Yoma Bank has become Myanmar’s first commercial lender with a foreign stakeholder following a decision by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to convert a US$5 million loan into a five percent equity shareholding. The IFC, the investment arm of the World Bank Group, provided the convertible loan package to Yoma Bank in 2014 to help […]
JICA Offers K1.3b Loan to SMEs
June 13, 2017 by
JAPAN International Corporation Agency (JICA) is going to lend K1.3 billion via local banks to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), an official from JICA told The Myanmar Times. JICA also extended a K41.5 billion loan to private SMEs in Myanmar last year, the official added. During this fiscal year, JICA’s loan for SMEs will work […]
Myanmar’s burgeoning financial sector attracts foreign suppliers
February 23, 2017 by
Foreign companies are rushing in to beef up Myanmar’s financial infrastructure, vying to win orders for ATMs and financial software from commercial banks that are rapidly growing under a civilian government. This month, Diebold Nixdorf, the world’s top ATM supplier, will open its first sales office in Myanmar. It is to be staffed with its […]
Myanmar Banks ‘Facing Five Key Challenges’
November 29, 2016 by
YANGON – MYANMAR’S HOPE of becoming an investment destination in Asean may fade away if the country fails to address five major challenges in its financial sector, experts said at the launch of a GIZ banking report titled “Myanmar’s Financial Sector: A Challenging Environment for Banks” last week. During a PowerPoint presentation and a panel […]
CBM plans to practice RTGS online
July 25, 2016 by
The Central Bank of Myanmar (CBM) has planned to practice Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) online to transfer money between banks and customers, according to a CBM representative. The online system can save time, but according to the report, banks must build trust between one another. Currently, a small number of banks use the system […]
Myanmar banks offer international credit cards
June 29, 2016 by
In a boon for holiday shoppers, Myanmar banks are starting to offer customers international credit cards for the first time. The country has only recently returned to true credit cards, which disappeared in the wake of the 2003 banking crisis. At the start of this year some 2 million “credit cards” had been issued, but most operated […]
Western Union launches outbound money transfer service in Myanmar
June 21, 2016 by
WESTERN UNION, a global payment services provider, has launched Myanmar’s first outbound money-transfer service, three years after launching inbound services. Patricia Riingen, the firm’s senior vice president for Southeast Asia and Oceania, said the target consumers would be people aged from 25 to 60 who are active on social media and have international exposure (either […]
CBM buys dollars to ‘reduce panic’
March 14, 2016 by
The Central Bank has bought over US$40 million dollars from private lenders in just five days to “reduce panic and prevent volatility”, a Central Bank official told The Myanmar Times, while banks this week once again imposed limits on foreign exchange due to volatility. Private banks started their sudden net transfer of dollars to the […]
Surging kyat closes foreign exchange desks
February 11, 2016 by
Local banks suspended foreign currency exchange services yesterday as the kyat surged in value against the dollar, with financial industry sources variously pointing the finger at political speculation, market rumours and a lack of clear Central Bank policy. The kyat strengthened to K1248 against the dollar yesterday, according to the Central Bank’s rate, after […]
