• Burmese
Saturday, May 24, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
30 °c
Yangon
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
No Result
View All Result
The Irrawaddy
No Result
View All Result
Home Business

Car Import Deadline Pushes Dollar Exchange Rate to Record High

Kyaw Hsu Mon by Kyaw Hsu Mon
December 8, 2016
in Business
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0 0
A A
 Lines of cars are seen stuck in a traffic jam along Alanpya Pagoda road in Rangoon, July 3, 2013. / Soe Zeya Tun / Reuters

 Lines of cars are seen stuck in a traffic jam along Alanpya Pagoda road in Rangoon, July 3, 2013. / Soe Zeya Tun / Reuters

6.6k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

RANGOON — As the Dec. 23 deadline approaches for the government’s new car import policy, individual importers are a major factor in pushing up the black market dollar exchange rate, industrial observers say.

According to the new import policy, which the NLD government introduced in November, individual car importers will only be allowed to bring in cars from model year 2011 to 2014. In the truck and bus category, only vehicles from model year 2007 to 2014 will be allowed for import in 2017.

The Ministry of Commerce set the implementation for the new policy on Dec. 23, so for the next two weeks, car importers are still governed by the old policy, which allowed cars from model years 2006 to 2009.

RelatedPosts

JFM: 12 ASEAN Billionaires Fueling Myanmar Junta Terror Campaign

JFM: 12 ASEAN Billionaires Fueling Myanmar Junta Terror Campaign

May 13, 2025
1.7k
Thailand Risks Surrendering Its Economy to Chinese Interests

Thailand Risks Surrendering Its Economy to Chinese Interests

May 2, 2025
3.1k
Junta Boss Issues Labor Day Plea as Workers Desert Myanmar 

Junta Boss Issues Labor Day Plea as Workers Desert Myanmar 

May 1, 2025
1.5k

Since older model cars tend to sell for lower prices, importers have been rushing to obtain import licenses while the old policy remains in place. This rush to buy cars have increased the market demand for US dollars and pushed the black market exchange rate steadily higher.

“Importers have to beat the deadline. That’s why the demand for dollars is rising, and the exchange rate is going up too,” said Dr. Soe Tun, chairman of the Myanmar Automobile Dealers Association.

As of Dec. 8, the exchange rate reached 1,374 kyats per dollar on the black market. Some private banks were trading at 1,326 kyats, and the Central Bank rate stood at 1,310 kyats. On Wednesday, the black market rate reached 1,376 kyats, the highest recorded since the new government came to power in April.

“The rate was only around 1,150 kyats when the new government started in April. Now this week’s rate is the highest ever,” said a currency exchange dealer in Rangoon’s Pabedan Township.

Under the quasi-civilian government that controlled Burma from 2011 to March 2016, the highest exchange rate recorded was 1,300 kyats per dollar. The highest rate ever recorded was 1,400 kyats, which happened in 2007 during the Saffron Revolution.

“Recently, while the amount of import goods has been increasing, demand for dollars has been high. Now the new car import policy is going to push the dollar demand even higher,” Dr. Soe Tun said.

“The exchange rate will increase until Dec. 23,” he said.

Under the new import policy, importers who purchase a car with a free permit will only be allowed to buy left-hand-drive cars from model years 2015 to 2017. Although these rules are not a major problem for new car showrooms, local auto sellers and individual car dealers will definitely not like the policy, according to the car dealer industry.

“I closed my showroom last month. The car market has just been changing so much,” Dr. Soe Tun said.

U Myat Thin Aung, who opened a brand new Chevrolet showroom in Rangoon, said the car import policy’s deadline would keep pushing up the currency exchange rate, but he doesn’t expect that to last until the end of December.

“December is peak season, so more dollars will come into the country through other businesses. There will be more balance between demand and supply. Then we’ll see the rate increase again during the summer season,” said U Myat Thin Aung.

The vehicle import policy in Burma is a complicated one. Importers must obtain a slip for each new vehicle they bring into the country, and this slip can only be obtained by trading in a used vehicle. The rule is aimed at keeping the number of car imports low because Rangoon’s streets are already so crowded.

Owners of domestically produced cars can trade in their vehicle when they are 10 years old. Foreign cars must be at least 20 years old to qualify.

Since 2011, the national car import policy has changed at least 10 times, causing ongoing challenges for many car showrooms, individual importers, and other related businesses.

Your Thoughts …
Tags: BusinessCarsEconomyMoneyRangoonTraffic
Kyaw Hsu Mon

Kyaw Hsu Mon

The Irrawaddy

Similar Picks:

General Close to Myanmar Junta Boss Placed Under House Arrest, Interrogated for Corruption
Burma

General Close to Myanmar Junta Boss Placed Under House Arrest, Interrogated for Corruption

by The Irrawaddy
September 14, 2023
28.6k

The arrest of ‘kickback king’ Lt-Gen Moe Myint Tun, once seen as a possible successor to Min Aung Hlaing, comes...

