Business

Business

The Bawdwin mine in northern Shan State's Namtu township contains rich deposits of silver, lead, zinc and copper and is among the most lucrative in Myanmar. (Photo: Kan Thar/ RFA)
Tax break for lucrative mine may cost Myanmar $163m while companies reap huge profits
Seven-year tax holiday is meant to encourage investment, but a mining consortium already stands to...
Published on Feb 14, 2020
Lay Dewan sits with his neighbours.
Helping or hurting: Touted as answer to poverty, microloans trap many in debt
Nearly 200 microlenders now offer low-interest loans to Myanmar’s poor, but many leave borrowers with crushing debt
Jan 3, 2020
Mounds of hair are loosened with needles into untangled strands.
‘Black gold’ - villages abandon farming to embrace lucrative trade in human hair
Farmers racked by climate change and uncertainty have found security in processing hair for Chinese wig makers
Dec 17, 2019
The Yangon Restaurant owned by Senior General Min Aung Hlaing’s son Aung Pyae Sone (Photo- Sai Zaw/ Myanmar Now)
Military Chief’s Son Paid ‘Very Low’ Rent for His Upscale Restaurant on Government-Owned Land
Aung Pyae Sone did not have to compete with anyone to win lease for high-end venue, which serves foie gras and veal
Jul 18, 2019
A farmer in a vineyard close to harvest time. Cultivation methods suited to local conditions can reduce costs on inputs such as fertilisers and pesticides.
Myanmar’s sun-drenched vineyards bear fruit
Yamethin Township in Mandalay Region is the largest grape-growing area in Myanmar. Though grapes can be cultivated in many parts of Myanmar, different regions—with differing climates...
Jul 4, 2018
A worker in a vineyard in Yamethin Township, seen in early May.
Grape growers feed an expanding wine market in Myanmar
YAMETHIN, Mandalay Region — Workers prised grapes from rows trained on Y-shaped trellises, loading them into their baskets, while vehicles weighted with lugs of fresh grapes left the...
Jul 4, 2018
A Pa-O tea grower plucks tea leaves in Pinlaung (Photo: Myanmar Now).
Change afoot in southern Shan State’s premier tea town
PINLAUNG, Shan State — Visitors to Pinlaung, a hilly town perched 1,500 metres above sea level in the Pa-O Self-Administered Zone of southern Shan State, are greeted with the scent of...
Jul 2, 2018