Weekly Business News from Myanmar

The exports of Myanmar’s fisheries products slow to a crawl since the COVID – 19 pandemic
Exports of Myanmar’s fisheries products to other countries have nearly stopped since the COVID-19 pandemic started and factories processing frozen fisheries products are now facing difficulties keeping their operations running, industry officials say. “Currently, buyers have almost stopped placing orders. Moreover, demand has declined in many countries. Also, the signing of new export agreements has stopped while the existing agreements have been suspended,” said U Tun Aye, chair of the Myanmar Marine Product Producers and Exporters Association. Exports of fisheries products to the EU have totally halted and there is only a little demand for lower-priced products from China, U Tun Aye said. Myanmar’s fisheries products from the sea are mainly exported to Europe and Asian countries while freshwater products are exported to Arab countries.
The value of share trade on the Yangon Stock Exchange (YSX) fall when compared the same period of last fiscal year despite an increase in trading volume
The value of shares traded on the Yangon Stock Exchange (YSX) in March has dipped to K1.42 billion compared with K1.48 billion recorded in February, despite an increase in trading volume, state media reported. The drop in total trading values last month is attributed to a fall in share prices. In January 2020, 196,836 shares worth K1.25 billion were traded on the exchange while 188,919 shares were traded on the exchange in February and 228,913 shares were traded in March.
Government calls off four state and regional investment forums due to the COVID – 19
Four state and regional investment forums have been cancelled due to COVID-19. “We postponed the investment forums to be held in Yangon, Bago, Monywa of Sagaing and Mandalay,” said U Aung Naing Oo, permanent secretary of the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Economic Relations. The investment forums serve as a platform for investors to explore opportunities to work with local businesses, beyond Yangon. As a result of the cancellations, investments could decline by as much as 40 percent, U Aung Naing Oo said. The Myanmar Investment Commission (MIC) on April 3 approved more than US$550 million in foreign direct investment for 11 projects and another K50 billion in local investments on April 3, even as the COVID-19 outbreak continues to develop in the country.
Four factories in Yangon and Bago regions will start producing face mask in Myanmar after Thingyan holidays
Four factories in Yangon and Bago regions will begin producing face masks after the Thingyan holidays amid soaring local demand for masks due to the outbreak of coronavirus, officials say. At present there are no factories primarily focused on producing the masks in Myanmar, so two factories in Yangon Region and two in Bago Region are being prepared to produce masks following instructions from the Ministry of Health and Sports and Yangon Region government. U Soe Htet, secretary of the Industrial Supervisory Committee of Bago Region said the effort was discussed with Cobes Industries Myanmar Bago Co, the local subsidiary of Hong Kong-based Cobes Industries, a producer of personal protective equipment (PPE). The government had signed a deal to purchase 100,000 pieces of PPE from Cobes and South Korea’s KM Healthcare Factory in Bago Region, last week.
Japan and Myanmar inked USD $ 445 million loans agreement for two projects Yangon – Myanmar railways upgrade project 1 and infrastructure development project in Thilawa
Japan and Myanmar officials have signed an agreement to obtain the Japan ODA loan for two projects — Yangon-Mandalay railway upgrade project phase 1 (part-3) worth Yen 40.604 billion and the infrastructural development project in Thilawa phase 3 worth Yen 7.339 billion, according to the Embassy of Japan in Myanmar. The Japanese Ambassador to Myanmar and the officials from the Ministry of Planning, Finance and Industry signed the loan agreement on 31 March 2020 concerning the two loan projects worth Yen 47.943 billion (approximately US$445 million).
Myanmar earned over USSD $ 1.8 billion from the natural gas export in six months in this fiscal year
Myanmar earned over US$1.8 billion from natural gas export from October 1 to March 27 in this fiscal year and it is more US$18 million in comparison with the same period in the last fiscal year, according to the Ministry of Commerce. Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE) under the Ministry of Electricity and Energy (MOEE) produced 3.32 million of barrels of crude oil and over 623,000 million of cubic feet of natural gas from 86 offshore and onshore oil and gas blocks within the third year of this government term, according to a press conference on achievements in the third year in office the MOEE held at the Ministry of Information at Nay Pyi Taw on May 9, 2019.
South Korean and Chinese stakeholders in Myanmar urged the authorities to review the possibility of providing a stimulus package for to foreign owned garments businesses
South Korean and Chinese stakeholders in Myanmar are urging the authorities to review the possibility of providing a stimulus package for foreign investors in the local garment industry at a time when the supply of raw materials has stalled and importers from the West have begun to cut orders from Myanmar’s factories. Myanmar’s manufacturing industry is experiencing an unprecedented slowdown as a result of COVID-19 pandemic sweeping the world. In a recent interview, South Korean Ambassador to Myanmar Lee Sang-hwa told The Myanmar Times that South Korean garment businesses are struggling to sustain their operations, but they are willing to tighten their belts and share the burden instead of laying off workers. “Given the magnitude of the suffering, the Myanmar government should proactively consider an incentive and stimulus package [for foreign garment businesses] as far as they can,” he said.
Chinese consortium may avoid fines despite missing emergency power deadline
Three projects totaling 900 megawatts that were due to go live on April 3 remain weeks, possibly months, away from completion. But thanks to COVID-19 and the apparent absence of a signed contract, the developers may avoid the heavy fines. A Chinese consortium investing US$800 million in emergency power projects may escape heavy fines for failing to complete its projects on time by claiming to have been hampered by the COVID-19 global pandemic, officials say. It is unclear whether the deadlines are even legally binding, one official told Frontier, as the consortium may not have signed a final contract with the ministry despite having already invested hundreds of millions of dollars in the projects.
The value of share prices at Yangon Stock Exchange (YSX) fall despite an increase in trading volume
The value of shares traded on the Yangon Stock Exchange (YSX) in March has dipped to K1.42 billion compared with K1.48 billion recorded in February, despite an increase in trading volume, the exchange’s monthly report stated. The drop in total trading values last month is attributed to a fall in share prices. In January 2020, 196,836 shares worth K1.25 billion were traded on the exchange while 188,919 shares were traded on the exchange in February and 228,913 shares were traded in March.
Myanmar Investment Commission (MIC) approved more than USD $ 500 million worth of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)
The Myanmar Investment Commission has approved more than US$500 million worth of foreign direct investments (FDI) from 11 businesses and K50 billion in local investments on April 3, a day after the total number of COVID-19 positive cases in the country climbed to 20. The approved amount of $555.233 million and K 51.040 billion includes investments into sectors such as industry, construction and services, in addition to the expansion of 13 existing businesses. After the businesses are in operation, a total of 3234 jobs could be created for Myanmar.