Read moreDetails
Post-Coup Myanmar is a Family Business: Min Aung Hlaing & Co
Burma

Post-Coup Myanmar is a Family Business: Min Aung Hlaing & Co

by David Aung
February 8, 2024
17.8k

Min Aung Hlaing is an opportunistic businessman in military uniform and his children are more mercenary than the offspring of...

Read moreDetails
KIA Seizes Myanmar Junta’s Last Remaining China Trade Route in Kachin State
War Against the Junta

KIA Seizes Myanmar Junta’s Last Remaining China Trade Route in Kachin State

by The Irrawaddy
June 14, 2024
17.1k

The military regime has also lost control of all border trade in neighboring northern Shan State.

Read moreDetails
Myanmar Junta Reportedly Set to Prosecute High-Profile Businessmen for Corruption
Junta Cronies

Myanmar Junta Reportedly Set to Prosecute High-Profile Businessmen for Corruption

by The Irrawaddy
October 18, 2023
15.9k

Regime cronies Thein Win Zaw and Mu Mu Shein are set to follow former lieutenant general Moe Myint Tun as...

Read moreDetails
Myanmar Junta’s ‘Brainless’ Response to Soaring Gold Prices Leaves Market in Disarray
Analysis

Myanmar Junta’s ‘Brainless’ Response to Soaring Gold Prices Leaves Market in Disarray

by Hein Htoo Zan
June 4, 2024
14.8k

Arrests, corruption, false receipts—the crisis in the gold and currency markets bears all the hallmarks of the junta’s inability to...

Read moreDetails
Myanmar’s Multibillion-Dollar Jade Trade ‘Crashing’ as China Clamps Down  
Business

Myanmar’s Multibillion-Dollar Jade Trade ‘Crashing’ as China Clamps Down  

by The Irrawaddy
June 5, 2024
14.3k

Crackdown on border scams and tax fraud is taking heavy toll on gems trade, say merchants.

Read moreDetails
Load More
Next Post
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and cabinet members in May 2016. / Htet Naing Zaw / The Irrawaddy

MPs Express Frustration with Ministers

KNU chairman Saw Mutu Say Poe (second from the right) and some of the central committee leaders who attended to the Ethnic Armed Organizations Summit in Chiang Mai in August 2015. / Nyein Nyein / The Irrawaddy

KNU Congress Scheduled for March

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

China’s Two-Faced Diplomacy in Myanmar

China’s Two-Faced Diplomacy in Myanmar

5 days ago
2.4k
‘Indian Troops Killed Myanmar Resistance Fighters to Send a Message’

‘Indian Troops Killed Myanmar Resistance Fighters to Send a Message’

2 days ago
2.3k

Most Read

  • Dead or Alive: Min Aung Hlaing’s Final Gamble

    Dead or Alive: Min Aung Hlaing’s Final Gamble

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Adidas Shoe Factory Agrees to Striking Workers’ Demands

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • AA’s Political Wing Imposes Rakhine Travel Ban

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • ‘Indian Troops Killed Myanmar Resistance Fighters to Send a Message’

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Has the Revolutionary Spirit Gone? Shan Armed Forces in Crisis as Public Doubts Grow

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get The Irrawaddy’s latest news, analyses and opinion pieces on Myanmar in your inbox.

Subscribe here for daily updates.

Contents

  • News
  • Politics
  • War Against the Junta
  • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
  • Conflicts In Numbers
  • Junta Crony
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Asia
  • World
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Election 2020
  • Elections in History
  • Cartoons
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Commentary
  • Guest Column
  • Analysis
  • Letters
  • In Person
  • Interview
  • Profile
  • Dateline
  • Specials
  • Myanmar Diary
  • Women & Gender
  • Places in History
  • On This Day
  • From the Archive
  • Myanmar & COVID-19
  • Intelligence
  • Myanmar-China Watch
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Fashion & Design
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Photo Essay
  • Donation

About The Irrawaddy

Founded in 1993 by a group of Myanmar journalists living in exile in Thailand, The Irrawaddy is a leading source of reliable news, information, and analysis on Burma/Myanmar and the Southeast Asian region. From its inception, The Irrawaddy has been an independent news media group, unaffiliated with any political party, organization or government. We believe that media must be free and independent and we strive to preserve press freedom.

  • Copyright
  • Code of Ethics
  • Privacy Policy
  • Team
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Burmese

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Business Roundup
  • Books
  • Donation

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.