2 5 JUNE 20 12 I SSUE 82

CARICAPTURES

BETA

148

2

59

37

6

10

Indonesia

Thailand

02

01

Air AsiA set to pAint AseAn

skies red

thAilAnd’s Ministry of CoMMerCe wAnts to

estAblish AseAn riCe federAtion

Air Asia announced a management

change to focus its penetration

strategy on five key markets — South

Korea, China, India, Vietnam and

Cambodia. Air Asia has moved its base to Indonesia

to focus on regional growth and Indonesia’s

under-penetrated market of more than 200

million people

MIDF research attributes the move to the

The Commerce Ministry in Thailand

is in discussion with major rice

producers in ASEAN to create a

region based rice consortium for a

joint rice management system. Permanent Secretary of Commerce,

Yanyong Phuangrach, will meet major

producers to coordinate rice prices and

prevent price fluctuations in the event of

shocks

Yanyong stated that ASEAN produced

two-thirds of the world’s rice supply and

could benefit from mutual cooperation

instead of competition

impending open skies policy in 2015 and

the move by rival airline Tiger Airways to

acquire Indonesia’s Mandala Airlines and

Lion Air and purchase 201 new Boeing 737

aircrafts

Group CEO Tony Fernandez said that Air

Asia plans to list its Indonesia operation by

November 2012

Reuters, Business Times (20 June 2012)

Net importers of rice such as the

Philippines and Indonesia will benefit from

a rice reserve in the event of severe famine

in localised disasters

Why it matters: The ASEAN Plus Three

Emergency Rice Reserve partially addresses

the need for an ASEAN rice consortium

that will provide supplies of rice for disaster

relief, but there is no coordination in pricing

and production cooperation

National News Bureau of Thailand (20 June 2012)

(Source: AirAsia’s annual report 2011)

25 29 0606 ‘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.

03

04 05

AseAn’s triCky huMAn rights ChArter

eurozone Crisis: thAilAnd,

indonesiA brACing theMselves

wells fArgo

MAy send

The draft for ASEAN’s first

declaration on human rights is

complete but ASEAN-based civil

society organisations achieved

very little in contributing to the

drafting process, according to Kavi

Chongkittavorn, assistant group

editor of Nation Multimedia group in

Bangkok. The five-page draft of the proposed

ASEAN Declaration for Human Rights was

Wells Fargo, the lender looking

to trim more than US$1.7 billion in

quarterly expenses by the end of this

year, may move some jobs to India

and the Philippines. The bank had 264,900 full-time

employees at the end of March: 98% of the

workforce is in the US, while it employs

3,000 people in India and another 240 in

the Philippines

Another company, Japan Environment

Technology Development Company plans

to build a US$200 million light-emitting

diode (LED) light factory in the Philippines

by the end of the year

It is expected to become one of the

world’s largest LED light factories

Meanwhile, the Philippine real estate

market is now the best it has been in 20

years, according to property consultant

CBRE Philippines

The housing sector continues to benefit

from strong demand, as more Filipinos

are able to buy houses due to low interest

rates and affordable financing schemes,

said CBRE Philippines chief executive and

chairman Rick Santos

Why it matters: Wells Fargo outsourcing

is most welcome to the Philippines for

skill building, knowledge and technology

transfer. Overreliance on remittances for

foreign reserves does not move the country

up the value chain

Bloomberg, Philippine Daily Inquirer,

ABS-CBN (21 June 2012)

Thailand and Indonesia are poised

to weather the storm from the EU

economic crisis. Fear of being forced out of the euro

was slightly stronger than anger over

continuing austerity at the Greek election

on 17 June which propelled the centre-right

New Democracy party into first place, just

ahead of Syriza, the radical-left coalition

Thailand is expected to be able to

weather the eurozone crisis thanks to the

treasury’s US$15.7 billion reserves, said

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister

Kittiratt Na-Ranong on 21 June

But the government, he added, still

key dates in greece’sfinancial and political crisis

completed by the ASEAN Intergovernmen-

tal Commission on Human Rights (AICHR)

which held its sixth meeting in Myanmar

from 3 to 6 June

At this juncture, it is an imperfect

document yet due to be vetted by ASEAN

foreign ministers in July

ASEAN chair, Cambodia, wants a final

draft to be approved at the 21st ASEAN

Summit in November and time is running

out to consider input from various civil

society organisations

needed to take measures to curb an

imminent rise in unemployment in the

textile, electronic, jewellery and rubber

industries

Indonesia could still cruise through a crisis

with an economic expansion of more than

6% this year, as it was less dependent on

exports than most of its Asian neighbours,

some analysts said

Indonesia does have at least one potential

Achilles heel — its heavy reliance on sales

of commodities, including coal, palm oil

and rubber, prices of which could fall

significantly in a meltdown

Economist, Bangkok Post, Wall Street journal

(21 June 2012)

