ข่าวเศรษฐกิจและธุรกิจประจำสัปดาห์

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  Internal Revenue Department (IRD) received K2.2 trillion of total tax revenues between April 1 and September 30, which is K500 billion more than what it collected during the same period last year

  The Internal Revenue Department (IRD) received total tax revenues of some K2.2 trillion between April 1 and September 30 of the current fiscal year. That is K500 billion more than what it collected during the same period last year. During the current government's term, the number of taxpayers and tax revenue has increased, but the amount obtained reveals there is still some shortcoming in paying taxes according to taxable incomes, U Min Htut, director general of the IRD, told The Myanmar Times. "If we look at the current situation, while more taxpayers are following instructions better than before, many others are still not complying by paying taxes according to their income. So, in order to increase the number of taxpayers, we are reviewing the taxable income brackets to make sure everyone plays their part,” U Min Htut said.
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  In a joint venture with Cisco System, an American multinational technology conglomerate, CB bank will deliver secure services with high availability via cyber banking

  banking The Co-operative Bank (CB Bank) and Cisco System, an American multination¬al technology conglomer¬ate, has made a technical collaboration agreement to transform the bank’s data center and core net¬work infrastructure to enable core banking ap¬plications, digital banking and international services to be delivered to its cus¬tomers and partners in a secure manner, accord¬ing to a joint statement from CB Bank and Cisco System. The signing cer¬emony was held at Melia Hotel, in Yangon’s com¬mercial hub, on Septem¬ber 26. Myanmar’s financial service industry is going through a period of rapid transformation as the cus¬tomer base expands and connectively improves at a breakneck pace. At the same time, there are in¬creasing threats to the fi¬nancial institutions’ tech¬nological infrastructure. It is for this reason that tech¬nology is crucial to build¬ing solid infrastructure to deliver secure services with high availability, the joint statement said.
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  More investments are needed to develop Yangon into a regional economic and trading hub (U Phyo Min Thein, Yangon Region Chief Minister)

  Plans are underway for Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city, to be developed into a regional economic and trading hub, Yangon Region Chief Minister U Phyo Min Thein told representatives from the Oxford Business Group (OBG) on October 9. There are opportunities for Yangon to become a gateway hub for its landlocked neighbours by enabling them to gain access to international markets through the Port of Yangon, for example. The city can also leverage on its status as the country’s commercial and trading hub to draw business activity and growth. To achieve this, the city will need to invest in improving its current transportation infrastructure, U Phyo Min Thein told OBG. The research firm met with the chief minister as part of its work on a fifth in-depth report on the Myanmar economy.
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  A port electronic data interchange system and new import fees will be introduced at Myanmar's ports this month

  Eighteen container shipping lines with 51 vessels are providing container-handling services at the container ports in Yangon. Yangon has six container ports – AWPT, HPT, MIP, MITT, BSW and AIPT – with berths for 69 vessels. A total of 51 vessels are currently operating. “Eighteen container shipping lines are currently allowed and there are 51 vessels running, but 19 have stopped,” said an official of Myanmar Port Authority.
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  Due to sluggish investment demand, World Bank cut Myanmar’s growth forecast by 0.6 percent for 2017-18 to 6.4 percent

  The World Bank has cut its growth forecasts for Myanmar, citing that investment demand slowed down as businesses wait for greater clarity of Nay Pyi Taw’s economic agenda. In its latest report released October 4, it cut Myanmar’s growth forecasts by 0.6 percentage points for 2017-18 to 6.4 percent. Growth over the medium-term is also reduced to an average of 6.9pc per year. Earlier this year in April, the bank stated that economic growth is projected to average 7.1pc per year over the next three years. “Myanmar’s macroeconomic environment remains stable, though economic growth is slowing to 5.9pc in 2016-17 compared to 7pc in 2015-16, weighed down by slower investment demand,” the Washington-based lender noted.
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  There is no inflow of foreign investments in oil and gas, mining and construction sectors as of September this fiscal year

