YANGON—The Yangon regional government will sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a consortium of Hong Kong and Taiwan companies next month to develop an international-standard industrial zone in Htantabin Township in the west of the commercial capital.
Worth an estimated US$500 million (761.2 billion kyats) the Htantabin Industrial Zone will be implemented on more than 1,000 acres and is expected to create more than 150,000 job opportunities, said Naw Pan Thinzar Myo, Yangon Region Karen ethnic affairs minister, at a press conference on Friday.
The regional government and the Hong Kong-Taiwan consortium, Golden Myanmar Investment Co., are scheduled to sign the MoU at the 2nd Yangon Investment Fair on May 10, which will showcase about 80 projects across Yangon Region in an effort to drum up local and foreign investment.
It is expected to take about nine years to fully implement the Htantabin Industrial Zone. The MoU is the first to be implemented among 11 industrial zones planned by the Yangon regional government in undeveloped areas on the outskirts of Yangon.
At the country’s first Investment Fair in late January, the Yangon government showcased planned international-standard industrial zones in 11 townships: Kungyangon, Kawhmu, Twantay, Thingyan, Kyauktan, Khayan, Thongwa, Taikkyi, Hmawbi, Hlegu and Htantabin. The government hopes the zones will boost development and job opportunities for local people and reduce overcrowding and traffic congestion in the metropolitan area.
Naw Pan Thinzar Myo said, “Many investors are interested in the industrial zones. Many of them are still in the process of complying with rules and regulations. They are not yet ready to sign an MoU.”
The regional government also plans to invite investment in the hotel and tourism; digital economy; real estate; and industrial sectors at the 2nd Yangon Investment Fair. According to the Myanmar Investment Commission, Yangon Region received 77 percent of the country’s total foreign investment last year. The top investors were China, Hong Kong and South Korea.
