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19 MARCH 20 12 I SSUE 68
CARICAPTURES
BETA
Thailand
01The AEC and reforms in Myanmar
are expected to put pressure on
Thailand’s labour markets. Academics are concerned that Thai
workers will not be able to compete with
their Singaporean, Malaysian and Philippine
counterparts after the mutual recognition
agreements (MRAs) come into force
In unskilled labour, Dr. Surin Pitsuwan
(Secretary-General, ASEAN Secretariat)
Thailand faces challenges in
The labour markeT
warned that economic reforms in Myanmar
could result in the departure of the migrant
force from Thailand
Migrant workers make up 5% of the
Thailand’s workforce, with 3 million coming
from Myanmar
AsiaOne, Democratic Voice of Burma
(12 March 2012)
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4
8
2
5
93
7610
Thailand received reassurance
from Chinese and US investors on
continued investments but was urged
to accelerate infrastructure spending
and relax business regulations. China Investment Corp, China’s sovereign
wealth fund expressed interest to invest in
Thailand’s infrastructure and agriculture
The US-ASEAN Business Council urged
the Thai government to accelerate
infrastructure spending to prevent a repeat
of the 2011 floods
US businesses in the US-ASEAN Business
Council include Caterpillar, Visa, Master-
Card, Philip Morris, AT&T, Ford Motor,
Microsoft, Coca-Cola, Google, Procter &
Gamble, and HP
US businesses are calling for a relaxation
of ownership rules, such as the limitation of
49% foreign ownership and a restructuring
of excise taxes to encourage investment
The Nation, Thailand
(13 March 2012)
Thailand
02 us, chinese
delegaTions
vow To hike
invesTmenT in
Thailand
muTual recogniTion agreemenT (mra)
What: MRAs are sector-specific agreements that aim to eliminate technical trade
barriers in a given sector. MRAs in ASEAN have typically occurred in service industries.
Currently, there are MRAs in engineering, nursing, architectural, surveying qualifications,
accountancy, dental practitioners, and tourism professionals.
Why: ASEAN members agreed on using MRAs as a platform to advance the
harmonization of standards and regulation. The underlying objective of the MRAs is to
facilitate the free movement of skilled labour across ASEAN.
When: The Bali Concord II (2003) called for the completion of MRAs in professional
services by 2008.
ASEAN
19 23 0303 ‘12 ‘12
DISCLAIMER: The news articles contained in this report are extracted and republished from various credible news sources. As such, CIMB ASEAN Research Institute (CARI) does not make any guarantee, representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the adequacy, accuracy, completeness, reliability or fairness of any such information and opinion contained in this report. Should any information be doubtful, readers are advised to make their own independent evaluation of such information.
Malaysia
03For the first time in history,
Malaysia’s cabinet will approve a
national minimum wage of between
800 to 900 Malaysian ringgit per
month. The new law is in line with Najib Razak’s
(Prime Minister, Malaysia) new economic
plan to advance Malaysia’s status to a
developed country by 2020
malaysia To seT
firsT minimum wage
The new wage policy faced strong
opposition from employers, and critics say
that it would make Malaysian industries
uncompetitive and deter foreign investors
Analysts suggest that the prime minister
is gearing up for elections and trying to
garner votes from the urban poor
AsiaOne (12 March 2012)
asean minimum wage laws
Indonesia has effected a decree on
29 February 2012 which bans foreign
chief executives from running wholly
owned local companies. The new law elicited outcry from business
associations and foreign investors in
Indonesia
Indonesia justified the law by emphasising
the executive role of a chief executive over
human resources
Indonesia’s labour office emphasised that
the law has a limited scope and is working
with companies to ensure it is properly
understood
Sofyan Wanandi (Chairman, Indonesian
Employers Association) believes the move
has protectionist and nationalist motives
and will drive skilled workers away from
Indonesia
The Star, Malaysia
(12 March 2012)
Indonesia
05 indonesia
bans foreign
ceos from fully
local firms
ASEAN, Thailand
04Growth in regional consumer demand
and higher oil prices are creating
inflationary pressures in ASEAN. Trade and public deficits in oil - importing
countries such as Thailand make it difficult
for the government to absorb increasing
energy costs; subsidising consumer fuel will
also deplete government spending in other
welfare areas
When speaking at the International
Institute of Finance CEO Summit, Dr.
Prasarn Trairatvorakul (Central Bank
Governor, Bank of Thailand) said that
inflation remained at manageable levels,
and indicated that monetary policy would
continue to aid flood recovery and would
not tighten
Washington Post, The Nation
(15 March 2012)
boT:
inflaTion
raTe manageable
19 23 0303 ‘12 ‘12
DISCLAIMER: The news articles contained in this report are extracted and republished from various credible news sources. As such, CIMB ASEAN Research Institute (CARI) does not make any guarantee, representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the adequacy, accuracy, completeness, reliability or fairness of any such information and opinion contained in this report. Should any information be doubtful, readers are advised to make their own independent evaluation of such information.
