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External trade exceeds $36 bln as of 25 September

Myanmar’s external trade between 1 October and 25 September in the 2019-2020 financial year touched a high of US$36.2 billion, an increase of $1.889 billion compared with the corresponding period of the 2018-2019FY, according to the Ministry of Commerce. During the same period in the previous FY, trade stood at $34.3 billion, according to data released by the ministry. Myanmar’s foreign trade has shown a 10-per-cent increase, year over year, under the incumbent government.

Myanmar has already reached total trade value target of $34 billion for the current FY, said an official from the ministry. In the current FY, both maritime and border trade recorded an increase compared with the year-ago period, with exports estimated at over $17.37 billion and imports valued at $18.8 billion. The government is trying to reduce the trade deficit by screening luxury import items and boosting exports. The Ministry of Commerce is endeavoring to boost export, enhance value-added production, reduce export barriers and provide trade financing services.

Under the National Planning Law for the Financial Year 2020-2021, Myanmar intends to reach the export target at US$16 billion and import at $18 billion. Myanmar’s external trade between FY2016-2017 and FY2019-2020 (as of 21 August) under the incumbent government period touched a high of US$149.67 billion, comprising exports worth $68.53 billion and imports valued $811 billion, according to the statistics released by the Ministry of Commerce.

Source: The Global New Light of Myanmar

Tranglo-Enters-Myanmar-With-KBZ-Bank-Tie-Up

KBZ Bank partners Tranglo to facilitate inbound foreign remittance

Myanmar’s Kanbawza (KBZ) Bank and Malaysia-based cross-border payments provider Tranglo have formed a remittance partnership to facilitate inbound money transfers directly into the accounts of KBZ Bank customers. The service, which has been approved by the Central Bank of Myanmar, allows Myanmar citizens working in Singapore, Malaysia and South Korea to send money home more cheaply and efficiently without the need to go through traditional or informal means of remitting money, which can be expensive, troublesome and risky.

Beneficiaries will receive the money in real-time in their current, savings deposit or call deposit accounts with KBZ Bank and be able to withdraw the funds via ATM or access the money through KBZPay. Those who wish to remit money to Myanmar through Tranglo can do so at Tranglo’s counters in Malaysia or the branches of its partners such as GPL and MaxMoney in Malaysia, SlidesSG in Singapore, or GME in South Korea. The maximum amount for each remittance transaction to Myanmar is the equivalent of US$5000 in the local kyat.

With the KBZ Bank Partnership, Tranglo will extend its global network – which now includes countries such as China, Indonesia and Singapore – to include Myanmar. For Tranglo, Myanmar represents a significant market in an increasingly competitive remittance industry. The World Bank estimates that more than US$3 billion was formally remitted by Myanmar migrant workers in 2019, approximately 4.6 percent of Myanmar’s GDP. This does not include the funds that are informally remitted through brokers or hand-carried back home.

Source: Myanmar Times