K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 30 April 2007 |
|
| Title: | | "The Shwe Gas Bulletin" Vol. 2, No. 8 |
| Date of publication: | | April 2007 |
| Description/subject: | | World Wide Protests against the Shwe Gas
Project; Editorial: “No More Guns for Gas” - Stop Daewoo’s and India’s Arm Supplies to the Than Shwe Regime; Fishermen Suffer Navy Harassment as
Daewoo Starts New Drilling; Burma’s Neighbors Hold the Key; Russian Companies to
Explore Oil, Gas in
Burma Inland area; Burma Introduces E-Gov System in New
Capital -
Daewoo, KCOMS to provide Info-and Comm- Tech; Thailand’s PTTEP Finds more Gas in Burma’s Block M-9,
Spends US$ 200 million on Test Drilling; Action of March 26: Fourth Global Protest against the Shwe gas
project, Daewoo and India’s arms supplies to the Burma regime; Despite US, EU Sanctions, New Contracts
Continue for Burma’s Oil and Gas. |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | The Arakan Oil Watch |
| Format/size: | | pdf (323K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 13 April 2007 |
|
| Title: | | "The Shwe Gas Bulletin" Vol. 2, No. 7 |
| Date of publication: | | February 2007 |
| Description/subject: | | Mekong River and Burma: China’s two Plans
for Secure Energy Transportation; Get Out of Burma, Activist Group Tells China (Editorial); Year 2007: MPRL and China Heighten
Burma’s Energy Sector; Burma Finds Willing Arms Suppliers in
Energy-Hungry Neighbors
By Michael Black and William Couchaux | 03 Jan 2007
World Politics Watch Exclusive; India to Supply
Weapons to Burma; Burma Prefers Arakan
Gas as an LNG Project; Daewoo President
Resigned; Nine Daewoo Oil Workers
Kidnapped in Nigeria; Thailand’s PTTEP Has Discovered Gas in
Burma |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | The Arakan Oil Watch |
| Format/size: | | pdf (301K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 01 February 2007 |
|
| Title: | | "The Shwe Gas Bulletin" Vol. 2, No.6 |
| Date of publication: | | January 2007 |
| Description/subject: | | Daewoo
International
President Lee
Tae - Yong
may face up
to five years
in prison for
illegal arms
exports to
Than Shwe’s
Regime; Beware! Foreign Investors Can Kill (Editorial); INDICTED!
Burma Weapons Factory Daewoo Funded, Say Prosecutors
Daewoo boss among 14 executives facing criminal charges, Shwe Gas Movement wants answer; Burma and Its Neighbours: The Geopolitics
of Gas (continued from last month): Sino-Indian Interests and Rivalry in Burma; Six More Contracts Increased Burma’s
Oil and Gas Sector in 2006; Activists in S.Korea Denounce
Daewoo for Arms Supplies to
Burma; Construction of Sittwe Port to Start in January - India’s grand Kaladan project that includes a major water way and pipeline to its North Eastern
states is moving swiftly ahead. But at what price?
