ข่าวเศรษฐกิจและธุรกิจประจำสัปดาห์

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  Yangon Regional Investment Committee approved 49 investments proposal of local and foreign in the first three months of 2020 fiscal year

  The Yangon Regional Investment Committee approved 49 investment proposals during October 1 to December 18, 2019. Two of the approved proposals, worth a combined K2.045 billion, are from local investors while the rest are for foreign direct investments worth $80.722 million in total. The approved investments are expected to create 26,750 jobs for local people. The majority of the investors behind these proposals are from mainland China and the rest are from Hong Kong, Taiwan, British Virgin Islands, India and Europe. Their investments are destined for garment manufacturing, bag-making, hat-making, production tapes, plastics and packaging materials, sportswear manufacturing and screen printing, among other businesses.
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  Directorate of Investment and Company Administration (DICA) plans to digitalise its services to speed up processes and reduce corruption risks

  The Directorate of Investment and Company Administration (DICA) plans to digitalise all its services to speed up processes and reduce corruption risks. “Company registration was changed to digital system in 2018. Next step is for the whole DICA to become digital,” U Thant Sin Lwin, DICA director general, told The Myanmar Times. “It is for facilitation of the process and assistance to anti-corruption measures and to be of international standard in activities. About one month ago, an instruction to make all payments by cards or online system was released,” he said. In August 2018, DICA launched its electronic registry system, Myanmar Companies Online (MyCO), simplifying business registration and eliminating unnecessary bureaucratic restrictions.
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  The companies listed on the Yangon Stock Exchange (YSX) disclosed mixed prospects ahead of foreign participation

  Companies listed on the Yangon Stock Exchange (YSX) announced mixed prospects for 2020, the year Myanmar is set to allow direct foreign ownership of equities listed on the bourse. The Securities and Exchange Commission of Myanmar announced last July that non-Myanmar individuals and locally-registered entities would be allowed to invest in listed shares of up to 35 percent. Analysts expect the move to spark interest mostly from Yangon-based retail investors, with this to be followed by institutional investors when the bourse has more listings and a broader array of sectors represented by its listed equities. No official timeline was given but analysts expect such trading to begin in the first half of this year.
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  Myanmar labour organizations planned to propose an increase in the country’s minimum wage

  Labour organisations will propose an increase in the country’s minimum wage when the National Committee for Minimum Wage holds meeting later in the year. The Confederation of Trade Unions of Myanmar (CTUM) has conducted a survey on the cost of living and the cost of health of a worker in Yangon, Bago, Mandalay, Magwe and Sagaing regions and Shan and Kayin states. U Win Zaw, a central committee of the workers’ group, said they are inclined to propose K7200 (US$4.93) for eight hours work or K900 per hour work. At present, the minimum wage is set at K4800 for eight hours of work despite opposition from labour groups. The current wage is up for review in May this year. “We have received recommendations from CTUM, labour activists and other federations that the minimum wage should be raised,” U Win Zaw told The Myanmar Times.
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  Yangon Region Government is considering plans to use part of its own regional budget to promote tourism industry

  The Yangon Region government is considering plans to dip into the regional budget for the first time to fund growth of the tourism industry, Yangon Region Minister for Hotels and Tourism Daw Naw Pan Thinzar Myo revealed. “In other regions and states, some K200million in funds from local budgets was spent on promoting tourism. Based on Yangon’s population, the spending will be around that amount,” said Daw Naw Pan Thinzar Myo. The regional government will also take action to improve the tourism sector by cracking down on unlicensed tour operators and tour guides, and zero-dollar tourism this year, she said, adding that working committees made up of the relevant officials have already been formed for the effort. In addition to exploring and developing new tourist destinations in Yangon Region, there are several plans to resolve littering problem in areas frequented by tourists and ensure clean and adequate toilets. The overall cost to promote the tourism industry has is in the midst of being calculated, she said.
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  The first airport, Surbung airport in Chin State slated to begin its operation in June 2020

