Kachin Lead Story Natural resources News
Burma’s billion-dollar jade industry needs a reformed legal framework to release it from the grip of the military elites, drug lords and crony companies, says British transparency watchdog.
Conflict Lead Story Natural resources News
A new report alleges that a recent Burmese army offensive in Shan State was linked to coal-mining operations opposed by local people.
Economy Lead Story Natural resources News
Burma’s decision to shake up its multi-billion dollar jade business is a ground-breaking opportunity to stop human rights abuses and increase transparency, say activists.
Business Lead Story Natural resources News
Brisbane-based Metro Mining is one of the first Western mining companies to invest in Burma since a revised mining law was introduced late last year.
Environment Lead Story Natural resources News
Villagers in Kachin State’s Hpakant Township feel threatened as whole mountains are turned into dangerous, unstable waste heaps.
Two senior government officials have been sacked in connection with unregulated jade mining operations in the country’s north.
Despite the slump in energy prices, oil and gas fields in Burma will soon be the busiest in Asia as investors begin to ratchet up their explorations.
Business Business Weekly Lead Story News
In business this week: Burma’s flag-carrying airline will lease 10 Boeing aircraft from US- and Ireland-based GECAS and the Central Bank announces the sale of government treasury bonds beginning later this month…
The first report from the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative is due for release in 2016. Burma’s oil and natural gas, mining, hydro-power and forestry industries will all come under scrutiny by[…]
Analysis Contributor Lead Story News
For those keen to participate in Burma’s uneven process of opening up, uncomfortable compromises have had to be made on all sides. Slow and steady no longer wins the race, says DVB contributor David Baulk.
Business Business Weekly Lead Story News
Business in Burma this week: Burma now a ‘candidate’ for EITI; France’s largest bank slapped with $9B fine for violation US sanctions; and Taiwanese shoe manufacturer invests $100M in Rangoon factory.
Business Lead Story Natural resources News
Burma’s application to join the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), a set of voluntary reporting standards pertaining to revenue transparency and resource governance, has been accepted.
Analysis Environment Lead Story News Politics
While the raw timber export ban is a step towards avoiding a regrettable transformation in one of Burma’s major industries, it may only work in tandem with more reforms that tackle the country’s deep-seated corruption.
At its best, the EITI could temper irresponsible partners and federal misuse of funds. It could also add legitimacy to a windfall of investments in places and economies that many think are unprepared for rapid change.
Burma is singled out as the most improved country in terms of business viability, with strides taken by Thein Sein to address corruption, rule of rule, property rights and corporate governance. Nonetheless, it remains ranked alongside failed states such as Somalia and Congo.
The controversial China-backed Shwe Gas project sets a bad example for future investments in Burma’s extractive industries and should be suspended pending genuine regulatory reforms, a new report said on Monday.
An influx of foreign investment in Burma’s extractive industries is likely to fuel human rights abuses and environmental degradation across the country, a new report warned on Wednesday
The Burmese government plans to renegotiate billions of dollars of natural resource deals as it imposes tougher environmental standards and clamps down on corruption, according to a leading US think-tank
Burma has the worst record on natural resource governance in the entire world, according to a new international study, which activists on Thursday described as a “warning” to global investors eyeing oil and gas deals in the country
A number of lucrative energy contracts are likely to be handed to Western firms in April, when the Burmese government is set to open a long-awaited bidding round for some two dozen off-shore oil and gas tenders
Burma took another step forward in committing to improve resource revenue transparency generated from its rich oil, gas and mining sectors by announcing plans to abide by the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative
Senior government officials met this week with a delegation from the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) to discuss plans for Burma to implement the global anti-corruption drive
On Thursday, the US government fired the starting gun for American investors to get down to business in Burma, announcing two general licences permitting new investment in almost all of the country’s sectors
For sanctions against natural resource investment in Burma to be lifted without any transparency provisions is inherently misguided