Along the Kaladan River in Arakan State, land confiscations and forced labor have already arrived
ahead of the development. Activists fear more will follow. |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | The Arakan Oil Watch |
| Format/size: | | pdf (159K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 26 December 2006 |
|
| Title: | | "The Shwe Gas Bulletin" Vol. 2, No.5 |
| Date of publication: | | December 2006 |
| Description/subject: | | Global Protest Over Shwe Gas Project in
Burma; Foreign Oil firms Block Change
in Burma (Editorial); Forced Labor and Other Abuses Mounting Along
the Indo-Burma Proposed Pipeline Route, By K.Murn Aung; Burma and Its Neighbours: The Geopolitics
of Gas (The authors conclude that “while countries in the neighbouring regions - particularly India and Thailand, but
also Australia and Japan - may have important roles to play, China wields far more leverage. For those who
wish to influence Burma in a positive direction, it is therefore essential to consider ways that change could be
stimulated with the active participation of China, whether through sanctions, constructive engagement and/or
any form of dialogue”); Australia’s Danford Equities Signs Oil-
Gas Exploration Deal With Burma; Thailand’s PTTEP to Begin New Offshore
Drilling in Myanmar; |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | The Arakan Oil Watch |
| Format/size: | | pdf (242K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 26 December 2006 |
|
| Title: | | "The Shwe Gas Bulletin" Vol. 2, No.4 |
| Date of publication: | | November 2006 |
| Description/subject: | | Is Daewoo Arming the SPDC? - S.Korea Activists Demand Probe into Daewoo’s Alleged Arms Exports to Burma; It’s not too late for Thailand to change its Burma Policy (Editorial); Arakan Oil and Gas and Sea Port for
China’s Energy Resource; Burma, China, Russia: Arms and Energy; The Shwe Gas Project Require an EIA Now --
Part VI: The Construction of Pipelines to India and China Will Cause
Futher Environmental Degradation and Human Rights Abuses,
By Lars Thompson; Myanmar Hikes Income
Taxes on Fuel Firms; Myanmar Will Reopen Six Blocks to
Foreign Firms. |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | The Arakan Oil Watch |
| Format/size: | | pdf (234K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 26 December 2006 |
|
| Title: | | "The Shwe Gas Bulletin" Vol. 2, No. 3 |
| Date of publication: | | September 2006 |
| Description/subject: | | North East Students oppose Shwe Gas
Pipeline; Burma Needs Support In Reality (Editorial); Thailand Joins the Race a Bid for Shwe Gas
Reserves; Myanmar Energy Production Rising (Aaron Clark, Associated Press Writer); The Shwe Gas Project Require an EIA Now
Part V: The Nature of Natural Gas as a Harmful and Non-Renewable
Natural Resource (By Lars Thompson); Myanmar Gas Pipeline to Bypass Bangladesh; Gas and Oil discovered
in Myanmar (By Anuchit Nguyen, Bloomberg News); Acient Mrauk-U Palace
Turned into Castor Oil
Plantation (Narinjara News); Arakan Reserves May Satisy S-Korea’s Gas
Needs for Five Years. |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | The Arakan Oil Watch |
| Format/size: | | pdf (128K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 26 December 2006 |
|
| Title: | | "The Shwe Gas Bulletin" Vol. 2, No. 2 |
| Date of publication: | | August 2006 |
| Description/subject: | | SGM Calls for Korean and Indian Firms to
Withdraw from Burma; Resource Curse: Burma (editorial); Shocking Future along the Kaladan River
By K. Murn Aung (SGB); The Shwe Gas Project Require an EIA Now.
Part IV: International Law Requires That an Environmental Impact
Assessment Be Prepared Now (Lars Thompson); Death Grip: -
Despite international calls for reform, the ever-defiant SPDC maintains control over
Myanmar with an Orwellian hand. Secrecy and paranoia abound, while rubbing elbows
with Asia’s powerhouse nations keeps the regime in charge; Teachers, Students
Arrested in Arakan; Two Arakanese women
seek Justice; ANC Urges to End the Shwe Gas Project
Fearing E-damages and HR Violations. |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | The Arakan Oil Watch |
| Format/size: | | pdf (137K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 30 July 2006 |
|
| Title: | | "The Shwe Gas Bulletin" Vol. 2, Issue 1 |
| Date of publication: | | July 2006 |
| Description/subject: | | Daewoo Ban Mariners in Arakan Sea;
Continuing Seismic Surveys Adversely Impact the
Marine Environment in Burma (Editorial);
Myanmar must free
forced labour plaintiffs
by July 31: ILO; Land Confiscation And Other Human Rights
