19th December 2018

Asia

Myanmar Welcomes Foreign Banks With a New Government Reform

Since the 2010 general election, the country also known as Burma has grown at an average rate of 6.4 percent annually.

News coming from Myanmar’s central bank are very optimistic, signaling a new opening for international institutions, ready to finance many local businesses demanding this kind of support while strengthening the sector providing effective solutions for the many problems faced by the Burmese private enterprise that now encompasses startups, small companies and entrepreneurships of all walks of life.

The most notorious institutions that were invited to operate are: Maybank from Malaysia, United Overseas Bank from Singapore and the Australian/New Zealand Banking Group Limited. As the scarcity of foreign capital is pretty common inside Myanmar, these reforms want to broaden the insufficient supply that local banks already offer.

Well-known executives in Yangon feel that the new influx of fresh capital is going to boost Burmese companies, stimulating the creation of innovative markets, employment opportunities, services and much more, having a lasting impact in the overall growth of the gross domestic product.

“This is something we have to welcome in terms of access to finance, and the money will flow into country,” said Mr. Thaung Han, a Myanmar banking expert.

Despite some difficulties and the possible increase of aggressive competition inside this new financial platform, many believe in the outstanding opportunities that these conglomerates will have thanks to new technologies, an eager workforce, a rising democratic feel in the society and a virgin and fertile soil to do business.

What You Need to Know About Myanmar

  • Its exports are mainly petroleum gases at 43 percent.
  • The country has a GDP per capita of US$6,509.
  • China is their main export partner followed by Thailand and India.
  • According to S&P, Myanmar has a credit rating of BBB+.
  • From 2009 to 2011, foreign investments increased 6567 percent.

Myanmar is an independent nation since 1948, but after a coup in 1962, a military dictatorship took power, making it difficult for businesses to succeed in an environment of almost complete isolation due to economic sanctions from the West. In 2011 the military junta was dissolved and many reforms like this one are gaining new grounds in the social psique.