doing business in myanmar – what you need to know as a singaporean
Due to the dollar rate appreciation, bad weather, and a sluggish market, contractors are facing difficulties and troubles. In order to address the issue, an event was held at The Sky Star Hotel on July 21. The event that was drafting the Apartment Law gave the opportunity for many to express their feelings. Feelings of concern and worry for the contractors and their wellbeing.
As of July 25, the USD dollar rate against the Myanmar kyat is K1,433 per dollar. This is an increase of 5 percent, and the rate continues to increase.
U Kyaw Win, President of Myanmar Licensed Contractors Association, complained at the event, saying; “So far, there are around 2,000 contractors in Yangon, it is a very exciting field which is creating millions of jobs. But the bad weather and the inactive market, combined with the dollar rate appreciation are very troublesome for these contractors. One reason, is because some construction materials must be imported, you might sell some materials at a certain price and then the next day, when you purchase it, the price would go up. The higher construction costs along with other reasons can be summed up by the buyers, who can take advantage of this situation,”
“Everyone wants to rent an apartment. I don’t want to urge the association to build low cost housing, this will affect them financially and they could experience financial losses. But I do want to urge them to build housing that people can afford, in terms of business. If you take profit and then re-invest in it, then all the businesses would grow,’’ Pro. Dr. Aung Tun Thet, Patron of the Association, urged the members.
Source: Myanmar Business Today
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