Abuses Continue in Onshore Area: Arakan; The Shwe Gas Project Requires an EIA Now - Part III: ONGC and GAIL Corporate Policies as well as the Environmental Law of India Require
an EIA Now (Lars Thompson); China and India’s New Battle Ground:
Burma’s Arakan State (Herman_; Life Under Burma’s Military Regime -
In the second article of a special series from inside Burma, the BBC’s Kate McGeown looks at the dayto-
day problems facing ordinary people under the country’s repressive military regime; Daewoo Found Huge Gas Deposit in Arakan
Offshore. |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Arakan Oil Watch |
| Format/size: | | pdf (230K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 04 July 2006 |
|
| Title: | | "The Shwe Gas Bulletin" Vol. 1, Issue 12 |
| Date of publication: | | May 2006 |
| Description/subject: | | Activists Demonstrate to Halt Shwe Gas Project; Foreign Companies Should Likewise Rethink Cooperation
with the Regime (Editorial); Sino-Myanmar
Strategic Cooperation; China’s COSL Extends Contract with Daewoo
for Nanhai II; The Shwe Gas Project Requires an EIA
Now - Part II: Daewoo International and KOGAS Are Required by their Corporate Policies and the
Environmental Policy of South Korea to Prepare an EIA Now
(Lars Thompson); China-Burma Oil
Pipeline Approved; Sino-Burma Pipeline
will Set off More
Relocations; Arakan Gas Will Pipe Straight to India. |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Arakan Gas Research Team, Thailand |
| Format/size: | | pdf (323K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 28 May 2006 |
|
| Title: | | "The Shwe Gas Bulletin" Vol. 1, Issue 11 |
| Date of publication: | | April 2006 |
| Description/subject: | | April 18, 2006:The Day of Global Action
Against Daewoo; Lives Suffering from Oil Companies
need Support (Editorial); Seven Burmese and Two
Chinese Officers Injured
in Mine Explosion; Chinese Oil Exploration: Pumping Resident’s
Blood?; More Gas Found in Myanmar Offshore Block; The Shwe Gas Project Requires an EIA
Now -
Part I: Sustainable Development Requires an EIA (Lars Thompson); In Myanmar Vist, Indian President
Jockeys with China for Energy. |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Arakan Gas Research Team, Thailand |
| Format/size: | | pdf (339K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 28 May 2006 |
|
| Title: | | "The Shwe Gas Bulletin Vol. 1, Issue 10 |
| Date of publication: | | February 2006 |
| Description/subject: | | Shwe Gas Pipeline Project to India: Another
Yadana Begins?; Myanmar to Lay Gas
Pipeline to New Capital,
As energy hungry foreign companies are searching for oil and Paper says; South Korea: Burma’s Biggest Investor (Herman); 3 More Blocks in Myanmar Under Gas
Exploration; Anti-Gas Pipeline Campaign Voice Concern; Myanmar PM headed to China; India Hires Belgium Company to Conduct
Feasibility Report for Shwe Pipeline. |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Arakan Gas Research Team |
| Format/size: | | pdf (188K, 1.5MB) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.ibiblio.org/obl/docs3/SGB01-10.pdf |
| Date of entry/update: | | 29 May 2006 |
|
| Title: | | "The Shwe Gas Bulletin Vol. 1, Issue 9 |
| Date of publication: | | January 2006 |
| Description/subject: | | Discovery of Block A-3 Sends Daewoo Stock
Soaring, Promts futher Protest; Deal with China Boon to Brutal Burmese Junta (Editorial); Senior General Than Shwe
Awarded Third Worst
Dictator in the World’; Than Shwe’s Gas Powered Regime to Look
now on China (Jockai&PK); China Replaces India in Deal for Shwe Gas; Business with Myanmar Thrives Amid
Diplomatic Stress (Daniel Ten Kate); Foreign Investment in Myanmar
Reaches $7.76 bln; Shwe Gas Consortium Continues Appraisals
of Extensive Shwe Gas Block. |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Arakan Gas Research Team |
| Format/size: | | pdf (195K, 1.8MB) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.ibiblio.org/obl/docs3/SGB01-09.pdf |
| Date of entry/update: | | 29 May 2006 |
|
| Title: | | "The Shwe Gas Bulletin" Vol. 1, Issue 8 |
| Date of publication: | | November 2005 |
| Description/subject: | | COSL Signs Deal with Daewoo to Provide Offshore
Drilling Services; Forced Labour In
Burma’s Arakan State
Capital Sittwe; Total’s Settlement will not Quell Rights
Campaign; Daewoo among the 474 Foreign Companies
Supporting Burma’s Military Regime; Tankers Could Carry
Gas to India (Thet Khaing); Burma is Asia’s Economic
Basket Case; Myanmar Pipeline Back on Course as
Delhi relents on sops for B’desh. |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Arakan Gas Research Team, Thailand |
| Format/size: | | pdf (172K, 1MB) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.ibiblio.org/obl/docs3/SGB01-08.pdf |
