Officials in Myanmar are encouraging proposals for new mining developments following a series of new reforms aimed at incentivising investment in the segment. On July 26 the Department of Mines at the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation (MNREC) began accepting applications from local and international companies to undertake projects in the country. The stage for this was…
The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) promises to radically transform a vast swathe of the world’s trade and transport infrastructure, which will have a marked impact on how Asia does business with the world and vice versa. Historical Precedent While it is a relatively new idea, the BRI also harks back to medieval times, when the Silk Road flowed between East and West. The Silk Road was a series of…
Recent decades have seen a downward convergence in corporate tax regimes as advanced, emerging and developing economies moved to grab a bigger slice of the global investment pie. Headline corporate tax rates have fallen by 20 percentage points since the early 1980s. Alongside lower average rates, special tax incentives aimed at capturing investment have emerged, further reducing the effective rates…
Myanmar’s rapidly expanding retail and wholesale sectors have been opened up to overseas investors, with newly announced reforms allowing for 100% foreign ownership, though some restrictions remain in place. The amended regulations for the retail and distribution trade, issued by the Ministry of Commerce (MoC) and which came into effect on May 9, mean that foreign retailers and distributors are…
Increased investment in import and distribution capacity should help Myanmar satisfy its growing appetite for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), with the government looking to encourage usage of the fuel as part of plans to direct electricity towards industry. On May 19 local energy firm Elite Petrochemical inaugurated the first stage of a $128m LPG import and distribution facility in the Thilawa Special…
Hailed by Chinese President Xi Jinping as “the project of the century”, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) promises to radically transform a vast swathe of the world’s trade and transport infrastructure. In doing so, it may also have a marked impact on the way Asia does business with the world and vice versa. Historical Precedent While it is a relatively new idea, the BRI also harks back…
As the rhetoric from the US White House swerves from combative to compromise and back again, uncertainty in the global trading environment is creating potential pitfalls for emerging markets the world over. In the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN), which counts China as its largest trading partner, member states watch with trepidation as President Donald Trump ramps up threats of levies…
Several activities to promote Burmese tourism, food and hospitality sectors have also played a role in gaining interest from over 200 industry players worldwide. UBM Myanmar expects more than 7,500 visitors to attend this year’s exhibition. The fifth edition of Food and Hotel Myanmar 2018 present more than 200 leading suppliers and manufacturers from 20 countries will showcase their latest…
Favourable weather conditions and improved yields have helped drive a return to growth in Myanmar’s agricultural sector, a trend likely to be supported by government efforts to embrace modern farming methods to ensure long-term sustainable development. The agriculture sector grew by 3.5% in FY 2017/18, which ended on March 31, rebounding from a drought-induced contraction recorded in FY 2016/17,…
