Back in February, Mario Singh, Director of Training and Education at FXPRIMUS, expressed his opinions on the Southeast Asian market. One country he focused on was Myanmar. At the time, Singh stated that, “The hot story for Southeast Asia now, is undoubtedly Myanmar. The country has attracted considerable attention since its government decided to pursue economic reforms, and sanctions have begun to ease on the country. Foreign investors, not just companies, but also countries, are eager to...
Myanmar will start to set up a stock exchange market by 2015 with the help of Japan, local Eleven Media quoted Deputy Finance Minister Maung Maung Thein as saying on Tuesday.
Security Exchange will be established this year in line with Security Exchange Law which was passed by the parliament and promulgated in July this year.
The move of setting up the stock exchange will be done through the Ministry of Finance.
The price of real estate is expected to fall once the stock exchange...
Fresh legislation has paved the way for a major shift in Myanmar’s financial sector, spearheaded by the separation of the central bank from the Ministry of Finance and Revenue.
The long-awaited Central Bank of Myanmar (CBM) Law was signed by the president, Thein Sein, on July 11. The legislation secures the bank’s autonomy and clarifies its responsibilities. Widely seen as one of the key building blocks in the recent round of reforms, the law is set to radically shift the way the...
Visa International expects the number of Myanmar merchants accepting its credit card for transactions will climb to between 5,000 and 6,000 in 3-5 years.
Like other multinational companies jumping on the investment bandwagon in Myanmar after the US lifted economic sanctions, Visa entered the market a year ago, and about 100 local merchants have installed electronic data capture devices, with another 100 ATMs accepting Visa cards.
Visa card payment and cash withdrawal services are...
Myanmar will be opened Construction and Housing Development Bank in January next year, according to Win Zaw, Managing Director of Construction and Housing Development Bank Public Company Limited.
“We have an idea for low income people to own an apartment or a house with a long term loan (20 years to 30 years) and establish a financial system,” said Kyaw Lwin, Union Minister for Construction.
The company will start sell shares soon. It is planned to sell 10 million shares with 10,000...
The dramatic fall in the value of kyat in recent months has raised alarms and left many baffled. The irony is that it was not so long ago a strong kyat caused exporters and those with earnings in foreign currencies to grieve.
Apparently neither a strong nor a weak kyat is pleasing and it is not an easy task to keep people on both sides happy. Nonetheless, wide fluctuations in exchange rates erode confidence and harm growth, something Myanmar cannot afford. Meanwhile, some of the most...
Myanmar has come a long way in revamping its financial system since the military gave up formal power two and a half years ago. The country's new civilian leaders made its central bank independent last month and ushered in several other changes meant to smooth the way for more foreign investment. And over the past two weeks, the government has allowed foreign-exchange trading between local banks, according to state media, and appointed a new management team for the central bank.
But weighty...
YANGON: Myanmar has introduced interbank currency trading, a senior central bank official said, the latest reform to the financial sector, which follows the managed float of the kyat currency from April 2012.
Foreign banks are not allowed to operate in Myanmar and the local banking system is rudimentary, so the interbank market is likely to be tiny initially.
“We have allowed local private banks to trade in foreign currency among themselves effective Monday, taking a major step forward...
British companies will be drafted in by the Burmese government to help kick-start its financial services sector.
Last year, the majority of sanctions were lifted against Burma (now officially called Myanmar) allowing it to trade freely with the rest of the world while opening its economy up to foreign investment.
This saw Western companies clamour to enter Burma, which has a population of 59 million and was a military dictatorship between 1962 and 2011. It was once regarded as one of...
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...
Deputy Minister for Finance and Revenue, Maung Maung Thein confirmed on 15 July that Myanmar will begin implementing a stock exchange market this year.
Earlier announcements state the stock exchange market will be established by 2015, but preparations are already under way.
“Earlier we planned to begin in 2015, but it would be too late. So, we are beginning this year,” says Maung Maung Thein.
The Central Bank of Myanmar is cooperating with the Daiwa Research Institute and Japan’s...
In Myanmar, southeast Asia’s latest golden investment opportunity, being in first wins headlines for foreign companies, as Coca-Cola and Standard Chartered have recently shown.
But as credit card issuers MasterCard and Visa have discovered, it doesn’t guarantee a lead over the competition.
For the growing number of repeat visitors to Myanmar, including business people, foreign government officials and aid workers, the tedium of carrying massive wads of cash is the price of doing...
RANGOON — Burma’s Central Bank has decided to allow foreigners to withdraw cash from their foreign-currency accounts on every working day, according to local bankers.
The new move will assist foreigners residing in Burma, who were previously limited to two withdrawals of up to US $10,000 per week.
“It’s true that we have been instructed to authorize disbursements to foreigners of up to $10,000 a day on every office day,” confirmed Than Zaw, the chairman of the privately owned...
The US has taken further steps to ease restrictions on US corporate investment and business activities in Myanmar, following intense debate within the US Treasury and the State department after Washington softened sanctions against the country last July.
The move frees US citizens and companies to conduct business with four of the country’s biggest banks, of a total 19 banks. All four banks have faced US sanctions and at least two of the institutions are controlled by people who have been...
Myanmar’s central bank may allow foreign lenders to form joint ventures with local banks as early as April in a further step to overhaul the financial system, according to an official who oversees regulatory issues.
The central bank will set regulations for joint ventures in the financial year starting April 1, said Khin Saw Oo, head of the Financial Institutions Regulation and Anti-Money Laundering Department. Officials are considering a requirement that local banks own at least 20...
By TAKASHI NAKAMICHI
TOKYO—Japan announced a plan Thursday to restart yen loans to rapidly reforming Myanmar, as Tokyo steps up efforts to help bring the once-pariah Southeast Asian nation into the fold of the global economy and benefit from its high economic growth potential.
"Japan is planning to resume its full program in Myanmar with yen loans to help support Myanmar's sustainable economic development...at the earliest possible timing next year," Japanese Finance Minister Koriki...
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — Alisher Ali knew on the morning of his second day in Myanmar that the long-closed country was a risk worth taking. Less than two months later he moved his wife and four children to crumbling, tree-lined Yangon and opened Myanmar's first-ever investment bank with $1 million of his own money.
This places him in sparse company. While many chatter about the economic potential of one of the world's last frontier markets, very few foreigners have actually set up shop. The...
Did You Know?
Myanmar has three main seasons, hot season (March to May), rainy season (June to October) and cold season (November to February).
... More
