ข่าวเศรษฐกิจและธุรกิจประจำสัปดาห์

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  Ministry of Electricity and Energy will be drilled a test oil will for natural gas in Myaing township, Magwe Region

  A test oil well will be drilled in Myaing township, Magwe Region to determine the presence of oil or gas, U Nyan Tun, deputy managing director from Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE) , said during the Ministry of Energy and Electricity’s (MOEE) month press conference yesterday. It will be the first time a test well is drilled in the area. “Drilling will start on January 26,” U Nyan Tun said. The Myaing deep oil test well No.1 is located at the south of the Myaing Anticline in the Chindwin sedimentary basin. Exploration will be conducted to determine the presence of oil or gas at the middle of the anticline. “According to expert analysis, there is a high possibility that either oil or gas can be found. If oil or gas is found, we will proceed to production,” MOEE deputy permanent secretary U Htay Aung told The Myanmar Times.
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  MPRL E & Pte Ltd conducted oil and gas production work with villages adjacent to Mann Oil field join preliminary program on trash collection

  MPRL E&P Pte Ltd, who are conducting oil and gas production work in joint venture with Myanma Oil & Gas Enterprise in Mann Oilfield, assisted adjacent villages with implementing a preliminary program on self-help trash collection during the first week of January 2019. The program is part of their new Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) work. It aims to include local villagers in beautifying Mann Oilfield and adjacent areas, and to systematically manage the collection of trash. The program will include village administrators from villages adjacent to Mann Oilfield, departmental officials, local populace, MPRL E&P CSR staff and village volunteers and will be implemented through January and February 2019. In the preliminary stage, a tri-cycle garbage collection vehicle will collect garbage from 8 villages on designated dates and send it to the landfill in Minbu Tsp by the village wise village administrator and villagers.
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  Ministry of Commerce revealed that U Yan Naing Tun, Director General of the Department of Trade has been removed from his position due to the negligence in handling important export and import licenses

  U Yan Naing Tun, director general of the Department of Trade, has been removed from his position for negligence in handling important export and import licences, the Ministry of Commerce confirmed. The announcement of the official’s termination was released in accordance with the Civil Servant Law and signed by the President on January 14. No reason was given on the announcement for U Yan Naing Tun’s removal. When contacted by Myanmar Times, the Ministry of Commerce revealed that the official failed to handle licence applications and follow other procedures set by the Department of Trade.
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  Due to the sensitivity surrounding the industries, the reforms of Myanmar’s state owned enterprises engaging in mineral resources extraction

  The reform of Myanmar’s opaque and powerful state-owned enterprises (SOE) has been delayed for over a year due to sensitivity surrounding the industries. A public debate in Mandalay to reform Myanmar’s state-owned enterprises engaged in the extractive sectors was held under the work programme of Myanmar Extraction Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), according to Department of Mining Deputy Director General U Kyaw Thet. “It aims to implement reforms in SOEs engaging in mineral resources extraction. There are partnerships with SOEs in our country but they are just playing regulator role, not business role, and we will review it,” he said during a public talk organised by EITI for the release of its second and third reports on January 11. Only SOEs related to oil and gas, jade and other precious stones and other mineral extraction sectors are included in the event.
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  Myanmar Investment Commission rejected on the proposal for 10 year tax exemption for Chin State citing Myanmar investment law

  Myanmar Investment Commission has rejected the proposal to designate Chin State as the least developed region and grant 10-year tax exemption. MIC Secretary Aung Naing Oo said the demand could not be met according to the Myanmar Investment Law. During the 23rd meeting between Vice President Myint Swe and businesspeople held at the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Kyaw Le Lyan, president of Chin State Chambers of Commerce and Industry, demanded the tax exemption period be increased from seven years to eight years by designating the state as the least developed region.
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  Management Committee was formed to oversee the implantation of regulations under the Condominium Law 2016 and Condominium Rules 2017