| Date of entry/update: | | 28 May 2006 |
|
| Title: | | "The Shwe Gas Bulletin" Vol. 1, Issue 7 |
| Date of publication: | | October 2005 |
| Description/subject: | | World Wide protests against Daewoo International
over Shwe Gas Development; Foreign Investment Directly Promotes the Violation
of Human Rights in Burma (Editorial); Arakanese Inside
Burma Protested the
Shwe Gas Project of
Daewoo and Junta; Daewoo Signs Deal With Shwe Gas
Partners for Burma’s Gas Block A-3; Burmese Fuel Hike a Threat to Subsistence; Negotiations Continue Over Shwe Gas
despite Bangladeshi Demands. |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Arakan Gas Research Team, Thailand |
| Format/size: | | pdf (251K, 1.6MB) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.ibiblio.org/obl/docs3/SGB01-07.pdf |
| Date of entry/update: | | 28 May 2006 |
|
| Title: | | "The Shwe Gas Bulletin" Vol. 1, Issue 6 |
| Date of publication: | | September 2005 |
| Description/subject: | | Shwe Gas Movement Urges Bangladeshis to
Stem Shwe Pipline Project; Cozy Relationship with Burmese Military Regime (Editorial); Confiscation of Private
Land Continues in
Arakan State; Arakan and Chin Suffer Forced Labor
under Shwe Gas Pipeline Project; India Looks East for Gas
(Siddharth Srivastava); Thai Plan Undersea Pipe for Shwe Gas; Over 10,000 Giant Sea Perch Dead, Hilsa Deformed:
Daewoo & Shwe Block A1 Gas Exploration; India, Bangladesh Agree on Tri-nation Gas Pipeline; |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Arakan Gas Research Team, Thailand |
| Format/size: | | pdf (570K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 28 May 2006 |
|
| Title: | | "The Shwe Gas Bulletin" Vol. 1, Issue 5 |
| Date of publication: | | July 2005 |
| Description/subject: | | Shwe Gas Issue Raised in ILO’s Special Sitting; Arakanese Villagers
Are Being Forced to
Aid in the Construction
of the Gas Pipeline
Between Burma
and India; Shwe Gas may be exported to Thailand -
Burma is looking for US$ 4 billion in investments to develop the Shwe fields; Burma Visit Highlights India’s
“look East” Strategy
(Sarath Kumara); Shwe Gas Pipeline Threatens Millions of Lives
along Kaladan River
(Dale); India will continue talks with Bangladesh. |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Arakan Gas Research Team, Thailand |
| Format/size: | | pdf (429K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 28 May 2006 |
|
| Title: | | "The Shwe Gas Bulletin" Vol. 1, Issue 4 |
| Date of publication: | | June 2005 |
| Description/subject: | | Kyauk Taw Township Residents Displaced,
Refugees Settle in Bangladesh; Natural Gas Found
instead of Water
from Digging a Tube
well in Arakan; “Daewoo Out of Burma” -
The US Campaign for Burma (USCB) may Launch Their New International Campaign; Shwe Campaign Roundtable Talks; Unocal: What’s The Big Surprise (Dr. Joe Duarte); Oil-Hungry Neighbors are The Primary Supporters of the Burma Junta
(Jockai); Kaladan Project Survey completed - Tri-Nation Gas Pipeline, Road and Waterway. |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Arakan Gas Research Team, Thailand |
| Format/size: | | pdf (471K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 28 May 2006 |
|
| Title: | | "The Shwe Gas Bulletin" Vol. 1, Issue 3 |
| Date of publication: | | May 2005 |
| Description/subject: | | Foreign Investment in Oil Threatens Livelihood
of Local People in Burma (Jockai); Human Rights Activists Protest
Against TOTAL in the US for
Burma Involvement; Mohona Holding Ltd. Begin Negotiation
for Tri-Nation Gas Pipeline Project; AASYC joins hands with Bangladeshi activists against the tri-nation gas pipeline project; Burma’s Murlky Water: Enviromental Impacts
of The Shwe Offshore Gas Project (Jay Chou); Three Hydro-Power Plants Are Being Built in Military Bases in Arakan State; Essar Oil Signs for Two Exploration in Arakan, Burma. |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Arakan Gas Research Team, Thailand |
| Format/size: | | pdf (584K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 28 May 2006 |
|
| Title: | | "The Shwe Gas Bulletin" Vol. 1, Issue 2 |
| Date of publication: | | April 2005 |
| Description/subject: | | Protesters Demand India Not to
Cooporate With Burma; Toxic Shwe (Jockai); Shwe Gas Activists Met Korean
Human Rights Ambassador; Youth in Arakan
Erected Signboards
Against Daewoo; Profits at Gunpoint: Unocal’s Pipeline in Burma
Becomes a Test Case in Corporate Accountalility
(Daphne Eviatar); Anti-Shwe Gas Groups Want Daewoo Out of Burma. |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Arakan Gas Research Team, Thailand |
