Myanmar Government Approved USD 3.82 Billion in Foreign Investment and USD 651 Million in Domestic Investment in First Year of State Administration Council
NAY PYI TAW, MM, Jan 27, 2022 - (ACN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) - The Myanmar Government said today it has approved USD 3.82 billion equivalent in foreign investments and USD 651 million equivalent in domestic investments in the first year since the State Administration Council (SAC) took office. The investment commitments underscore confidence in the country's economic potential amid a return to national stability and efforts to increase vaccination rates to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.The Ministry of Information (MOI) and the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Economic Relations (MIFER) released the latest investment figures for the country for the period between 1 February 2021 - when a Proclamation was issued - and 20 January 2022.The SAC was formed on 2 February 2021, a day after the Proclamation was issued after the failure to settle the issue of voter list fraud and malpractices in the 8 November 2020 elections, and to postpone parliament sessions. A state of emergency was declared in accordance with Article 417 of the 2008 Constitution of Myanmar.Despite destruction of public property, attacks on Government personnel and attempts to sabotage the domestic economy by the s...
Singaporean Dickson Yeo, who spied on US for China, released from detention under ISA
SINGAPORE - A Singaporean man who spied on the United States for a foreign state was released here from detention under the Internal Security Act (ISA) on Tuesday (Dec 14). The Internal Security Department (ISD) said the threat Dickson Yeo posed has since been neutralised. The 40-year-old was arrested in the US in November 2019 and deported to Singapore on Dec 30, where he was immediately arrested. He was then detained under the ISA in January this year for acting as a paid agent for a foreign state, which ISD did not name. However, Yeo had admitted in a US federal court to acting under the direction of Chinese intelligence officials to obtain sensitive information from American citizens. Yeo, who was sentenced to 14 months' jail, had claimed before the US court that he bore no ill will toward the US and that he did not betray Singapore. The ISD on Tuesday said investigations into the full extent of Yeo's activities established that his dealings with the foreign state were clandestine in nature. His foreign handlers had first reached out to him in 2015 through an online professional networking site. They subsequently invited him to an academic symposium overseas, where he was appro...
Export Commodities Online Fair promotes trade between China’s Hebei and ASEAN
HEBEI, CHINA, Dec 9, 2021 - (ACN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) - China will boost new forms and models of foreign trade to advance high-quality development of the trade sector, according to a circular issued by the General Office of the State Council on July 9, 2021, and aims to have better mechanisms and policy systems in place to support these new trade protocols by 2025, along with the backing of leading enterprises and globally competitive industrial clusters.ASEAN continues to be China's largest trading partner, these new forms and evolving models of foreign trade further spurring the strong growth momentum. China's bilateral trade with ASEAN topped 4.08 trillion yuan ($639 billion) during the first three quarters of the year, an increase of 21.1%, while Hebei's bilateral trade with ASEAN increased by 24.3% during the same period, led by exports of mechanical and electrical products, agricultural products and textiles.In order to promote the innovative business development methods of foreign trade enterprises in Hebei, the Hebei Provincial Department of Commerce has sponsored a number of one-country, one-exhibition and multi-country, one-exhibition trade promotion activities, am...
Myanmar Government Prioritizes Economic Recovery as Pandemic Infections Decline Amid Return of National Stability Ahead of Preparations for Multi-Party National Elections
Nay Pyi Taw, Dec 7, 2021 - (ACN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) - The Myanmar Government said today that it has largely restored national stability after recent civil unrest and is now focused on increasing vaccination rates to reduce COVID-19 infections and attracting local and foreign investments to jump-start economic growth and job creation.The Ministry of Information (MOI) and Ministry of Investment and Foreign Economic Relations (MIFER) said in a joint statement that with the restoration of stability, economic recovery was now a top priority as the Government prepares for multi-party elections to be held by August 2023.The Union Election Commission has reviewed weaknesses, fraud and malpractices in the 8 November 2020 elections. It has held 3 consultations with political parties between February and November 2021. A fourth consultation will be held this month to discuss the Proportional Representation System. To update data and to prevent voter fraud, joint inspection teams led by the Commission have started audit of membership, funding, premises, business dealings and election expenses of all political parties. Preparations for elections are taking place amid a significant rise ...
