The Myanmar Tourism Federation will establish a privately-owned Tourism Bank Public Company Ltd to provide financial support to small and medium enterprises related to the travel and tour industry, according to the federation’s secretary general U Kyi Thein Ko .
The Directorate of Investment and Com- pany Administration under the Ministry of National Planning and Economic Develop- ment has already given the green light to the tourism bank and the company is waiting to receive a license to operate, U Kyi Thein Ko said.
The company will be made up of 20 to 25 members of the federation – composed of hoteliers and tour business people – and an initial capital of K20 billion as approved by the Central Bank of Myanmar, he said.
The company aims to operate in the coun- try’s three main cities – Yangon, Mandalay, and Nay Pyi Taw, he said, adding that it will take about six months to set up.
“The public company will disclose detailed plans publicly as to how loans will be pro- vided after a meeting of the board of directors,” said U Kyi Thein Ko, who is one of the directors.
Ministry of Hotels and Tourism Minister U Htay Aung told that the tourism bank will provide financial loans to enhance the per- formance of companies related to the travel and tourism industry in a different way to compared with conventional banks.
The federation’s vice chairman U Mg Mg Swe said that some travel and tourism companies face problems in access to loans before generating turnver in a short time frame when operating in the peak season. Small and medium travel and tour compa- nies have to struggle to get loans in a formal way through government and private banks
because they may have limited collateral, un- like say hotels that have property. Myanmar’s 2014-2020 tourism master plan calls for the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism and civil society to provide assistance for the development of the growing tourism indus- try.
