Weekly Business News from Myanmar

Experts warn that implementation of JICA's Master Plan for Dawei Special Economic Zone (SEZ) without a legally required site-wide assessment would be "unlawful"
Experts warn that implementation of the Japan-supported master plan for Dawei Special Economic Zone (SEZ) without a legally-required site-wide assessment would be “unlawful” and that transparency and meaningful public participation are necessary to determine who benefits from those plans before moving ahead. The master plan for Dawei SEZ, drafted by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), will be released towards the end of May. U Myint San, vice president of Dawei SEZ management committee (DSMC), told The Myanmar Times that JICA has been drafting the master plan since 2017. The master plan will be finalised by late May and will cover all the phases of the zone. The plan will include three phases: now until 2030, 2030-40 and 2040-50. Japan proposes prioritising infrastructure and connectivity for Phase 1, including roads, power supply projects and deep-sea port. The DSMC will deliberate JICA’s draft, make changes and submit the finalised blueprint to the national-level SEZ Central Committee, which is chaired by Vice President U Henry Van Thio.
Yangon Region Government plans to develop a deep seaport project and a special economic zone (SEZ) project on a 50,000 acre land in Yangon
Yangon Region government plans to develop a deep seaport project and a special economic zone project on a 50,000-acre land in Yangon, said Yangon Region Chief Minister Phyo Min Thein. “A jetty can be built at the mouth of Sea in Yangon. We can develop Yangon special economic zone project like Thilawa Special Economic Zone Project on the other side of Yangon,” said the Chief Minister.. “The jetty can be moved to the sea. Currently, Yangon jetty located at the heart of Yangon cannot operate its service round the clock. Loading and unloading operations can be carried out in the compound of Yangon jetty. But trucks find it difficult to transport containers to industrial zones during the day. A motorcade is allowed in case of emergency, he added. The region government is making negotiation with the Union government on the construction of Yangon SEZ project on the other side of Yangon. There is demand for more around-the-clock cargo jetties as there currently exists Thilawa jetty that conveniently services industrial zones in east Yangon as it is located on the east bank of Yangon River.
CEO conference 2018 on the Myanmar economy was held on 11 May 2018 in Yangon to raise awareness on Myanmar laws and investment opportunities: it was attended by senior Myanmar government officials, top CEOs, and business people
The CEO Conference 2018 on the economy was held in Yangon at the Novotel Yangon Max on May 11. The CEO Conference 2018 was a forum of senior Myanmar government officials, eminent persons in their fields, top CEOs and business people. The CEO Conference 2018 was attended by Deputy Minister of Planning and Finance Ministry Maung Maung Win, Yangon Region government Chief Minister Phyo Min Thein, Sagaing Region government Chief Minister Dr. Myint Naing, economist Dr. Aung Tun Thet, cabinet members, business persons at home and abroad and economic analysts. One of the event organizers of this event, Dr. Wunna Aung, Director of Directorate of Investment and Company Administration (DICA), said, “The objective of this conference is to provide a wide range awareness of the laws by Myanmar CEOs and to get awareness on investment opportunities. Most of the business persons here have weakness in an in-depth awareness of the investment law. From the conferences such as this one, they will obtain a wide ranging knowledge on opportunities given by this law and obligations they have to perform.”
U Phyo Min Thein, Chief Minister of Yangon Region Government, listed the five prioritized sectors for foreign investment in Yangon: trade, logistics, industry, public transport, and energy
At the Yangon Investment Forum on Wednesday, Yangon Chief Minister U Phyo Min Thein announced the five sectors his government intends to prioritise and in which Yangon welcomes foreign investments. U Phyo Min Thein said the trade, logistics, industry, public transport and energy sectors would be prioritised, adding that the Yangon deep sea port, development of a Special Economic Zone, new industrial zones and townships as well as launch of new electricity projects would yield fresh opportunities for foreign direct investment. The Yangon Region Government is planning to construct an integrated logistics zone and inland water transport (IWT) system west of Yangon city, he said. When ready, the Ngwe Pin Le Integrated Logistics Zone and IWT project is expected to improve hinterland logistics shortfalls and reduce road congestion and transportation costs between ports in Yangon. Currently, container trucks are not permitted to enter the city during the day. This prevents the containers from being delivered to the city’s inner ports, such as Thilawa, during the daytime, resulting in higher costs for manufacturers and shipping lines.
