New Border Crossing for Laos and Cambodia Proposed

Authorities in Laos’ Attapeu Province and their counterparts in Cambodia’s Ratanakiri Province have conducted a survey on the feasibility of opening a new bilateral border gate.

According to the Khmer Times, the possibility of the new border checkpoint was raised at a press conference held yesterday at the Council of Ministers on the results and achievements of the Ratanakiri Provincial Administration.

Provincial governor Thang Savon stated the province currently has no road connecting it with Laos, and an interconnecting route could help meet the needs of the two nations’ populations.

Provincial offices on both sides are planning to request their respective government’s approval for the opening of a bilateral border checkpoint.

If the border project were to happen, it would strengthen trade and attract tourism for both sides.

The Cambodians hope to export agricultural produce to Laos from Ratanakiri Province, which currently exports 87,000 tonnes of agricultural produce to China via its border with Vietnam. With a new border, Laos could serve as another avenue for the facilitation of Cambodian exports.

Tensions rose at the border between Laos and Cambodia last year over an area where border demarcation had not yet been implemented. The tension between the two countries began to simmer on 11 August when Lao and Cambodian troops confronted each other in an area along the border.

However, the situation was quickly stabilized after leaders from the two nations spoke to each other on 24 August, and Lao Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith flew to Cambodia to resolve the issue.

Since then, Laos has stepped up trade and cooperation with Cambodia, inking a deal on the transmission of electricity to Cambodia earlier this year.

Source - Laotian Times

Cross-border trade with Thailand estimated at just $1.5 million for first quarter

#Cambodia’s cross border trade with Thailand fell to $1.5 million in the first quarter as the coronavirus hit the global economy and led to closure of dozens of checkpoints.

The Thai Foreign Trade Department said the country’s overall cross-border trade, including transit trade, totalled 264.97 billion baht in the first three months, with Malaysia still the biggest partner for Thailand’s border trade.

Transit trade involves the passage of goods through more than one country.

Of the total figures, exports from Thailand totalled 187.56 billion baht, down 5.4% from the first three months of last year, with imports also shrinking 12.6% to 77.40 billion baht, resulting in a trade surplus of 110.15 billion baht.

Thailand’s border trade with four neighboring countries amounted to 195.66 billion baht, down 7.4% from the same period last year.

Of the total, two-way trade with Malaysia totalled 56.47 billion baht, followed by trade with Laos (42.68 billion baht), Cambodia (48.33 billion baht) and Myanmar (48.16 billion baht).

Cambodia had the lowest cross border trade with Thailand after Malaysia the biggest partner for border trade, followed by Laos, Myanmar.

Malaysia remained the biggest partner for border trade, with two-way trade reaching 476.15 billion baht, down 8.7%, followed by Laos (181.80 billion baht), Myanmar (180.73 billion baht) and Cambodia (146.41 billion baht) for the first 11 months of 2019.

Transit trade with Singapore, Vietnam and southern China dropped 2.2% in the first quarter, totalling 61.86 billion baht.

Transit trade to southern China recovered to fetch the greatest value after China reopened, with value rising to 28.62 billion baht, up 4.9%, followed by Singapore (19.70 billion baht) and Vietnam (13.53 billion baht).

Keerati Rushchano, director-general of the department, said outstanding performance was seen in exports to Cambodia, which saw continued growth of 14.3% in the first three months despite the deadly virus.

Higher shipments were led by non-alcoholic drinks, automobiles and parts, and livestock.

Shipments to Laos also registered an increase of 2.4% in the period, especially for computers, non-alcoholic drinks and fresh fruits.

“Overall cross-border trade remains inactive, as the pandemic scatters throughout the world and seriously hits the global economy,” Mr Keerati said. Bangkok Post

Source - Khmer Times

#Cambodia - Deal for yuan trade with China in works

China’s currency, the renminbi, or yuan, being counted in stacks next to US dollars. 

Officials in Cambodia and China’s Guangdong province are cooperating to establish trade using yuan instead of US dollars, part of the two countries’ increasingly close economic relationship. 

