FOREIGN direct investment inflows into Myanmar amounted to nearly US$ 2 billion during the first four months of this fiscal year, an increase of more than US$ 200 million when compared to the same period last year, said U Thant Sin Lwin, Director-General of the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration (DICA) under the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Economic Relations.
The Myanmar Investment Commission (MIC) scrutinized and approved 85 local and foreign investment projects worth over US$ 1,940 million during the period from 1 October 2019 to 24 January this year, according to the figures released by the DICA. The MIC also gave the green light to Myanmar citizen-invested projects valued at more than K731,672 million and US$ 128.4 million in the same period, creating up to 1,587 job opportunities for Myanmar citizens. “The foreign investment projects approved by the MIC from 1 October 2019 to 16 January this year under the Special Economic Zone Law saw over US$ 1,940 million, he said.
The sharp increase of foreign direct investment into Myanmar attributes to the government’s steps to ease regulations in bid to attract more foreign investment into the Southeast Asian country, the director-general added. The MIC permitted 86 foreign investment projects valued at more than US$ 1245 million during the same period in the fiscal year 2018-2019.“Company registration system in Myanmar has improved as compared to reviously introduced scheme.
This is the reason why enormous foreign investment has been flowedinto Myanmar,” he explained. Asked if he thought the approved foreign investment projects would benefit Myanmar, he said all MIC permitted projects would contribute to economic development of the country and help the government create many job prospects for Myanmar citizens. Hong Kong pumped around US$ 825 million into Myanmar in the past three months of this financial year, calling the Southeast Asian country a key growth market.
Hong Kong topped the list of foreign investors in Myanmar during the period from October last to early January this year, and was followed by Singapore which poured US$ 167 million into four projects in the country. Between 1988 and 2019, 215 firms from Hong Kong injected more than US$ 9 billion into Myanmar, according to the figures from the DICA. The majority of the foreign investment from Singapore, China, Thailand, Hong Kong, and United Kingdom came to manufacturing, communications, transport, tourism, agriculture, electricity generation, real estate and industrial sectors.The Southeast Asian country aims to attract US$ 5.8 billion of FDI in the current financial year.
Union Minister for Investment and Foreign Economic Relations U Thaung Tun said that FDI inflows into Myanmar are expected to increase considerably in the current fiscal year once proposals for offshore oil exploration and mineral extraction are scrutinized and approved by the MIC. He continued that the government has taken a number of significant measures to ensure that it will be much easier for foreign investors to do business in Myanmar. Myanmar aimed to attract US$ 221 billion of FDI within 20 years from 2016-2017 FY to 2035-2036 FY under the short-term, mid-term and longterm Myanmar Investment Promotion Plan (MIPP). Projected to attract a total of over US$ 38 billion over the next 12 years, the MIPP is a symbol of the government’s commitment to an open, fair and clear investment policy.
In addition Myanmar is expected to become a middle-income country by 2036. The government believes that the foreign direct investment is a key drive for lifting people out of poverty and economic growth of the country. The government is also committed to encouraging FDI inflows into the country that cancontribute to the creation of job opportunities for Myanmar people, help their income increase and uplift their socioeconomic status. The MIC has been trying utmost to create an investor-friendly environment and already making investment policies more efficient and effective for foreign investors. Meanwhile, the DICA has been cooperating with NGOs, INGOs, and foreign agencies so as to lure foreign direct investments into the country by organizing seminars, investment and business forums.
Around 1,800 foreign enterprises from 50 countries around the world were permitted to invest in 12 sectors.Myanmar received US$ 9.4 billion of foreign direct investment in 2015-2016 FY, US$ 6.6 billion of FDI in 2016- 2017, US$ 6.11 billion of FDI in 2017-2018 FY, US$ 4.5 billion in 2018-2019, and is estimated to attract US$ 5.8 billion in the current fiscal year. The largest sector of foreign direct investmentcame to oil and gas sector, accounting for 27 per cent of the total FDI, followed by the electricity generation sector with 26.15 per cent and the manufacturing sector with 14.07 per cent.
By Kyaw Htike Soe
