ข่าวเศรษฐกิจและธุรกิจประจำสัปดาห์

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  About 70 percent of overall foreign investment in Myanmar comes through Yangon region (U Than Aung Kyaw, Deputy Director of Directorate of Investment and Companies Administration – DICA)

  About 70 per cent of overall foreign investment flowing into Myanmar comes through Yangon region, said Deputy Director Than Aung Kyaw from the Directorate of Investment and Companies Administration (DICA). Investment committees from regions and states are allowed investments worth US$5 million and 6 billion kyat. Yangon region investment committee allowed 27 foreign investments and four local investments in industrial and service sectors from August 2017 to January 24, 2018. Investment capital totalled over $40 million and 11.719 billion kyat and created a potential 12,399 job opportunities. The foreign investments originated in Singapore, China, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan and Malaysia.
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  Under the arrangement of the Insurance Supervisory Committee, foreign insurance companies will be allowed to enter Myanmar

  Foreign insurance companies will be allowed to run in Myanmar under the arrangement of the Insurance Supervisory Committee, said Dr Sandar Oo, managing director of Myanma Insurance, during Myanmar Insurance Summit 2018 held at Sule Shangri-La Hotel in Yangon on February 22. "If foreign insurance firms are allowed to operate here, they will bring here investment, technology and expertise. Then we will able to give insurance protection to the people. Through cooperation, we will gain experience. Another thing is that we will have our rivals. As we have the committee for management affairs, we can seek ways to benefit both local and foreign companies. Foreign companies will be entering our country soon. The supervisory committee will announce soon," said Sandar Oo. As there are few people who have insurance cover at Myanma Insurance, foreign companies will have many chances here, she added.
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  Trade volume during 10 months in the 2017-18 fiscal year is on course to exceed the target of $ 29 billion (U Khin Maung Lwin, Assistant Secretary of Ministry of Commerce)

  Trade volume during 10 months in the 2017-18 fiscal year has exceeded US$28 billion and it is on course to exceed the target $29 billion, according to U Khin Maung Lwin, assistant secretary from the Ministry of Commerce (MOC). The export volume from April to the first week of February was $12 billion and import almost reached $16 billion. Compared to the same period last year, this year’s trade volume is $4.2 billion more. Only $800 million is needed to meet the $29 billion target and thus at the end of the fiscal year, it is expected to exceed the target. Export volume includes $2596 million worth of agricultural products, $1241 million of mineral products, $5678 million of industrial products, $36 million of animal products, $500 million of marine products, $185 million of forest products and $1909 million of other products totaling $12,229 million.
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  In order to reduce domestic fuel costs, Myanmar considers directly importing fuel oil from oil exporting countries

  The Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI) and Myanmar Petroleum Trade Association (MPTA) have suggested that Myanmar directly import fuel oil from oil exporting countries in Asia. The move took place during a meeting with U Win Khine, Minister of the Ministry of Electricity and Energy (MOEE) at the UMFCCI office on Saturday. Myanmar currently imports 600,000 tonnes of oil per month. The imports are mainly from Singapore, which, in turn, buys from India, China, South Korea and Japan, according to the MPTA. To reduce the price of fuel for the locals, industry leaders reckon Myanmar should bypass Singapore and buy fuel oil directly from the oil exporting countries, which would save the country $20 per tonne of fuel.
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  Myanmar government will invest in building the necessary infrastructure needed to link Dawei in Tanintharyi Region to a power station in Mawlamyine in Mon State (Dr. Tun Naing, Deputy Minister at Ministry of Electricity and Energy)

  Myanmar will invest in building the necessary infrastructure needed to link Dawei in Tanintharyi Region to a power station in Mawlamyine in Mon State, enabling Dawei to gain access to electricity, said Dr Tun Naing, deputy minister at Ministry of Electricity and Energy (MOEE). This will involve a 60-mile, 66 kilovolt power transmission line linking Dawei to Mawlamyine through Ye township in southern Mon State, as well as an accompanying KV5 sub-station, which will be constructed in Ye. The station in Ye will draw power from the main Mawlamyine power station and transmit power to a third station in Dawei, which is the site for the proposed controversial Special Economic Zone (SEZ). The government will allocate funds from the upcoming 2018-19 Budget towards the project. The project, which will take two years to complete, will begin in 2019, said Dr Tun Naing, who is also chair of the Dawei SEZ Management Committee.
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  Myanmar plans to build natural gas-fired power plants to double its electricity capacity by 2021

