Weekly Business News from Myanmar

Government issued 32 developer licenses to construction companies for better prospects improvement
Local businesses are now seeing a light at the end of the tunnel for the property and construction sectors, where demand has been low in recent years. A total of 32 property developers and construction companies were issued with developer licenses from the government last week, three months after a building management committee was formed to facilitate the enforcement of the 2016 Condominium Law. This comes after 20 licenses were issued a month after the committee was formed, said U Myo Myint, general secretary of the Myanmar Construction Entrepreneurs Association and a member of the building management committee. The committee was formed to help clarify areas in the Condominium Law that are still vague on issues related to foreign property ownership. Among its duties are to act as a liaison between the government and foreign investors in the property sector.
New Education life insurance was launched in Myanmar with the aim to become parents who can manage their finance in the long term and have savings to secure the children’s future education
A new education life insurance aimed at embedding savings culture for the future education of the children in case of the death or injury of the parent or a caretaker has been launched. State-owned Myanma Insurance and 11 private insurers introduced the first education life insurance within the local insurance market on April 9. The product was a joint effort between local insurers and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). ‘’We all strive to become parents who can manage their finance in the long term and have savings to secure the children’s future education,” said Daw Sandar Oo, managing director of Myanma Insurance and chair of Myanmar Insurance Association.
Europe based, PEB Steel Group companies, opened its first steel plant in Myanmar
PEB Steel held the opening ceremony at Pullman Hotel on March 30 for its first factory in Myanmar. PEB Group of companies, based in Europe, started its Asia operations in 1994, and was one of the first company to bring the Pre-Engineered Steel Buildings technology to the East Asia region. They specialize in the design, fabrication, and erection of pre-engineered steel buildings (P.E.B.), steel structures for factories, warehouses, showrooms, commercial and trade centers, supermarkets, sports stadiums, exhibition halls, and aircraft hangars, etc. PEB Steel’s $25 million investment in Thilawa SEZ has been operational since early 2018, producing steel products and building materials and is expected to produce 3,000 tons of steel per month.
Golden Myanmar Airlines Public Company Limited received the permission to operate an aviation fuel business which are importation, storage, distribution, transportation and into plane fueling of jet fuel
YANGON — Golden Myanmar Airlines has received Myanmar Investment Commission approval to operate an aviation fuel business, in the first sign of competition for the state-backed monopoly that airlines say has undermined their viability. However, the new venture does not appear to have received permission to operate at Yangon International Airport, the country’s busiest airport and the base for most domestic airlines. Golden Myanmar Airlines Public Company Limited received permission for the “importation, storage, distribution, transportation and into plane fueling of jet fuel” at an MIC meeting on April 5, according to the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration. MIC stated that the wholly Myanmar-owned venture would be located at Tachileik, Kawthaung, Nyaung Oo, Heho, Sittwe and Myitkyina airports, as well Mandalay International Airport. It will also have a jetty terminal at Thilawa in Yangon Region.
Myanmar authorities are preparing to export organic green tea to Germany in September (U Hla Baw, President of Pindaya Tea Cluster (PTC)
Organic green tea will be exported to Germany in September according by U Hla Baw, president of Pindaya Tea Cluster (PTC). 1.5 tonne of green tea, which includes the “Shwe Pi Oo” and “Moe” variants are up for export, he went on. “We sent our green tea sample to Germany since 2016 . But the result of laboratory was not good.They told us that the tea gave a rather smokey fragrant. Thus, we modified our product and send it again. Things turned out alright so we can export green tea to Germany.” PTC has set the price of green tea at K15,000 per viss (1.6 kilogrammes) for sale to Germany; the current local price is around K12,000 per viss.
