Illegal exports/imports to land jail time in Myanmar

Illegal trade control team inspecting at Warden jetty during the training period (Photo - EMG)

The Myanmar government will apply prison sentences and seizure of goods to any illegal exports/imports.

In the past, illicit traders were merely charged a discretionary fine for their offence. They could later claim back their illegal goods by paying the fine.

However, dishonest exporters and importers will be punished harsher from September 16 onwards in accordance with the new Export-Import Law (2012), the Central Committee for Control of Illegal Trade (CCCIT) recently announced.

Under the new Export-Import Law, confiscation of goods and imprisonment of up to three years will apply if a person is convicted of exporting and importing restricted goods, failing to obtain licenses for those license-required goods, and breaching any license terms.

According to the law, those who either assist or engage in illicit activities will be punished to the same extent.

The CCCIT said they have completed the training period for enforcement of the new law.
Between August 12 and 31, they solved 17 cases in which consumer goods such as cosmetics, food, and construction materials—as well as restricted goods, including beer—were to be illegally imported.

The CCCIT was formed by the President’s Office in December 2012 with the mandate of curbing illegal practices in Myanmar’s border and overseas trades.

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Myanmar’s foreign investment hits US$43 billion

                        Lapataungdaung copper mine project (Photo-Hein Min Htet)
  

Total foreign investment in Myanmar hit US$43 billion in August, according to Myanmar Investment Commission (MIC).

Over 600 foreign businesses invested a total of $43.68 billion in twelve sectors as of August 31, MIC reported.

“Myanmar has foreign investments from 32 countries in four major sectors: energy, oil and gas, mining, and manufacturing,” said an official from MIC.

China is the biggest investor in Myanmar, followed by Thailand, Hong Kong, South Korea, Britain, Singapore, Malaysia, France, Vietnam, and India.

Thailand is the largest importer from Myanmar. As much as 41 percent of Myanmar’s total exports went to Thailand last year, while 15 percent went to India, 14 percent to China, seven percent to Japan, four percent to South Korea, two percent to Malaysia, and one percent each to Singapore and Bangladesh, respectively.

Myanmar imported mainly from China, as usual, in 2012. A total of 37 percent of Myanmar’s imports came from China, while 20 percent came from Thailand, nine percent each came from Singapore and South Korea, eight percent from Japan, four percent from Malaysia, three percent each from India and Germany, one percent from Vietnam, and five percent from other countries.

The International Monetary Fund expects the GDP (gross domestic product) of Myanmar to increase to 5.5 percent in 2013 and 6.2 percent in 2014. The consumer price inflation is also forecast to increase to 7.3 percent in 2013 and 6.6 percent in 2014, respectively.

Myanmar’s total trade volume in 2012 was $25.16 billion. The trade deficit reached $5.76 billion because total exports stood at $9.69 billion and total imports were $15.46 billion.

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BEC-Tero plans to build TV studios in Yangon

Watchiranont Thongtep

The Nation

Under its plan to make Myanmar its second television-production base, Thailand's BEC-Tero Entertainment aims to build its own studios in Yangon to respond to increasing demand for TV programmes from broadcasters in that country.

Pongpunt Wongnongteoi, strategic planning director at the company, said that in the remaining months of the year, BEC-Tero would invest in new TV studios, though the cost has not been disclosed. These studios will help its joint venture Forever BEC-Tero co-produce drama programmes and talk shows for Channel 7 in Myanmar. 

Forever BEC-Tero is a JV with Myanmar broadcaster Forever Group, the operator of free-to-air Channel 7 and MRTV-4. The group also runs a number of radio stations and about 70 pay-TV channels, including 10 digital channels and seven high-definition ones.

Pongpant explained that because of the limited capacity at Channel 7's studios in Yangon for production of new TV programmes, the construction of new studios was seen as the solution. The company is looking for the best location for these new facilities. 

He said the company had received requests from the Myanmar broadcaster for more programmes for its TV stations, almost double the current production. 

Under this partnership, BEC-Tero, which is a sister company of Bangkok Entertainment Company, the operator of Thai TV Channel 3, aims to share its expertise in TV and radio production or even event-organising skills with teams in Myanmar.

