NAYPYITAW — The Myanmar government is seeking to attract US$6 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) in the current 2017-18 fiscal year, according to the Ministry of National Planning and Finance.
FDI in the year between Apr. 1, 2017 and Mar. 30, 2017 has so far reached more than $3.5 billion, said director general of the Central Statistical Organization Office Dr. War War Maung, adding that this was an increase compared to the same period last year.
The Myanmar Global Investment Forum 2017 kicked off at the Myanmar International Convention Center in Naypyitaw on Tuesday, organized by the Myanmar Investment Commission (MIC) and Hong Kong-based Euro Money Institutional Investor (Asia).
The two-day forum is being attended by more than 1,200 local and foreign businesspeople.
“Foreign investors are aware that there are challenges [in investing in Myanmar], but that there are also many opportunities, and they are therefore interested in Myanmar,” Dr. War War Maung told reporters.
Yangon Region tops the list of foreign investment in Myanmar, followed by Mandalay and Bago regions and Mon State. Most investment is in the manufacturing industry, followed by the service industry and the telecom industry
Singapore is Myanmar’s largest investor, followed by China, Hong Kong and Thailand according to secretary of MIC U Aung Naing Oo.
According to Myanmar officials, the government plans to hold investment annually in order to strike a balance between Myanmar’s preferred industries for foreign investment and foreign investors’ choices for investment.
Myanmar drew a total of $6.7 billion in foreign direct investment from 138 foreign enterprises in the fiscal year 2016-17, exceeding that year’s targeted amount of $6 billion, according to deputy minister for national planning and finance U Hset Aung.
In the 2016-17 fiscal year, transportation and communications industry attracted 46 percent of total foreign investment, manufacturing industry 18 percent, and power generation 14 percent.
Over the last year, Vietnam’s investment in Myanmar increased more than any other foreign investor.
Other investors include Canada, Thailand, Samoa, Marshall Islands, Cambodia, Ireland, Lebanon, and France.
From 1988 until March 2017, foreign investment in Myanmar totaled $70 billion across 1,246 projects.
Currently, 966 businesses are still operating with total investment of $60 billion, according to the Ministry of National Planning and Finance.
