Weekly Business News from Myanmar

With the support of Yangon Regional Government, Directorate of Investment and Company Administration (DICA) will hold the second edition of Yangon Investment Forum in May 2019
The second edition of Yangon Investment Forum will be held from 10th to 11th of May with the support of the Yangon Region Government, Directorate of Investment and Company Administration, Myanmar Investment Development Association and partner institution, according to the press conference, Thursday. The forum will be held with two days event. It aims to inform the new investment opportunities, to clarify the rules and regulations, to report project bank, to link the networking with stakeholders and government institution and sharing knowledge as well. It will also focus on wide range of sectors mainly on garment factory, hotel and tourism, digital economy, real estate, industrial zone and manufacturing.
A consortium of Hong Kong, Taiwan and Myanmar companies will sign investment projects which is worth USD $ 500 million for Htantabin Industrial Zone during the Yangon Investment Forum 2019
A consortium of Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Myanmar companies will sign a US$500-million investment project at the Yangon Investment Forum 2019 on 10 May. The project is part of the 1,000-acre industrial zone in Htantabin Township. The Htantabin Industrial Zone will be implemented in two steps, and is expected to create about 150,000 jobs, said Yangon Region’s Minister for Kayin Ethnic Affairs, Naw Pan Thinzar Myo, at a press conference about the Yangon Investment Forum at the Co-operative Business Centre in Yangon. “We are holding discussions with other investors who are interested in doing business in other industrial zones,” said the minister. About 70 per cent of the investment in the country is concentrated in the Yangon Region, of which, Myanmar nationals account for 25 per cent. Forty-nine domestic investors and 163 foreign investors have entered the region so far in the 2018-2019 Financial Year. China tops the list of foreign investors, followed by Hong Kong and the Republic of Korea.
Three young people who are graduated from Singapore have founded MyanLeran, an innovative class search platform to address information scarcity in Myanmar’s private education market
Driven by the burning desire to tackle disorganised information of Myanmar’s fragmented private education market, three young people who graduated from Singapore have created MyanLearn, an innovative class search platform which aims to make learning accessible and convenient. In an interview, ThihaNyunt, chief executive of MyanLearn, said the firm aims to achieve 100,000 registered users by the end of this year, and to grow two or three times next year. Last year, he founded the firm together with other two co-founders -- chief technology officer AungMyintThein and chief operating officer HninEiEiKhaing. “With our current user numbers and healthy growth every month, we are confident that we can achieve it,” he said.
Germany based chemical company; Evonik is looking to invest chemical industry in Myanmar
Evonik, a Germany-based chemical company, is watching closely the chemical industry of Myanmar as it is considering making a presence in Myanmar, according to Evonik (SEA) Pte. Ltd in Singapore. Evonik is a business group with a presence in over 100 countries around the world, and has more than 36,000 employees. In fiscal year 2018, the enterprise managed to sell €15 billion worth products and an operating profit (adjusted EBITDA) of €2.6 billion, said Mr. Peter Meinshausen, Regional President of Evonik Asia Pacific South. “Now we are doing the market research and the market analyze in Myanmar before we use spend a lot of money. We are trying to get the framework firstly, so we can’t say the details,” he added, “we have once discussed with Myanmar Investment Commission”.
With the loans from World Bank, a combined cycle gas turbine power plant with the capacity of 118.9 MW opened in Mon State
A combined cycle gas turbine power plant with the capacity of 118.9 megawatts (MW) opened in Myanmar’s Mon state on Friday. With loans from the World Bank, the power plant project was implemented by the tender-winning China Energy Engineering Corporation (CEEC). Myanmar State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi thanked the respective individuals for supporting government's implementation for the country's development which is a key to peace and stability in the country. The government has been carrying out the implementations for infrastructure development, especially transportation and power supplies and it is believed that active cooperation and efforts by everyone could support the country's development, the state counselor said.
Government received more than 1,300 proposals on engaging in mining business in nine months
There have been about 1370 proposals on engaging in mining business over the past nine months, and only eight out of over 140 proposals submitted to region and state governments for their opinions have received replies, said Union Minister for Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation Ohn Win. The ministry started receiving proposals for mining sites in accord with the mining law and rules on August 1, 2018. In nine months, 1,369 proposals have been received. Of those proposals, some were sent to region and state governments for their opinions.
Government will hold the tender for construction of an airport in Muse this year
Plans are being drawn out for the construction of an airport in Muse, which is a major hub for trade at the Myanmar-China border. A tender will be held this year, said U Ye Htut Aung, deputy director general of the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA). “We have presented this project to the minister’s office. We will announce the tender as soon as we receive permission. It is expected to happen this year. We are proposing to build it as a domestic airport,” said U Ye Htut Aung. The new Muse airport will be constructed under a Public-Private Partnership. The size and capacity of the airport have yet to be confirmed and will depend on the size of land available, the DCA said. Six private companies have already been selected to participate in the tender after an invitation to submit Expressions of Interest (EOI) was called in 2017.
National Export Strategy (NES) 2020- 2025 will focus on developing its export volume and digital economy
The Ministry of Commerce said that it will focus on developing its export sectors and digital economy in its National Export Strategy (NES) 2020-2025. “The Myanmar Trade and Investment Plan will support sustainable development of exports in the next five years. Both the union government and regional/state governments need to make sure to improve trade and investments for development of export and a digital economy by getting recommendations from the Stakeholder’s Symposium,” said Dr. Than Myint, Union Minister of the Ministry of Commerce. The National Export Strategy (NES) 2015-2019 was adopted by the Ministry of Commerce with the help of DFID’s funding and ITC’s technical assistance.
Yangon Regional Government is striving to re-draft laws for businesses in Myanmar to improve the nation’s economy through Yangon’s development
“The government is trying to re-draft laws for businesses in Myanmar so that it will attract foreign investors. The Foreign Investment Law is one of those.” The Yangon Regional Government is putting up their best efforts to improve the nation’s economy through Yangon’s development. Global New Light of Myanmar met with the Regional Chief Minister U Phyo Min Thein to discuss the regional accomplishments in the 3rd year of the current administration. Q: What are challenges facing the Yangon Regional Government ? A: There are challenges to every new administration. We are facing quite a lot of floods here in Yangon from the overflow of trenches and ditches. This was our first priority and we have managed to clear out quite a few of the waterway blockage. Another problem is trash in alleyways. We are aiming for trash-free public places. Right now, we are clearing up the mountains of trash that has accumulated over the past decade. The problem can’t be solved just by clearing the existing trash – we have to change our attitudes towards throwing away trash irresponsibly in non-designated areas.
Ministry of Commerce and Government of Yunnan Province signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on rice and other crops exports from Myanmar to China
The Ministry of Commerce (MOC) and government of Yunnan Province, China, signed a memorandum of understanding on the export of Myanmar rice and other crops to China on April 21. Under the agreement, Myanmar will be able to legally export crops such as rice as well as fisheries to China via the Muse border trade gate. The MoU, which is a part of barter system, will see Myanmar importing construction materials and farming machinery manufactured in Yunnan Province in exchange for an equal amount in value of Myanmar-produced agricultural products. The Agriculture, Livestock and Fishery Development Committee under the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI) will take charge of this agreement, which will take effect in May. Exporting rice to China will be the government’s top priority.