BEC-Tero aims to use Myanmar as the second base for its entertainment and sports business in the region once the ASEAN Economic Community arrives in two years.

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Myanmar Business and Development Week - Unleashing Myanmar’s Potential

Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) will spearhead a series of workshops and talks designed to further strengthen the capacity of Myanmar’s private sector and equip the Government of Myanmar with the tools and knowledge to create a supportive business environment.
The so-called Myanmar Business and Development Week will take place Sept 23-27 in Yangon in partnership with ESCAP Business Advisory Council (EBAC) and the United Nations Trade and Productive Capacity Cluster and in association with Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI).
“Over the course of five days we will deal with the crucial task of equipping all our participants with the necessary tools to promote, learn and also question diverse issues in creating an enabling and successful business environment”, said
Marc Proksch, Chief of the Business and Development Section in Trade and Investment Division, ESCAP.
Participants will have the opportunity to attend more than 20 specialised lectures and technical sessions. Following the themes “Creating Value at Home and Abroad” and “Enhancing Competitiveness”, the sessions will cover topics including “FDI Policies and Strategies for Inclusive and Sustainable Development”, “Global Value Chains and Enterprise Clusters”, “Designing Supply Chains for Success”, “Women Entrepreneurship in Agro-business”, “Development of a National Export Strategy” and “Social Media for Business.”
Myanmar is seen to have a huge potential. It is rich in natural resources with a young workforce and is geographically close to Asia’s most dynamic trading economies. But Myanmar, like other Least Developed Countries (LDCs), has not been as successful in effectively integrating into the regional and global economy despite membership of the WTO and ASEAN. It has weak trade and investment linkages with ASEAN and other neighbouring countries, such as China and India.
This is in part due to its past isolation; as Myanmar undergoes reforms it is offering opportunities for trade- and investment-led inclusive growth. “We all have witnessed Myanmar embarking on a major set of reforms manifested mainly through increased international trade and foreign investment”, said Proksch. Yet, Myanmar needs to prepare for the ASEAN Economic Community in 2015.
Increasing integration can bring numerous benefits starting with better employment opportunities and greater household purchasing power. Broader linkages with trading partners can facilitate economic diversification, enhancing resilience to external shocks. Recognising a pressing need to assist LDCs with better integration into global and regional trade and value chains, ESCAP has developed a specially designed programme of capacity building to support LDCs.
Business and Development Week is supported by Japanese and Korean governments and will take place at Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI), No.29, Min Ye Kyawswa Road, Lanmadaw Township, Yangon.
Among the speakers are Chote Sophonpanich, EBAC Vice Chairman and Executive Chairman of Green Spot Thailand Co, and Chairman of Krungdhep Sophon Pcl, Mr. U Win Aung, President of UMFCCI,
Mr. Ashok Nigam UN Resident Coordinator/Humanitarian Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative; H.E. Mikio Numata Ambassador of Japan to The Union of Myanmar.
=======================================
For further information, please contact:
Ms. Francyne Harrigan, Chief, Strategic Communications and Advocacy Section, ESCAP
T: (66) 2 288 1864 / M: (66) 81 835 8677 / E: harriganf@un.org

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Asia World Company to provide electricity for Bago region

An area of Yangon city with power blackout seen this year (Photo:EMG/Myo Min Htet)

Myanmar's Asia World Company has recently been granted permission to distribute electricity to 37 townships in Eastern Bago Region.

Asia World Group is Myanmar’s largest and most diversified conglomerate, which interests in industrial development, construction, transportation, import-export, and a local supermarket chain.

About half of Singapore’s investment in Myanmar comes through Asia World affiliates.

The Asia World Company.

The company is one of 20 private enterprises recently granted permission by Myanmar's government and President Thein Sein to supply electricity to 84 townships in other states and regions.

The winner companies are Gold Energy Limited, which is a subsidiary of Asia World Company, Ruby Dragon Construction, Capital Development, Eden Energy and Natural Resources Development Company.

