ข่าวเศรษฐกิจและธุรกิจประจำสัปดาห์

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  The installation of Vesse Monitoring Systems (VMS) will be extended one more from November 1 to January 31 2020

  The deadline for fishing vessels to install Vessel Monitoring Systems (VMS) will be extended from November 1 to January 31, 2020, according to U Myint Naing, deputy director at Yangon Region Fishery Department. This is the third time the deadline has been extended. The Yangon government had previously provided a two-month grace period from September 1 to October 30, to install the equipment, and later extended the period to the end of November. “Most owners have already signed contracts to install the VMS but some of the equipment has not arrived in Myanmar. To solve that issue, the government has given another extension. If a firm cannot install VMS by the end of January 2020, we will instruct them to cancel that contract and sign a new one with other firms,” U Myint Naing said.
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  The Central Bank of Myanmar (CBM) suspended the acceptance of mobile payments from “Zero-Budget” tourists

  In the wake of the government’s relaxation of visa rules allowing visitors of certain nationalities to obtain visa on arrival, Chinese travelers have poured into the country. The number of Chinese tourist arrivals from January to October of this year reached 1.5 million, a 161 percent increase over the same period last year, making the Chinese the largest group of visitors to Myanmar. As they often spend the least among visitors of all nationalities, only stay in Chinese-owned hotels and eat at Chinese-owned restaurants, Chinese visitors are often called “zero-budget tourists” by those in the local tourism industry. That some of them have been found to break Myanmar cultural rules during their visit has created an added headache for tourism operators and workers and the public at large. These problems prompted Member of Parliament U Aung Kyaw Kyaw Oo to ask the government on December 10 if it has a plan to ban WeChat Pay and Alipay, which are mostly used by so-called “zero-budget” Chinese travelers.
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  Myanmar’s sea trade reached over USD $ 4.8 billion as of 6 December in 2019 – 2020 fiscal year

  Myanmar's trade through sea routes reached over 4.8 billion U.S. dollars as of Dec. 6 in present fiscal year (FY) 2019-2020 which started in October, Xinhua reported. In over two months, the country earned over 2 billion U.S. dollars from maritime export while its import amounted to over 2.8 billion U.S. dollars.
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  The prawn farming is being extended as 90 percent of marine resources off Myeik archipelago depletes

  As 90 percent of marine resources in the sea of Myeik archipelago is depleting in Taninthayi Region, prawn farming is being extended, said entrepreneurs. Local businesspeople have to pay greater attention to farming so that their businesses will not stop operation due to marine resource shortages caused by overfishing in the sea. The extended farming plan comes as seawater prawn faming is more successful on the islands. "We are losing about 90 percent of marine resources in the sea. So we established prawn farming. If fish and prawn catching no longer exists in the sea, people and staff from this marine industry will get into trouble. We do this mainly to prevent those businesses from ceasing operation, to improve State revenue and to ensure regional development. Our company has about 360 staff, 70 percent of whom are from Kyunsu Township. We are doing prawn farming in vacant lands and salt fields. There is little land that is being depleted. But we do crop-substitute cultivation. Last week, we planted about 80,000 trees. Currently, we are planning to plant over 100,000 saplings in Kyagyiaw," said Kyaw Lin, manager of Pyi Phyo Tun Seawater Fish Farming Company.
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  Russian business people are keened to explore business opportunities in Myanmar

  Earlier this week, U Thaung Tun, Union Minister for Investment and Foreign Economic Relations received a Russian business delegation in Nay Pyi Taw, where the group discussed opportunities for investments and trade. Timur Maksimov, Deputy Minister for Economic Development of the Russian Federation and Nikolay Listopadov, ambassador of the Russia Federation to Myanmar, accompanied the business delegation, according to the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Economic Relations. The group also discussed improving engagement between the citizens of Myanmar and Russia as well as potential investments in the education, power, transport, telecommunications and technology sectors.
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  The annual inflation rate in Myanmar which based on the Consumer Price Index remained at 8.6 percent in October 2019

  The annual rate of inflation in Myanmar, based on the Consumer Price Index, stood at 8.6 per cent in October, according to a report released recently by the Central Statistical Organization, under the Ministry of Planning, Finance and Industry. The figure showed no remarkable change month-on-month. The rate was registered at 8.61 per cent in September. The Myanmar Kyat gained against the US dollar in October. The price of imported oil dropped, but domestic fuel oil price was on the higher side. There was a remarkable increase in CPI in the food, household goods and maintenance, transportation, other commodities, clothing, health, education services, recreation, culture, non-food and tobacco and beverages groups and telecommunications.
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  Tanintharyi Region poised more development in the region in line with the ASEAN economic Community Blueprint 2025

  The southern Tanintharyi Region has received 44 foreign direct investments worth over $2.3 billion in the three decades from 1988 to October 2019, according to remarks by Vice President U Myint Swe at a December 7 Investment Forum in Myeik City. The region has also received 71 investments in energy, hotel and tourism, housing development and agriculture worth a total of $233.96 million (K282.326 billion) from local investors. As Myanmar’s southernmost gateway to the greater Mekong sub-region, Tanintharyi plays a critical role in the Southern Economic Corridor (SEC). U Myint Swe said that the implementation of the Dawei Special Economic Zone will contribute to the development of the region, and in carrying out the broader development activities the government is taking examples from countries that have successfully developed their own coastal areas.
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  The property insiders urged government authorities to expedite draft real estate services law

  Property insiders are urging the authorities to speed up the approval process of the Real Estate Service Law, according to Myanmar Real Estate Development Association. A draft of the legislation was submitted to Pyithu Hluttaw in 2018 but no progress has been made since then. The law was first drafted in 2016 and completed in 2017. “The law has been discussed twice in parliament, yet it has not been approved. We should move forward with this before the end of the parliamentary term,” said U Tin Maung, Executive Director and President of the Myanmar Real Estate Development Association.
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  Three more companies expected to be listed on the Yangon Stock Exchange (YSX) in 2020

  Three more companies are likely to get listed on the Yangon Stock Exchange (YSX) in 2020, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission of Myanmar (SECM). “The companies will be listed on the exchange in early 2020. They must file a prospectus with the SECM to receive approval for offering shares. The listing process takes approximately 1 year and 6 months,” said an official with the YSX at the Media Workshop for Myanmar Capital Market, held on 5 December at the stock exchange. The SECM will strive to encourage companies to list on the YSX and proceed with foreign participation on the exchange, he added. At present, shares of five listed companies — First Myanmar Investment (FMI), Myanmar Thilawa SEZ Holdings (MTSH), Myanmar Citizens Bank (MCB), First Private Bank (FPB), and TMH Telecom Public Co. Ltd — are being traded on the stock exchange. The value of shares traded on the Yangon Stock Exchange (YSX) declined sharply last month to K992.69 million compared with K1.36 billion recorded in October. While 141,361 shares were traded on the exchange in November, 259,245 shares were traded in October.
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  The new bill on microfinance submitted in the Pyithu Hluttaw for approval with the aim to support people in rural areas for financial assistance

  A new bill on microfinance has been drafted and proposed in the Pyithu Hluttaw. The bill, which will replace the 2011 Microfinance Institutions Law, was submitted by Daw Khin San Hlaing, an MP from Pale constituency and chair of the Banking and Financial Development Committee on December 10. “The bill aims to support people in rural areas, eradicate illegal loan associations and provide financial assistance to local businesses involved in agricultural and livestock activities,” she said. She added that it had become necessary to amend the existing legislation in order for it to be compatible with the changing environment and evolving technologies.