News in Brief--(29-5-2018)

Myanmar invites

EoI for Yangon

expressway

YANGON, May 28: Myanmar's Construction Ministry has invited expression of interest (EoI) from local and international firms for a ring road expressway in Yangon, the ministry said in a statement on Monday. The 47.5-km elevated four-lane road will connect downtown Yangon, Yangon Port, Yangon International Airport, Mingalardon Industrial Park and the Yangon-Mandalay expressway. The firms are to design, engineer, finance, construct, operate and maintain the project through a long-term through a public-private partnership (PPP) concession agreement. The ministry set June 29 as closing date for sending the expression of interest by the firms. — Xinhua

Malaysia's budget deficit remains manageable

KUALA LUMPUR, May 28: The Malaysian government may see a successful transition from the goods and services tax (GST) to Sales and Services Tax (SST) without widening the budget deficit too much, supported by higher oil revenue and lower expenditure, said a research house Monday. RHB Research Institute said in a report, while the move to zero-rated GST next month onward will lead to a huge revenue loss to Malaysia, the fast- tracking of the SST re-implementation, higher oil prices and potential cuts in expenditure may bring this loss to a more manageable 1.7 billion ringgit (427 million U.S. dollars).

— Xinhua

Indonesian central

bank meet to

set rate

JAKARTA, May 28: The central bank of Indonesia will hold an early policy meeting Wednesday in a bid to take more adjustments in its benchmark interest rate policy as the U.S. Fed. Reserve's hawkish tone has cast worry on capital outflows. The interest rate-setting meeting, which is about one month ahead of its regular monthly meeting, was put on scheduled at the lender website on Monday.

— Xinhua