Weekly Business News from Myanmar

Myanmar sought continuous supports from EU which drive for the development of Myanmar’s Economy
Daw Khaing Khaing Nwe, Joint General Secretary of the Union of Myanmar Federation of the Chambers of Commerce (UMFCCI), they met with European Union (EU) officials in Brussels, Belgium during the second week of December. At the meeting they requested the EU continue the Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP) and Everything But Arms (EBA) saying that EU’s GSP/EBA is a crucial drive for the development of Myanmar’s Economy. The GSP allows Myanmar to pay fewer or no duties on exports to the EU, giving them vital access to the EU market and contributing to their growth She was responding to the expression of EU’s officials on GSP expressed their wishes to see development in other sectors as well as garment sector, despite the fact that Myanmar is currently facing a lot of challenges. Daw Khaing Khiang Nwe, who also served as the general secretary of Myanmar Garment Manufacturer Association, met officials from Directorate General for Trade and Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion at Charlemagne Building of EU in Brussels.
EU has permitted 23 Factories in Myanmar to export wild-caught fish and prawn to EU market
The number of factories in Myanmar allowed by the European Union to export naturally caught fish and prawns has increased from 21 to 23, according to the Fisheries Department. Since 2010, 21 local factories have been allowed to export wild-caught fish to EU countries, and two more permitted factories are TT Cold Store Factory and A&N Foods (Myanmar) Co Ltd. "Two more factories have now been permitted. All 23 factories are allowed to export wild-caught fish. Documents have been submitted for one more factory to get EU recognition," said Thet Naing, deputy director of Yangon Region Fisheries Department.
Banking sector in Myanmar is expected to be developed in 2019
The banking sector is expected to make strides forward this year as fiercer competition forces banks in Myanmar to level up. “This year, the banking environment will be much better than before. There are still many hurdles left to cross to liberalise and strengthen this sector so that it can support the economy. Nevertheless, we have seen good progress over the last two years of reform,” said U Soe Thein, vice chair of the Central Bank of Myanmar (CBM). Following a CBM decision to level the playing field between local and foreign banks, competition for market share in the sector is expected to intensify, which is a positive development for Myanmar. Under Notification 6/2018, issued on November 8, 2018, foreign banks are now able to lend to domestic firms in the local currency at the standard lending rate of 13 percent. However, foreign banks are free to set their own interest rates if the loans are in foreign currencies. They will also be permitted to provide the full suite of trade financing services, the CBM said.
UMFCCI is planning to form an e-commerce association in order to organize and help online shops and SMEs
With the aim of organizing and helping online shops and SMEs, the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry is planning to form an e-commerce association. “Now, we are conducting online training. The Ministry of Commerce is also helping the e-commerce sector to grow so that SMEs can do e-commerce when they wish. Our federation is planning to organize an e-commerce association,’’ U Zaw Min Win, President of UMFCCI, said. The e-commerce sector needs to be monitored and organized because of the numerous reports that online shops are not delivering the ordered items, or even delivering different items than the customer ordered.
Chinese investors have big plans to increase garment production at several industrial parks near the city of Pathein in western Ayeyarwady Region
The garment industry seems poised to boom in Ayeyarwady Region, with a company developing an industrial park near Pathein signing a contract with a Chinese firm that plans to build 50 garment factories within two years. The new factories would dramatically expand the town’s nascent manufacturing sector, which has for several years been attracting interest from local developers keen to set up industrial parks. The Ayeyarwady Development Public Co Ltd said it has signed the contract with Hong Kong-based China Textile City Network Co Ltd. It’s the first commercial agreement ADPC has signed since it began preliminary work six years ago on Pathein Industrial City, which covers nearly 3,000 acres (about 1,200 hectares) on a site next to the Pathein River in the regional capital. ADPC was established by Yangon-based conglomerate Ayeyar Hinthar in 2012 to develop the industrial park, which received Myanmar Investment Commission approval in late 2016.
