Weekly Business News from Myanmar

Myanmar Insurance introduced the housing insurance packages for homes bought by installment for the first time in the country
State-owned Myanmar Insurance announced that it has introduced housing insurance packages for homes bought by installment for the first time in the country. The insurer said in a statement yesterday that the packages cover the death or disability of a homeowner and damage to homes. “Such packages will be invaluable for the protection of homeowners as well as the financial institution providing the loan for the home,” said Myanmar Insurance Managing Director Daw Sandar Oo. Explaining the usefulness of such insurance coverage, Daw Sandar Oo said, “Insurance provides protection for a homeowner. In the event of death or disability, the insurance taken by a homeowner will cover the rest of the outstanding loan on the home, thereby ensuring the policyholder and/or their family does not lose the home.”
Yangon Region Government leases USD $ 750 million of land to Malaysian Conglomerate to develop a housing and mixed use project in Yangon city, Myanmar’s commercial hub
YANGON—BDS Smart City Co. Ltd, a subsidiary of Berjaya Land Berhad (BLand), one of the largest conglomerates in Malaysia, signed a concession agreement worth nearly $750 million on Friday with the Yangon regional government to develop a housing and mixed-use project in Yangon city, Myanmar’s commercial hub. According to a press release, BDS will undertake the project on 74 hectares of land worth an estimated $746.08 million in Yangon’s Dagon Seikkan Township. The project will include affordable housing, medium-range apartments, high-end condominiums, commercial units, hospitals, schools and community centers. BDS will own exclusive rights to the land for 50 years, extendable for two additional terms of 10 years each. The company won a tender for the project last May. The project is expected to roll out in three phases over a period of nine years, according to the company.
Government’s the efforts on environmental management plans (EMP) making progress
Many businesses that have been instructed by the government to submit environmental management plans (EMP) have already done so, says a senior official of the Environmental Conservation Department. U Min Maw, deputy director general of the Environmental Conservation Department, which falls under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation (MONREC), tells Myanmar Times that most of the businesses in nine sectors pinpointed by the government had submitted EMPs by a deadline that expired last month. In January 2018, MONREC issued a notification to businesses in the nine sectors to submit EMPs to the ministry. In July 2019, the ministry again issued a notification on the requirement, but provided a six-month extension so that the businesses could draw up the plans. The deadline for the submission of the plans expired last month.
Myanmar government launched digital payments for SME registration through its website
The Directorate of Industrial Supervision and Inspection under the Ministry of Planning, Finance and Industry said that those applying for SME membership cards through its website www.msmewebportal.gov.mm/login can now pay registration fee online. Applicants need to provide a passport-size photo taken against a blue background and fill out the application form in Unicode font in Myanmar language. The registration fee of K5,000 for small enterprises and K10,000 for medium-size enterprises is payable using MPU, Visa, or MasterCard.
Central Bank of Myanmar (CBM) purchase over USD $ 50 million in the auction market up since January
The Central Bank of Myanmar (CBM) purchased over US$50 million in the auction market up since the start of the year to keep the exchange rate stable. According to the CBM, it started buying US dollars on January 3 scooping up a total of US$36.5 million during the month. Between February 1 and 13, the CBM purchased a further US$15 million, at the auction average exchange rate of K1,452 per dollar, taking the total amount of dollars taken off the market to US$51.5 million.
SCG Cement and Construction Company will join hands to include in Yangon Amata Smart and Eco city project
SCG Cement and Construction Company will join hands to develop US$1 billion worth Yangon Amata Smart and Eco City project, announced the Amata Corporation. Surachai Pornjindachote, Country Director of SCG Cement and Construction and Yasuo Tsutsui, MD of Yangon Amata Smart and Eco City signed the joint-venture agreement on January 24 at Kempinski Hotel in Nay Pyi Taw. Surachai Pornjindachote said they will use modernized technologies to provide an environment which can develop the construction industry and provide solutions for new town projects. He said the company will effectively use raw materials, labour and time management to build the project.
Myanmar’s total border trade using Individual Trading Cards (ITC) exceeds Ks 18 billion in first four months of current 2019 – 2020 fiscal year
Myanmar's total border trade using Individual Trading Cards (ITC) exceeded 18 billion kyats (12 million U.S. dollars) in first four months of current fiscal year (FY) 2019-2020 which started in October, Xinhua reported. From October to January this FY, the ministry issued 32 ITCs and export using those cards through border gates earned over 1.78 billion kyats (1.18 million U.S. dollars) while its imports exceeded 17 billion kyats (11.3 million U.S. dollars).
Hong Kong listed VPower Group International joint venture with China National Technical Import and Export Corporation (CNTIC) to implement three electricity projects in Myanmar
YANGON—Amid the government’s efforts to avoid power shortages across the country, a Hong Kong company has announced that its joint venture with Chinese state-owned CNTIC will invest in three power plant projects in Myanmar with a total capacity of 900 megawatts (MW) and an estimated value of over US$800 million (1.2 trillion kyats). Hong Kong-listed VPower Group International Holdings Limited, one of the largest investors in Myanmar’s electricity sector, this week said it had set up a joint venture with Chinese state-owned China National Technical Import and Export Corporation (CNTIC) to provide power in Myanmar. VPower said each company held a 50 percent share in the investment, development and operations of the planned projects.
Mandalay Region economy expected to be worth K 12 trillion in fiscal 2019 – 2020
The Mandalay Region economy is expected to be worth K12 trillion in fiscal 2019-20, expanding about 9 percent compared to the year before, according to the regional government’s estimates. According to the Citizen’s Budget Paper released on February 5, growth will be driven by the services sector, which makes up close to 45pc of the Mandalay economy. This sector comprises transportation, telecommunications, banking and finance, leasing and trade.
Ministry of Construction (MOC) expected to start the first phase of construction of Yangon Elevated Expressway (YEX) by August
The Ministry of Construction (MOC) expects the first phase of construction of the Yangon Elevated Expressway (YEX) to commence by August, Deputy Director General U Kyi Zaw Myint said. The MOC released a final request for proposal for the development of phase 1 under a Public Private Partnership (PPP) to ten prequalified bidders on February 4. The bid submission deadline is set on April 30. The MOC will select the winning bidder by May, U Kyi Zaw Myint said during a meeting with residents in Yangon on February 16. Construction is expected to take about 3.5 years to complete.