ข่าวเศรษฐกิจและธุรกิจประจำสัปดาห์

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  Myanmar Strategic Holdings (MSH) raised investment for Vietnam based franchise

  Myanmar Strategic Holdings (MSH) will be raising $6 million from Belgian PE firm Verlinvest SA and MSH’s largest shareholder, MACAN Pte Ltd, and will use the proceeds to acquire language training service brand Wall Street English franchise in Vietnam in a separate transaction, dealstreetasia reported. MSH said in a statement that it will issue 200,000 new ordinary shares to A-Star Education Holdings, a subsidiary of Verlinvest, and 100,000 shares to MACAN, at the agreed price of $20 per share. The share subscription is expected to complete by July 2020 through two tranches.
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  Government committed in developing secure ecosystem for e-commerce in Myanmar which will be a key driver of growth for the country post-pandemic

  As COVID-19 continues to disrupt the traditional workings of the Myanmar economy, e-commerce is expected to be a key driver of growth for the country post-pandemic, said U Aung Htoo, deputy minister of Commerce, during a virtual conference held on May 28. The Ministry of Commerce (MOC) will release an overview of a plan to develop e-commerce in Myanmar soon, he added. "It's a good time now to pave the way for e-commerce to develop and contribute to the growth of the Myanmar economy," U Aung Htoo said. "Mobile phone penetration is over 100 percent now so it is a good time to leverage on this for the further development of e-commerce."
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  Myanmar plans to borrow USD $ 200 million from the World Bank to assist rehabilitation farmers after COVID – 19 pandemic

  Myanmar’s government plans to obtain US$200 million (280.45 billion kyats) in loans to implement the National Food and Agriculture System Project (NFASP) to rehabilitate rural farmers after the COVID-19 pandemic is over. Deputy ministers for agriculture and planning explained the government’s plan to obtain loans from the World Bank’s International Development Association to Parliament on Tuesday. “The project is intended to rehabilitate agribusinesses [hit by COVID-19] and overcome the crisis by targeting low-income families and increasing productivity for food security,” Deputy Minister for Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation U Hlaw Kyaw told Parliament.
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  Microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Myanmar will face COVID – 19 cash flow crisis

  Travel restrictions, government orders to defer repayments and lend at lower interest rates have reduced the ability of microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Myanmar to operate at a time when there is a pressing need for capital from the rural population due to COVID-19. The inability to collect repayments from some borrowers has led to road bumps in liquidity and cash flows for MFIs, and this, in turn, has limited the lenders' capacity to extend financing to others. Compared to the same period in 2019, the multi-donor Livelihood and Food Security Fund (LIFT) has seen a US$115 million shortfall in liquidity among MFIs it worked with last month, and this is expected to rise by another $60 million during the first half of May as COVID-19 restrictions persist.
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  Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) crosses USD $ 4.18 billion between 1 October and 22 May in the financial year

  The foreign direct investment flowing into Myanmar exceeded US$4.18 billion between 1 October and 22 May in the 2019-2020 financial year, including the expansion of capital by existing enterprises, according to the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration (DICA). The total figure includes investments of $91.85 million in the Special Economic Zones, under the Special Economic Zone Law. Myanmar set an FDI target of $5.8 billion in the current fiscal, but we cannot measure the impact of coronavirus pandemic at present, said MIC Secretary and DICA Director-General U Thant Sin Lwin.
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  Myanmar’s investment target could be met in the current financial year

  Although US$2.4 billion is still required to meet Myanmar’s investment target for the current fiscal year, nearly US$1.3 billion in new investment under scrutiny and more to come in the remaining period may meet the target, said Than Sin Lwin, Director-General of the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration. He made the remark during a press conference on the activities of the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Economic Relations in the fourth year of the government’s term. The amount of investment target for the current 2019-2020 fiscal year is US$5.8 billion. So far, US$3.4 billion in investment has been approved.
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  Myanmar parliament approved a proposal USD $ 700 million IMF loans for COVID – 19 spending on economic recovery

  Myanmar’s Union Parliament on Tuesday approved a proposal to seek US$700 million (about 982 billion kyats) in loans from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to plug budget deficits resulting from increased spending on economic recovery, social security and health sector improvements due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Myanmar expects budget deficits to widen this fiscal year (FY2019-20) and next due to the extra spending needed to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on the economy. U Maung Maung Win, deputy Union minister for planning, finance and industry, said the government needs to increase stimulus spending to revive the economy, as well as spending to upgrade the health sector and provide cash and food for low-income households and others, even as its income declines due to a relaxation of commercial taxes and license fees, and declines in foreign direct investment (FDI), export earnings (including from natural gas), remittances and income from the tourism sector due to COVID-19.
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  Rakhine parliament urged government to upgrade Thandwe airport in the next financial year

  Thandwe airport in southern Rakhine should be upgraded to include customs facilities in the next financial year to accommodate flights from abroad, a Rakhine lawmaker said. “International flights cannot land at the airport directly and this is a factor which contributes to the limited number of tourists in Ngapali,” said Amyotha Hluttaw lawmaker Daw Htu May (Arakan National Party, Rakhine-11) on May 25 in parliament, referring to the tourist hotspot of Ngapali beach in Thandwe township. The airport has been in operation since the 1950s but only serves domestic flights. Daw Htu May said upgrading Thandwe airport not only boost foreign tourists but also other local businesses, citing the example of Rakhine exporting fisheries via the Yangon International Airport.
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  Myanmar tourism businesses prepared to reopen and waiting for government guidelines to ensure a safe reopening their business

  Myanmar tour companies are preparing to organise tours again, which had been suspended since February as part of the government’s efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19, an official of a local travel association said. Daw Aye Thida Moe, vice chair of the Union of Myanmar Travel Association, said tour companies are awaiting government guidelines to ensure a safe reopening of their businesses. “Companies are following the guidelines of the Health Ministry,” she said. They will focus on the domestic tourism market at first, and improve some destinations. She said they will come up with a marketing scheme to fit the new reality. "Travel agencies will contact travel agents abroad to inform them about the reopening of the local tourism market,” said Daw Tha Toe Thuzar Aung, managing director of Authentic Myanmar Tourism.
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  Myanmar – Chinese developer of a major LNG power plant for Ayeyarwaddy Region have issued a tender with one-week deadline for companies enter the prequalification stage

  The Myanmar-Chinese developers of a major liquefied natural gas (LNG) power plant for Ayeyarwady Region have issued a tender with a one-week deadline for companies to enter the prequalification stage. The proposed 1390MW LNG power plant is to be built in Shwethaungyan township’s Mee Lin Gyaing area, a greenfield site about 250 kilometres from Yangon. The scheme will include a 500kV transmission line to Hlaing Tharyar, on the outskirts of the commercial capital, but the first phase will only require a line to Pathein, where it will link up with the national grid. If approved, it will be among the largest energy investments costing about US$2.5 billion, according to state media. The tender notice was issued by the state newspaper on May 22, with a deadline of May 28.