Category Archives: Myanmar (Burma) News

Myanmar Investment News

Making Money On Myanmar Reply

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iN5RUrneZm2EReposted from Seeking Alpha
By Sam Quirke

In 1962, Myanmar (then called Burma) was the richest country in Asia. Following its military coup that same year, its growth and development declined rapidly. The generals who ran Myanmar are accused of gross human rights abuses, including the widespread use of forced labour and harsh crackdowns on any sign of dissent. They closed its economy and adopted socialist policies that have been the downfall of so many other military backed isolated governments. It now finds itself in 2013 as one of the poorest and most underdeveloped countries in Asia. More…

Renewable Energy in Myanmar: Not Just Clean, It’s Necessary Reply

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pvgrandeReposted from Renewable Energy World
By Tim Ferry

Myanmar is blessed with an abundance of natural resources and a youthful workforce, but with many of its people living in extreme poverty, the newly opening economy is attracting the interest of investors and aid workers alike. In the middle of the fastest growing region in the world, East Asia, Myanmar holds great promise as the next big market. Growth rates have exceeded 5 percent since 2010 when the country released human rights icon Aung San Suu Kyi and held elections, and 8 percent growth rates are within reach. McKinsey analysts estimate that Myanmar could quadruple its GDP by 2030 to US$200 billion. More…

Double-taxation deals in detail Reply

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Myanmar-1Reposted by The Myanmar Times
By Sebastian Pawlita and Kyaw Zay Ya

An investor from, say, Indonesia profitably sells his shares in a company incorporated in Myanmar. Having done so, he is unhappy to hear that his capital gain is subject to an income tax of 40 percent in Myanmar. If the investor had been from Singapore, the rate would have been only 10pc or, in some cases, zero.

Why is that so? Myanmar has had a double-taxation agreement with Singapore since April 1, 2010, but no such agreement exists with Indonesia. According to Article 13 of the agreement, income tax in Myanmar must not exceed 10pc of the capital gain if a Singapore resident holds 35pc or more of the capital of the Myanmar company and sells at least 20pc of his shares. More…

Unilever thinks big in Myanmar Reply

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The new Unilever (Myanmar) factory, on five rai of land in Yangon, will become operational in a few more months. Unilever first entered the country 80 years ago but was forced to withdraw due to the political situation. It returned in 2010.

The new Unilever (Myanmar) factory, on five rai of land in Yangon, will become operational in a few more months. Unilever first entered the country 80 years ago but was forced to withdraw due to the political situation. It returned in 2010.

Reposted from The Bangkok Post
By Pitsinee Jitpleecheep

Unilever, the Anglo-Dutch global consumer goods company, will open its first factory in Myanmar next month as part of its 20-billion-baht investment plan in consumer products in the country.

The new Unilever (Myanmar) factory, on five rai of land in Yangon, will become operational in a few more weeks. Unilever first entered the country80years ago but was forced to withdraw due to the political situation. It returned in 2010. More…

Myanmar: Tales from the last business frontier Reply

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Coke-Myanmar-citizenReposted from CNN Money
By Steve Hargreaves

Doing businesses in Myanmar — a country that globalization largely missed — has its quirks.

Take Coca-Cola. Taking advantage of newly eased sanctions on the former military dictatorship, Coke (KO, Fortune 500) cut the ribbon earlier this month on the first bottling plant the company has had in the country since before World War II. But in rolling out its product, Coke found itself with a dilemma it seldom has: A lot of people didn’t know what Coke was.

“We had to do taste tests for the first time in years,” said Petro Kacur, a Coke spokesman. “Everybody’s had a Coke, except if you happen to be from Myanmar.”

There are just two remaining countries in the world where one can’t legally obtain a Coke: North Korea and Cuba. More…

Thailand, Myanmar create company to invest in Dawei project Reply

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Thailand and Myanmar will each take a 50% stake in the joint venture, which will have an initial registration capital of 12 million baht.

Thailand and Myanmar will each take a 50% stake in the joint venture, which will have an initial registration capital of 12 million baht.

Reposted from Dredging Today

Thailand and Myanmar have signed an agreement to create a joint venture for developing the Dawei Special Economic Zone in Myanmar, which will draw capital from investors from Japan as well as other countries.

Prime Minister’s Office Niwatthamrong Bunsongphaisan expects that Dawei SEZ Development Co. Ltd., the joint venture tasked with developing the Dawei SEZ and related areas, will require 1.4 billion USD of investments during the first 5 years of development, between 2014 and 2018. During this phase, a road will be constructed to link Dawei project with Ban Phu Nam Ron in Thailand’s Kanchanaburi province. More…

Getting Access to Myanmar, via Singapore Reply

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Reposted from The Wall Street Journal
By John Phillips

With high-profile investors like Jim Rogers and George Soros showing a keen interest in Myanmar, it may be time for risk seekers to gain exposure.

While Myanmar continues to face headwinds on multiple fronts, the World Bank said in a report in January that the resource-rich country “is already seeing increased trade and investment from the wider international community,” after decades of international isolation. This is reflected in the World Bank’s 2012-2013 Myanmar GDP growth forecast of 6.3%, which compares with 5.5% growth for the 2011-2012 period. More…

Myanmar Is Ripe to Be Marketing’s New Frontier Reply

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Reposted from AdAge
By Anita Chang Beattie

A dusty street vendor taps on the taxi window. He’s not peddling flowers along the thoroughfare in Myanmar’s business capital of Yangon. He’s touting homemade copies of the country’s foreign-investment law and import-export regulations.

Myanmar is open for business. After two decades of isolating sanctions, this Southeast Asian country represents one of the few places largely untouched by Western brands. “The market is totally fresh. … And the price of making a mistake is high,” said Shakir Moin, marketing director for Coca-Cola in Myanmar and 10 other Southeast Asian markets. More…

China’s Huawei to work with Myanmar state-owned telecom Reply

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Myanmar currently has less that 10 percent of mobile phone users and promises a huge potential for the growing mobile market.

Myanmar currently has less that 10 percent of mobile phone users and promises a huge potential for the growing mobile market.

Reposted from Eleven Myanmar

The Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei has been chosen to work with the State-owned Myanmar Posts and Telecommunications (MPT) to further expand local mobile networks, according to sources from MPT.

MPT invited tenders from several mobile companies to expand their telecommunication reach. International companies such as Ericsson, Huawei, Nokia Siemens and ZTE all submitted bids, but Huawai was finally chosen and promises toinvest US$34 million in MPT. More…

Foreign investment gets boost in June Reply

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The Singapore-owned Traders Hotel in Yangon will soon have competition in the way of several new international hotels.

The Singapore-owned Traders Hotel in Yangon will soon have competition in the way of several new international hotels.

Reposted from Mizzima
By Khin Myo Thwe

Five new foreign businesses were granted permission to invest in Myanmar on June 12, according to the Myanmar Investment Commission.

“Four wholly-owned foreign businesses and one joint venture [JV] business have been given permits,” said Kyaw Zaw Maung, director of the Myanmar Investment & Company Administration.

United Arab Emirates-based Gecko Holdings Ltd and Myanmar-owned Kyaw Win Phyo Co, have formed a JV to establish Mokan, a hotel business. The company will construct hotels in Tanintharyi Region, Kawthaung Township, Kyunphelar and Nga Man Island. More…