US adopts rule that could see Chinese firms leave Wall Street
WASHINGTON (AFP) - United States market regulators on Thursday (Dec 2) announced the adoption of a rule allowing them to delist foreign companies from Wall Street exchanges if they fail to provide information to auditors, which is aimed primarily at Chinese firms. The mandate requires companies to disclose whether they are "owned or controlled" by a government, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said. Congress last year passed a law specifically targeting Chinese companies under which the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) must be able to inspect audits of foreign firms listed on US markets. The law also requires companies to name any Chinese Communist Party members on their board of directors. Beijing has refused to allow the PCAOB to inspect audits of companies registered in China and Hong Kong. "We have a basic bargain in our securities regime... If you want to issue public securities in the US, the firms that audit your books have to be subject to inspection by the PCAOB," SEC chair Gary Gensler said in a statement. "The Commission and the PCAOB will continue to work together to ensure that the auditors of foreign companies accessing US capital markets ...
China denies report it is looking to close foreign IPO loophole
BEIJING (AFP, BLOOMBERG) - Beijing on Wednesday (Dec 1) denied a report that it was looking to plug a loophole used by Chinese tech companies to go public on foreign stock markets. Bloomberg News reported, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter, that China was planning to ban firms from using offshore structures known as variable interest entities (VIE), closing a gap used by tech giants such as Alibaba and Tencent in recent decades to avoid restrictions on foreign investment and listings abroad. But the China Securities Regulatory Commission rejected it. "We have noticed the reports... This news is not true," it said in a statement on its website. Such a ban would mark a major step by China to clamp down on overseas listings. Beijing has stepped up scrutiny of major foreign listings after a New York IPO by ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing went ahead this year despite regulatory concerns. Authorities have since launched investigations into Didi over cybersecurity, ordered it removed from app stores, and extended probes into other US-listed Chinese companies. The Bloomberg report said the change was expected to be included in draft foreign listing rules that could be finalise...
Mystery of China’s huge US dollar surplus baffles global markets
HONG KONG (BLOOMBERG) - Unprecedented trade surpluses and record inflows into its bond market are giving China a stockpile of US dollars unseen since the days when the 'Asian savings glut' was blamed for keeping US interest rates excessively low and fueling the subprime mortgage crisis. But unlike then, when China aggressively recycled its US dollar holdings into US Treasuries, China's giant pile of foreign exchange reserves are holding broadly stable. That means the US dollars are being funneled somewhere else, but exactly where is proving to be a bit of a mystery. While some of that flood of greenbacks is ending up as deposits at Chinese banks, the large 'errors and omissions' in the nation's balance of payments is muddying the picture. What is clear is that the dollars offer China an important cushion against any future shocks in the world economy, even as individual companies like China Evergrande Group struggle to repay their debts. "It is exceedingly difficult to get a clear view of how China's current account surplus is recycled," said Alvin Tan, head of Asia foreign exchange strategy at RBC Capital Markets in Hong Kong. Nonetheless, the dollars mean that "whatever China's e...
Plunging currency, dollar drought worsen Myanmar economic crisis
YANGON (BLOOMBERG) - Myanmar is battling a plunging local currency amid an unprecedented United States dollar shortage, driving up the cost of imports and worsening the economy's struggle with dual challenges of the pandemic and post-coup financial isolation. The kyat has tumbled about 50 per cent since the military seized power in February which triggered a freeze on parts of Myanmar's foreign reserves held in the US and suspension of multilateral aids - both key sources of foreign currency supplies. Restrictions on cash withdrawals have fuelled worries about the safety of money in banks, prompting people to seek more widely used currencies such as the US or Singapore dollars or Thai baht, analysts said. The Central Bank of Myanmar's efforts to quell the rush for dollars, including stepping up foreign currency supplies and ordering exporters to repatriate earnings within 30 days, have failed to stem the kyat's slide. The currency may plunge further to 2,400 to a US dollar by the end of this year and 3,200 by the end of next year, according to Mr Jason Yek, senior Asia country risk analyst at Fitch Solutions. The currency sell-off is the latest crisis to hit the country that is sti...
Hospitality workers who stay resilient despite pandemic recognised with award
SINGAPORE - Rice cookers, pots, pans and bags of rice were not things that hotel security supervisor Suresh Kumar Govindaraju ever thought he would see in guests' luggage. But that was what happened when Amara Singapore was turned into a government quarantine facility for foreign workers in 2020. They thought that they would have to cook their own food in hotel rooms. Mr Suresh, 54, volunteered to be transferred to the Tanjong Pagar hotel from his position at Amara Sanctuary Resort Sentosa to be part of the frontline team taking care of 250 foreign workersin quarantine. On Monday (Oct 4), he was recognised for his dedication. He is one of 69 recipients of the Employee of the Year award, given to hospitality staff who have stayed resilient amid the disruption from the pandemic. The awards are organised by the National Trades Union Congress; Food, Drinks and Allied Workers Union; and Singapore Hotel Association. When asked on Monday if he was worried about catching the virus with Singapore hitting a record number of infections at the time, Mr Suresh shook his head. "Anyone I stand next to in public can have the virus, not just those in the facility. Why should I be scared of the peop...
