The Ministry of Hotels and Tourism recently announced that Singapore ranks first among foreign countries investing in Myanmar hotel and business complexes, with Vietnam a distant second.
The Myanmar Investment Commission has allowed 48 hotels – with a total of 7058 rooms – to open in Myanmar. Foreign investment in these hotels had reached K655 billion by the end of November, according to data from the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism.
In 2011, there were only 36 hotels and business complexes in Myanmar, which had received a collective US$1.1 billion in foreign investment. By September of this year, there were 47 hotels alone and foreign investment had reached $2.6 billion.
Foreign investment into Myanmar’s hotel sector started in 1990 with investments from Hong Kong. Since then, Singapore has invested $1.47 billion, followed by Vietnam with $440 million and Thailand with $343 million. The top three are followed by Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia and the United Kingdom.
When it comes to local investment in the hotel sector, Yangon has recently taken over from Mandalay as the main destination. Local investment in hotels and guest houses in Mandalay was K669.8 billion in 2014, with Yangon in second place with K438.4 billion. Yangon took the top spot in 2015, however. It has attracted K582 billion so far this year, while Mandalay has managed K572.1 billion.
The hotel and tourism sector had received $19.5 billion in foreign investment as of October this year – 4.1 percent of total foreign investment in Myanmar, according to the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration.
Source: Myanmar Times