| Format/size: | | pdf (695K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 28 May 2006 |
|
| Title: | | "The Shwe Gas Bulletin" Vol. 1, Issue. 1 |
| Date of publication: | | March 2005 |
| Description/subject: | | Activists Demand Referendum on Gas Extraction; Gas Pipeline
a Threat to
National Security;International
Campaign
Launched to
Pressure Total; Bangladesh Imposes Conditions for Gas Pipeline Transit; Daewoo Drills Natural Gas In Shwe Again; Out of Burma: Cross-Border Resource Extraction (Edith Mirante); Activists in Dhaka Protest Against Gas Pipeline. |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Arakan Gas Research Team, Thailand |
| Format/size: | | pdf (371K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 28 May 2006 |
|
-
Oil and gas discussion group
Individual Documents
| Title: | | Burmaoil |
| Description/subject: | | Discussion of the oil companies' investment in Burma. |
| Subscribe: | | subscribe@yahoogroups.com |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
-
Japanese investment
Individual Documents
| Title: | | Mitsubishi to Invest $70 Million in Yetagun |
| Date of publication: | | July 2000 |
| Description/subject: | | Japanese trading company Mitsubishi Corporation has announced that it will provide US $70 million to build a floating storage offloading FSO facility for the Yetagun offshore oil and natural gas project in Burma by the end of July. [Nippon Oil, holder of 20% in Yetagun, merged with Mitsubishi Oil in April 1999 to form Japan's biggest oil company, the Nippon-Mitsubishi Oil Corporation(NMOC) known also as Nisseki Mitsubishi Oil Corp.] |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy", Vol. 8. No. 7 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | Gambling on Japan |
| Date of publication: | | April 2000 |
| Description/subject: | | In recent years Japan has attempted to assert itself as a major player on the Asian political stage, only to have its efforts rebuffed by its neighbors and its major strategic partner, the United States. But, writes Neil Lawrence, Asian countries struggling out of a major economic crisis may finally be ready to give Japan the leading role it has long coveted. But doubts remain about Japan's political values. |
| Author/creator: | | Neil Lawrence |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy", Vol. 8. No. 4-5 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | "Greedy" Regime Stuns Japanese |
| Date of publication: | | February 2000 |
| Description/subject: | | Officials in Japan, historically Burma's largest creditor, have been left shaking their heads over the SPDC's latest efforts to tap into the wealth of Asia's richest nation. |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy", Vol. 8. No. 2 (Business section) |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | "One Trip to Myanmar and Everyone Would Love the Country" |
| Date of publication: | | December 1998 |
| Description/subject: | | Burma-Japan relations go back to before World War II, and the opinions of Japan's "old Burma hands" are often better informed about internal conditions than those of Western observers, even if one doesn't entirely agree with them. But a new Japanese perspective on Burma has emerged, which could be described as "Aung San Suu Kyi-bashing" or "hitching one's wagon to the star of Asian values." |
| Author/creator: | | Donald Seekins |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "Burma Debate", Vol. V No 1 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | Panel Set to Examine EC's Complaint Against US Tax Treatment for FSCs |
| Date of publication: | | 29 October 1998 |
| Description/subject: | | The Dispute Settlement Body (DSB), on 21 October, established a panel to examine complaints by the European Communities and Japan that a Massachusetts law had violated provisions of the plurilateral Agreement on Government Procurement..." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | WTO NEWS |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 18 August 2010 |
|
| Title: | | Japan Seeks Respect - But from Whom? |
| Date of publication: | | April 1998 |
| Description/subject: | | Japan's resumption of ODA to Burma's junta begs questions about its motives and what its political values really are. |
| Author/creator: | | LJN |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy", Vol. 6. No. 2 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
-
Singaporean investment
Individual Documents
| Title: | | Flying High |
| Date of publication: | | September 2003 |
| Description/subject: | | "There’s confidence in the air over Burma as a new airline prepares to take off...