Private power distribution companies will generate and supply not only electricity to the national grid but also reserve electricity when electricity cut off and power voltage is low.

Moreover, the companies have submitted the proposals to generate reserve power from coal-powered plants or natural gas-powered plants.

While the government outsources power distribution to private companies, there is yet no law in place that sets a standard for electricity supply and costs. Neither was any official announcement made about the contracts.

Many recognise the urgent need to upscale electricity production in Myanmar to meet a growing domestic demand for both businesses and private consumption. But many fear that a lack of regulation will lead to lack of accountability and exorbitant prices.

"If the industrialists invest in private power distribution enterprise, the public can enjoy more electricity. But, they [public] can’t get the electricity charges at the current price," an official from Yangon Region Government Committee said at a recent seminar held at the Sedona Hotel in Yangon.

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MoneyGram expands funds-transfer service to Myanmar via alliance

The Nation

MoneyGram, a leading global money-transfer company, has announced that its international service will be available in Myanmar and will be provided through an alliance with three banks: Asia Green Development (AGD) Bank, Myanmar Citizens Bank (MCB) and Tun Foundation Bank (TFB).

"We are happy to announce that we will be reaching consumers in Myanmar through our alliance with these exceptional bank agents," said Grant Lines, MoneyGram senior vice president for Asia-Pacific, South Asia and Middle East. 

Its money-transfer services will be offered in 10 of Myanmar's 14 states, giving consumers access to affordable remittances. 

It is an important step for MoneyGram as it increases its global footprint and makes services available to more customers worldwide, he said. 

MoneyGram's initial services in Myanmar allow consumers to receive money securely from friends and family through these three banks, which have locations across the country. 

Each bank was selected for its reliability and reputation: MCB is a public bank, TFB is almost 20 years old and privately owned, and the parent company of AGD Bank owns the largest chain of banking businesses in the region. 

According to the World Bank, there were more than 510,000 Myanmar emigrants living across the globe in 2010. It is also estimated that about 2 million former Myanmar residents now work in countries including Thailand, Singapore, Japan, Australia and the United States. The move strategically positions MoneyGram to provide services to previously underserved Myanmar customers, and aims to bring customers closer through money transfers that can be made to and from locations across the globe, it says. 

With the launch of money-transfer services at these three banks, Myanmar consumers can receive funds from nearly 80 countries including Thailand, Malaysia, Japan, Singapore, Canada, the United Arab Emirates and Britain.

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Myanmar real-estate summit to highlight infrastructure

The Nation

The second Myanmar Real Estate Summit (MRES), to be held in Yangon from September 30 to October 1, will hone in on pivotal issues, critical for investing in that country's real-estate development and property sector.

The sector is booming as investors respond positively to the country's economic and political reforms. Burgeoning demand and new opportunities are attracting investments from around the world. 

The extent of this can be judged by the fact that Yangon enjoys the highest property prices in Southeast Asia. The explosion in tourism is also leading to an acute shortage of hotels, residential buildings and mixed-use projects. 

Apart from new projects, old and existing properties are being refurbished and repositioned for generating incremental revenue.

New at this year's MRES is the spotlight on infrastructure developments, incentives for investments in special economic zones like Thilawa and Myothar Industrial Zone Park, the landscape of hotels and resorts in key tourist attractions such as Mandalay, plus discussions on financing and commercial terms including guidelines on land ownership and structuring joint ventures.

The summit will open with a welcoming address by the chairman of the Htoo Group of Companies, to be followed by a presentation on "Urbanisation of Yangon City: Master Plan and Outlook" by a senior official of the Yangon City Development Committee. 

Then there will be another address on "Mandalay as a Tourism and Industrial Hub" by a senior official from the Mandalay City Development Committee.

Among expert speakers from the real-estate industry will be Richard Leech, executive director for retail services at CB Richard Ellis (Vietnam) Co. He is slated to speak on "Retail Sector - Futurescape in Myanmar". 

Also on the speaker panel are Masaki Takahara, executive managing director of the Japan External Trade Organisation, with a presentation on "Infrastructure and Industrial Development: Thilawa Special Economic Zone", and Colliers International Myanmar managing director Tony Picon addressing the "Serviced Apartment Landscape in Myanmar".