ASEAN

Thailand, Indonesia, Greece, EU

Philippines

Most of the language used in the draft

has been taken from human rights-related

documents of the UN and international

conventions but being ASEAN, all proposed

rights protections can only be carried out

in accordance with national and regional

particularities under national law

Why it matters: Input from civil society

is essential for sending a strong signal to

AICHR members that the final declaration

should benefit future generations in ASEAN

The Irrawady (18 June 2012)

soMe Jobs to

indiA, philippines

25 29 0606 ‘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

Monitor06Economy

The new foreign investment law, initially

to be released in January 2012, would be

delayed by a few more weeks. According

to Myanmar’s Investment Commission,

the new law requires approval by a joint

session of parliament and a signature

from President Thein Sein. The new law on

special economic zones, expected in early

July, is delayed for at least another four

months. Foreign investment in Myanmar

has only been US$133 million for the first

five months of this year, which is only a

fraction of the US$4.7 billion approved last

year.

Financial Times (24 June 2012)

The United Bank of India has received

approval from Central Bank of Myanmar to

set up a representative office in Yangon,

the first Indian bank to do so.

The Hindu Business Line (22 June 2012)

President Thein Sein said in a televised

speech that the administration wants to

triple Myanmar’s economy by 2016. He

said the aim was for the Myanmar people

to have better lives and higher income,

and that the government must reduce its

monopoly in some industries to alleviate

the budget deficit and make way for

privatisation.

The Irrawaddy (19 June 2012)

Six private banks will start a one-month

debit card trial service, limited to selected

individuals, by the end of June according

to officials at Kanbawza Bank. By 2013,

Myanmar citizens should be able to use

domestic cards anywhere in the world.

The central bank plans to launch a new

nationwide ATM network by July and said

it was in talks with Visa and MasterCard to

introduce international banking within six

months to a year.

Mizzima (19 June 2012)

Foreign Affairs

Aung San Suu Kyi urged the world to help

Myanmar complete its journey towards

democracy in her historic speech to both

houses of Britain’s parliament on 22 June.

She is the first foreign woman to address

both houses of parliament, a rare privilege

awarded to only a handful of foreign heads

of state; Barack Obama, Nelson Mandela

and Pope Benedict XVI.

Channel News Asia (22 June 2012)

Politics

Three people were killed in an outbreak

of communal violence in Rakhine state,

western Myanmar. The official death toll

of the unrest has risen to 62 but could be

much higher. Monsoon rains had hampered

transport and communications with the

area.

AFP (20 June 2012)

how other AseAn countries fare

Vietnam

Malaysia

08

07

vietnAM: world’s 2nd hAppiest

nAtion

MAlAysiAn CoMpAnies pursue

opportunities in AseAn MArket

Vietnam is considered the second

happiest country in the world, behind

Costa Rica, with Colombia third,

according to the Happy Planet Index. The index, compiled by UK independent

think tank, New Economics Foundation,

ranks 151 countries based on the health

and happiness they produce per unit

More Malaysian companies are

recognising growth opportunities

in ASEAN markets and are moving

away from the habitual focus on

China. GHL Systems suffered from irregular

transactions in its China operations which

resulted in substantial losses, and have

declared it will now focus on ASEAN’s

population of 650 million, according to the

Executive Chairman, Loh Wee Hian

GHL aims to become a regional player

like CIMB and Maybank and by 2015 aims to

generate 50% of its revenue from ASEAN

Indonesia is a ripe market for its services

as it has a young population, and the use of

electronic money is increasing

Focus Point Holdings is finalising

franchising deals in Indonesia as the firm

aims to expand its business across ASEAN,

according to group president Liaw Choon

Liang

Malaysia’s Kian Joo Group is investing

US$20 million to expand its production

facilities in Vietnam, according to general

manager Anthony See Teow Guan

of environmental input, using global

data on life expectancy, happiness and

environmental sustainability

The rest of the countries in the top 10 are

from South America

China ranks 60, the US ranks 105, while

the lowest-ranked are Qatar, Chad and

Botswana

Vietnam News (19 June 2012)