When a relatively unknown investment group came forward on April 1 with plans for another airline for Burma, some dismissed the announcement as an April Fool’s prank. With all the cards already stacked against Burma’s economy and turbulent aviation industry—in the form of tourism boycotts and tightened economic sanctions—who would be brave, or foolish, enough to bank on a brand new airline?
The answer is Edward Tan, Chief Executive of Hong Kong-based Sunshine Strategic Investments, and a conglomerate of Sino-Burmese investors. The group is keen to give the Burmese people what Tan describes as "a better airline with better management."..." |
| Author/creator: | | Anthony Faraday and Naw Seng |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy", Vol. 11. No. 7 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 06 November 2003 |
|
| Title: | | Singapore Shrug |
| Date of publication: | | August 2002 |
| Description/subject: | | "...Singapore�s economic relationship with Burma went through a honeymoon period that lasted through the mid-1990s, and ended about the time Burma joined the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) in July 1997�roughly coinciding with the start of a financial crisis that afflicted most of the region.
Since then, Singapore�s enthusiasm for one of the region�s last investment frontiers has cooled dramatically. And to date, there has been little to indicate that Singaporean corporations are preparing for an equally dramatic reentry into Burma�s troubled economy..." |
| Author/creator: | | Neil Lawrence |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol 10. No. 6, July-August 2002 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
-
Tourism
See Tourism (top-level, Main Library)
-
Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings (UMEH)
UMEH negotiates and enters joint ventures with foreign investors
Individual Documents
| Title: | | Ready, Aim, Sanction! |
| Date of publication: | | 20 November 2003 |
| Description/subject: | | 1 FOREWORD BY ARCHBISHOP DESMOND TUTU;
INTRODUCTION:-
3 FLAWED IMPLEMENTATION;
3 MOVING AHEAD;
4 RESISTANCE;
4 BROKEN PROMISES;
5 NO DELAY;
6 SMART SANCTIONS...
PART 2: THE STORY SO FAR:-
7 CURRENT STATE OF AFFAIRS;
9 ROADMAPS LEADING NOWHERE:
* Thai �road map' _ Much Ado About Nothing;
* The SPDC Roadmap_ the Perfect Stalling Tactic;
* National Convention background;
* What's missing from the �road map';
* What the convention does offer;
* NLD & ethnic nationality participation not required;
12 INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS;
14 BROADER INDIRECT IMPACT OF SANCTIONS;
17 LIMITATIONS OF SANCTIONS:
* �Carroty Sticks';
18 SANCTIONS & THE ECONOMY...
PART 3: CURRENT SANCTIONS:-
21 CANADA'S SANCTIONS ON BURMA;
22 EUROPEAN UNION SANCTIONS ON BURMA;
23 JAPAN'S POLICY ON BURMA;
24 UNITED STATES SANCTIONS ON BURMA;
25 SANCTIONS & ACTIONS: AN ASSESSMENT;
25 IMPORT BAN:
* Direct Impacts;
* Room For Improvement;
26 BAN ON REMITTANCES TO BURMA:
* Direct Impacts;
* Room For Improvement;
28 FOREIGN INVESTMENT RESTRICTIONS:
* Direct Impacts;
* Room For Improvement;
30 ARMS EMBARGO / NON-PROVISION OF ARTICLES/SERVICES
THAT COULD BE USED FOR REPRESSION
* Direct Impacts:
* Room For Improvement;
33 ASSETS FREEZE:
* Direct Impacts & Room For Improvement;
34 TRAVEL/VISA BAN:
* Direct Impacts;
* Room For Improvement;
35 BAN ON DIRECT FOREIGN ASSISTANCE:
* Direct Impacts & Room For Improvement;
* Japan Suspends Aid to Burma;
* Drug Eradication Assistance;
* Direct Impacts & Room For Improvement;
37 SUSPENSION OF MDB & IFI ASSISTANCE:
* Direct Impacts & Room For Improvement;
38 TRADE PREFERENCE SUSPENSIONS:
* Direct Impacts;
* Room For Improvement;
40 DIPLOMATIC DOWNGRADES;
40 INTERNATIONAL LABOR ORGANIZATION (ILO):
* A Model For Sanctions;
43 UNITED NATIONS:
* SPDC Thumbing Their Nose At The UN;
* UN Interventions;
* Extreme Violations;
* Broad Based Support;