The summit expects to draw regional and foreign property investors and developers, real-estate analysts, construction and engineering firms, consultants and brokerage firms, hoteliers, financiers and lenders, banks and financial institutions, asset managers and fund managers, real-estate funds, REITs, hedge funds and private equity, insurance firms, law firms, tax consultants, industry regulators and many more.

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Myanmar housing development bank to open next month

The opening ceremony of Construction and Housing Development Bank ( Photo - EMG)

The Construction and Housing Development Bank Limited (CHDB) will open its first branch within a month, according to their managing director.

The bank was licensed on July 15 and aims to provide cheap housing through installment plans for low-income families, pensioners and government workers.

"We are planning to open a bank branch in one month. After opening, we are planning to buy shares concerning banks. We are arranging in detail for opening a bank branch,” said Win Zaw, Managing Director Win Zaw of CHDB.

The company aims sell up to 10 million shares at K 10,000 a unit. The CHDB will allow government employees, staff from private companies and international investors to invest in shares, according to the Ministry of Construction.

"For the low income public, we assume that a financial system which allows a 20 to 30 years long term settlement may be suitable for them. Only then can the low income public own an apartment. That’s why we are establishing CHDB,” said Minister for Construction, Kyaw Lwin on July 15.

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Land Prices Soar in Muse As New Zone Attracts Chinese, Burmese Investors

RANGOON — Chinese and Burmese businessmen have been rushing to buy up land in a new economic zone in the border town of Muse, northern Shan State, causing local land prices to skyrocket, according to residents, who claim that prices have topped US$200,000 per acre.
“This is a big project and Chinese people really like it. Every day, many people from PRC [People’s Republic of China] come to purchase lands from that project zone. Generally, the buyers give two hundred million Kyats [about $205,000] for a one-acre plot,” resident Sai Aye said.
Such land prices are roughly on par with the market rate for land located on favorable locations, such as near roads, on the outskirts of Rangoon.
Earlier this year, Muse District authorities approved plans for the 288-acre (115-hectare) Central Economic Zone located on the banks of the Shweli River, which demarcates the Burma-China border. Burmese firms Great Hawkham Public Co Ltd and New Star Light Co Ltd were granted rights to develop the zone, government newspaper The New Light of Myanmar reported in June.
New Star Light Company has so far claimed about 200 acres (80 hectare) of land in the project area and offered $25,000 per acre in compensation to affected farmers, said Sai Kyaw, a Muse District farmer who sold his land.
Although this compensation sum is far above the rates that farmers in for instance the Thiliwa Special Economic Zone near Rangoon can expect, Muse residents were still disgruntled because Chinese investors were now offering even higher prices, according to Sai Kyaw.
“New Star Light Company started the project by giving 25 million kyat [$25,600] for each acre of farmland. But now, Chinese people buy the land that is not yet confiscated for the project for 100 million kyats [$105,000],” the farmer complained. “So, the owners of the confiscated farmlands feel really sorry. However, the companies are partly supported by the government. We cannot object to the project.”
Real estate development in Muse Central Economic Zone is said to include hotels, jade trading shops, supermarkets, recreation centers and business towers. A conceptual illustration of the completed project depicts a mix of futuristic high-rise buildings, malls and modern residential areas in the town.
Muse is located on the opposite riverbank of the Chinese border town Ruili, Yunnan Province. It is the country’s most important border trading post and functions as a conduit for the growing trade between Burma and Yunnan Province, which was valued at about $2.7 billion in 2011, according to Chinese state news agency Xinhua.
Sai Aik Maung, another local farmer, said he feared he would be forced to part with his farmland because Burmese firms and Chinese businessmen seeking to buy land had the support of local authorities.
He said wanted more than $25,000 per acre as he would be without a livelihood after he sells his land. “We have been farmers ever since the days of our grandparents. Now, even if we cannot continue as farmers, we want to get good prices for our farmlands,” Sai Aik Maung said.
Additional reporting by Paul Vrieze.