myanmar
moniTor06Domestic Issues
A government audit reported evidence of
corruption in six key ministries, which led
to a discussion in parliament regarding the
formation of an anti-corruption commission
The Irrawaddy (13 March 2012)
A new labour law has come into effect in
Myanmar, allowing the formation of labour
unions and strikes
The Washington Post (10 March 2012)
Aung San Suu Kyi’s campaign speech
was broadcasted on state media for the
first time. The government censored the
speech by removing criticism of the former
junta, but allowed her to call for respect of
the rule of law and to criticise the present
constitution. The new electoral law allots
each political party time to broadcast their
manifesto in the state media
The Washington Post (13 March 2012)
CNN (14 March 2012)
ASEAN
Myanmar ratified the ASEAN Terror
Pact, joining Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam,
Philippines, Cambodia, and Brunei
Bernama (8 March 2012)
Myanmar will open its fifth border trade
point with Thailand in southern Tanintharyi
region. Myanmar currently has a total of 12
border trade points, of which four link with
China, four with Thailand, two with India
and two with Bangladesh
People’s Daily (13 March 2012)
Pham Binh Minh (Foreign Minister,
Vietnam) paid an official visit to Myanmar
last week
Bernama (14 March 2012)
China
State-run China Power Investment
Corp is pushing Myanmar to resume
the development of the US$ 3.6 billion
hydroelectric dam that was suspended last
year
The Wall Street journal (10 March 2012)
The China-ASEAN Trade Expo in Nanning
in September 2012 will focus on Myanmar
The Irrawaddy (9 March 2012)
Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE)
signed the first onshore exploration
contract involving a foreign oil company
since the new government came to power
The Washington Post (11 March 2012)
asean - india Trade
0 7The relationship between ASEAN
and India deepened through
cooperation in various arrangements
including the Bengal Initiative
for Multi-Sectoral Technical and
Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC),
the Malaysia-India Comprehensive
Economic Cooperation Agreement
(MICECA), and FTAs. Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir (Deputy Minister,
International Trade and Industry, Malaysia)
launched the Indian Chemical Exhibition
2012
Mukhriz remarked that MICECA is
expected to increase trade between India
india-asean relaTions
inTensify
ASEAN, Thailand, Malaysia, India
and Malaysia from US$12.5 billion in 2010 to
US$15 billion in 2012
Speaking at a business seminar in
Chennai, Chanchai Charanvatnakit (Royal
Thai Consulate Consul General) said the
India-ASEAN FTA will increase trade to
US$14 billion in 2012, from US$8.2 billion in
2011, and that tourism will play a big role
Negotiators at the second ASEAN-India
Working Group on Agriculture and Forestry
listed 14 areas of agriculture cooperation
including farmer exchange and animal
husbandry
The Star, IBN Live, The Jakarta Post
(15 March 2012)
19 23 0303 ‘12 ‘12
DISCLAIMER: The news articles contained in this report are extracted and republished from various credible news sources. As such, CIMB ASEAN Research Institute (CARI) does not make any guarantee, representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the adequacy, accuracy, completeness, reliability or fairness of any such information and opinion contained in this report. Should any information be doubtful, readers are advised to make their own independent evaluation of such information.
ASEAN, EU
08ASEAN and the EU designated 2012
as the ‘ASEAN-EU Year of Science,
Technology and Innovation’. The EU is replacing its current science
cooperation framework with the ambitious
Horizon 2020
The 7th Framework Programme for
Research and Technological Development
(FP7) will attract US$13 billion in grants in
147 ASEAN projects
EU-ASEAN research programmes focus
on renewable energy, marine resource
protection, and IT development
Thailand’s National Science and
Technology Development Agency is
currently participating in seven projects
under the FP7, making Thailand the most
active ASEAN country in the programme
The European Commission budgeted
US$104.5 billion for its Horizon 2020
programme, due to replace the FP7 in 2014
The Nation, Thailand (13 March 2012)
asean and eu Join hands in science Technology
and innovaTion
ASEAN
09Organisations throughout ASEAN
are contributing towards community
building efforts through seminars,
cultural exchanges, and youth
programmes. The ASEAN Secretariat and Cambodian
government organised a national seminar
on ASEAN awareness on 15 March 2012
which attracted 3,500 university students
Universitas Pelita Harapan held a
youth seminar entitled “Beyond Natural
Resources and Cultural Cliché” as part of its
week-long Communication Avenue 2012, a
means for youth to voice popular issues to
the government
Bagas Hapsoro (Deputy Secretary-
General, ASEAN) encouraged the young
grassrooTs conTribuTe To
asean communiTy building
generation to share their inspirations, hopes
and feedback towards building a forward-
looking ASEAN Community
The Thai government is implementing
multilingual programmes in schools and
universities to encourage students to study
ASEAN languages
Thailand and Cambodia are also
organising teacher exchanges to alleviate
the shortage of teachers of Thai and Khmer
languages in their countries
Prasatvittaya School in Thailand is
promoting the study of regional languages
in light of the coming ASEAN Economic
Community
Bangkok Post, Philippines Information Agency
Zamboanga Times, Philippines
(15 March 2012)
Cambodia
10
The introduction of Islamic finance
in Cambodia may attract investment
from Muslim investors from the
Middle East and Asia who are
searching for opportunities. The International Shari’ah Research
Academy for Islamic Finance noted
that investors from the Middle East are
interested in businesses that comply with
Islamic law
Introducing Islamic finance in a
predominately Buddhist country could
attract investors to the country and
provide credit to the 2% Muslim minority in
Cambodia
According to the Cambodian Intelligent
Investor Organisation, Islamic finance in
Cambodia would serve Cambodian Muslims
through microfinance institutions
Phnom Penh (12 March 2012)
cambodia
needs
islamic finance
Editorial Team: Manissa van Geyzel, Han Fang Rong, Soley Ómarsdóttir, Chayut Setboonsarng, Ahmad Syahid
Consultant Editor: Tunku ‘Abidin Muhriz Designer: Iqbal Hakim