Regional broadcaster, Channel NewsAsia, celebrates the official opening today of its news bureau in Yangon, Myanmar, making it the channel’s 13th dedicated bureau in Southeast and East Asia. The office in Yangon follows on the heels of the launch of the Mumbai bureau in January 2013 in India.
The channel’s correspondent, May Wong, based in Yangon, will report from the ground with credibility and authenticity, to capture the developments in Myanmar as it opens up after half a century of isolation. This is also a significant year as the country assumes the ASEAN Chair for the first time. A broadcast journalist with 17 years of experience, May Wong has been filing stories from Myanmar since a year ago. In the more recent events, the channel was able to give regional viewers a close up on the astounding Southeast Asian Games in Myanmar and the just-concluded ASEAN Ministerial Meeting. On the business front, she provided insights on plans to set up the country’s first stock exchange, and its strategies to grow the aviation sector and to build a new airport to meet rising air passenger traffic.
Supporting these reports, the channel has, over the past few years, had several exclusive interviews about Myanmar. This included President Thein Sein’s first international television interview in July 2012, and when Speaker of Parliament, Thura U Shwe Mann, was in Singapore in September that year. It produced a 6 part series called “The New Myanmar” last year, and several other documentaries on the developments in the country.
Ms Debra Soon, Managing Director of Channel NewsAsia comments, “We have stepped up not only our news coverage, but our documentaries and programmes on Myanmar in the past few years. Today, we are adding another thrust to our engagement with Myanmar with a regional business seminar. This provides a platform for political and business leaders to understand more about the changing face of Myanmar. It’s a formula which we are replicating across Asia, improving our coverage within the region through news and current affairs, and making connections to the movers and shakers across Asia.”
Just a year ago in January 2013, the channel increased its broadcast time, reporting “live” for 24 hours. It opened a satellite studio in Singapore’s new upmarket Marina Bay Financial Centre that signalled its increased business programming, whilst it improved its Asian overnight coverage of financial markets in the United States and Europe. Its focus to deliver high end documentaries and content on Asia will tell the story of the region’s progress, dynamism and challenges.
As a continuing commitment to bring better understanding of Asia, Channel NewsAsia has brought its series of regional seminars for today’s official opening. The seminar, Business Insights – Understanding the Changing Myanmar, gathers think tanks, captains of industries and government leaders to discuss how business communities can achieve success and contribute to sustainable development and to deliver value to the people. The event is held at the Sedona Hotel in Yangon with official venue partner, Keppel Land.
The panel discussion will be facilitated by Channel NewsAsia’s award-winning Presenter, Teymoor Nabili. It includes Dr Muang Muang Lay, Vice President of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI), Mr Kanthan Shankar, Country Manager, East Asia & Pacific of The World Bank Group, Mr Melvyn Pun, CEO, Serge Pun & Associates (Myanmar) or SPA (Myanmar), Associate Professor Simon Tay, Chairman of Singapore Institute of International Affairs, and Mr William Greenlee, Jr., Partner/Deputy Managing Director, DFDL, Myanmar.