The suggestion to use yuan directly, instead of using US dollars as an intermediary currency, was made by deputy-director of Guangdong province Ouyang Weimin during a visit to the province by Cambodian Minister of Commerce Pan Sorasak on Friday.

Seang Thay, a spokesman at the Ministry of Commerce, said yesterday that as trade between the two countries continued to grow, Chinese currency should also increasinglly be used in bilateral trade.

“The fluctuation of exchange rate is risky for businesses, because sometimes the US dollar could be appreciate or depreciate compare with the Chinese yuan,” he said.

“We are trading with China more and more, so accepting Chinese yuan for trade deals is also good for businesses.” 

.

 .

While the two countries appear in-sync on promoting trade in yuan, there is not yet an official agreement to establish such a system in Guangdong, according to Thay.

Last September, the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) and the People’s Bank of China in the autonomous Guangxi region in southern China launched an official yuan-riel exchange rate, which allowed banks in Guangxi to exchange the two currencies directly. That marked the first time riel could be exchanged in China and eliminated the need to use US dollars as an intermediary currency.

According to NBC data, there were 17 banks in Cambodia that could handle yuan transactions last year, up from 11 in 2014. Only four – ICBC, the Bank of China, Canadia Bank and First Commercial Bank – allow deposits to be made in yuan.

 In 2016, cross-border trade in yuan amounted to about $377 million, accounting for about seven percent of the two countries’ total trade and investment, according to the NBC. The remaining 93 percent was done using US dollars.

Source - PhnomPenhPost

Myanmar (Burma) - Mechanism for foreigners to trade in YSX under way

A mechanism for foreign investors and organisations to take part in the Yangon Stock Exchange is under development, according to Myanmar Securities Exchange Centre.

Daily stock trading in Myanmar has declined significantly and the market is sluggish. In order to revive the trading activities, a system to include non-Myanmar investors from various sectors must be developed, MSEC executive director Takashi Takahashi said.

The MSEC and the Yangon Stock Exchange (YSX) are in collaboration, he said during a stock exchange education talk held at Parkroyal Hotel on July 19.

“To make the Myanmar stock market active, what is necessary now is to develop a system to include investors from various sectors.

“If that system is successful, there will be more investors in the market. Right now, there is also a need to attract individual investors,” he said.

 FOR THE BEST GLOBAL HOTEL & FLIGHT BOOKINGS

The average volume of daily stock trading in June 2016 was K313 million but it declined to merely K70 million in June 2017, resulting in a significant decrease.

Myanmar stock index, with its base point at 1000 on March 25, 2016, dropped to 552.62 on July 11, 2017.

“We can assume that the change is due to traders shunning the market as the stock prices are stagnant.

“To revive the market, it is necessary to have more listed companies and more traders,” Mr Takahashi added.

 

Under the existing Myanmar Companies Act, a company where a foreigner has any share is defined as a foreign company. Companies listed on the YSX have many restrictions in selling their shares to foreigners.

The government is currently working on a new Companies Act and the draft piece of legislation has been submitted to the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw. In the new law, a domestic company is allowed to have up to 30pc foreign investment.

“Without the participation of wealthy foreigners, domestic stock market will remain slack. An individual local investor cannot invest much.

“For foreigners to take part, the Companies Act must be amended,” Myanmar Agriculture Public (MAPCO) executive director U Ye Min Aung told The Myanmar Times.

There are only about 30,000 securities accounts opened for stock trading in the YSX. Compared to the national population, it is a very small fraction, with only 0.05pc per head. 

Those are accounts owned by individuals, and not organisation-based accounts.

The YSX, which was established in December 2015, only has four listed companies on board, while Laos and Cambodia have five listed ones each. In contrast, Vietnam boasts 695 companies and Thailand 731 companies.

“In other countries, foreign investors are allowed to take part. Moreover, banks and insurance firms are seen to be actively trading in the stock market,” Mr Takahashi said.

Source - MM TIMES