Academic activities not under threat from anti-foreign interference law: MHA
SINGAPORE - Academics presenting research overseas, writing for international journals and receiving international funding will not fall afoul of the proposed law to counter foreign interference, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said in a Facebook post on Sunday (Oct 3). The ministry was responding to academics Cherian George, Chong Ja Ian, Linda Lim and Teo You Yenn who expressed concerns, in an editorial published on Academia.sg on Friday, that the Foreign Interference (Countermeasures) Bill (Fica), in its current form, would "suddenly transform activities that are currently encouraged into a legal minefield". The editorial listed various activities that could potentially be threatened by the passage of Fica, including "presenting research at overseas conferences; writing for international journals and multi-author book projects; publishing in and reviewing for prestigious academic presses; participating in international collaborative research projects; partaking of fellowships, visiting appointments and training programmes; and participation in international funding opportunities". MHA said: "Please allow us to state without qualification: None of these activities will be affe...
Proposed law on foreign interference is aimed at hostile actors: Singapore envoy tells UN review
SINGAPORE - It is not the Government's intent to prevent all forms of foreign influence, only those which attempt at manipulation. Neither does Singapore intend to use the powers under a proposed law on foreign interference against those who engage in legitimate commentary, news reporting, civil activities or academic research, the Republic has told a United Nations meeting. These individuals and groups may do so even if their views are critical of Singapore or the Government, said the permanent representative of Singapore to the United Nations Office in Geneva, Ambassador Umej Bhatia, as he delivered Singapore's national statement at the adoption of its third Universal Periodic Review (UPR) outcome on Friday (Oct 1). "Our concern lies with the use of coordinated, deceptive methods by hostile foreign actors to manipulate our political discourse and disrupt our society," Mr Bhatia added. The adoption of the report on Singapore's UPR took place at the 48th session of the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council. The UPR looks at the human rights records of all 193 UN member states every five years. Singapore submitted its report to the UN in January and participated in its UPR on May...
Waiver of foreign worker levies during SHN extended till end December: MOM
SINGAPORE - The waiver of foreign worker levies for S Pass and work permit holders for the duration of their stay-home notice (SHN) period will be extended to the end of the year, said Manpower Minister Tan See Leng on Monday (Sept 20). This is to help employers bring in workers safely and give them more time to adjust and manage the costs of SHN requirements. Dr Tan, who is also the second minister for Trade and Industry, added it is also to support the construction sector which has been badly impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. The waiver applies to migrant domestic workers as well. The waiver period was due to end this month (September). More on this topic. Related Story Higher foreign worker levy rebates for essential sectors in S'pore Related Story Singapore business sentiment improves slightly for Q4 but construction, transportation stay gloomy: Survey
No specific terrorist threat to Singapore despite Japanese advisory: ISD
SINGAPORE - The Internal Security Department (ISD) said on Tuesday (Sept 14) it has seen no specific nor credible intelligence of imminent terrorist threat to Singapore. This is despite an advisory recently issued by the Japanese Foreign Ministry to its citizens in South-east Asia, including Singapore, warning of a possible terror attack in crowded places. In response to media queries, the ISD said that it has reached out to its Japanese counterparts. "They also have no specific intelligence," it said. But the department urged members of the public to remain vigilant and promptly call the ISD counter-terrorism hotline on 1800-2626-473, or report via the SGSecure app, when they come across suspicious persons or activities. An advisory on the website of Japan's Foreign Ministry that was issued on Sunday said that there was "information of a growing possibility" that a suicide bomber may target places where many people gather, such as places of worship, including in Singapore. It said Japanese residents should continue to strengthen their vigilance against terrorism and take measures such as monitoring the latest information and following the instructions of the local authorities. Sho...
