The Central Bank of Myanmar had already published warnings twice and defined the type of punishments in relation to different institutions, said U Win Thaw, director general of the Foreign Exchange Management Department at the Central Bank of Myanmar. The comments were made regarding the illegal use of dollars in local businesses. The central bank […]
Modernisation Fuels New Lending in Myanmar’s Banking Sector
April 27, 2017 by
At the end of February the Central Bank of Myanmar (CBM) announced it was considering panding the range of services that foreign lenders in the country can offer by allowing them to provide trade-only accounts to importers and exporters, which local banks are unable to do. Of the 24 domestic banks, nine are involved in […]
Credit Guarantee Insurance Not Helping Small Businesses
April 20, 2017 by
Credit guarantee insurance was introduced under the former government in 2014 but the system has not been widely adopted by banks and businesses. As a result, financial support for SMEs remains inadequate. So far, CB bank has offered loans to 21 businessmen, KBZ has given loans to only three, and banks are still unable […]
Central Bank May Liberalise Trade Financing for Foreign Banks
February 21, 2017 by
The Central Bank of Myanmar may allow foreign banks to launch trading services if local banks are unable to facilitate trade financing for importers and exporters, Central Bank director general U Win Thaw told the Myanmar Times. “The Central Bank has already allowed local private banks to do trade financing. If they [local private […]
Myanmar eyes old tricks to fight weaker currency
January 9, 2017 by
YANGON — Desperate to halt the severe depreciation of its national currency, Myanmar’s democratically elected government may revive drastic measures that were employed by the military junta. The kyat has lost about 20% of its value against the greenback in the past six months due to Myanmar’s growing fiscal and trade deficits stemming from lower […]
Central Bank Exchange Rate Reforms to Start From January Next Year
December 23, 2016 by
After years of complaints that its US dollar reference rate fails to reflect market reality, the Central Bank has announced a shift in how it determines the figure. In an effort to narrow the gap between the bank’s rate and that of the wider market, the regulator has announced it will start basing its […]
Asia’s New Tiger Economy Fears Currency Slide
December 14, 2016 by
Myanmar’s central bank is braced for a deeper slide in the nation’s currency and has little scope to tackle the decline after the kyat fell the most in Southeast Asia, according to one of the monetary authority’s top officials. The kyat has weakened about 10 percent against the dollar in the past six months, data […]
Central Bank Official Urges Import Restrictions to Combat Weakening Kyat
December 7, 2016 by
With the kyat near record highs against the US dollar the business community is demanding that the Central Bank and the government take action to stem the slide and protect the currency from future volatility. U Win Thaw, director general of the Central Bank’s Foreign Exchange Management Department, spoke to The Myanmar Times about the factors he […]
OCK secures US$40.2mil financing for Myanmar telco project
June 29, 2016 by
KUALA LUMPUR: OCK Group Bhd, which in December inked a deal with Telenor Myanmar Ltd to build 920 telecommunications towers in Myanmar, has clinched a syndicated term loan facility of up to US$40.2mil (RM163.9mil) for the project. The telecommunications network service provider said in a statement that its unit OCK Yangon Pte Ltd had signed […]
