Myanmar: The Strike Caused Difficulties For Chinese Enterprises In Myanmar

According to reports, since Myanmar's military seized power in early February, a large number of people have taken to the streets to protest. In major cities such as Naypyidaw, Rangoon, Mandalay and Sagaing, all walks of life, including civil servants, organized strikes in succession. Demonstrations were carried out in a peaceful way, and the "civil disobedience movement" was launched. On the 22nd, the strike broke out in a concentrated manner, and traffic in many cities was paralyzed.

EU foreign ministers agreed on the 21st to impose sanctions on Myanmar's military, but said they would not restrict trade ties with Myanmar. European Union High Representative for foreign and security policy borili said that if trade restrictions were imposed on Myanmar, thousands of textile workers in the country would lose their jobs, and the move would not affect Myanmar's military interests.
According to statistics, among more than 600 textile and garment enterprises in Myanmar, more than 300 are Chinese funded enterprises, employing about 300000 local people from Myanmar. The strike has a great impact on Chinese enterprises.
Zheng Bida u thaw, director of Myanmar world investment company Khaing told the global textile network reporter that at present, Myanmar textile enterprises are most worried about: possible sanctions lead to the cancellation of GSP preferential policy; workers' strike can not complete the order on time; customs and logistics abnormalities lead to materials can not be entered into the customs, finished products can not be shipped; bank closing suspension of withdrawal, resulting in staff wages and factory operating expenses can not be maintained; in case of activity upgrading, can not be predicted Loss caused by group events.

According to u thaw Khaing, at present, customers have asked for the transfer of orders. Meanwhile, orders have been arranged to be transferred back to China or other countries that can be accepted after September.
It is reported that many large-scale Chinese enterprises in Myanmar have begun to shuttle local employees to and from work. However, some small-scale Chinese enterprises, due to the unstable order volume during the epidemic period and the decreasing attendance rate, many factories could not hold on and had to close down.
As the strike continues, the economic losses of Chinese enterprises in Myanmar are likely to continue to expand. Due to the basic stagnation of customs work, both the export of finished products and the import of raw materials are "blocked" in the process of customs clearance. The overstocked goods are generally delayed for one week to enter the customs, but tax declaration has become a problem, because "if you pay taxes, you will pay taxes for the military government.".
After the outbreak of the epidemic last year, many Chinese funded enterprises in Myanmar have been struggling. This year, they have caught up with the current turmoil, which worries many investors. At present, how should Chinese enterprises in Myanmar deal with it?
Zheng Bida u thaw Khaing, director of Myanmar world investment company, gave the following suggestions:
1、 Do not believe rumors, do not spread rumors, try to pacify workers, respect workers' reasonable requirements, and avoid conflicts with them;
2、 The more difficult the environment is, the more calm and confident we should be;
3、 Enterprises should do a good job in fire prevention, anti-theft and other preventive work, and agree on the pre plan to deal with mass incidents;
4、 The enterprise should make the order distribution plan and disposal plan according to its own situation, customer country and order nature;
5、 For investors who have not yet invested in Myanmar, it is suggested to suspend the investment plan and make decisions according to the development of Myanmar's domestic political and economic situation. Of course, u u thaw Khaing is still optimistic about Myanmar's development prospects.
6、 Keep in touch with embassies, business associations and other organizations to obtain reliable information and obtain necessary assistance in case of emergency.

(text / Dahui, photo / correspondent Zheng Bida)