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Thilawa SEZ Fetches $1 Billion in International Investments

Thilawa Special Economic Zone (Thilawa SEZ), being developed in Thanlyin and Kyauktan townships 25 km (16 mi) south of Yangon, has so far drawn a reported $1 billion of foreign investment from 78 companies representing 16 countries. Among the international investors who have ventured business activities at the 400-hectare industrial park are American manufacturer Ball Corp, CJ Group from South Korea and Thailand’s Millcon Steel. Thilawa SEZ, the first modern industrial park in Myanmar, is a private-public partnership between Myanmar and Japan. The construction works for the $3.28 billion project began in May 2014.

Telecom Sector Draws the Most Foreign Investment

Telecommunications sector has fetched the most foreign investment into Myanmar in this financial year of 2016-2017, according to the Myanmar Investment Commission (MIC) on December 20. The sector shared 47.07 percent of the total foreign investment influx that has so far entered the country in the current financial year. Myanmar grossed a sum of $3.46 billion from foreign investment as of December 17. The industrial sector followed the telecom sector with 25.5 percent. Singapore contributes the largest foreign investment to Myanmar in the current financial year.

Thailand’s Investment Agency to Open an Office in Yangon

Thailand’s Board of Investment (BOI), a Thai government agency to promote domestic and outbound investment, eyes to open an overseas office in Yangon in early 2017. The agency has also confirmed to launch a similar office in Hanoi, Vietnam during the year. The plan is part of its strategy to enhance Thai investment in Myanmar and the rest of the ASEAN region. Another office will be opened in Jakarta of Indonesia in 2018. All countries in the region – especially CLMV (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam) – have been more open to foreign investment, said Chokedee Kaewsang, deputy secretary-general of BOI. Thailand is one of the major foreign investors in Myanmar as well as a leading exporter of various kinds of goods to the country.

Border Trade Volume Slightly Increases

The total border trade value at 15 border trade gates in the first nine months of the financial year of 2016-2017 increased over $140 million when compared to the same period of the previous financial year, according to the Ministry of Commerce on December 23.

During the period, the trade volume reached $4.971 billion, surpassing slightly the similar interval of the 2015-2016 financial year which saw the sum at $4.824 billion. Myanmar has 15 border trade zones at the frontiers with China, Thailand, India and Bangladesh. The Ministry of Commerce is set to upgrade the trade facilities at the border gates to meet ASEAN standards. And authorities are planning to open new border trade gates to intensify trade at the frontier regions.