A total of 52 foreign enterprises brought US$200.148 million in Myanmar’s manufacturing sector in the past ten months (April-January) of the current financial year 2022-2023, including capital expansion by the existing enterprises, as per statistics released by the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration (DICA). Myanmar Investment Commission nodded 70 foreign projects from eight countries in the past ten months. The country attracted a capital of US$1.476 billion this FY, including the expansion of capital by the existing enterprises. Those enterprises are engaged in agriculture, mining, manufacturing, power, hotels and tourism, real estate and service sectors respectively.
The majority of the investments were brought into the manufacturing sector. The agriculture sector drew $3.5 million from two projects. The power sector received $820.27 million from 11 projects, while one enterprise put $29 million in the real estate sector and two other foreign enterprises made an investment of $413.068 million in the service sector respectively. The mining sector received $7 million from one project, while one enterprise also put investments of less than a million into the hotels and tourism sector and some capital expansion of the existing businesses is also seen.
Additionally, the livestock and fisheries sector saw a capital expansion of $1.845 million. The manufacturing enterprises and businesses that need a large labour force are prioritized to create job opportunities for the local community. Manufacturing of fertilizer, cement, iron and steel, value-added foodstuff, electric vehicle and pharmaceutical and medical devices, agriculture and livestock farming and its related industries and public transportation services will be prioritized for investment. The commission welcomes both foreign direct investment and domestic investments made by Myanmar citizens in those sectors. Myanmar Investment Commission and the related ministries will also ensure investment facilitation.
Myanmar’s manufacturing sector is largely concentrated in garment and textile produced on the Cutting, Making, and Packaging basis, and it contributes to the country’s GDP to a certain extent. There are 547 factories actively operated under the Myanmar Garment Manufacturing Association. The majority of them are from China, followed by Myanmar and the Republic of Korea. The MGMA has been providing capacity development programs and labour law awareness training compulsory programmes to boost employee performance and build employee resilience. Myanmar has drawn foreign direct investment of more than $647.127 million from 49 enterprises in the past mini-budget period (October 2021-March 2022). Of them, 40 foreign enterprises put investments in the manufacturing sector, pumping an estimated capital of $202.667 million.
Source: The Global New Light of Myanmar