More investment from western countries might be seen in the 2016-2017 fiscal, said Aung Naing Oo, the secretary of the Myanmar Investment Commission.
Aung Naing Oo spoke to reporters during a forum titled “New Myanmar Beyond 2015: The Need for New Paradigm” at Yangon Economic University on January 11.
“More investment from western countries will enter during the incoming government’s administration because the Bilateral Protection Agreement with the EU might be finished in 2016—in the first six months. After that, EU countries will enter with more trust than before. Depending on the situation, investment from the US might enter too. Japanese investment will be as strong as before,” he said.
The foreign investment volume is expected to reach US$6 billion this fiscal year, $4.1 billion in foreign investment 16 countries have already come in as of December 2015, according to the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration.
Countries with investments in Myanmar include Australia, Bangladesh, Brunei, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, the Netherlands and the UK. They usually invest in the manufacturing, mining, energy, oil and natural gas, transportation and communication and hotels and tourism sectors.
As of November 2015, Singapore tops the investment list with an investment volume of over $2.1 billion, followed by China with over $665 million, according to the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration.
Myanmar’s oil and natural gas sector has received the most foreign investment with a volume of over $2 billion, followed by the transportation and communication sector with over $736 million and the manufacturing sector with over $685 million.
In the 2012-2013 fiscal year, Myanmar’s estimated investment volume was $1 billion, while the actual permitted volume was $3.4 billion; in the 2013-2014 fiscal year, the estimated investment volume was $3 billion, while the actual permitted volume was $4.1 billion; while in the 2014-2015 fiscal year, these figures reached $4 billion and $8 billion, respectively.
Source: ELEVEN
