U Thant Sin Lwin refuted a report of South Korean investors plan to pull out their investment from Myanmar and invest in Bangladesh untrue

South Korean businesses in Myanmar will not be moving their operations to Bangladesh, U Thant Sin Lwin, secretary of the Myanmar Investment Commission (MIC), said on Wednesday.

Based on statements by the Bangladesh Economic Zone Authority (BEZA) and Korea Industrial Complex Co Ltd (KIC), Bangladeshi news dailies recently reported that South Korean businesses invested in Myanmar wanted to move to Bangladesh.

“There are no cases at all of South Korean investors returning MIC permits and moving out of Myanmar. In fact, interest among South Korean investors in Myanmar has been mounting,” U Thant Sin Lwin said.

According to Bangladeshi papers, about 100 South Korean businesses in Myanmar wanted to move to Bangladesh due to shortcomings in industrial zones in the country. The newspapers appeared to be quoting a news source from the Bangladesh Economic Zone Authority (BEZA). The Bangladeshi news reports stated that Korea Industrial Complex Co Ltd (KIC), which is working on industrial zones of Myanmar, will establish such zones in Bangladesh.

Although KIC is registered in Myanmar, it has not started operations yet, said U Thant Sin Lwin. “We met with KIC officials in July. They came to Myanmar to inquire about establishing industrial zones in Myanmar. We haven’t done any work with them yet,” said U Thant Sin Lwin. 

When the Commercial Attache’ of the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Myanmar was asked about the news reports November 6 from Bangladesh, the attache’ replied that the reports were “just a rumour”, U Thant Sin Lwin said.

At present there are already two industrial zones with South Korean participation in Myanmar: the Korea-Myanmar Industrial Zone established by Myanmar and South Korean governments, and another set up by a private company, said U Thant Zin Lwin.

South Korea is Myanmar’s sixth-largest foreign investor and it has to-date invested US$3.9 billion in 179 businesses in Myanmar, according to the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration (DICA). 

South Korea has invested mainly in the oil & gas sector and production businesses in Myanmar.  – Translated

(The Myanmar Times: https://www.mmtimes.com/news/no-withdrawal-south-korean-investors-says-mic.html )

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