Ministry of Commerce has allowed foreign businesses and joint ventures to carry out business in the retail and wholesale sector (Ministry of Commerce Directive 25/2018 dated 9 May 2018)
Foreign businesses and joint ventures are now allowed to carry out businesses in the retail and wholesale sector, according to the latest directive from the commerce ministry. Leading business groups hailed the move as a right step towards attracting inwards investments for Myanmar. The ministry issued the Directive 25/2018 on May 9, authorising 100 percent foreign-owned companies as well as joint ventures between international and domestic investors to carry out retail and wholesale businesses. The trade policy is essential for reforming the economy of the country. The liberalisation measure, the directive explained, was to foster competition in the sector to provide more options, cheaper options and better options for consumers across the country. This will bring in technology and quality products for the sector, facilitate growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), attract more foreign investments and create jobs. It will also help “prevent unfair competitions among the distributors, who are exploiting the consumers.”
Ministry of Electricity and Energy selected the winners of a tender for rental power projects in Mandalay region
YANGON – The Ministry of Electricity and Energy has selected the winners of a tender for rental power projects in Mandalay Region, an official says. Although the winners have not been formally announced, U Han Zaw, chief engineer at the Electric Power Generation Enterprise, told Frontier that the tender evaluation committee had already made a decision. He confirmed that VPower of Hong Kong has been selected to operate a plant at Myingyan, while National Infrastructure Holding Company will run a plant at nearby Kyaukse. Both will be fuelled by natural gas from the Shwe field. “We are in process of issuing the letters of award and signing the [power purchasing agreements],” Han Zaw said today. He added the plants should be ready by next summer. “We don’t have any power plant projects [coming online] in 2019 and 2020. So these projects must be in operation when next summer comes,” he said.
American coffee franchise Starbucks will soon open its first outlet at Sule Square, Yangon
American coffee franchise Starbucks will soon open its first outlet in Yangon, Myanmar, leaving Laos the only market in ASEAN it has yet to penetrate. On May 12, the Myanmar Investment Commission (MIC) endorsed Coffee Concepts Myanmar Ltd (CCM), a wholly foreign-owned food and beverage services provider. CCM is the operator of Starbucks in Myanmar, according to the MIC. CCM was registered with the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration in December 2017, a DICA document reveals. The first-ever Starbucks in Myanmar will be located in Sule Square mall, Kyauktada township, Yangon. The move arrives five years after the Seattle-headquartered coffee firm first set its sight on the Myanmar market as part of its plan to expand in Asia. During a visit to Thailand in 2013, Howard Schultz, Starbucks CEO, said that Myanmar was one of his firm’s targeted countries for expansion and that he expected to open the first Starbucks “within the next couple of years.”
Ministry of Home Affairs warned against cryptocurrencies trading in order to reduce the wave of scams and the use of dubious marketing strategies to lure investors
The Ministry of Home Affairs has warned against the trading of cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, following a wave of scams and the use of dubious marketing strategies to lure naïve investors. The ministry issued a statement yesterday warning that cryptocurrencies were “unstable” and those interested should only study them, and not invest. It said coin promoters often targeted people in rural areas who had little knowledge of the complex products they were buying. In some cases they are employing multi-level marketing tactics, it said, whereby those who attract new investors earn a commission. “Cryptocurrency companies that were based outside Myanmar have started operating inside Myanmar,” the statement said. “They have mostly focused on attracting investors in rural areas who have no experience or understanding about cryptocurrencies. “These groups are attracting people to invest in cryptocurrency platforms using incentives. Digital currencies … are unstable and if anyone in Myanmar invests in them it may affect to country economy. So people should only study about cryptocurrencies.”
Yangon regional government plans to reduce petrol prices by allowing foreign investors and traders into the market
The Yangon Regional Government will lower petrol prices to reduce transportation costs for commuters, said Finance and Planning minister U Myint Thaung in the Yangon Parliament on Tuesday. The minister was responding to questions raised by MP U Hla Htay from Mingalar Taungnyunt township. “Transportation charges have been rising as all the petrol stations have fixed petrol prices at a high level. It is basically a monopoly,” U Hla Htay said. “The government should allow petrol to be imported and traded freely. It should also allow foreign investors and traders into the market. Currently, only a small group controls all the petrol stations and petrol prices,” he added. In Yangon Region, private petrol stations are selling a 0.27 million petrol gallon and 0.15 diesel gallon at a floating market price every day, according to U Han Htoon, Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Forestry and Energy.
More infrastructures and safety standards are needed to develop the LPG industry in Myanmar by 2020
The government is now more than half way through its term and time is running out for it to make good on its promise to double Myanmar’s supply of electricity within the next two years. But the government is not without backup plans to help it achieve its goals, one of which is replacing the use of electricity for household cooking with liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). By the time its term is up in 2020, the government wants at least 1.5 million households across Myanmar to be cooking with LPG, which will free up more power to electrify the cities and industrial zones. But while investments for the import, storage and distribution of LPG in Myanmar has risen over the past year, industry insiders say the government may not meet its deadline to make LPG available at the targeted scale.