Private Health Insurance to Begin in July
Eleven licensed private insurers will offer health insurance starting from July 1, beginning with a one-year pilot project approved by the Ministry of Finance. A standard rate of 50,000 Kyats will be offered to all healthy citizens between the ages of 6 and 65 years. There are some restrictions on eligibility and applicable services; the treatment of abortion, child delivery, dental, eye or cosmetic surgery, mental illness and drug addiction will not be covered. The Myanmar government has licensed 11 private insurance companies since 2013 and the current types of offered insurance products include fire, motor, life, cash in transit, cash in safe and fidelity bonds.
Ministry Promises tender to Yangon-Dala Bridge
The 48-metre-high (160 feet) bridge, which will link downtown Yangon city with Dala township, will be funded by a US 137.8 million loan from South Korea’s Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) to mark the friendship between the two countries. “The Ministry and the EDCF have already set rules and regulations for the tender process, which would be launched soon”, according to the Ministry of Construction permanent secretary U Kyaw Lin. This project is estimated to take about five years.
Election to Delay the Opening of Yangon Stock Exchange
The Yangon Stock Exchange (YSX) was originally scheduled to open in late October 2015 but the launch is expected to be pushed back until after the general election. The Exchange is now unlikely to be ready before late November or early December, according to the deputy Finance Ministry Dr. Maung Maung Thein. The bourse is being developed in cooperation with two Japanese Firms, Daiwa Institute of Research and Japan Exchange Group.
Rice Exporters Eye European market
China has so far been Myanmar’s rice exporters’ biggest customer. With Chinese Government imposing quotas and standards on their imports from Myanmar, rice exporters have one looking into other major markets for export. The exporters will attend an exhibition in Milan next month for the first time, hoping to promote Myanmar rice in Italy and other European markets. According to the Myanmar Rice Exporters association, rice exports in 2013-14 stood at about 1.2 million tons, down from nearly 1.5 million tons the year before. At more than 1.7 million tons, the 2014-2015 fiscal year’s rice export volume exceeded the expectations of the Myanmar rice federation which predicted a lower figure at 1.5 million tons.
