Myanmar’s true pandemic has begun
This week, the new wave of coronavirus infections raged on with no signs of slowing. At the time of writing, authorities have confirmed more than 1800 cases and 12 deaths. The new wave apparently originated from an outbreak in mid August in Rakhine S
COVID-19 cases more than double in 2 weeks
The recent coronavirus outbreak in Rakhine State has pushed Myanmar’s total confirmed cases to more than 900 (at the time of writing), a more than two fold increase in just over two weeks. On August 31, the Ministry of Health and Sports reporte
JICA loans additional USD 280 million
Myanmar has accepted yet another COVID-19 recovery loan from Japan. This week, the government signed an agreement with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to borrow JPY 30 billion (around USD 282 million) for its ongoing COVID-19 Econom
Parliament approves slashed budget
Parliament has passed the Union Budget Law for the 2020-2021 fiscal year, setting the year’s budget at MMK 34.1 trillion. That amount was reduced by MMK 520 billion from the first proposed budget, according to the Myanmar Times. A full 10% of t
Japan to give USD 420 million in COVID relief
A state visit by Japanese foreign minister Toshimitsu Motegi ended in an offer of JPY 45 billion—roughly USD 420 million—in additional COVID-19 recovery assistance. The foreign minister and State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi also discussed way
