Weekly Business Roundup (February 2, 2009)

By WILLAM BOOT

Trade with Bangladesh Grows Despite Sea Territory Dispute

Burma has reportedly loosened restrictions on cross-border trading with Bangladesh in a bid to double business between the two countries.

The trade ministry says it is aiming to raise the volume of cross-border trade to US $21 million in the current financial year, nearly double the figure for the previous year.

Most of the trade is fish and related products exports from Burma.

The step up in trade comes despite political tensions between the two countries over disputed sea territory where both sides are seeking to exploit oil and gas potential.

Senior government representatives are due to meet this month again on the issue.

News of the closer trade ties also come as world attention has been focused on the plight of tens of thousands of Rohingya living on both sides of the Burma-Bangladesh border.

Aid agencies say many are persecuted by the Burmese military regime and many live in refugee camps just across the border in Bangladesh, while small numbers have been risking their lives to flee by boat south to Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.

“The human rights situation in western Burma reveals the priorities of the regime,” Matthew F. Smith of EarthRights International told The Irrawaddy. “If they spent as much time and resources creating a culture of human rights as they do capitalizing on natural resources with India, South Korea, China and others, then people wouldn’t have to risk their lives and flee en masse. An oil executive gets the red carpet welcome in western Burma while local people face poverty, death and persecution.”


Singapore firm strike oil in Burma’s old Yenangyaung Field

Singapore-based Interra Resources’ Goldpetrol venture in Burma says it found more oil in test drills in the country’s former British-operated Yenangyaung onshore oilfield, in new efforts to revive the field.

The company has been drilling to depths of more than 7,750 feet in the aging field in the search, which is part of a so-called Improved Petroleum Recovery Contract.

But Interra, listed on Singapore stock exchanges, warned in a statement to its shareholders that the positive drilling results might not lead to increased production of oil.

The Yenangyaung field in central Burma was once an important oil source but has been in decline for years.

Interra, which also operates in Thailand and Indonesia, has a partnership with the government-controlled Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise.


Burma ‘To Benefit’ From India-Asean Free Trade Deal

The free trade agreement due to be signed between India and Asean countries at a summit in Thailand later this month is likely to benefit trade between India and Burma, say Indian media reports.

The deal will eliminate tariffs on around 4,000 products, many of them agricultural and this will most likely benefit India-Burma cross-border trade in the near future, reported The Economic Times

India is traditionally a major buyer of Burmese pulse crops, but high prices at the end of last year made Indian buyers look elsewhere, said the paper.


UN says the Economy in Irrawaddy delta Still Shattered

A United Nations report says that in the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis the devastated region is still desperately in need of the basic tools to rebuild the shattered local economy.

It says the four main pillars of the Irrawaddy delta’s economy—farming, fisheries, livestock and forestry—are still lacking essentials.

Although food aid was swift, the post-cyclone areas are still short of equipment, ranging from fishing nets and boats to livestock and farm tools.

The U.N. appeal for funds is still US $42 million short of it goal, said UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, Bishow Parajuli.

"Cyclone Nargis did not only cause tremendous human suffering. It also took away the tools people need to make a living and hence the opportunity to produce food and secure income to their families. It remains a critical need to provide adequate support, such as restocking of lost assets and re-establishing of livelihood opportunities, such as livestock, fishing nets and boats in order for people in the Delta to resume economic activity and be active participants in the longer-term recovery process,” he said in a statement.

In addition, aid agencies have said there is still a big need to stimulate employment via construction work, especially for schools and housing.