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Rice exports down but annual forecast positive

By THIKE ZIN (DVB)

Burma exported some 200,000 tonnes of rice between April and July, but that’s 100,000 tonnes short of last year’s figures.

According to the chairman of the Myanmar Rice and Paddy Traders Association, the 50 percent decrease in shipments is due to an increase in the Burmese rice price, a decrease in Indian prices, and adverse weather conditions.

The price per tonne for low-quality Emata rice (25 percent broken) in Rangoon today stands at US$360- $370, compared with $330 on the international market.

In addition, Burma has been hit with adverse weather conditions recently, with floods in the Irrawaddy delta and a drought in Upper Burma.

However, exports at the Sino-Burmese border are up significantly according to a local trader from Muse.

“Last week only 600 tonnes of rice passed through the border, but this week it’s up to 1,000 tonnes,” he said.

The chairman of Myanmar Rice and Paddy Traders Association, Aung Than Oo, remained upbeat, saying that while Burma exported some 1.4 million tonnes of rice in 2012, this year he expects the total to hit 2 million tonnes.

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Japan's ANA to buy 49% in Myanmar's Asian Wings Airways: Source

by Straits Times

TOKYO (REUTERS) - Japan's ANA Holdings Inc will buy a 49 percent stake in Myanmar carrier Asian Wings Airways as part of a strategy to expand overseas by investing in airline related businesses, an industry source familiar with the agreement said.

ANA, will pay 3 billion yen (S$38.81 million) for the stake, the Nikkei business daily reported earlier. The two carriers may announce the deal later on Tuesday, the source said on condition he was not identified.

Yangon-based Asian Wings, which began flying in 2011, operates three turboprop ATR 72 regional aircraft and one Airbus A321 on domestic flights in Myanmar. The airline plans to begin international service in October with a flight between Yangon and Chiang Mai, Thailand, the Nikkei said.

A spokesman for the Japanese carrier declined to comment on the reports, saying it had not announced the acquisition. ANA resumed flights between Tokyo and Yangon last October after a 12-year hiatus.

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By DVB

Burma’s Union Parliament has approved a plan, recommended by President Thein Sein, to agree a US$261.5 million loan from the World Bank to support various development projects.

The 40-year loan – at a fixed 0.75 percent interest rate – would be used to develop the communications sector and to improve schools, as well as pay for the construction of a compressed natural gas and biogas power plant in Mon state’s Thaton township.

In January, the World Bank announced that it would clear Burma’s outstanding debt of some $900 million, allowing the country to reapply for grants and loans from international institutions.

Meanwhile, The Asian Development Bank (ADB) announced on Monday that it will administer a Japanese loan of $1.2 million to help Burma improve statistics collection.

The technical assistance grant from the Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction aims “to strengthen institutional, strategic, and technical capacity for collecting better statistics to chart the country’s development and progress” the bank said in a statement.

“Timely, relevant, and accurate data is essential to understanding where the country [Burma] is today, and for future evidence-based decision making both within and outside government,” said Kaushal Joshi, the senior statistician with the Economics and Research Department at ADB. “Statistics help policymakers understand the economic, social, and environmental conditions, make decisions on economic growth, and design efforts to promote poverty reduction.”

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Deep-sea port to dock 300,000 tonne oil tankers on Madae Island

China has finished constructing a deep-sea port on Madae Island in Rakhine State, according to officials from the ports authority.
The port will dock 300,000 tonne oil tankers as part of the Myanmar-China crude oil pipeline which is still under construction. The port was built in joint venture between China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) and the Ministry of Energy.
"The deep seaport is reserved for 300,000 tonne oil tankers and 26 metres deep oil tankers," said an official from the Myanmar Ports Authority.
Myanmar-China pipeline will carry 22 million tonnes of crude oil annually. Five process stations from the newly built sea-port will export the oil through pipeline. The pipeline is expected to finish in September.
Myanmar will benefit with a USD$1 per tonne of oil transit fee meaning Myanmar will expect to make have US$22 million per year. In addition, China will pay USD$ 6,905 million per year for right of way.
Myanmar has been exporting natural gas through the Myanmar-China oil and gas pipeline since July 2013. Myanmar will have 2 million tonnes of crude oil and 2 billion cubic metres of natural gas annually from the project, according to CNPC.

