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Recent developments 

• The second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic is having a more severe impact on Myanmar’s economy than the first wave.   
• Myanmar’s economy is estimated to have grown by 1.7 percent in FY19/20, a pronounced slowdown from growth of 6.8 percent in FY18/19.     
• The pandemic and associated containment measures have had both demand- and supply-side effects, weakening consumption and investment, and disrupting businesses’ operations and the supply of labor and inputs.  
• Activity in the manufacturing, retail, travel and leisure and recreational sectors contracted.  Other services using internet-based platforms were better able to weather the impact of mobility restrictions.   

Policy response 

• The government has responded to COVID-19 with a range of measures, including:
• disease prevention and treatment programs;  
• direct financial assistance to vulnerable households through in-kind and cash transfers  
• reductions in household electricity charges;  
• financial assistance to businesses through loans, guarantees, and tax deferrals and exemptions. 

Outlook 

• Growth is projected to remain relatively low at 2 percent in FY20/21, reflecting the significant economic disruptions associated with COVID-19 containment measures imposed in the first (December) quarter, when much of Myanmar’s growth for the year usually takes place.  
• Despite the impacts of the pandemic, medium-term growth prospects remain positive.  
• Growth is projected to recover to 7 percent on average, supported by new investments in industrial and urban development projects, roads, and communication and power infrastructure.  
• A gradual resurgence in manufacturing activities is expected, while increased use of digital technology could boost productivity across a broad range of sectors.  

Risks 

• However, risks to growth remain high.  
• Further waves of local transmission or a deeper and more prolonged global slowdown would have significant effects on the outlook. Financial sector vulnerabilities, exposure to natural disasters, and uncertainty around post-election reform momentum also pose risks.  

Policy recommendations 

• In the short term, the Government should focus on relief measures that slow the spread of the virus while protecting the most vulnerable.   
• Once the spread of the virus has been contained and economic activity gradually resumes, a demand-led strategy for a medium- to longer-term recovery will be required to stimulate the economy.  
• Measures should be considered to support private consumption and investment. Investments in priority public infrastructure would bolster aggregate demand and construction sector activity in the short to medium term, while increasing the productive capacity of the economy in the longer term.    
• In the near and medium-term, policy measures to accelerate the development of an efficient and stable financial system could deliver significant economic benefits. 
• Moreover, Myanmar could explore economic opportunities in the areas of digital technology, pharmaceutical production, insurance services, health and educational services and fintech as new growth levers.   

Source: The World Bank

There are seven areas that will be used to grow the digital economy, including four fundamentals, including digital infrastructure and cyber security. U Mya Moe Aung, Founder and Managing Director of Kinetic Myanmar Technology CO., Ltd said. “The Digital Economy Development Committee has identified seven areas for digital economy development. There are four basic principles. The first is to build digital infrastructure. The second is to enact encouraging policies and laws. The third is to improve cyber security. The fourth is to develop human resources and master digital technologies.”

It is believed that if these four foundations are strong, the capacity for innovation will increase. Then there are digital governance systems. Digital trading systems have improved, and manufacturing, With the advent of the Digital Transformation process, businesses will be able to build a digital society and a digital economy. Human resource development is very important in these seven areas. To leapfrog and develop our country; To Leap Frog To be able to leap into Quantum, human resources need to not only make good use of the latest technologies, but also develop to the level of innovation.

Digital skills to develop human resources; It is also necessary to develop the latest technology skills. Many people are exposed to digital skills, To learn the latest technology, you need to go through the Online Learning Platform. It is believed that Myanmar’s human resources would become international in a few years if it took full advantage of the opportunity to learn internationally taught subjects on the online learning platform. The human resources of young people are being used for business. Effective use of the latest technologies in SMEs will help increase the efficiency of businesses. Moreover, the use of technology in SMEs will increase the country’s competitiveness and help the country’s economy.    

Source: Daily Eleven                  

Myanmar’s companies scored slightly better in this year’s corporate transparency report but state-owned enterprises still trail far behind. The sixth Pwint Thit Sa (Transparency in Myanmar Enterprises) report assessed 260 public, private and state-owned companies, 12 more than last year. Launched by Yangon-based Myanmar Centre for Responsible Businesses (MCRB) and Myanmar consultancy ever since 2015, the index seeks to galvanise Myanmar companies to be better governed and more transparent.

According to the report, this year saw UAB Bank moving from 5th place to first in terms of transparency with a score of 96 out of 100, followed by City Mart Holdings, Shwe Taung Group, Yoma Bank and the Yangon Stock Exchange-listed First Myanmar Investment Public (FMI). After opening up its economy in 2011 following decades of cronyism and opaque business dealings under military rule, Myanmar has been making efforts to catch up with global standards in governance regulations.

While there was overall improvement in corporate disclosure following regulatory and market pressure for companies to reform, the lack of progress by state firms reflects as a failure to tighten the grip on a bureaucracy shaped. This lack of openness and transparency – which persists in the energy, commerce and other ministries has deterred foreign investors. The energy ministry’s solar opposition parties and the business community this year, but neither ministers nor their deputies actively reached out to engage.

The report analyses each company in four categories, namely its corporate profile, corporate governance, sustainability management and reporting. Corporate governance emerged as the best performing category with an average score of 129 out of 100 for the top 10 (bonus points for private companies voluntarily disclosing in specific areas led them to score above 100). The weakest areas are reporting and sustainability management with an average score, respectively, of 56 and 55 for the top 10.

In terms of online accessibility, 98 companies, or 38 percent of the 260 companies assessed this year do not have corporate websites, down from 108, or 44pc, of 248 from last year. Besides including all the state-owned enterprises, the report this year also evaluated all the local banks. The study said that Myanmar has relatively low legal requirements for corporate governance and disclosure, but international standards employed to scrutinise the country’s firms have encouraged them to go beyond compliance with the law.

Overall, listed companies, which scored an average of 39 out of 100, outperform non-listed public and private companies, whose average scores are 5 and 7 respectively. This year, more companies were keen to engage with MCRB or Yever despite the COVID-19 pandemic, and the direct engagement process helped the 34 companies to improve their score by 231 on average.

The top five state firms performers in the report are the Yangon Electricity Supply Corporation followed by Myanmar Shipyards, Myanmar Investment and Commercial Bank, Myanmar Economic Bank and Electricity Supply Corporation. However, even the highest-performing scored a total of only 9. There are also four state companies which made no disclosures at all : Electric Power Generation Enterprise, Myanmar Agriculture Development Bank, Myanmar Pharmaceuticals Enterprise and Myanmar Railways.

Source: Myanmar Times