Myanmar 20250930
Mekong Memo Myanmar Weekly: Business, politics, finance, trade & legal news.
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Here is this week’s edition of the Mekong Memo for Myanmar.
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Headlines:
China Hands Myanmar Scammers to Death
Junta Still Pressuring Election Opposers
Military-Backed Party Dominates Vote Prep
Airstrikes Getting Worse
Rohingya Crisis at a Juncture
China Top Buyer of Myanmar Rice
US Disrupts North Korea-Myanmar Arms Network
Russian Nuclear Energy Remains on the Agenda
India’s Rare Earth Gamble Hits Roadblocks
Investment Commission Approves 19 Projects
China Hands Myanmar Scammers to Death
A Chinese court in Zhejiang has sentenced 11 members of a Myanmar-based criminal syndicate to death for fraud operations resulting in 14 deaths and losses of more than $1.4 billion. Five other members of the squad were given death sentences with reprieve, and 11 more got life in prison. The sentencing is an indication that China has more resolve to crack down on this than has previously been evident.
Read more: NHK World (Death Sentences), BBC (Mafia Family), Sigma World (Gambling Operations)
Junta Still Pressuring Election Opposers
The Chin Brotherhood says it won’t allow unauthorized polling in towns under its control, and has also asked international organizations to not support the electoral process. The junta is clubbing critics with their Election Protection Law, and at least nine people, including kids as young as 14, have been arrested for “disrupting election preparations,” and are now facing charges that carry penalties of up to seven years in prison. Russia continues to say that it will observe the election; junta chief Min Aung Hlaing was in Moscow this week at President Putin’s invitation.
Read more: Mizzima (Chin Brotherhood), Irrawaddy (Arrests), Irrawaddy (Russian Observers), The Diplomat (Censorship)
Military-Backed Party Dominates Vote Prep
The Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), Myanmar’s military-backed proxy party, plans to field more than 1,000 candidates, dwarfing its rivals. The slate is bigger than the combined total of 960 candidates from 51 other parties that will compete. The USDP was set up by former military generals in advance of the 2010 elections to ensure that they maintained a military influence in parliament. The National Unity Party (694 candidates) and People’s Pioneer Party (672 candidates) are the closest competitors by number of candidates, though both suffered major defeats to the NLD (which plans to boycott this poll) in previous elections.
Read more: Irrawaddy (Candidate Numbers), Mizzima (Lowered Thresholds), Irrawaddy (Military Leadership)
Airstrikes Getting Worse
The junta has increased the tempo of airstrikes since August 18, killing more than 100 civilians in 27 attacks in 20 townships. Recent strikes on September 21 and 22 in Mandalay and Kachin resulted in eight deaths and 29 injuries. A September 27 airstrike in Thandwe, Arakan State, killed one person and injured five, including two children and a pregnant woman. The Kachin Independence Army (KIA) headquarters in Laiza was hit by two “suicide” drone attacks on September 21.
Read more: Irrawaddy (Civilian Casualties), Narinjara (Thandwe Strike), Mizzima (KIA Headquarters Attack)
Rohingya Crisis at a Juncture
The Rohingya refugee crisis is on the brink of getting worse, as funding shortfalls threaten the welfare of more than 1.2 million refugees currently in Bangladesh. Bangladesh’s interim leader Muhammad Yunus says there’s the possibility of a collapse of refugee camps because of a drop in international funding. Recent reports indicate 150,000 Rohingya have fled Rakhine State over the past year because of ongoing persecution. An OHCHR study shows most Rohingya want to get back to Myanmar, but think that it’s impossible to live there safely at the moment under current conditions. The Asian Development Bank and the Government of Bangladesh have signed agreements for a $58.6 million grant and a $28.1 million concessional loan to provide infrastructure and services for some of the displaced.
Read more: The Diplomat (Funding Crisis), Channel News Asia (Village Destruction), UN News (International Summit), New Age BD (Safe Return Concerns), BSS News (ADB Support)
China Top Buyer of Myanmar Rice
China is the largest importer of Myanmar rice, buying at a pace of about 100,000 tonnes a month. Indonesia follows, and the Philippines ranks third. Other notable importers include Belgium and Spain. Myanmar’s total rice and broken rice exports have exceeded one million tonnes valued at $355 million for the fiscal year to date. The Myanmar Rice Federation wants to move three million tonnes of rice by the end of the fiscal year (7 more months), building on last year’s $1.13 billion in revenue from ~2.5 million tonnes.
Read more: Global New Light of Myanmar
US Disrupts North Korea-Myanmar Arms Network
The United States put sanctions on five people and one entity that it says are connected to arms sales between North Korea and the Junta. The sanctions are being placed on the Royal Shune Lei Company Limited and individuals, including its CEO Tin Myo Aung, director Aung Ko Ko Oo, and employee Kyaw Thu Myo Myint. Also targeted were Kim Yong Ju from North Korea’s Korea Mining Development Trading Corporation (KOMID) and Nam Chol Ung, who allegedly laundered funds related to the transactions.
Read more: Irrawaddy (Sanctions Details), The Statesman (Military Connections), UCA News (Weapons Sales), Dallas Express (Funding Disruption)
Russian Nuclear Energy Remains on the Agenda
Nuclear cooperation is ongoing with Russia, as Senior General Min Aung Hlaing took a delegation to Moscow for the World Atomic Week Forum 2025 (same trip as reported in the first story). The junta inked deals with Russia’s ROSATOM to support human resource training, infrastructure, and peaceful nuclear technology. A deal that was previously signed in March agreed on the construction of a small modular nuclear power plant, which is expected to start up with a 110 megawatt capacity, expandable to 330 megawatts. Russian President Vladimir Putin praised the deal by saying that the agreement will allow Myanmar to benefit from sustainable energy, creating jobs and supporting growth.
Read more: Mizzima (Cooperation Agreements), Bernama (Economic Growth), Elevenmyanmar (Moscow Visit)
India’s Rare Earth Gamble Hits Roadblocks
India’s project to source rare earth elements from Kachin State is stalled because of internal issues that are hampering logistics. The idea was meant to help India tie up a supply of heavy rare-earth elements that are necessary for advanced manufacturing, since China has been very aggressive about controlling as much of the global supply as it can. A railway project that was supposed to help get access to Myanmar’s mineral-rich areas may not actually allow for the improved trade possibilities that were previously hoped for.
Read more: The Diplomat (Competition), India.com (Infrastructure Challenges)
Investment Commission Approves 19 Projects
The Myanmar Investment Commission (MIC), an agency responsible for overseeing and approving investment proposals under the Myanmar Investment Law, approved 19 projects on September 26. Four foreign investment projects and 15 local ventures got the go-ahead. The projects are in sectors including industry, services, electricity, transport, communications, breeding, and marine industries. They’re expected to create almost 4,500 local jobs. As of August, the top foreign investors in Myanmar were Singapore, China, and Thailand.
Read more: The Star
That’s it for this week… THANK YOU.
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