Weekly Business News from Myanmar

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  Myanmar government plans to boost sugar production to reduce reliance on sugar import

  The government plans to boost sugar production to reduce the nation’s reliance on sugar imports and re-exports, according to a report of yesterday’s edition of City News. Myanmar re-exports sugar sourced from Thailand, India and Pakistan to China since locally produced sugar is substandard due to lack of quality machinery. Myanmar is planning to establish a state-of-the-art sugar mill and to adopt quality sugar cane cultivation methods with assistance from sugar-growing nations including Brazil.
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  Myanmar plans to boost the fisheries sector to accelerate GDP growth after the current monsoon period (U Phyo Min Thein, Yangon Region Chief Minister)

  A plan to boost the fisheries sector will be drawn and implemented after the current monsoon period to accelerate GDP growth in Myanmar, Yangon Region Chief Minister U Phyo Min Thein said. The plan will be implemented in the Twante and Yangon areas, he said at the meeting with the vice president and businesses. “The current government is very much interested in the fisheries sector. The sector can contribute immediate benefits for faster GDP growth. So, negotiations are underway to implement a special fisheries project in Twante and other suitable locations. It will start after this monsoon season,” he said. According to Central Bank of Myanmar (CBM), current Myanmar GDP growth rate is 7.3 per cent. The livestock and fisheries sector is the second largest contributor to the country’s GDP, according to the Ministry of Commerce.
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  In order to boost the country’s agriculture and husbandry industries, the government may offer loans to farms and lift the ban on livestock export (Ministry of Planning and Finance)

  The government has signalled its latest measure to boost the country’s agriculture and husbandry industries by offering loans to farms and lifting the ban on livestock export, according to the Ministry of Planning and Finance. At a meeting with Vice President U Myint Swe and businessmen on July 20, Union Minister for the Ministry of Planning and Finance U Kyaw Win said that the administration will issue loans to farmers and allow them to export livestock.
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  The government recommends over 1,000 domestic small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to receive bank loans (Central Department of Small and Medium Enterprises Development – CDSMED)

  The government has recommended over 1,000 domestic small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to receive loans from banks, according to the Central Department of Small and Medium Enterprises Development (CDSMED). More than 1,000 SME among an estimated 9,000 in Myanmar have been recommended by the CDSMED to receive loans, an official from the department told The Myanmar Times. There are 46,794 industries officially registered at the Ministry of Industry in Myanmar. The department issues membership cards to local SMEs and its membership numbers at approximately 9,000.
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  Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) calls for tenders to upgrade the existing three domestic airports - Kawthaung airport in Tanintharyi Region, Mawlamyine airport in Mon State and Heho airport in Shan State

  The Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) is going to call for tenders to upgrade the existing Kawthaung airport in Tanintharyi Region, Mawlamyine airport in Mon State and Heho airport in Shan State. The tender call invites developers who are interested to upgrade the infrastructure projects through a public-private partnership (PPP) system, U Ye Htut Aung, deputy director general of DCA told The Myanmar Times. Public-private partnerships between a government agency and private-sector company can be used to finance, construct and operate projects, such as night markets and public road networks.
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  Total SA discusses with Myanmar to supply the country's most populous city, Yangon, with liquefied natural gas (Bloomberg)

  Total SA is in talks with Myanmar to supply the country’s most populous city, Yangon, with liquefied natural gas, Bloomberg reported on 20 July. The French energy giant may also build a power plant, according to Xavier Preel, general manager of Total E&P Myanmar. Total, which sold about 11 million tons of LNG last year, is seeking to expand its footprint in downstream activities like regasification terminals, pipelines and power plants to help create new gas demand as it refocuses away from oil.
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  Myanmar Investment Commission (MIC) exceeds its US$ 6 billion foreign direct investment target for 2017-18

  The Myanmar Investment Commission (MIC) could achieve or even exceed its US$6 billion foreign direct investment target for 2017-18. Between April 1 and July 11 of the current fiscal year, FDI into the country hit US$2.7 billion, almost half the MIC’s target. Meanwhile, a total of US$127 million in fresh funds was pumped into the Thilawa Speical Economic Zone, while US$221 million was injected into existing projects. That’s US$3.1 billion in total for the first four months of the current fiscal year, which is half the MIC’s original target for the entire year.
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  Myanmar’s agriculture sector attracts only 0.55 percent of all foreign direct investment this financial year

  Myanmar’s agriculture sector absorbed foreign direct investment (FDI) this financial year estimated at US$15.21 million by mid-July, accounted for only 0.55 per cent of all FDI, said U Hsan Myint, the deputy director-general of the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration (DICA). “Agriculture is listed in ten prioritized sectors by Myanmar Investment Commission (MIC). However, it is time-consuming investment”, he added
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  The restrictions that stop foreign banks offering retail services in Myanmar will be lifted soon (governor of the Central Bank of Myanmar – CBM)

  The governor of the the Central Bank of Myanmar (CBM) has said restrictions that stop foreign banks offer¬ing retail services in My¬anmar will be lifted ‘soon’. Deputy Governor U Set Aung told a July 10 Pyithu Hluttaw meeting that it’s time foreign banks were allowed to open branches across the nation and pro¬vide their retail banking services to local customers. “Sooner or later, we will approve retail banking for foreign banks,” U Set Aung, said.
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  US-based solar product company launched its services with the support of the International Finance Corporation and United Nations Capital Development Fund to widen access to clean energy among the rural population in Myanmar

  A US-based solar product company launched its services in Myanmar with the support of the International Finance Corporation and United Nations Capital Development Fund to widen access to clean energy among the rural population. The opening of its first store in Myanmar was accompanied with the introduction of the instalment system for purchases. Greenlight Planet launched its retail store on July 6 under the brand Sun King in Bago Region. The store offers both EasyBuy and upfront payment options across a range of solar lamps and home systems. The store is the company’s first branch in the country and also in Asia.