  As of September of this fiscal year, oil and gas, mining and construction sectors had not yet seen an inflow of foreign investments, according to the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration. The total foreign investments in energy, agriculture, livestock and fishery, manufacturing, transport and communication, hotel and tourism, real estate, industrial development and other services sectors has reached more than US$4 billion (5.4 trillion kyat). Oil and gas sector has seen the biggest foreign investments while the construction sector sees the lowest foreign investments. According to the second five-year National Development Plan (2016-2017 to 2020-2021), the government plans for increased export volume by inviting foreign investment, promoting the private sector, transforming regional development projects into the commercial ones and ensuring private investments that benefit the people.
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  Energy firms which do not progress from the initial study period to actual exploration, will have their oil and gas contract revoked next year

  Energy firms with permission to conduct offshore oil and gas exploration activities in Myanmar will have their contracts cancelled next year if they do not progress from the initial study period to actual exploration, sources from the Ministry of Electricity and Energy told The Myanmar Times. The contracts will be rescinded if these firms do not proceed according to the contract terms.”They can stop if they don’t want to continue. If they want to drill, they will have to drill by next year and if they don’t drill, we will revoke the contract. If they want to conduct further surveys without drilling, they can also do so,” the sources said. International oil and gas companies are given permission to explore for oil and gas in Myanmar after signing Production Sharing Contracts (PSC) with State-owned Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE), which controls the rights to the country’s offshore oil and gas blocks. The last PSCs were signed during 2014 and early 2015. Starting from 2015, the companies were granted study periods of up to one year for shallow water blocks and two years for deep water blocks.
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  To promote Myanmar’s agriculture sector, Department of Cooperatives in the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation provides loans to assist farmer coops

  Since September 2010, when the Union Soli¬darity Development Party-led government took office, a total of K522bn has been granted in loans to promote the country’s agriculture under the aegis of the Department of Co¬operatives in the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation. During this period, one of China’s three in¬ternational banks, Exim Bank of China, provided $400m in loans to Myan¬mar’s agriculture sector. Of this total, K522bn is being managed by the De¬partment of Cooperatives. “The Chinese loans, granted three years ago, are for a ten-year period . China is also provid-ing another type of loan to enable farmers to buy machinery under a hire purchase system,” U Aung Thaung Myint, Deputy Di¬rector of the Department of Cooperatives, said.
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  Yangon Chief Minister plans to develop Myanmar’s largest city of Yangon into a regional economic and trading hub

  Long-term plans to develop Myanmar’s largest city of Yangon into a regional economic and trading hub were high on the agenda at a meeting held recently between Phyo Min Thein, the regional government’s chief minister, and a team from Oxford Business Group (OBG), according to a press release on October 9. Yangon Chief Minister Phyo Min Thein told OBG’s representatives that the regional government aimed to build on Yangon’s competitive advantages, which include its growing population, traditional role as the county’s main commercial and trading city and strategic location that could become a gateway for Myanmar’s landlocked neighbours to access international markets. As the Chief Minister explained, “Maritime trade will play a determinant role, since 90 percent of the goods imported into Myanmar enter through the Port of Yangon”.
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  Kian Joo Group, the largest packaging firm in ASEAN, invests in a packaging plant in Thilawa Special Economic Zone (SEZ)

  Kian Joo Group, the largest packaging business in ASEAN, is investing in a packaging plant in the Thilawa Special Economic Zone (SEZ). Construction of the plant is expected to be complete by the first quarter of next year. Malaysia-based Kian Joo is one of the biggest can manufacturers within ASEAN, manufacturing a wide range of products and providing packaging services. The group has manufacturing facilities in Malaysia and Vietnam, with its international procurement and marketing centre in Singapore. Kian Joo first expanded into Thilawa in early 2015. The company set up Kianjoo Can Myanmar (KJMM) and Boxpak Myanmar (BPMM) with an initial capital of US$16 million and $7.5 million respectively for the Thilawa project. The total investment cost is expected to amount to $75 million for KJMM and $38 million for BPMM.