ข่าวเศรษฐกิจและธุรกิจประจำสัปดาห์

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  China stopped buying maize from Myanmar at Muse 105 mile Trading Zone since October 20, 2017 but the demand still exists

  At the Muse 105 mile Trading Zone, the largest border gate between Myanmar and China, Chinese purchases of Myanmar-produced maize has grounded to a halt. “We don’t know why the Chinese have stopped buying. It happens sometimes, as even though there may have been changes to their import policies, demand still exists. We hope they will recommence purchases by the end of this month,” said U Thein Win, office staff leader at Lashio Commodity Broker. According to the broker, China stopped buying maize from Myanmar at the border since October 20. Earlier this year, border trade at Muse was temporarily suspended after an armed conflict hit Myanmar’s Kokang region in northeastern Shan State.
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  To boost their export volume, Myanmar’s handicraftmen look for overseas markets

  Handicraftsmen in Myanmar are looking for over¬seas markets to sell their wares to, especially in Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia, according to Trade Promotion Depart¬ment of Ministry of Com¬merce. Myanmar has a long tradition of producing handicrafts. Myanmar’s handicraft market for both local and foreign buyers has grown in the last couple of years, as venues to buy items have expanded from historical pagodas, and local mar¬kets — like the Bogyoke Aung San Market — to art galleries and shopping malls. In spite of this, the handicraft market has been slow to turn into an organized industry even as the market has risen. The Myanmar Handi¬craft Art Association and Ministry of Commerce are making efforts to boost the export volume of My¬anmar’s handicrafts to foreign countries. This includes offering courses on marketing, holding workshops, job fairs, and linking local businessmen with the foreign buyers.
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  Foreign investors who rent land in industrial zones have to pay property tax

  Foreign investors who hire land plots in industrial zones have to pay property tax, said MP Kyaw Zeya, secretary of Yangon Region Finance, Planning and Economic committee. Six government ministries are tasked with handling land management, and there are 10 kinds of land, including army-owned land. But the other authorities can only handle the land when the home affairs ministry designates the rules for them. The committee made field trips to around 20 factories in Minglardon Industrial Zone.
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  India has pitched for a coastal shipping agreement with Myanmar to bring down trading and transport costs

  India has pitched for a coastal shipping agreement with Myanmar on the lines of the agreement it signed with Bangladesh. This will bring down trading and transports costs sharply and lead to a reduction of turnaround time which again impacts on costs. India has already agreed a direct container shipping service between India and Myanmar from the Krishnapatnam port in Andhra Pradesh state in Oct 2014. This service is expected to change the way sea trade has been so far on the East Coast. The new service, with the 1,200 TEUs (Twenty-foot Equivalent Units) vessel MV Kamal, will connect Chennai-Krishnapatnam-Yangon- Colombo. It is expected to facilitate faster trade at lower cost.
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  NAAF Galaxy, which comprises six companies including three local companies, and Maungdaw Government signed a MOU to develop Kanyin Chaung economic zone

  The Maungdaw government and NAAF Galaxy, which comprises six companies including three local companies, will sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on October 30, said Aung Myint Thein, chairman of the Maungdaw border traders association and secretary of the Kanyin Chaung trade zone implementing committee. “We are developing Kanyin Chaung economic zone project. We developed it as a trading zone after 2012. The vice president and Union minister for planning and finance instructed us to develop an economic zone. It will not be big like a special economic zone; we will analyze which products we can export,” he said. “The planning and finance minister will be here at the end of this month to inspect the project. We will sign the MoU with the NAAF Galaxy company on October 30.” The three local companies are Khin Aye Myat Phyu and Family Aye Chan from Maungdaw, and Oakka Zwe from Buthidaung.
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  Companies wishing to employ foreign experts and technicians must obtain permission from the Myanmar Investment Commission

  Companies wishing to employ foreign experts and techni¬cians must submit a list of employees to the Myan¬mar Investment Commis¬sion (MIC) before seven days of their employment, according to the direction the Directorate of Invest¬ment and Company Ad-ministration (DICA) gave on October 3, 2017. Foreign “Experts and technicians” would in¬clude things like: engi¬neering, consultants man-agement level employees, etc. Companies are le¬gally required to seek ap¬proval from the Myanmar Investment Commission before employing foreign experts and technicians. This list must include the work permit applica¬tion form. Foreign experts and technicians’ personal information like passport number, nationality, oc¬cupation, employment du¬ration; educational back¬ground, certifications and curriculum vitae (CV); the number of foreigners and locals employed by the company; and the compa¬ny’s most recent quarterly report, are all required in¬formation on the applica¬tion form.
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  Japanese investors are highly interested to expand their presence in Myanmar despite lower FDI in recent years

  The Japanese remain interested in expanding their presence in Myanmar despite lower investments in recent years compared to before and a refugee crisis unfolding in northern Rakhine. At the 13th Joint meeting of the Myanmar-Japan CCI Business Cooperation Committees in Yangon on October 23, the new Investment Law, development of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Myanmar and opinions and evaluations for the current projects conducted by Japanese companies were discussed. Japanese investors also asked for more tax incentives and stressed that a quicker and easier system, particularly in dealing with the Myanmar Investment Commission and the respective ministries, is needed to facilitate new investments.
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  Myanmar Rice Federation and Myanmar Agribusiness Public Cooperation made efforts to develop the agriculture sector in northern Rakhine State

  Myanmar Rice Federation and Myanmar Agribusiness Public Cooperation will undertake activities for the development of agriculture sector in northern Rakhine state – it’s to assist in the UEHRD’s process, General secretary of the federation said at a press conference in Yangon on Tuesday. The activities include two parts, urgent assistance and long-term assistance for Buthidaung, Maungtaw and Yathedaung regions of the northern Rakhine state. Regarding with the urgent assistance, harvesters and dryers will be distributed in November, General Secretary of the federation added.
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  Instead of implementing sweeping economic reforms in Shan State, a lot of time and energy was spent on negotiating the composition of the state’s executive and legislature

  The political make-up of the state’s executive and legislature results in a lot of time and energy spent on negotiations instead of implementing sweeping economic reforms in Shan, according to a local chamber of commerce. The state needs political stability and it needs to generate value-added agricultural products in order to grow its economy. Shan State is the biggest state in Myanmar, covering almost a quarter of the country’s total land mass. It borders Yunnan Province, China, as well as Laos and Thailand. The most important sector for the entire state is agriculture to the extent that the Shan economy is agriculture-based, U Aung San Win, chair of the Southern Shan State Chamber of Commerce and Industry, told The Myanmar Times in his residence in Taunggyi, where he also shared his thoughts on the reason behind the state’s somewhat stagnant economic development despite its abundant resources in agriculture
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  As foreign companies show genuine interest in doing business in Myanmar, Myanmar approved over $4.35 billion FDI this fiscal year 2017-2018, and expects much more investment in the future

  YANGON -MYANMAR has approved US$4.35 billion (Bt145 billion) in foreign direct investment (FDI) in the first six months of fiscal year 2017-18 which started April 1, and hopes to receive much more in the second half, according to San Myint, deputy director general at the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration. He said at the government had approved 129 foreign enterprises to invest $3.5 billion under laws governing home-grown and foreign investment, and allowed $214.08 million of foreign investment in Thilawa under the Special Economic Zone Law. It also allowed nearly $600 million in capital expansion by existing foreign enterprises. “We are pretty satisfied with the inflow of FDI during the first half. We believe we will be busier in the months to come, as many foreign companies have shown genuine interest in doing business here and we are facilitating FDI,” he said.