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Myanmar to use Indian bank loans for development

Myanmar will implement several projects with loans from the Export-Import Bank of India according to a government report.
The Export-Import Bank of India (EXIM Bank) has provided loans of up to US$ 500 million which will be used on infrastructure projects including communications and transport. Details were released in the Myanmar government’s 2013-2014 fiscal year report.
Some of the projects include the construction of a microwave station linking the southern and northern parts of Chin State, as well as the building of power stations, constructing dams and irrigation systems and improving basic infrastructure.
These projects will be carried out by various government ministries, as the loans will target sectors from agriculture, to electricity, communications and transportation.
In the 2013-2014 fiscal year, Myanmar will be provided foreign development aid from Austria, China, India, Japan, Korea, Germany, Britain, Denmark, New ZeaLand and France.
The World Bank, Asia Development Bank, UN organisations and international NGO's will also provide assistance.
Myanmar will also get access to the Indian assistance to implement advanced agriculture and educational research departments and the production of dairy products.
The Indian government agreed to lend Myanmar US$ 500 million to implement basic infrastructure projects after Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to Myanmar last year.

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Burma readmitted to EU trade scheme

By AFP & DVB

The European Union on Wednesday readmitted Burma to its trade preference scheme, saying it wanted to support reform in the once pariah state through economic development.

Burma’s membership of the scheme was withdrawn in 1997 due to concerns over the use of forced labour under the then-military junta.

But the EU said the International Labour Organisation had last year reported “necessary improvements” to labour practices in Burma, which was formerly known as Burma.

The Irish presidency of the EU and the president of the European parliament signed legislation on Wednesday confirming Burma’s readmission.

“Given the positive developments in Myanmar/Burma in the recent past, it is important that the EU supports this by facilitating economic growth and development opportunities,” said Irish jobs and enterprise minister Richard Bruton.

The EU scheme grants developing nations preferential access to the 27-nation bloc for several products in the form of lower tariffs.

In London, Justine Greening, the International Development Secretary, welcomed the news.

“We have been calling for the EU to recognise that Burma’s standards are improving and this is great news,” she said.

“Boosting trade and exports is vital if Burma is to develop its economy and escape years of poverty.”

The EU in April agreed to lift the last of the bloc’s trade, economic and individual sanctions against Burma in response to the military’s progressive ceding of power to civilians.

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Burma to give central bank more autonomy

Burma is set to enact a new law in the coming days giving greater independence to its central bank, officials said Wednesday, in the latest economic reform aimed at enticing foreign investors.

The new legislation was approved by lawmakers on Monday and is expected to be signed into law by President Thein Sein by this weekend, although the details have not yet been made public.

“The significant thing is that the central bank will be an independent body and will not be under the finance and revenue ministry anymore,” a central bank official who did not want to be named told AFP.

“The central bank’s mandate will be in line with international standards,” the official said, adding that the president would appoint a governor and three deputy governors with the approval of parliament.

An official in Thein Sein’s office said the former general would sign the bill before he leaves on a visit to Europe on Sunday.

Burma’s quasi-civilian government has announced a series of political and economic reforms since coming to power more than two years ago following the end of nearly half a century of military rule.

In April of last year it began to overhaul the country’s complex foreign exchange system in a bid to facilitate trade and investment.

An independent monetary policy is seen as a hallmark of a modern free-market economy, but it is unclear how much freedom the Central Bank of Myanmar (CMB) will enjoy.

Its main role up to now, experts say, has been to print money to fund the government’s budget deficit.

Unlike independent central banks such as the US Federal Reserve or the European Central Bank, the CBM does not increase or reduce official borrowing costs as a way of preventing the economy overheating or cooling too rapidly.

“It would be very hard for the CBM to conduct an effective anti-inflation monetary policy if it simultaneously had to lend to the government through bond purchases to finance the budget deficit,” said Sean Turnell, a Burmese economic expert at Australia’s Macquarie University.