  The Ministry of Construction has announced the formation of a management committee to oversee the implementation of regulations under the Condominium Law 2016 and Condominium Rules 2017. In the announcement on January 5, the ministry said the management committee will register new and existing property developments that meet the definitions of condominiums in the country and registration offices have been set up in 12 regions and states, including Nay Pyi Taw. “So far, some 40 developers have come forward to register condominiums,” said U Myo Myint Oo general secretary of the Myanmar Construction Entrepreneurs Association and also member of the Yangon Region Condominium Management Committee. “The committee was formed in early January and it has decided to give approvals to 13 condominium projects. It may take six months from its establishment for the management committee to hit its full stride, and things are starting to move fast,” U Myo Myint Oo said.
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  Myanmar authorities are striving to upgrade aquaculture sectors to growth and lifting of EU ban on aquaculture products despite higher export volumes and revenue

  Myanmar is striving to upgrade its aquaculture sector amid a fall in the prices of fishery products in recent years despite higher export volumes and revenue. MYANMAR IS hoping to earn at least US$1 billion from fisheries exports this year following strong growth in the sector and the lifting of a European Union ban on aquaculture products. Myanmar exported about 450,000 tonnes of fishery products in the first nine months (April-December) of the current fiscal year, earning $514 million in revenue, according to the Myanmar Fisheries Federation. “That’s a slight increase in export volume and revenue compared to the same period last year. We exported about 380 tonnes and earned $497 million in first nine months of the last fiscal year,” said U Win Kyaing, the federation’s secretary general.
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  Ascent Capital launched its first Myanmar investment fund with sovereign wealth fund Temasek and Asian Development Bank

  Private equity company Ascent Capital has launched Singapore’s first Myanmar-focused fund, with backing from high-profile investors including sovereign wealth fund Temasek and the Asian Development Bank. IN 2013, Mr Lim Chong Chong was sent on a mission to Myanmar. He was working for Singaporean wealth fund Temasek and, as he recalls, Myanmar was “really the darling of investors – there was so much interest to invest”. In Yangon, he met business leaders including the chair of Capital Diamond Star Group, U Ko Ko Gyi, who convinced him to leave his stable job in Singapore and give Myanmar a shot. “I’ve always been a bit adventurous,” Chong Chong told Frontier at his office in downtown Yangon. “The country appealed to me and the opportunity appealed to me. I had very good conversations with Ko Ko Gyi and found he was someone I would like to learn from.”
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  In order to attract more investments from East Asia countries, more than 120 regional and private projects worth USD $ 3 billion will be showcased at the Invest Myanmar Summit 2019 in Nay Pyi Taw

  YANGON—More than 120 regional and private business projects worth a total of over $3 billion will be showcased at the upcoming Invest Myanmar Summit 2019 which aims to attract major investment from East Asia countries. The summit is part of the government’s effort to counteract a significant decline in foreign direct investment (FDI) seen in Myanmar over the last two fiscal years and it will be held on Jan. 28 and 29 at Myanmar Convention Centre 2 in Naypyitaw. “With the projects on showcase, local and international investors at the summit will have a very clear picture of the prospects they can look forward to when investing in Myanmar, the industries they can invest in and types of projects open to them in each state and region,” said U Zaw Min Win, president of the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI).
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  Central Bank of Myanmar (CBM) permitted loans without the need for collateral up to 16 percent interest rate to Myanmar banks

  Myanmar banks have been permitted to extend loans without the need for collateral at a maximum lending rate of 16 percent, the Central Bank of Myanmar (CBM) announced in a directive issued yesterday. The measures will take effect on February 1. Banks will be permitted to charge up to 16pc to loan money if borrowers pledge other forms of collateral or are not able to provide collateral. Collaterals listed by the CBM are land and buildings, gold, diamonds and precious stones, savings certificates, government treasury bonds, fixed deposits, credit certifications and credit guarantees. The new maximum interest rate of 16pc is all-inclusive of other charges such as management fees and applies for both installments and one-off repayments. Interest rates above 16pc are not permitted.