Weekly Business News from Myanmar

The government is working with development partners and private companies in order to meet the housing needs of low-income people
Though Myanmar’s real estate sector last year faced many challenges, the government is planning to meet the housing needs of low-income people by working with development partners and private companies, according to speakers at the recent Myanmar Infrastructure Summit 2018. Win Naing, deputy director at the Department of Urban and Housing Development (DUHD), said in address on the second day of the event that housing needs would follow the population growth over the next two decades. He estimated that an additional 4.8 million units would be needed for an estimated population of over 70 million people in Myanmar by 2040, over 22 per cent or 1.07 million units would be Yangon residents. To fulfill the housing needs of Myanmar citizens, the DUHD has calculated supply projections for future demand and is planning to produce 20 per cent of the targeted units. Among them, 90 per cent of the housing units built by the DUHD will go to low income people while the remaining 10 per cent will be for middle income people.
Myanmar will double its efforts to meet an ambitious goal of distributing LPG to one million households by 2020
A PUSH to get more households to cook with liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) forms a key plank of a plan by the Myanmar government to ramp up the use of the fuel and devote more of the country’s electricity supply to targeted sectors. Zaw Aung, director general of the Oil and Gas Planning Department, said at the recent World LP Gas Association (WLPGA) Myanmar Summit that Myanmar would double its efforts to meet an ambitious goal of distributing LPG to one million households by 2020. Myanmar is home to more than 10 million households, and fewer than 100,000 of them use LPG for cooking. Zaw Aung said Myanmar would improve LPG business in cooperation with local and foreign associations beginning this year. The plan includes expanding LPG usage not only for households but also for vehicles and industrial and commercial purposes as part of a more sustainable approach on energy. “We are now formulating LPG rules and regulations in accordance with the Petroleum and Petroleum Products Law. It will reinforce foreign investment in the energy sector and support sustainable LPG development as well as expansion of LPG usage,” he said.
A seminar on SMEs financing landscape in Myanmar was held at UMFCCI office in Yangon as part of the financial literacy project
A seminar on the SMEs financing Landscape in Myanmar: A Multifaceted Approach took place at UMFCCI in Yangon, on Sunday. The seminar focus on financing and loans, financing necessary, Credit Bureau and Credit history, loan products and services as well as the challenges and opportunities of SMEs. This is the part of the financial literacy project and it is intends to know more about SMEs managements and services, personal finance, budgeting, income and expense tracking, insurance and retirement planning, said the organizer. Founder, Matrix Institute of Professionals, May So Pyay Nyan said "SME is very important role to reduce the poverty alleviation in the country. We intend for the financial market and capital market development.
Myanmar plans to upgrade 3 local airports in Heho, Magwe, and Pakokku, to international standard airports, as part of China's Belt and Road Initiative, and also to receive more Chinese tourists (U Kyaw Win, Union Minister of Planning and Finance)
Some local airports will be upgraded to international-standard airports as a part of a slew of projects under China’s Belt and Road (B&R) initiative, according to U Kyaw Win, Union Minister for Planning and Finance. Backed by rising incomes, some 13 million Chinese are travelling abroad yearly but less than half a million came to Myanmar due to the lack of good connecting airports with international flight capacity, U Kyaw Win said during a meeting with the Vice President held yesterday at Republic of Myanmar Federation of Chamber of Commerce and Industries (UMFCCI) office. “There are airports in Heho, Magwe and Pakokku that already have runways but lack the capacity to handle international aircraft. The Chinese want to visit Myanmar but we don’t have good airports to accommodate them. So, we will upgrade them to become international airports so that they are able to receive these tourists,” U Kyaw Win said.
European Chamber and German development agency GIZ provided recommendations on how to increase investments in Myanmar's healthcare and tourism sectors
Last week, the European Chamber, together with German development agency GIZ, presented research findings on the barriers to investment and investment promotion in Myanmar’s healthcare and tourism sectors. With the objective of enhancing the investment environment in Myanmar, the chamber conducted a detailed analysis of Public Private Partnerships (PPP) in the country and provided recommendations driving momentum for policy change and cooperation between the public and private sectors. In healthcare, research findings and subsequent dialogues revealed the role of the private sector in contributing to reaching the national target of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) by 2021 is not specifically referred to in the country’s National Health Plan 2017-2021. Furthermore, it noted that there was little sector-wide consultation between the public and private sector. In fact, competition for limited human resources between the two sectors is rife, with foreign and former Myanmar national medical specialists ad doctors currently still barred from entering the country.