46 WHAT ABOUT THE UNSC?
47 UN SECRETARY GENERAL'S SPECIAL ENVOY TO BURMA:
* Turning of the Tide;
* A New Strategy;
* UN Special Envoy's Mandate;
49 THE UN SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR'S OBLIGATION:
* A Different Tune;
50 UNDERMINING ITSELF;
PART 4: RECOMMENDED ACTIONS & SANCTIONS:-
51 �RECIPE FOR RECONCILIATION';
51 PRINCIPLED ENGAGEMENT:
* Nominations for the Burma Diplomatic Squad;
* Components of the Recipe;
* Reconstruction of Burma;
54 NO MORE TOYS FOR THE BAD BOYS;
54 WIDEN BAN ON REMITTANCES TO BURMA;
55 IMPORT BAN ON GOODS FROM BURMA:
* 10% of Exports Profits Directly Fund the Regime;
58 BAN ON CONFLICT RESOURCES:
* SPDC Involvement;
* Examples of SPDC �unofficial' involvement in logging;
* Local Communities â“ Logging often hurts more than it helps;
* Gems;
* Environmental Destruction;
* Employment;
* Forced Labor;
* Ethnic Nationalities â“ Between A Rock & A Hard Place;
* Drugs, HIV/AIDS & Money Laundering;
* Resource Diplomacy;
* Who's Operating?
* Some of the Big Boys...
70 BAN ON NATURAL GAS IMPORTS FROM BURMA;
71 RESTRICTION ON FUEL SALES TO BURMA;
72 BAN ON OIL & GAS FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT (FDI):
* Oil & Gas;
* New Pipeline Proposal;
* Yadana Partners Strike Again;
* Greater Mekong Subregion Project;
74 FULL INVESTMENT BAN:
* Major FDI Players;
* FDI 2001-2002;
* Trade Fairs;
* FDI Exposure to Money Laundering;
* What About the Workers?
79 SPECIAL FOCUS: TENTACLES 'S HOLD ON THE
FORMAL ECONOMY:
* The BIG Tentacles â“ A Snapshot!
* Ministry of Defense;
* DDP: Directorate of Defense Procurement;
* DDI: Directorate of Defense Industries;
* MEC: Myanmar Economic Corporation;
* UMEH (UMEHL): Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings;
* MOGE/MPE/MPPE;
* Ministry of Industry I;
* Ministry of Industry II;
* Myanmar Agricultural Produce Trading (MAPT);
* Myanmar Timber Enterprise (MTE);
* Myanmar Export-Import Services (MEIS);
* Ministry of Post and Telegraphs (MPT);
* Ministry of Hotels & Tourism;
* Myanmar Electric Power Enterprise (MEPE);
* Directorate of Ordnance;
* State-Owned/Controlled Banks;
86 A CLOSER LOOK: UNION OF MYANMAR ECONOMIC
HOLDINGS LTD (UMEH/UMEHL/UMEHI):
* Gems;
* Jade;
* UMEH Business Ventures;
* Keeping It In The Family: Industrial Estates;
* It Gets Worse;
* Six Degrees Of Separation;
* Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA);
* Na Sa Ka: Making Human Rights Violations Profitable...
95 WIDEN THE ASSETS FREEZE;
95 IMPLEMENT FINANCIAL ACTION TASK FORCE (FATF)
RECOMMENDATIONS;
98 WITHHOLD ASSISTANCE FROM IFI/MDBS:
* Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS);
* East-West Economic Corridor (EWEC);
* Power Trade Operating Agreement (PTOA);
* Technical Assistance;
* Withhold GMS Funding For Projects In Burma...
102 SUSPEND JAPAN'S OFFICIAL DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE
(ODA) TO BURMA:
* Options;
105 PRESSURE ON JAPAN;
105 BOYCOTT AND DIVESTMENT CAMPAIGNS;
108 DELAY TOURISM:
* Benefiting Whom?
