Tag Archives: European Union

Big jump in Myanmar textiles looming Reply

by • Myanmar (Burma) News • Tags: , , , , , , ,

370x246xworkers-sewing.jpg.pagespeed.ic.BjQOdw1tGJReposted from Mizzima News

Myanmar is on course for a big jump in textile exports to Europe following the return of trade privileges by the European Union (EU), according to the Thailand Textile Institute.

The lifting of the ban on Myanmar under the EU’s Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) would rapidly drive up Myanmar’s exports of textiles, it said. The institute did not predict the size of the increase, but said it would be significant.

Myanmar’s textile exports rose 18% last year over 2011, totalling US$946 million (27 billion baht).

The EU reinstated trade benefits to Myanmar on April 22 in the wake of democratic reforms after years under the rule of a military junta. Garments are a key industrial sector of the country. Myanmar was struck off the GSP list in 2003 to a protest against the country’s dictatorship. More…

Not out of the woods Reply

by • Myanmar (Burma) News • Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Myanmar certainly deserves credit for beginning an impressive process of transformation

Myanmar certainly deserves credit for beginning an impressive process of transformation

Reposted from Dawn.com
By Shada Islam

FOR some it’s the new El Dorado. Foreign investors are lining up to do business in Myanmar, a once-pariah nation which only a couple of years ago was almost as isolated as North Korea today. More…

Myanmar anticipates total lift of EU sanctions Reply

by • Myanmar (Burma) News • Tags: , , , , , ,

Aung San Suu Kyi

Aung San Suu Kyi

Reposted from Global Times

Foreign ministers of the European Union (EU) are due to meet in Luxembourg on Monday to make a decision to withdraw all sanctions against Myanmar, exactly a year after the regional grouping announced suspension of most sanctions against the country for a year except arms embargo.

EU’s expected total lifting of all sanctions against Myanmar in recognition of its significant reform process would boost EU’s investment in the country and further promote Myanmar-EU relations.

In March this year, Myanmar President U Thein Sein paid an 11- day goodwill visit to the five European countries of Norway, Finland, Austria, Belgium and Italy. The milestone trip has brought about enhancement of bilateral ties with the EU countries. More…

Europe Sugar-Quota Ban May Raise African Trade, Ecobank Says Reply

by • Africa News • Tags: , , , , , ,
African countries are boosting their sugar production and planning intercontinental trade

African countries are boosting their sugar production and planning intercontinental trade

Reposted from Bloomberg Businessweek
By David Malingha Doya

An end to sugar quotas in the European Union, expected by the EU Council as early as 2017, may promote trade of the sweetener within Africa as Ethiopia and Nigeria plan to raise output, said Ecobank Transnational Ltd.

“There is a deficit of sugar in Africa, yet producers still export to Europe and import from Brazil,” Edward George, head of soft-commodities research at Ecobank, said in an April 17 interview in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi. “This will change if and when Europe bans quotas.” More…

EU poised to ease Syria and Myanmar sanctions Reply

by • Myanmar (Burma) News • Tags: , , , , , ,

Myanmar_01Reposted from EuropeanVoice.com
By Andrew Gardner

Foreign ministers will also discuss Mali and the Eastern partnership.

The European Union’s foreign ministers will next week (22-23 April) end most sanctions against Myanmar and are highly likely to increase support for rebels in Syria.

A proposal to support Myanmar’s move towards democracy will be rubber-stamped, with all sanctions, except on arms, being removed. There remains uncertainty about the rollback of Syrian sanctions, but only for technical reasons. At Germany’s suggestion, the EU would allow imports of Syrian oil, subject to the support of the rebel Syrian National Council, and could supply equipment to the energy sector in rebel-controlled areas. A more ambitious Anglo-French proposal to end the ban on arms for the rebels is not on the agenda. More…

Cambodia’s GDP is revised 1

by • Cambodia News • Tags: , , , , ,

Reposted from The Phnom Penh Post
By May Kunmakara

Slumping garment exports led yesterday to an official downgrade for Cambodian’s growth outlook this year – albeit a slight one.

Minister of Economy and Finance Keat Chhon projected 6.9 per cent year-on-year gross domestic product growth for 2012, down a tenth of a percentage point from the government’s original outlook of 7 per cent. More…

Partnership agreement to lift Vietnam-EU ties Reply

by • Vietnam News • Tags: , , , ,

Vietnamese Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton sign the PCA in Brussels on June 27, 2012

Vietnamese Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton sign the PCA in Brussels on June 27, 2012

Reposted from Sai Gon Giai Phong

The signing of a Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) marks an important qualitative development in the Vietnam-EU relationship, Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh said in an interview granted to the press in Brussels on June 28.

The Vietnamese Foreign Minister and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton signed the PCA between Vietnam and the EU at the EU headquarters in Brussels on June 27. More…

Can Myanmar emerge as threat to SE Asian garment sector Reply

by • Myanmar (Burma) News • Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Garment factory in Yangon, Myanmar

Garment factory in Yangon, Myanmar

Reposted from fibre2fashion.com

Can Myanmar emerge as the next low-cost destination for global apparel brands and retailers, following China losing its sheen as a cheap production hub? Should this new development also worry garment makers in other South East Asian countries?

The vibes emerging from leaders in countries like Bangladesh, Cambodia and Pakistan seem to indicate that Myanmar could emerge as a potential destination for sourcing clothing for worldwide retailers and brands. However, they do not see Myanmar as a threat to their country’s apparel sector in the immediate future. More…

Plant propagation center opens in Haiti Reply

by • Haiti News • Tags: , , ,

Inauguration of the Plant Propagation Center in Dosmond, Haiti.

Reposted from Dominican Today

The Dominican Republic, Cuba and Haiti, members of the Caribbean Biological Corridor, have inaugurated the first Plant Propagation Center in Dosmond, Haiti, where plants will be reproduced for reforesting Haitian territory.The space includes a greenhouse with a capacity for 600,000 plants, a germinator, an office, a warehouse and a multi-use space. It is already providing employment to local residents. More…

The Stampede into Myanmar Reply

by • Myanmar (Burma) News • Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Reposted from The Straits Times
By Hans W. Vriens

WITH the United States and the European Union suspending sanctions against Myanmar, Western companies are rushing to invest in a country they were forced to leave half a century ago. Myanmar is South-east Asia’s final frontier. There is almost a stampede to be the first into this country of 60 million. But aspiring investors are in for a rough ride. Myanmar is the most challenging investment climate in Asia with the exception of North Korea. General Ne Win’s 1962 coup closed the borders, nationalised the economy and kicked several hundred thousand Indians out of the country, many of them entrepreneurs and shopkeepers. More…