Weekly Business News from Myanmar

Myanmar’s real estate sector attracted US$ 569 million in foreign direct investment during 1 April - 30 June 2017 (Directorate of Investment and Company Administration - DICA)
MYANMAR’S real estate sector attracted US$569 million in foreign direct investment between 1 April to 30 June, according to recent Directorate of Investment and Company Administration (DICA) statistics. During the same period, total FDI was an estimated $1.96 billion. Foreign investment mainly flowed into agriculture, livestock and fisheries, manufacturing, transport and communication and real estate. Total foreign direct investment in Myanmar since FY1988-89 is estimated at $72 billion, according to the Myanmar Investment Commission (MIC). Real Estate placed fifth among categories of FDI with $4.3 billion. Oil and gas investment accounted for 30 per cent of total investment with estimated investment of $22.4 billion. Energy investments were 28 per cent, drawing more than $20.5 billion.
Myanmar Offshore Supply Base (MOSB) received the green light from the Myanmar Investment Commission (MIC) to construct an oil and gas supply in Mon State
Myanmar Offshore Supply Base (MOSB), a Singapore company, on July 11 received the green light from the Myanmar Investment Commission (MIC) to construct an oil and gas supply base in Mon State. It will be the first foreign-run oil and gas supply base in Myanmar. The project, which covers an area of over 193 acres onshore including some 46 acres of prime river front land, will provide a wide range of support services to the oil and gas operators in the waters off the coast in the Bay of Bengal. “We are now doing a feasibility study and understanding the requirements of the oil and gas industry in Myanmar. We will build according to the demands required to support the fast-growing oil and gas industry,” MOSB chair Leonard Oh told The Myanmar Times.
Domestic banks are not allowed to take on financial exposure to a single individual or entity of more than 20% of its core capital (Central Bank of Myanmar)
Domestic banks will not be allowedto take on financial exposure to a single individual or entity of more than 20% of its core capital, the Central Bank of Myanmar (CBM) said July 11. Effective immediately, the new regulation is aimed at aligning Myanmar’s banking standards with international Basel II standards, a CBM director told The Myanmar Times. Currently, domestic banks are still operating on Basel I standards. Basel II is an international business standard that requires financial institutions to maintain enough cash reserves to cover risks incurred by operations.
Myanmar Investment Commission (MIC) allowed 16 domestic and foreign investments in a meeting held on July 11, 2017
The Myanmar Investment Commission (MIC) has allowed 16 domestic and foreign investments, including a company to provide services for an offshore oil producer, during a meeting held on July 11. They are eight joint-ventured investments, six domestic schemes and two foreign investments. A company from Myanmar, Fortune International Limited, is due to invest in the building of apartments, apartment villas, offices and shopping complexes in Mayangone Township in Yangon Region and rent them out.
South Korea and Myanmar signed an agreement to build an industrial zone in Nyaung Na Pin Township, northern Yangon
Governments in South Korea and Myanmar signed an agreement to build an industrial zone in Nyaung Na Pin township, north¬ern Yangon. Korea's Land & Housing Corporation (LHC) and Myanmar’s Department of Urban and Housing Development (DUHD) inked an contract to build an industrial zone on 570 acres. “We crossed the t’s and dotted the i’s on June 16th and are waiting for further directives from the govern¬ment. Advanced ground inspections and final archi¬tectural planning are need¬ed before construction can begin in early 2018,” U Win Naing, Deputy Direc¬tor of Urban and Housing Development Department, told Myanmar Business Today.
Myanmar’s local airlines face difficulties to expand due to expensive petrol and high tax rate (airline companies and stakeholders in the tourism industry)
Expensive petrol and high tax rate limit the expansion of local airlines and development of the aviation industry, according to the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA), airline companies and stakeholders in the tourism industry. In Myanmar, there are 10 domestic airlines and 58 planes in total which are serving local and international passengers. Compared with the rest of ASEAN, flights are rather costly, according to local airlines and the Union of Myanmar Travel Association (UMTA).
Yangon New City Project will be carried out through collaboration with the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF), International Finance Corporation (IFC) and foreign loans (Minister for Electricity, Industry, Road and Communication)
The Yangon New City Project will be carried out with collaboration from the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF), International Finance Corporation (IFC) and foreign loans, said Yangon Region Minister for Electricity, Industry, Road and Communication Daw Nilar Kyaw at the 2nd Yangon Region Hluttaw meeting held on 10 July. The new city will be built in the area of Twantay, Kyimyindine and Seikkyi Kanaungto in the eastern part of Yangon. The city is estimated to take up 30,000 acres of land. Daw Nilar Kyaw said the current plan is to accommodate an additional one to two million people within Yangon’s borders. The government has estimated that Yangon will develop into a mega city in the next 10 years. The Yangon New City Project was submitted to the Region Hluttaw as a solution to Yangon’s ever growing population.
UK-funded program will target companies with projects to strengthen value chains and promote inclusive economic growth in Myanmar
A grant window will be launched next month by a UK-funded program to target companies with projects to strengthen value chains and promote inclusive economic growth. In a briefing held by the British Chamber of Commerce Myanmar in Sule Shangri-La, Yangon, on July 7, Peter Brimble, the team leader from DaNa Facility, outlined the progress on the development of Myanmar’s private sector and the program’s latest action plan. He added that DaNa Facility (DaNa) will launch the Business Innovation Window in late August with an emphasis on businesses in agribusiness, community forestry, garments and textiles and financial inclusion.
Industrial zones will be built in two major cities in Chin State (Chine State Minister for Electricity, Industry, and Road Transportation)
Industrial zones will be built in two major cities in Chin State – Hakha and Paletwa, and local and foreign investment will be welcome, according to a state minister. U Salai I Thakin, Chin state minister for electricity, industry and road transportation, told The Myanmar Times that surveys are being conducted in the cities to ensure that industrial zones can be established. A project plan will then be drawn up. Interested investors, state government officials and developers will be invited to invest and take part. Hakha is the state capital of Chin State while Paletwa is a major town in the region.
In order to reduce the cost of power generation, the government intends to allow private companies to import Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) to Myanmar
The government in¬tends to allow pri¬vate companies to import liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Myanmar in a bid to reduce the cost of power generation, a min¬ister has said. With the country strug¬gling to meet its growing demand for electricity the government sees import¬ing LNG and building LNG fired power plants as a possible short-term solution. “In the near future, we will liberalize restrictions on private sector involve¬ment for LNG imports,” U Pe Zin Tun, Minister of Electric Power and En¬ergy, told the audience at the Myanmar Oil and Gas Service Society Forum 2017 in Naypyitaw.