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Analysis

Myanmar Sustainable Development Plan to achieve goals through public-private partnerships
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Among its provisions, the Myanmar Sustainable Development Plan (MSDP) 2018-30 – the country’s long-term development strategy – highlights the need for major reforms in the way the nation trades. Noting that years of isolation from the international community has led to a deterioration in the country’s trading capacity, the MSDP outlines a plan to boost exports and facilitate investment…

Analysis

Investment reforms expand Myanmar capital markets
OBG
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Now occupying the impressive downtown premises of the former central bank, the Yangon Stock Exchange (YSX) celebrated its third year of business in March 2019. However, as one of the region’s youngest stock exchanges, the YSX is still in the process of catching up to its regional peers. The YSX is seeking to establish a wider international profile, as foreign investment and international…

Analysis

New regulations lead to liberalisation of financial services sector in Myanmar
OBG
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As part of ongoing efforts to liberalise the financial services sector and increase credit to the private sector, the Central Bank of Myanmar (CBM) has introduced regulations to facilitate foreign investment in domestic lenders. In January 2019 the CBM issued Regulation No. 1 of 2019, allowing foreign banks and financial institutions to hold equity of up to 35% in local banks, starting in January…

Analysis

Increased access to microfinance boosts inclusion in Myanmar
OBG
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In a country where 70% of the population work in rural communities, and around a quarter of all citizens live below the poverty line, microfinance is one of the few available sources for personal and business funding. Myanmar’s microfinance institutions (MFIs) are thus a vital part of efforts to boost access to credit. Indicators of financial inclusion have historically been low in the country.…

Analysis

Asia Pacific aligns financial reporting regulations with international norms
OBG
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The banks of Asia Pacific have been subject to successive waves of regulatory changes in recent years. Remaining compliant with strengthened anti-money laundering rules, know-your-customer guidelines and a raft of sustainability and transparency initiatives proved to be a resource-consuming process for the region’s lending institutions. However, one regulatory shift in particular has monopolised…

Analysis

Mobile banking prioritised under Myanmar's financial inclusion strategy
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Mobile banking has been a key factor in the recent improvement of Myanmar’s financial inclusion rates. Following the liberalisation of the telecoms industry in 2014, the country has seen a surge in mobile phone ownership, partly as a result of cheaper data and better network competition, making it an effective channel for financial services and products. The country’s electronic payments…

Analysis

Foreign investment leads to new capital and training for Myanmar insurers
OBG
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November 2019 saw five foreign life insurance companies gain licences to operate fully owned subsidiaries in Myanmar, heralding the start of a new chapter in the industry’s history. At the same time six joint ventures between foreign and local insurers were also licensed, with this, too, set to have a strong impact on the dynamism of the sector. The opening up of the market to these foreign…

Analysis

Myanmar prepares for rollout of 5G services
OBG
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Myanmar has enjoyed one of the most rapid and successful deployments of telecommunications infrastructure around the world, in part due to a regulatory framework that allows multiple operators to share the use of cell towers. This has ensured building and maintaining infrastructure is cost effective for the companies involved, as they can on-board additional tower tenants at close to zero cost. Lay…

Analysis

Myanmar's start-up ecosystem grows as business conditions improve
OBG
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Myanmar’s start-up ecosystem is coming into its own amid the development of several clusters in Yangon and an easing of business conditions in the country as a whole. Myanmar rose by six places in the World Bank’s “Doing Business 2020” report to 165th out of 190 economies after introducing a mandatory online platform for company registration and reducing incorporation fees, among other…

Analysis

Energy tariffs in Myanmar are adjusted to reinvest in building capacity and universal electrification
OBG
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Although Myanmar’s installed generation capacity is 5 GW, actual generation capacity sits between 2.9-3.1 GW. With the Ministry of Electricity and Energy (MoEE) predicting that daily demand will increase by another 1.5 GW over the next few years, the authorities are looking at avenues to boost production levels. The World Bank expects demand to be even higher, forecasting an average annual…