The lower house of parliament approved the Myanmar Investment Law yesterday, taking the long-awaited draft a step closer to becoming law.
The legislation, which combines into one document the Myanmar Citizens Investment Law and the Foreign Investment Law, now moves to the upper house for consideration.
The Myanmar Investment Commission (MIC) began working on a draft of the law back in 2014 with help from the International Finance Corporation. U Tun Tun Hein, chair of the lower house bill committee, said that having two separate investment laws was discriminatory.
Government officials said the law will simplify the process of investing in Myanmar, whittling down the number of projects that require permission from the MIC. The legislation will also allow the government to be more judicious in its application of tax breaks for investment projects, which will only be given in sectors that the government thinks are important to Myanmar’s economic growth.
The duration of tax exemptions will also be tailored under the new law, according to U Aung Naing Oo of the Directorate for Investment and Company Administration (DICA).
Source: The Myanmar Times