“In other words, government spending and taxation matter too,” he added.

A lack of technical expertise is seen as another hurdle for the central bank.

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Myanmar Stock Exchange To Launch After Security Exchange Law Passed

International Business Times
By Sophie Song

Myanmar will have its own stock exchange soon, according to the country’s deputy minister for finance and revenue, Maung Maung Thein. Preparations and implementations for the market are already underway.

“Earlier we planned to begin in 2015, but it would be too late. So, we are beginning this year,” said Thein, according to Mizzima, a Myanmar news portal based in India.

To establish the stock exchange, the Central Bank of Myanmar is cooperating with the Daiwa Institute of Research Group, a leading Japanese think tank with expertise in economics and financial capital markets, and Japan’s Tokyo Stock Exchange. Later this month, there will be a demonstration of the operation of the stock exchange with the help of a Myanmar information technology company, Thein said.

A “Security Exchange Law” has been introduced to the lower house of parliament, Thein added. Shortly after the bill is approved, the stock exchange will be established.

A relevant committee has also been formed in order to ensure a smooth launch for the exchange.

“Myanmar needs a huge market to attract financial investments,” said Thein. “Myanmar did not have that market. To establish that market [stock exchange], we have prepared for many years.”

The legal establishment of a stock market is only the first step in creating an authentically liquid equity market in the nation.

“It’ll be surprising if the stock exchange can be established in late this year,” said Hla Maung, an economist. “The sooner the better. But it is a financial market, so we need to have public companies and corporations that can sell shares. If not, the market will be weak and unsuccessful.”

Public companies that wish to be listed in Myanmar’s stock exchange will need to submit applications to the supervising committee. However, experts said this may prove a big challenge for existing Myanmar companies, as they struggle to deal with problems related to taxes.

The stock exchange will be located near Bandoola Garden, where Myawaddy Bank currently stands. The building formerly owned by the Finance and Revenue Ministry is due to be returned to them later this year, according to Mizzima.

It was announced earlier that Toshiba Corp. (TYO:6502) has won an order from Daiwa to supply the data center for the Myanmar stock exchange. The company has had a long and successful history in Myanmar, Mizzima reported.

Hidejiro Shimomitsu, corporate senior vice president of Toshiba, said the company's home appliance business in Myanmar started in the 1980s. Its washing machines are still the most popular brand in Myanmar.

Toshiba launched a branch office in Yangon on July 3, according to Mizzima.

Myanmar’s neighbors, Cambodia and Laos, two of the poorest countries in the region, launched their stock exchanges two years ago, but neither market is seeing much activity. The Lao Securities Exchanges has only two listed companies, while the Cambodia Securities Exchange has only one

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လာမည့္ႏႇစ္မႇစ၍ ဘတ္ဂ်က္ေရးဆြဲရာတြင္ လူထုအေျချပဳ ဘတ္ဂ်က္အျဖစ္ ေျပာင္းလဲသြားမည္ျဖစ္ၿပီး ျပည္နယ္/တိုင္း ဘတ္ဂ်က္ပမာဏ ပိုမိုမ်ားျပားလာမည္