Some of Myanmar’s leading companies have improved their performance in corporate governance and transparency mainly due to their cooperation with international firms
SOME OF Myanmar’s leading companies have improved in corporate governance and transparency, due largely to their cooperation with international firms, a report has found. The report, by the Myanmar Centre for Responsible Business (MCRB), ranked First Myanmar Investment (FMI) Group, City Mart Holdings Ltd (CMHL), and Serge Pun & Associates as the top three performers among 182 large Myanmar companies that were assessed through their corporate websites, including listed and public enterprises. CMHL rose from eighth place in the last report to No 2 in terms of transparency this year. This year marks the fourth year of the report, known as Pwint Thit Sa. Big players, such as Aya Bank, Max Myanmar, Shwe Taung, Grand Guardian Insurance, Dagon Group and Myanmar Thilawa SEZ Holdings, scored high marks. The report also noted that Myanmar Awba, Myanmar Citizens Bank, and First Private Bank significantly improved disclosure of corporate governance information compared with their efforts in the report for 2016.
Businesses seek closer ties with Thailand and the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration (DICA) expects more Thai investments in Myanmar: in the previous fiscal year ending on March 31, Myanmar received US$123 million (Bt3.84 billion) from T
THOUGH MYANMAR received only US$123 million (Bt3.84 billion) from Thai investments in the previous fiscal year ending on March 31, the nation’s investment body foresees a significant inflow of Thai businesses over the next few years. Aung Naing Oo, secretary of Myanmar Investment Commission and director-general at the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration, said Thai investments would grow from this year on, thanks to closer cooperation between the countries in both public and private sectors. “Thai investments in Myanmar fluctuate wildly from year to year. In 2016-17 fiscal year, we approved $423 million in Thai investments. But we could not get more than one-third of that amount last year. Now it is time to grow further,” he said.
The economic indicators can’t show the development of the state perfectly (Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, State Counsellor)
State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi said that the economic indicators could not portray the development of the State perfectly and it was difficult to know the right situation from these figures. “The economic indicators cannot show the development of a State perfectly. Sometimes it is difficult to know the correct answer as the calculation methods are different from each organisation. The main point is how much can indicators show the genuine impact on the people’s welfare and socio-economic situation. For instance, our rice export figure reached the highest point after independence last year. The main point is how much this progress and achievement can have a great impact on rice producers, peasants. We must start policy formulation process only after analysing all these facts and figures,” she said.
The Yangon Government has formed a company to implement the "new city" development project, however, the project is very ambitious and business leaders question why the government is engaging in commercial activities
YANGON’S government has formed a company to develop a landmass twice the size of Singapore as a re-launch of the “new city” development project abandoned last year. While officials has gone as far as comparing the project's ambition with the urban development of China’s Shenzhen, a business leader has called into question why the government is entrenching itself in the commercial activities. On March 31, the regional government launched the New Yangon Development Company (NYDC). NYDC was incorporated under the Special Companies Act and 100pc owned by the regional government. Infrastructure works related to Phase 1 are expected to amount to a sum in excess of US$1.5 billion. This will include the construction of five village townships, two bridges, 26km of artery roads, 10km2 of industrial estate, power plant, transmission and distributions facilities as well as fresh water supply and wastewater treatment plants. The development for New Yangon City will be primarily based on a Public-Private Partnership model, with businesses contributing in equity investments. The project planners aspire to rival the likes of Shenzhen, South Korea’s Incheon and Malaysia’s Iskandar, according to NYDC.
More than 930,000 foreigners visited Myanmar via the Tachilek border this fiscal year (Ministry of Hotels and Tourism)
More than 930,000 foreigners visited the country via the Tachilek border point in the current financial year, according to the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism. Between 23 and 29 March this year, some 767 foreign visitors, including 195 day-trippers, entered the country through Tachilek, a land border in Shan State in eastern Myanmar, and the Mae Sai border on the Thai side, to visit the town’s well-known destinations on a one-day return visit or overnight trip. Most of them came from neighbouring Thailand, China and third-world countries. International tourist arrivals through the borders are increasing each year. Foreign travellers visit the country to enjoy its natural scenery, including the highlands, mountains, rivers and forests. The diverse range of culture, traditions and lifestyles of the rural communities in Myanmar are also major attractions.