  APR Energy's 100MW power plant in Kyaukse, Mandalay region, Myanmar. There are limitations for heavy industrial firms to enter Myanmar, the major hurdles being the lack of reliable electricity and insufficient port infrastructure Myanmar is planning to double its electric power capacity by 2021 by building natural gas-fired power plants, two senior officials told Reuters on Wednesday, in an ambitious move to tackle chronic power shortages in the energy-starved country. With only one-third of the country’s 60 million people connected to the electrical grid and cities experiencing blackouts, Myanmar needs to boost its power supply to attract much-needed foreign investment.
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  Some vacant land plots in two Yangon area industrial zones will be leased out to local and foreign investors

  Some of the vacant land plots in Hlaingtharyar Industrial Zone-3 and Shwepyithar Industrial Zone-1 will be leased out to local and foreign investors in dollars, according to the Urban and Housing Development Department. The department will lease 3.5 acres of land in the Hlaingtharyar zone and 2.5 acres in the Shwepyithar zone. A supervisory committee made up of government ministers would manage the industrial zones, Yangon Region Chief Minister Phyo Min Thein said on February 1. The previous industrial zone management committees no longer have authority over the zones, he said. “Officials need to manage price manipulation of warehouses and vacant lands in industrial zones,” he added.
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  Over 190 mining sites' licences will expire in March and won't be renewed while environmental management plans are being drawn up

  YANGON-Licences for over 190 mining sites in Lonekhin, Hpakant, Mohnyin, Mogok, Hkamti, Mongshu and Nantyarseik townships are set to expire in March, according to the Ministry of Resources and Environmental Conservation. A total 192 licences granted between 2010 and 2015 will expire for sites in Mongshu, Mogok, Lonekhin, Hpakant, Mohnyin and Nantyarseik townships. Those licences will no longer be available for renewal and environmental management plans are being drawn up for the mining sites. Upon completion of the plan, the mining licences will be shared among the Union Government and respective States and Regions Government Committees, said Win Htein, consultant to the Ministry of Resources and Environmental Conservation.
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  By partnering with Action Aid Myanmar, KBZ bank provides financial assistance to support better standards of living for female agricultural producers

  Kanbawza Bank (KBZ Bank), the largest privately-owned bank in Myanmar, is to support the improvement of the standards of living for women agricultural producers in the central part of Myanmar by providing access for financing, partnering with Action Aid Myanmar, a non-profit organisation operating here since 2006. “As the first year pilot phase, we have been investing around MMK 100 million to 120 women farmers and traders in Pakokku, Magway region, who have been unable to access the country’s financial system,” Soe Tin Maung Zaw, senior general manager at KBZ Bank, said. According to the pilot phase, KBZ Bank and Action Aid Myanmar allocated and invested the finance to support MMK one million to one and half million for each female farmer with an interest rate of 13 percent per year, with the coordination of the central bank of Myanmar.
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  Dawei SEZ has been accused of grave human rights violations, lack of transparency and environmental disruption

  A few elites will benefit from reviving Dawei SEZ, but what about the rest? Civil society organisations demand authorities to halt the controversial Dawei project and rethink. CIVIL society organisations have demanded the authorities to reconsider the plans to revive the controversial Dawei Special Economic Zone (SEZ). They argued that a site-wide environment impact assessment must be carried out and all past problems must be “fully and completely” resolved before the project resumes. The SEZ has been accused of grave human rights violations including forced evictions, a lack of transparency and environmental disruption as the land lease contract for its initial phase is expected to be signed before April. Furthermore, the legality of the Environment Impact Assessments (EIAs) is questioned while experts say that the project has destroyed farmlands, polluted rivers and is threatening the lands and livelihoods of communities.