Jewelery Kingdom's Red Fire Business

Myanmar is one of the world’s largest producers of precious stones. At the 13-day large-scale jewelry fair held in the capital Naypyidaw, the turnover reached a record 1.08 billion euros (1.44 billion U.S. dollars), which was the turnover since 1964. The highest ever jade, gem and pearl trade fair.

Myanmar is a country rich in natural resources. In history, it has a reputation as a "golden place" and a "jewelry country." The best ruby ​​found in the world is in Myanmar, and the best jadeite jade is in Myanmar. The jade and jade raw material production areas in Myanmar are mainly distributed in the range of about 96 degrees to 97 degrees east longitude and 25 degrees to 26 degrees north latitude, which is the “Kachin State” (Jingpo ethnic group) that is connected to the mountains and waters of Yunnan, China, in the north of Myanmar. Is a dense, Padan area.

According to Myanmar’s official statistics, minerals and precious stones are Myanmar’s third largest export commodity. However, in fact, 90% of the business in this industry is hidden in the “shadow economy”. Since 2000, the Rangoon Jade Trade Fair four times a year has also added several fires to the price of jade. In this way, plus the bidding of the mines, the price of not less than five times a year in Myanmar will increase.

Myanmar is not only the birthplace of Chinese jade, but also the hometown of ruby, emerald, and other fine stones. The Ruby of scientific name, Burma's output accounts for 90% of the world's production, and the quality is also the best. In recent years, the raw materials of jade produced in Myanmar each year can sell about 2 billion yuan***. There are many types of gems in Myanmar, and they are of good quality. Particularly worth mentioning is the emerald jade in Myanmar. Among the six jade-rich regions around the world, almost 100% of the high-quality emeralds come from Myanmar.

The reporter once visited the Yangon Jewellery Exchange Market in Yangon, a row of stone jade shops, a small scale rent a few counters, and a strong independent store with two separate floors. The gemstones sold here are cheap and attractive, attracting tourists from many countries such as China, Thailand and Malaysia and Western tourists. The increase in tourists has driven the price of jade in Myanmar up. Today, the price has risen about 10 times from a few years ago.

Gem exports are an important revenue-generating project of the Myanmar government. Since 1964, Myanmar has held jewellery and jade auctions almost every year. Since 2004, official auctions have been held three times a year, and the amount of transactions has continued to expand. According to statistics, Myanmar’s annual revenue from jewelry auctions alone exceeds US$500 million.

Myanmar’s jewellery mining rights are only open to Burmese citizens and can be either privately owned or exploited jointly with the government. Mining rights have a three-year period and a five-year period, so Burmese investors often process and mine 24 hours a day and night due to time and cost factors.

Foreign investors can only cooperate with the Myanmar government. After the 1990s, the Myanmar government incorporated jade mining into its management. The land was auctioned by the government and only registered companies could enter. The mined stones are registered for tax and then shipped to a public auction in Yangon before they can be exported from the sea. Stones that do not participate in auctions can only be processed and sold in Myanmar, and any private person must not enter the mine to freely trade. Since 2000, the Myanmar government has stepped up its control over the emerald wool material of its country. The wool material is sold directly at the Yangon auction. The annual jade jewelry trade fair is very prosperous.