Restrictions in line with current COVID-19 regulations have resulted in the decline of manufacturing and new orders in Myanmar, said IHS Markit. The London-based information provider released a statement that said regulations introduced to curb the spread of the COVID-19 virus have also resulted in a record high of unfinished works. Manufacturing and the receipt […]
World Bank Puts Myanmar’s Power Investment Needs at $2B a Year
YANGON—To sustain economic growth, Myanmar needs to invest up to US$2 billion (3.06 trillion kyats) annually in its electricity sector, according to a World Bank report released on Tuesday. In the report, “Myanmar Economic Monitor: Building Reform Momentum”, the World Bank said Myanmar’s economic growth is expected to rise to 6.5 percent in fiscal 2018-19, […]
EU’s threat to scrap trade preferences spurs Myanmar’s reforms
Economic reform is getting a second wind in Myanmar as the government tries to lure back foreign investors scared away by reports of human rights abuses against the country’s Rohingya Muslim minority. The government has announced the easing of restrictions on foreign banks and the creation of a new ministry to oversee foreign investment in […]
Myanmar’s manufacturing growth loses momentum in May
TOKYO — The Nikkei Myanmar Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index, or PMI, fell to 52.6 in May from April’s series-record high of 55.5. A reading above 50 indicates economic expansion, while a reading below 50 points toward contraction. The reading was still above the average for 2017 as a whole. “The overall growth performance was hampered […]
Myanmar’s manufacturing PMI rises to 49.3 in August
TOKYO — The Nikkei Myanmar Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index, or PMI, rose slightly to 49.3 in August from 49.1 in July. A reading above 50 indicates economic expansion, while a reading below 50 points toward contraction. The latest data marked the third consecutive month of contraction. “Higher raw material prices were commonly cited as the […]
Electricity price hike set for April 1
In an effort to reduce state spending, the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw last week voted to move forward with a plan to increase the price of electricity as of April 1 for households by as much as 42.8 percent for units used over a certain threshold, parliament announced last week. Though households will still pay K35 per […]
Myanmar gets new SEZ law
In an effort to draw more foreign interest in Myanmar’s future Special Economic Zones (SEZ), the state-run media last week announced the promulgation of a new SEZ law, superseding the relevant laws adopted by the former military regime in 2011. “The new law seems to decentralise decision-making to the SEZ committee, so that central government […]
Myanmar’s clothing industry promises growth
Myanmar’s clothing industry is expected to grow as a result of the country’s readmission to a preferential EU trading scheme, according to sources from the industry. The European Union readmitted Myanmar to its trade preference scheme on June 12 which grants developing nations preferential access to the 27-nation bloc for several products in the form […]