VZCZCXRO4942
RR RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH RUEHTRO
DE RUEHGO #0228/01 1110655
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 210655Z APR 09
FM AMEMBASSY RANGOON
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8877
RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE
RUEHGG/UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 2243
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 1902
RUEHKA/AMEMBASSY DHAKA 5169
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 5380
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 8973
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 6549
RUEHCN/AMCONSUL CHENGDU 1759
RUEHCHI/AMCONSUL CHIANG MAI 2130
RUEHCI/AMCONSUL KOLKATA 0607
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RHHMUNA/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 4378
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 2367
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 RANGOON 000228 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/MLS, INR/EAP, EEB/IFD/ODF 
PACOM FOR FPA 
TREASURY FOR OASIA:SCHUN 
 
E.O. 12958:N/A 
TAGS: ECON EFIN PREL BM
SUBJECT: BURMA: WATER FESTIVAL PARTICIPATION AFFECTED BY FINANCIAL 
CRISIS 
 
RANGOON 00000228  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1.  (SBU)  Water Festival, the most-anticipated holiday in Burma, 
usually boosts Burma's economy, providing jobs for day laborers and 
vendors while generating profits for those who organize festivities. 
 However, this year's Water Festival was not as profitable as in the 
past: the Government sold fewer wooden stage construction permits, 
fewer companies sponsored events, and fewer Burmese participated in 
the festivities.  Economic contacts and event organizers blame the 
world financial crisis for lower participation.  Nevertheless, while 
stage operators' profits may have declined, construction workers and 
food hawkers still financially benefited during this Water Festival 
period.  End Summary. 
 
Celebrating Water Festival 
-------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (U)  Burmese Water Festival or Thingyan, the country's most 
famous holiday, is a time when the Burmese can enjoy themselves with 
little threat of government interference.  During April 12-16, 
stores, offices, and restaurants were closed, enabling the Burmese 
to engage in the festivities.  While some Burmese went on 
pilgrimages to their favorite pagodas, most participated in the 
traditional water-throwing events.  In Burma, throwing water on 
someone cleanses the soul before Buddhist New Year.  The Burmese 
take Water Festival to new heights, constructing wooden stalls known 
as pandals with water cannons and spray fire hoses so that 
participants can hose down crowds who line the streets. 
 
¶3.  (SBU)  Participating in Thingyan is expensive and the Burmese 
save money all year for this event.  Several contacts told us that 
they took on extra work or borrowed money in the past to participate 
in the festivities.  However, due to limited access to credit, 
several participants told us they could not afford to buy pandal 
tickets this year.  Pandal operators confirmed that ticket sales 
were down compared to last year. 
 
Preparing for Water Festival 
---------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU)  This year, the Yangon City Development Committee (YCDC) 
issued approximately 100 pandal construction licenses, compared to 
150 licenses granted in 2008, according to pandal organizer and 
businessman U Moe Myint.  License fees range between 60,000-1 
million kyat (USD 60-1,000), depending on the size of the pandal and 
the location.  Several pandal operators told us that YCDC officials 
granted licenses to those connected to the government, including 
Than Shwe's grandson, who later resold them at a profit.  Pandals 
cost up to 15 million kyat (USD 15,000) to construct, including 
formal and informal license costs, raw materials, and labor fees. 
Construction usually takes ten days, and organizers hire day 
laborers from the poorer areas of Rangoon.  One pandal organizer 
estimated that more than 3,000 day laborers found work immediately 
before Water Festival, approximately 1,000 workers less than last 
year.  Salaries remained the same:  between 2,500 and 3,500 (USD 
2.50-3.50) kyat a day and laborers worked for up to 18 hours a day. 
 
 
Earning Less than Last Year 
--------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU)  According to YCDC Thingyan organizer Daw Yin Yin Aung, 
pandal organizers in the past have earned profit, despite high 
production costs.  Prominent local businesses, such as such as 
Myanmar Beer, Air Bagan, or local hotels, often sponsor large 
pandals, allowing the operator to recoup some of the costs. 
 
RANGOON 00000228  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
Sponsorship also helps attract bands and entertainers to the pandal, 
which in turn increases the number of ticket sales. While the 
average cost of sponsorship in 2009 was two million kyat (USD 
2,000), some of the larger sponsors from 2008, including Alpine 
Water, opted to forgo sponsorship this year due to financial 
constraints, Daw Yin Yin Aung told us.  Consequently, pandal 
operators requested fewer permits this year, she surmised. 
 
¶6.  (SBU)  Pandal operators earn money by selling tickets to stand 
on the stage and spray revelers with water.  In 2009, the cost of a 
pandal ticket was between 10,000 and 80,000 kyat (USD 10-80) a day, 
slightly higher than last year.  Some pandals offered discount 
tickets for multiple days and some businessmen, notably regime crony 
Tay Za, paid for tickets for staff of their companies.  In 2009, the 
largest pandals sold more than 300 tickets for each day, earning 
more than 120 million kyat (USD 120,000) for five days, U Moe Myint 
told us.  Smaller pandals made substantially less, although he noted 
that profitability varied by location and size of the pandal. 
 
¶7.  (SBU)  Local car dealers and car owners also profited from Water 
Festival.  Many Burmese who could not afford pandal tickets rode 
around the city in rented cars.  In the weeks before Water Festival, 
we observed local car owners repairing their vehicles, while others 
were advertising jeep rentals at approximately 120,000 kyat (USD 
120) a day, approximately 20 percent higher than last year.  Many 
Burmese told us that due to high rental prices, they opted to travel 
around Rangoon in large trucks, which charged 3,000 kyat a day and 
held up to 30 people. 
 
¶8.  (SBU)  Vendors were out in full force, selling food and drinks 
before and during Water Festival.  Daw Yin Yin Aung explained that 
YCDC charged vendors 10,000 kyat (USD 10) a day to set up temporary 
stands during Water Festival.  Several hawkers told us they earned 
up to 25,000 kyat (USD 25) a day selling food and drinks to 
construction crews and revelers before Water Festival began. 
Vendors who sold food prior to and during Water Festival likely 
earned more than 500,000 kyat (USD 500) for the period, Daw Yin Yin 
Aung surmised. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶9.  (SBU)  While there are no official figures on the economics of 
Water Festival, several of our contacts speculated that this year's 
festivities were not as profitable as those of previous years.  YCDC 
earned less than last year, due to fewer pandal permit sales.  Many 
Burmese, affected by slow business activity and lack of access to 
credit, had less disposable income, resulting in an observed drop in 
participation.  U Moe Myint stated that the financial crisis turned 
the 2009 Water Festival into a party "for the wealthy" rather than 
for the general public.  Indeed, while there were many people out in 
the streets, fewer people purchased expensive pandal tickets.  Day 
laborers and food stall operators, who generally earn 2,000 kyat 
(USD 2) day during the rest of the year, were once again the real 
winners of the Thingyan "economic stimulus" effect. 
 
DINGER