Myanmar’s newly formed investment commission has recently approved four foreign investment proposals and four domestic investment proposals, according to the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration. The Myanmar Investment Commission (MIC) approved foreign proposals that cover four different business sectors: manufacturing of footwear and electric wire, publishing of a foreign language newspaper, and providing service of supply chain equipment.
The current investment commission was formed on 7 June after more than two months into Myanmar’s new NLDled government. However, the former investment commission established under the preceding administration expired at the end of March, leaving Myanmar unable to appraise investment proposals for two months.
According to Reuters, Aung Naing Oo, who has been reappointed as secretary of the reformed 11-member commission, says that 102 projects have been backlogged since April. The estimated worth of these projects is around $2.3 billion USD.
The delay in an approval process has caused growing concerns among the business community, which had been hopeful that Aung San Suu Kyi’s leadership would bring in much needed outside investment. It is expected to take around eight weeks to work through the backlogged proposals.
Despite this delay, Myanmar’s economy is projected to achieve the fastest growth rate in Southeast Asia in 2016. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has forecast that Myanmar’s GDP would grow 8.4% in the fiscal year of 2016-2017.
The members that comprise the new MIC are as follows:
- Kyaw Win (Union Minister, Ministry of Planning and Finance) – Chairman
- Dr. Than Myint (Union Minister, Ministry of Commerce) – Vice-Chairman
- Tun Tun Oo (Union Attorney-General, Office of the Union Attorney-General) – Member
- Khin Maung Yi (Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation) – Member
- Toe Aung Myint (Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Commerce) – Member
- Tun Tun Naing (Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Planning and Finance) – Member
- Htay Chun (Retired Deputy Director-General, Directorateof Investment and Company Administration) – Member
- Kyaw (Retired Director, General Administration Department) – Member
- Aye Lwin (Joint-General Secretary, Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry) – Member
- Aung Naing Oo (Director-General, Directorate of Investment and Company Administration) – Secretary
- Mya Thuzar (Retired Deputy Director-General, Directorate of Investment and Company Administration) – Joint-Secretary
