Although more firms are keen to be listed on the Yangon Stock Exchange (YSX), people's interest in trading on the YSX does not seem to be growing since its launch 18 months ago

People’s interest in trading on the Yangon stock exchange does not seem to be growing 18 months after its launch but more companies are nevertheless keen to be listed, say officials.

U Htay Chun, a member of Securities and Exchange Commission of Myanmar, says that at least two more companies hope to complete the necessary procedures to be listed by the end of this month. “Those two companies have completed around 70 per cent of the process while another two or three have finished of it, so we hope to welcome five more in the near future,” he said.

According to the official, the majority of registered public companies in Myanmar have indicated an interest in being listed on the exchange but less than 40 meet the requirements set by the securities regulator. “Only half of the registered public companies, around 155, have a licence to commence business operations,” he said.

“Companies need to pay 50 million kyats (Bt1.25 million) to get the licence and must also meet all the listing criteria. For one thing, they must have more than 100 shareholders, so it is out of the question for many of them.”

U Htay Chun said the commission encouraged companies to propose projects that provided an attractive model for public listing that also ensured investor protection.

He said less than 10 companies were under consideration to be listed but would not reveal their names. To date, there are only four listed companies: First Myanmar Investment, Myanmar Thilawa SEZ Holdings, Myanmar Citizens Bank and First Private Bank. The exchange was established on December 9, 2015, soon after the Securities Exchange Rules published its listing criteria. The YSX has recently come in for criticism for its poor performance more than one year after it opened for business.

U Thet Htun Oo, executive senior manager at YSX, said he was nonetheless satisfied with its performance so far. “We have seen a lot of improvements in trading, compared to the time when we first opened business. Now we always have a trading volume of over 10,000 shares worth Ks80-100 million (Bt2-2.5 million) on a daily basis. This cannot be assumed as a low performance. It is normal for an emerging market,” he said.

U Thet Htun Oo said listed companies were now eligible for a five per cent tax cut in a bid to attract more companies to join the exchange.

In general, companies need to pay 25 per cent income tax according to The Union Tax Law. But the recent announcement by Aung San Suu Kyi-led government allows all the listed companies to pay only 20 per cent income tax.

He stressed the importance of raising the public awareness about the capital market. In a bid to fulfill the gap, YSX will hold Myanmar’s first-ever securities expo in Yangon on September 10.

“We aim to increase the number of individual investors in Myanmar and to support growth of Myanmar enterprises,” he said.

“Through the event, we can help develop the ecosystem of capital market. Increasing number of investors would easily raise funds for listed companies so that they can grasp growth opportunities and in return, investors can enjoy the benefits.”

U Thet Htun Oo expects to welcome over 1,000 visitors at the expo which would include three panel discussions to discuss about the challenges and prospects of Myanmar’s capital market. There, securities companies will also be present for the public to open securities accounts.

(Eleven Media Group: http://www.elevenmyanmar.com/business/11210 )

​