  Chin State—Surbung Airport, the first airport in Chin State, western Myanmar, is slated to begin operation in June, according to Chin State Chief Minister Salai Lian Luai. Chin State is currently only accessible by road. “Northern Chin State has started receiving more local and foreign travelers now but transportation is still poor and the airport will make the state more accessible. We are trying to open it in June 2020,” the chief minister told The Irrawaddy. The airport will also enable local residents to travel to other parts of the country more easily, he said. Construction of the airport is reportedly now 75 percent complete. The airport is being built on a 522-hectare plot in Falam Township, around 13 km from the town center. It will have a 1,830-meter-long and 30-meter-wide runway designed to handle takeoffs and touchdowns of ART-72 airliners, according to the Chin State government.
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  Italian oil and gas company, Eni Spa begun it exploratory drilling at onshore block RSF-5 in Magwe Region

  Italian oil and gas company Eni Spa has begun exploratory drilling at the Shwe Nan Htike Well 1, located in the onshore block RSF-5, in Magwe Region, the Ministry of Electricity and Energy (MOEE) announced. The ceremony to begin drilling at the well, located near Aung Myay Kone village, in Magwe, was attended by Deputy Minister of Electricity and Energy U Tun Naing on Monday. The MOEE is partnering with international companies to explore onshore and offshore blocks to boost oil and gas production in the country. Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise and Eni Myanmar BV started 3D seismic studies in the block in 2017 and completed the preliminary work in 2018. Based on result of the measurement, a well measuring some 3,800 metres deep will be drilled at the site to test sand layers where oil and natural gas could be found said the MOEE.
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  The construction of joint venture power generation project between Zhefu Holding Group of China and local firm Supreme Trading Co, will be commence soon

  Construction of a power generation project in Mee Laung Gyaing, Ayeyarwady Region will take place after a power purchase agreement is signed within the first three months of the year. Zhefu Holding Group of China and local firm Supreme Trading Co will invest US$2.57 billion to build the plant. It will be powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG) and produce up to 1390 megawatts of energy when it is complete. The project will include berths for gas carriers to dock at the Mee Laung Gyaing area, which is 40 miles to the north of Chaung Tha beach. It will be transferred back to the government under a 30-year build, operate and transfer system. Negotiations are concluding and the PPA is expected to be signed during the first quarter of 2020, said U Htoo Htoo Aung, deputy CEO of Supreme Trading Co.
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  Ministry of Planning, Finance and Industry relaxed SME lending rules to allow small and medium enterprises with only one year’s track record to apply for loans

  The Ministry of Planning, Finance and Industry has relaxed SME lending rules to allow small and medium enterprises with only one year’s track record to apply for loans. Prior to this, only SMEs with two or more years of track record were eligible to apply for loans. “We are planning to provide loans to one-year-old SMEs. Not to every one of them, but those with great potential for success,” said Daw Aye Aye Win, director general of the Department of Small and Medium Enterprise Development. When applying for SME loans, small businesses usually have difficulty providing tax receipts as they typically make under K10 million in annual profits and are thus exempt from paying income tax.
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  The work on USD $ 230 million industrial park project in Hlegu expected to start in March 2020

  Work on the US$230 million (K338.7 billion) Singapore-Myanmar Hlegu Industrial Park project is set to begin in March 2020, one of the investors in the project has announced. The agreement for the project, set to cover some 598 hectares in Hlegu township, Yangon, was signed between Sembcrop CSSD Myanmar Co, the local arm of Singaporean conglomerate Sembcorp, and local partners City Mart Holding Co Ltd (CMHL), and Myanmar Agribusiness Public Corp (MAPCO) in July this year. The project is now awaiting formal approval from the Myanmar Investment Commission, said U Han Thaw Zay, executive director of MAPCO. “We are waiting for the permit from MIC and we hope to receive it in January so that we can break ground for the project in March,” U Han Thaw Zay said.