U Aung Naing Oo also said that investment in the telecom and hotel industries is set to surge this year.
Food processing and the garment industries took the lion’s share of the slightly more than US$400 million in FDI in the manufacturing industry last fiscal year, with most of this coming from Singapore, China, Hong Kong and Japan, he said.
Senior economist Dr Maung Aung said the amount was slight when compared to FDI flows into manufacturing in other countries in the region.
The 50 percent jump last year, however, indicated that the new foreign investment law passed in November and the subsequent rules and regulations implemented in January were working, he said
The lifting of sanctions will also fuel FDI in Myanmar, he said. The European Union is lifting sanctions on all products except arms and ammunition, while the US is expected to allow Myanmar preferential access to its market by the end of this year.
Access to the EU and American markets will lead to a massive surge in investment in the manufacturing industry here, Dr Maung Aung said.
He said investment in manufacturing is critical because it creates jobs and provides technology transfers.
As a share of FDI, the manufacturing sector lags extractive industries, which receive about 80 percent of FDI, according to the Myanmar Investment Commission.
Source: Myanmar Times