ေက်းလက္ေဒသ ဖြံ႕ၿဖိဳးေရး အတြက္ လာမည့္ ၂၀၁၄-၂၀၁၅ ျမန္မာ ႏုိင္ငံ၏ ဘတ္ဂ်က္ အသုံးျပဳမႈကို လူထုအေျချပဳ ဘတ္ဂ်က္အျဖစ္ ျပဳလုပ္မည္ျဖစ္ရာ ျပည္နယ္/တုိင္းေဒသႀကီး ဘတ္ဂ်က္သည္ ျပည္ေထာင္စု ဘတ္ဂ်က္ထက္ ပိုမုိႀကီးမားမည္ဟု သမၼတ႐ုံး၀န္ႀကီးဌာန ျပည္ ေထာင္စု၀န္ႀကီး ဦးစုိးသိန္းက ေျပာၾကားသည္။
ၾသဂုတ္ ၂၅ ရက္က ရန္ကုန္ ၿမိဳ႕ရႇိ Myanmar Peace Center တြင္ က်င္းပခဲ့သည့္ ႏုိင္ငံေတာ္ သမၼတ၏ ေက်းလက္ေဒသ ဖြံ႕ၿဖိဳးေရးစီမံကိန္းအတြက္ ျပည္ေထာင္စု အစိုးရအဖြဲ႕ ၀န္ႀကီးမ်ားႏႇင့္ INGO မ်ား၊ NGO မ်ားမႇ တာ၀န္ရႇိသူမ်ား၊ ေတြ႕ဆုံေဆြးေႏြးပြဲတြင္ ျပည္ေထာင္စု၀န္ႀကီး ဦးစိုးသိန္းက ယခုကဲ့သုိ႔ ေျပာၾကားခဲ့ျခင္း ျဖစ္သည္။
ျပည္ေထာင္စု၀န္ႀကီး ဦးစိုးသိန္းက ''ကြၽန္ေတာ္တုိ႔က ျပည္နယ္နဲ႔တုိင္းေတြ ၿမိဳ႕နယ္အဆင့္ေတြ အထိလုိက္ၿပီးေတာ့ ေဆြးေႏြးေနတာ ေတြရႇိပါတယ္။ ၿမိဳ႕နယ္ အေထာက္အကူျပဳအဖြဲ႕ ရပ္မိရပ္ဖေတြနဲ႔ ၿမိဳ႕နယ္အုပ္ခ်ဳပ္ေရးမႇဴးေတြ ရပ္ကြက္ အုပ္ခ်ဳပ္ေရးမႇဴးေတြက တုိင္ပင္ရပါမယ္။ ဘယ္ဟာက ဒီရြာအတြက္ အေရးႀကီးလဲ။ တခ်ဳိ႕က မီးလုိတယ္။ တခ်ဳိ႕က ေရလုိတယ္ စသျဖင့္ေပါ့။ သူတုိ႔က ၿမိဳ႕နယ္ကိုတက္မယ္။ ၿမိဳ႕နယ္ကေနမႇ ျပည္နယ္/တုိင္းကို ေပါင္းၿပီးေတာ့မႇ အဲဒီက ပင္တုိင္သြားမယ့္ ဘတ္ဂ်က္ျဖစ္တယ္။ အဲဒါနဲ့ ျပည္ေထာင္စု ဘတ္ဂ်က္ကို ညိႇရမယ္'' ဟု ေျပာၾကားသည္။
အထက္ပါ လုပ္ေဆာင္မႈမ်ားသည္ စက္တင္ဘာ၊ ေအာက္တုိဘာ လမ်ားတြင္ လုပ္ေဆာင္ရမည့္ လုပ္ငန္းမ်ား ျဖစ္သည္ဟု ၎က ဆုိသည္။ ''အခုေတာ့ ျပည္ေထာင္စုက လုပ္ခ်င္တာတစ္ခု ျဖစ္တယ္။ သူတုိ႔ လုိခ်င္တာကတစ္ခု ျဖစ္ေနတဲ့အတြက္ ဆင္းရဲမႈက နည္းနည္းအံေခ်ာ္ ေနတာလည္း ပါတယ္။ ဒါေၾကာင့္ အခုသြားမယ့္ ၂၀၁၄-၁၅ ဘတ္ ဂ်က္သည္ ေအာက္က Community Base ကို အေျခခံတဲ့ ဘက္ဂ်က္ျဖစ္ သြားမယ္။ အခုသြားမယ့္ ဘတ္ဂ်က္က အဲဒီလုိသြားမယ့္ ဘတ္ဂ်က္ျဖစ္တာေၾကာင့္ ျပည္ေထာင္စု ဘက္ဂ်က္က ေသးသြားၿပီး ျပည္နယ္/တုိင္း ဘတ္ဂ်က္က ပိုၿပီးႀကီးသြားမႇာ ျဖစ္ပါတယ္'' ဟု ၀န္ႀကီးဦးစိုးသိန္းက ဆက္လက္ ေျပာၾကားသည္။

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