President U Htin Kyaw signed the Myanmar Companies Act at the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw Wednesday, approving the most anticipated piece of legislation in the country this year. Under the new Myanmar Companies Act, foreigners will be permitted to take up to a 35 percent stake in local companies. It also stipulates that businesses with foreign stakes […]
Insurance to Lead Finance Sector Expansion
December 30, 2016 by
Myanmar’s financial sector welcomed new faces this year – international banks opened their first branches, the stock exchange welcomed its first firms and there are joint-ventures on the horizon for the insurance sector in 2017. Taiwanese firm E.SUN Commercial Bank, South Korea’s Shinhan Bank, Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam and State Bank […]
Securities commission warns against illegal share sales
July 19, 2016 by
The Securities and Exchange Commission of Myanmar warned companies against selling shares without its permission yesterday – the second time it has issued such a warning since the country’s first modern stock exchange opened at the end of last year. The commission made an initial announcement through state media in February but public companies have […]
Yangon Stock Exchange weak on corporate governance rules: observers
February 5, 2016 by
While globally an initial public offering usually means throwing the doors to your company wide open and letting investors poke around, industry observers say the Yangon bourse has not gone far enough on provisions for transparency. According to listing criteria published in state media last August, companies that wish to go public on Yangon’s stock […]
Thai-Myanmar JV receives stock exchange broker licence
October 26, 2015 by
A Thai broker and its Myanmar joint venture partner have been awarded a broker licence for the soon-to-open Yangon Stock Exchange. New York-based broker Auerbach Grayson & Company announced on October 20 that its Thai subsidiary KT ZMICO and local partner KTZ Ruby Hill Securities were one of four foreign brokers to receive a broker […]
Yangon stock exchange risks opening under US sanctions
October 13, 2015 by
Myanmar’s first modern stock exchange risks falling under sanctions by the US Treasury when it eventually launches this year. The Yangon Stock Exchange is not designated specifically by the Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). However US officials have clarified that under US law it would be automatically sanctioned, as it is […]
Jardine Lloyd Thompson opens local office
September 16, 2015 by
Jardine Lloyd Thompson officially opened its Myanmar representative office on September 12, joining a growing list of international insurers with local offices. Foreign insurers are generally barred from working inside the country, with the exception of three firms which received licences to operate in special economic zones earlier this year. Authorities have said they will […]
Customers irate at futures trading firm
June 19, 2015 by
A company which goes by two names – Global Growth and Golden Global – has allegedly cheated US$1.48 million (K1.65 billion) from customers, according to local newspaper 7day Daily. The company reportedly tells clients that it is a branch of Standard Bullion, which is a member of the Chinese Gold and Silver Exchange Society. The […]
Government to warn ‘illegal’ futures brokers
April 24, 2015 by
The government is to issue a formal warning to “illegal” online futures trading companies to stop trading once offices reopen at the end of the Myanmar new year holidays today, according to U Maung Maung Thein, deputy minister for finance. “They are not operating in accordance with related laws. And we are seriously afraid that […]