Proposed law seeks to counter foreign interference in S’pore politics, measures include take-down and blocking orders
SINGAPORE - A proposed law will give the authorities new powers to counter foreign attempts to influence domestic politics, incite social tensions or sway key national decisions. The Foreign Interference (Countermeasures) Bill, which was introduced in Parliament on Monday (Sept 13), will provide the Government with a range of tools - including powers to compel Internet and social media service providers to disclose information on users, remove online content and block user accounts - to counter these hostile actors. The proposed law will strengthen Singapore's ability to prevent, detect and disrupt foreign interference in its domestic politics conducted through hostile information campaigns and the use of local proxies, said the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). Individuals and groups directly involved in Singapore's political processes will also be designated as politically significant persons (PSPs), who will be subject to measures to mitigate the risk of foreign interference, should the law come to pass. It will require political parties, politicians, election candidates and their election agents to declare any foreign affiliation. In a statement on the Bill, the Ministry noted th...
The Online Citizen repeatedly fails to declare all its funding sources: IMDA
SINGAPORE - The Online Citizen (TOC) has repeatedly failed to declare all its funding sources for last year despite reminders and extensions, and it has been asked to explain its non-compliance, the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) said on Tuesday (Sept 7). TOC has informed IMDA that it does not intend to comply with its obligations under the law, IMDA said, adding that it may take "appropriate enforcement action" if TOC is unable to provide good reasons for its non-compliance. It did not elaborate on what action it might take. In a media statement, IMDA said that there is no reason for TOC not to comply with the declaration requirement as other registered Internet content providers provide such information to maintain transparency of their sources of funding. It noted that TOC complied with the annual declaration when it was first registered in 2018, but has not fully complied with this obligation since 2019. The regulator added that TOC failed to verify a donor and clarify discrepancies in its foreign advertising revenue in its 2019 declaration, for which a warning was issued on May 4. "The threat of foreign interference in our domestic politics has always been present...
More local workers sought help on salary disputes, wrongful dismissals amid Covid-19
SINGAPORE - More local workers sought help from the authorities for disputes with their employers on owed salaries and wrongful dismissals last year, amid the pandemic. Latest figures published on Friday (July 9) showed the incidence of employment claims and appeals lodged by local employees had gone up from 2 per 1,000 employees in 2019 to 2.17 per 1,000 employees in 2020. Most were salary claims, and more commonly found in the accommodation and food services, information and communications, and construction industries. Some of these sectors were more severely affected by the circuit breaker and movement restrictions, which could have given rise to disputes over basic pay. About 59 per cent or 5,142 of the total 8,697 employment claims and appeals lodged with the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management (TADM) last year were from local employees. In contrast with local employees, however, the incidence of employment claims by foreign employees fell sharply, from 5.13 claims per 1,000 employees in 2019 to 3.61 last year, according to the data from MOM and TADM. In contrast with local employees, however, the incidence of employment claims by fore...
PSP takes up Shanmugam’s challenge to debate Ceca and foreign employment policies
SINGAPORE - The Progress Singapore Party (PSP) has accepted the challenge to debate employment policies and the Singapore-India Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (Ceca), said Non-Constituency MP Leong Mun Wai on Tuesday (June 22). Writing on Facebook, he added that the opposition party would seek further information from the Government at the parliamentary sitting in July to prepare for the debate which was first mooted by Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam in May. "Subsequently, the PSP will decide on a suitable time to file a motion," said Mr Leong. "It will be then up to the Speaker's discretion to confirm the date of the debate." He told The Straits Times that the party would be asking questions related to the number of employment passes, S passes and work passes issued from 2005 to 2020. "It is in public interest that all data and information regarding our employment situation is revealed. We are concerned about the lack of opportunities for our local workforce due to unfair hiring practices in some sectors," said Mr Leong. Other draft parliamentary questions by the PSP, seen by ST, include a request for a breakdown of industries and commonly-held jobs for n...
ISD detains S’porean Dickson Yeo, who spied for China, for acting as paid agent of foreign state
SINGAPORE - A Singaporean man who had worked for China's intelligence services since 2016 has been detained for two years under the Internal Security Act (ISA) for being a threat to Singapore. Dickson Yeo, 40, had acted as a paid agent of a foreign state, said the Internal Security Department (ISD) on Tuesday (June 15). He was arrested by the ISD on Dec 30 last year, after he was deported to Singapore from the United States upon completion of a 14-month jail term for spying for China in the US. Yeo was issued an order of detention under the ISA on Jan 29. "ISD's investigations established that Yeo had worked for the intelligence apparatus of a foreign state and had carried out various taskings given to him by his foreign handlers in exchange for monetary gains," said the department. "Yeo admitted to being fully aware that his foreign handlers were working for the intelligence apparatus of the foreign state." ISD said that Yeo was tasked to source information and provide reports on issues of interest to his foreign handlers, including information relating to Singapore. He had approached various individuals in Singapore to try and obtain information for the purpose of writing his rep...