Why it matters: ASEAN is set to enjoy

the advantages of a growing population,

expanding middle class, rising GDP and

improving infrastructure. As global trends

shift towards Asia, ASEAN is uniquely

positioned geopolitically and economically

to leverage its advantages

The Star, Vietnam News (21 June 2012)

Source: Happyplanetindex.org

25 29 0606 ‘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.

Editorial Team: Angela Goh, Manissa van Geyzel, Chayut Setboonsarng

Consultant Editor: Tunku ‘Abidin Muhriz Designer: Iqbal Hakim

Malaysia, Indonesia

ASEAN

09

10

MAlAysiA-indonesiA Culture

stAndoff

southeAst AsiAn hAze: who’s

to blAMe?

The call by Malaysian information,

communication and culture minister,

Rais Yatim, to include two Sumatran

dances into the country’s cultural

register has sparked condemnation

from Indonesia’s Batak community

and a Sumatran lawmaker to respond

with force while others ask for

clarification. On 22 June, a group of about 50

Indonesians hurled stones and pieces

of wood at the Malaysia Hall building in

Jakarta and had earlier held a protest

outside the Malaysian embassy, about 5km

ASEAN’s seasonal haze problem

returns to Southeast Asia with

little signs of intervention from

law enforcement or action from

regional institutions that would

reduce the practice of burning forest

land to clear the way for palm oil

plantations. Thick haze covering the skylines of

Malaysia and Singapore are said to

originate from slash and burn technique

carried out by palm oil farmers in Indonesia

away, where they burned the Malaysian flag

and threw eggs into the compound

Tor-Tor and Gordang Sambilan, Rais

Yatim was quoted as saying by national

news agency Bernama on 14 June, would

be added to the 2005 National Heritage

Act

Indonesian Education and Culture Ministry

spokesman Ibnu Hamad was quoted as

saying by Jakarta Post, his office would

seek confirmation from the Malaysian

government about the report and “if it’s

true, I hope the Malaysian government will

not forget all the earlier cases of claims

that sparked protests from the Indonesian

and Malaysia to make way for plantations

Large Malaysian palm oil companies, Sime

Darby, IOI Corp, Kuala Lumpur Kepong

(KLK) are members of the Roundtable On

Sustainable Palm Oil, which is dedicated

to making palm oil production more

environmentally-friendly, and which has a

zero burning policy

The London-based Environmental

Investigation Agency indicated that KLK

subsidiary PT Menteng Jaya Sawit Perdana

was burning land but KLK denied this

accusation

Regional cooperation on haze prevention

began in 1997 with the signing of the

Regional Haze Action Plan and it evolved

into the ASEAN Transboundary Agreement

on Haze, of which Indonesia has not ratified

Nevertheless, Indonesian officials said it

was hard to police an industry that covers

so much terrain and they suspect some

other producers might be burning land,

or buying land from farmers who burn the

trees themselves

Why it matters: The cost of slash and

burn is incurred by the regional community

through public health expenditures,

negative environmental impact and the loss

of productivity. The Asian Development

Bank estimates financial losses totals in

the billions of dollars. Governments have

to create incentive for farmers to invest

in agriculture technology and enforce

the criminalisation of the slash and burn

practice

Wall Street Journal, The Diplomat (20 June 2012)

people, which are counterproductive for

the relationship between Indonesia and

Malaysia”

In 2007, Malaysia claimed traditional

lion dance from Ponorogo, East Java, by

posting an image of the costume used

for the dance on its heritage website

heritage.gov.my and in that year, the

Malaysian Tourism Board released a tourism

commercial featuring the song “Rasa

Sayang[e]”, claiming the song originated

from Malaysia, although the lyrics were in a

Maluku dialect

Malaysia has never retracted its claims on

both

Malaysian Insider (19 June 2012)