109 ASEAN TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY:
* The Reality;
* Credibility on the Line;
111 INCREASE PRESSURE ON THE REGIME'S KEY PARTNERS;
112 SPORTS EMBARGO;
113 OFFICIAL RECOGNITION FOR THE CRPP;
113 INCREASE CAPACITY OF THE DEMOCRATIC MOVEMENT;
114 PUT SPDC ON PROBATION;
114 TAKE BURMA TO THE UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL
(UNSC):
* Rampant Military Growth;
* Known weapons procurement during 2001-July 2003;
* Civilian Military Porters;
* Child Soldiers;
* Drugs;
* Civil War;
* Displacement of People;
* Systematic human rights abuses;
* Failure to recognize democratic elections;
* Regional Implications...
PART 5: MYTHS & REALITIES:-
132 MYTH 1: Sanctions on Burma have not worked.;
133 MYTH 2: The effectiveness of sanctions is too limited to beconstructive;
134 MYTH 3: The SPDC is not influenced by international
pressure;
135 MYTH 4: Sanctions can be used as a scapegoat by the SPDC
for internal policy failures;
136 MYTH 5: Sanctions will alienate the �moderates' in the regime;
137 MYTH 6: Sanctions take away incentives for the regime to
make progress;
138 MYTH 7: Constructive engagement would be successful in
bringing reforms in Burma;
139 MYTH 8: Sanctions and principled engagement cannot work
as complementary approaches;
141 MYTH 9: Western nations' economic stake in Burma is not
large enough for sanctions to be effective;
142 MYTH 10: Sanctions will not impact the regime but will mostly
hurt civilians:
* Formal and Informal Economy;
* Reality Check;
* Jobs Lost?
146 MYTH 11: Sanctions are starving the population:
* Very Low Nutrition and Life Expectancy Rates;
* More Displacement in Ethnic and Central Areas;
* Logging and Increased Poverty;
* Military Forces and Arms Procurement Have Increased;
* More Oppression;
* Four-Cuts Program;
* Mawchi Township: Impoverished by the SPDC;
151 MYTH 12: Investment and trade has brought better working
conditions;
153 MYTH 13: Sanctions destroyed Burma's investment climate:
* Mandalay Brewery: A Cautionary Tale;
156 MYTH 14: Sanctions created Burma's current financial crisis;
* Foreign Exchange Certificates (FECs);
158 MYTH 15: Burmese people do not want sanctions;
159 MYTH 16: International pressure & sanctions will isolate the
regime, push it closer to China;
PART 6: IRREVERSIBLE STEPS FORWARD:-
162 LESSONS FROM AFGHANISTAN:
* A Few Steps Behind;
* Engagement & Reward â“ A Dangerous Game;
* Transformation;
164 SANCTIONS FOR CHANGE:
* Clear Recipe;
* Period of Leverage & Enforcement Actions;
* Timing & Strength;
* Committee oversight;
* Communication;
* Moderates?;
* Lose-Lose Situation;
* Premature Action;
172 EU'S NEW STRATEGY APRIL 2003 â“
WHY IT DIDN'T MEASURE UP;
174 LESSONS FROM HAITI, NIGERIA, AND SOUTH AFRICA:
* Haiti;
* Nigeria;
* South Africa;
179 RECIPE FOR SUCCESS:
* A Non-Zero Sum View of the Conflict;
* Sticks as Well as Carrots;
* Asymmetry of Motivation Favoring the State Employing Coercive Diplomacy;
* Opponent's Fear of Unacceptable Punishment for
Noncompliance;
* No Significant Misperceptions or Miscalculations;
* Democracy Movement's Support For Sanctions;
* Support on the Thailand-Burma Border;
* What Armed Resistance & Ethnic Nationality Groups Think;
* NCGUB;
184 CHECKLIST FOR THE UNITED NATIONS;
184 CHECKLIST FOR THE UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL;
184 CHECKLIST FOR THE EUROPEAN UNION & OTHER
EUROPEAN COUNTRIES;
185 CHECKLIST FOR ASEAN;
185 CHECKLIST FOR CHINA;
185 CHECKLIST FOR JAPAN;
186 CHECKLIST FOR INDIA;
186 CHECKLIST FOR AUSTRALIA;
186 CHECKLIST FOR CANADA;
187 CHECKLIST FOR THE UNITED STATES;
187 CONCLUSION;
188 INDEX. |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Alternative ASEAN Network on Burma (ALTSEAN-Burma) |
| Format/size: | | pdf (1.2MB) 212 pages |
| Date of entry/update: | | 21 November 2003 |
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