Three Japanese companies and a Swiss trading house are authorized to operate both wholesale and retail business as a 100 percent foreign owned business in Myanmar
Three Japanese companies and a Swiss trading house have become the first foreign entities authorised to do retail and/ or wholesale business in Myanmar. Toyota Group's trading arm Toyota Tsusho, pharmaceutical firm Otsuka and diaper manufacturer Mycare Unicharm are authorised to operate wholesale business as a 100% foreign-owned business, according to an announcement from the commerce ministry. Zurich-headquartered DKSH is permitted to do both retail and wholesale activities as a foreign company. The trading licences were issued by the commerce ministry in accordance with Directive 25/2018 last May, said lawyer Bob Tseng from Thanlwin Legal. In total, 11 entities - including three joint ventures and four local companies - have received the licences. The joint ventures are Pacific Andaman (SEA) Co, a Thai-Myanmar JV; Asahi Loi Hein, a partnership between Japanese Asahi group and local beverage maker Loi Hein; as well as Aeon Orange, which is jointly created by Chiba-headquartered retailer Aeon and Myanmar firm Creation Myanmar Group of Companies. Meanwhile, supermarket chainstore City Mart, Myanmar Agribusiness Public Co, Myanmar R F S and NCX Myanmar are the domestic companies authorised to operate.
Myanmar Voyages Co., Ltd is boosting its readiness to cash in on the tourism boom to Myanmar
YANGON (The Nation) - IN VIEW of the Asian Development Bank’s projection that tourism will become a key driver of Myanmar’s economic growth in the next two years, Myanmar Voyages Co, the leading destination management company (DMC) in the country, is boosting its readiness to cash in on the tourism boom, said the firm’s managing director Thet Lwin Toh in an exclusive interview with The Nation in Yangon. He said the firm would further invest in manpower, digital systems and accounting services to better serve the increasing volume of visitors coming to the country. “We need to be ready for international visitors flocking to Myanmar. We must have enough capacity in place to serve more tourists if Myanmar is to become one of the top tourism destinations in Asia,” he said. As part of the strategy to maintain its leadership in the destination management segment, the firm will boost its human capital and workforce over time.
Myanmar Investment Commission (MIC) approved five investment proposals with 1,100 job opportunities on 05 April 2019
The Myanmar Investment Commission (MIC) meeting (5 / 2019) was convened at the meeting room of MIC in the morning on 5th April 2019 in Yangon. U Thaung Tun, Chairman of MIC, Dr. Than Myint, Vice Chairman of MIC and nine members attended the meeting. The meeting approved five projects in education services, manufacturing and other services from Singapore and Myanmar. The amount of USD 19.38 million and Kyats 69,384.754 million have been approved for above projects which will be create (1,121) job opportunities for citizens.—MNA
Telecom International Myanmar Co (Mytel) signed an agreement with locally owned Blue Ocean Business Services Co.,, to establish digital ecosystem for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Myanmar
IN A BID to boost the optimisation of micro-, small- and medium-enterprises in Myanmar through digital products and solutions, Telecom International Myanmar Co (Mytel) recently signed an agreement with locally-owned Blue Ocean Business Services Co. Khin Maung Soe, chairman of MyTel, said the telco would expand digital services for both corporates and SMEs, and the agreement would play a crucial role in improving efficiency of small businesses by helping them achieve digitisation for their sustainable growth. “As more businesses in Myanmar usher in an era of digital economy, we will work together with Blue Ocean to create a digital ecosystem for SMEs,” he said. “The majority of our businesses are SMEs, and they have limited access to high-quality technical services because they cannot heavily invest in technology due to budget constraints. So, we have decided to fill the gap by providing our technology products at a reasonable price.”
Australian energy firm, Woodside seeks to reassure local residents on gas drilling off in Rakhine State
Australian energy giant Woodside is stepping into war-torn Rakhine State with a plan to begin drilling in two oil-and-gas blocks in the Bay of Bengal. This week the company sought to reassure residents in southern Rakhine State’s Kyaukphyu that there was a need for the projects, citing the potential economic benefits and pledging to minimize the environmental impacts on the site, located about 52 miles offshore. Kyaukphyu resident and Arakan League for Democracy (ALD) member U Tun Lwin told The Irrawaddy that Woodside held a meeting with local residents at the Hotel Kyaukphyu on Wednesday. He said Woodside and a Chinese company will jointly drill the two offshore projects, each holding a 50-percent stake. Woodside is expected to begin drilling in two oil-and-gas blocks, AD 1 and AD 8, soon. The initial process will likely take at least 45 days. U Tun Lwin explained that company officials promised to carry out the drilling in such a way as to have the least harmful environmental impact possible on the ocean environment. It also vowed not to disrupt local fishing. Woodside has already determined that gas exists in AD 1 and AD 8, but needs to drill to assess whether extraction would be commercially viable.