Myanmar plans to streamline incoming foreign investments by passing a series of bills drafted to better facilitate the influx and distribution of foreign capital, according to Aung Naing Oo, the Director General of the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration (DICA).
The drafted legislation seeks to ease restrictions on foreign investments in local business ownership. The bill has been designed by the DICA and will be submitted to the government for approval by the end of this year, said Aung Naing Oo. It is expected to be approved by Parliament.
The current Myanmar government intends to secure a bigger volume in foreign investment during its spell in power than its predecessor, according to Minister for Planning and Finance Kyaw Win. The value of foreign direct investment under the previous government reached $28 billion, with most of the capital going to natural resource development projects, an area that attracts most foreign investment into Myanmar. The country recently established a new Myanmar Investment Commission which serves as an appraising mechanism for domestic and foreign investment proposals.
Myanmar’s existing provisions in investment regulatory framework stage restrictions on foreign investment. For instance, the Myanmar Companies Act decides a firm to be foreign even if a percentage of equity is held by a foreign buyer, not allowing external investors to acquire shares in domestic companies. The new potential legislation would also pave the way for foreigners to enter the Yangon Stock Exchange, the first bourse in Myanmar launchedin December 2015 and started trading in March. The Exchange presently bars foreigners from purchasing of stocks. The amendments of the Myanmar Companies Act and the Foreign Investment Law would mean a positive turnabout in Myanmar’s investment environment, said Aung Naing Oo.