South Korea’s largest insurance company, Samsung Life Insurance Company left Myanmar as business patience over the government’s delay in liberalizing the insurance market is in short supply
South Korea’s largest insurance company has left Myanmar as business patience over the government’s delay in liberalising the insurance market is in short supply. Samsung Life Insurance, a subsidiary of Samsung Group, ceased operating in Myanmar last August, a representative of the Myanmar Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MKCCI) confirmed with The Myanmar Times. The Seoul-based multinational insurer, with a presence and joint ventures in Thailand, China, the US, Japan, the UK and Vietnam, opened its Yangon representative office in November 2013, according to the representative. The finance ministry committed to liberalising the insurance sector within the first quarter of 2017, but has hitherto failed to make any concrete moves. Foreign insurers from 14 countries who have set up 30 representative offices still cannot do business in Myanmar, except in Thilawa Special Economic Zone.
Parami Energy Group of Companies launched Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) distribution service for home use in order to reduce electricity usage and reliance on firewood which is contributing to deforestation
Parami Energy Group of Companies launched a liquified petroleum gas (LPG) distribution service for home use on December 12. The company, which has been importing and selling LPG since 2017, will now directly sell LPG in cylinders of various sizes, U Pyae Wa Tun, CEO of the company, said. Currently, Parami Group of Companies will distribute LPG gas to 150,000 households and has built a facility where they will store the LPG cylinders. “In the market, LPG cylinders are distributed directly to the households by filling small cylinders of liquified gas from bigger ones. If the number of households are just a small amount, that is fine. But, if the number of households reaches millions, then we will need to use machines,” he added.
Ministry of Electricity and Energy signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Neo Energy Oasis Co., Ltd for the Upper Baluchaung hydropower project
The Ministry of Electricity and Energy has announced the signing of a power purchase agreement (PPA) for the Upper Baluchaung hydropower project with Neo Energy Oasis Co Ltd, the builder of the project. The PPA was signed between Electric Power Generation Enterprise (EPGE), a unit of the ministry and Neo Energy Oasis on December 28. Within three years of the signing of the PPA, the project will be able to feed power to the national grid, said Union Minister for Electricity and Energy U Win Khaing. The Upper Baluchaung project, which started in 2011, is being implemented under a build, operate and transfer (BOT) deal and is now 45.5 pc completed.
Yoma Land Company launched its very first plans for public sales of affordable housing projects in Myanmar which will focus to the development for middle class people
YOMA LAND CO, a realty brand under the Singapore-listed Yoma Strategic Holdings Ltd and Yangon-listed First Myanmar Investment Co (FMI), recently announced its plans for public sales of affordable residential units in its City Loft development, according to Serge Pun@U Thein Wai, executive chairman of Yoma Group. “It is our very first step to turn our focus to mass-market offerings with affordable housing projects in Myanmar. We will go step by step to further develop that kind of development for middle class people here,” he said at a recent press briefing. Targeting middle income families living in Myanmar’s commercial hub, the development will be built on a 55.6-rai (8.9-hectare) site at StarCity in Yangon’s Thanlyin Township. City Loft will be developed in phases, with units in the first phase to be handed over to buyers by April 2020, he added.
Myanmar government authorities will invite submissions of Express of Interest (EOI) for implementing economic zones in border areas in early of 2019
The Government of Myanmar will invite submissions of Express of Interest (EOI) for implementing economic zones in early 2019, in Kan Paite Tee in Kachin State, as well as Muse and Chin Shwe Haw in Shan State, all of which are located at the Myanmar-China border. The border economic zone in Muse will be implement as a priority project. Only local businessmen are eligible to submit an EOI, the first step of tender process. “We will invite EOI submissions in 2019. Examining the facts submitted by companies, we will work on a master plan, and conduct negotiations for the project. Then we will try to implement the project as soon as possible,” U Khin Maung Lwin, Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Commerce, told Myanmar Business Today.