• Burmese
Saturday, July 12, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
25 °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 News

‘Other Accounts’ of Union Govt Ministries, Agencies to Be Scrapped

Htun Htun by Htun Htun
June 20, 2019
in News
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0 0
A A
The Finance Commission meets in Naypyitaw on June 17. / Myanmar President’s Office

The Finance Commission meets in Naypyitaw on June 17. / Myanmar President’s Office

7.1k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

YANGON—The Union government will systematically audit and abolish the so-called “other accounts” (OAs) held by government ministries and agencies, Vice President U Myint Swe said at a meeting of the Finance Commission in Naypyitaw on Monday.

Starting in fiscal 2019-20, state-owned enterprises (SOEs) will have to transfer all of their net income to the Union government, and not their own accounts, he said.

“This will be carried out according to the financial policy of the government. However, state-owned enterprises were never allowed to use funds from their other accounts as they wished; they were only allowed to spend it according to the budget. So, the abolition will not have any impact,” said U Win Htike, the deputy permanent secretary of the Ministry of Finance and Planning.

RelatedPosts

Bloodiest Budget Since Coup; Election Fiction Fizzles; and More

Bloodiest Budget Since Coup; Election Fiction Fizzles; and More

November 23, 2024
2.2k
In Flood-Torn Myanmar, Junta Spends 200 Times More on Military Than Relief

In Flood-Torn Myanmar, Junta Spends 200 Times More on Military Than Relief

October 1, 2024
940
Junta Watch: Billion-Dollar Myanmar Military ‘Outgunned’; Dictator Gets New Nickname; and More

Junta Watch: Billion-Dollar Myanmar Military ‘Outgunned’; Dictator Gets New Nickname; and More

February 3, 2024
3.7k

There are 25 state-owned economic enterprises in Myanmar authorized to keep OAs, which hold around US$9 billion (nearly 14 trillion kyats), according to figures submitted to the Union Parliament in February 2018. The accounts were created in 2013 under U Thein Sein’s administration.

The government retains exclusive rights to conduct business in certain sectors, including the extractive industry, according to the State-Owned Economic Enterprises Law enacted under the military regime in 1989. Under the law, local and foreign investors may conduct business in these sectors through contracts or joint venture agreements with the government.

According to Parliament’s Joint Public Accounts Committee, the News and Periodicals Enterprise of the Information Ministry, Myanmar Posts and Telecommunications, Myanma Timber Enterprise, No. 1 Mining Industry, No. 2 Mining Industry, Myanma Gems Enterprise, Myanma Pearl Enterprise, and Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise have other accounts and operate with their own funds.

They pay 25 percent of their profits as income tax, and another 20 percent as a dividend to the government. The rest goes into the other accounts, with which they operate.

Since 2017, lawmakers have called for the abolition of other accounts and greater transparency in the country’s lucrative extractive industries.

U Maw Tun Aung, Yangon office manager of the US-based National Resource Governance Institute, said: “SOEs book the money from share dealings, signing fees, and so on, which they collect on behalf of the government, as their own income. This must be ended. These funds should go directly into the state coffers. Only then will we be able to know the real capacity of SOEs.”

The Finance Commission’s decision to abolish other accounts will not affect SOEs engaged in the energy sector, said U Than Htay Aung, a government representative to the Myanmar Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (MEITI), a tripartite multi-stakeholder group.

“In the energy sector, we were never allowed to spend as we wished from other accounts. We could only spend with the approval of Parliament, and the Auditor-General’s Office made regular audits,” U Than Htay Aung said.

“While the profit-making SOEs transfer their profits into their own accounts, loss-making SOEs are operating under the state budget, so there are imbalances,” said Lower House lawmaker Dr. Thet Thet Khaing.

“The abolition of OAs means money from profit-making SOEs can compensate for loss-making ones, reducing the state budget deficit. But I think it would be better to adopt a law on financial procedures for SOEs so there will not be frequent policy changes, and the Parliament can take the matter into its own hands,” she added.

Other government enterprises that have OAs while also spending Union funds include Inland Water Transport, Road Transport Services, Myanma Railways, Myanmar Post, Electricity Supply Enterprise, Myanma Petrochemicals Enterprise, No. 3 Heavy Industry, No. 2 Heavy Industry and Myanmar Pharmaceuticals Enterprise.

The commission meeting on Monday approved the budget for fiscal 2019-20 and will submit a budget bill to the Union Parliament.

The meeting was attended by State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, President U Win Myint, the two vice presidents and other high-ranking officials.

You may also like these stories:

Myanmar to Consider Low-Interest Loans from China for Economic Corridor

Gov’t Seeks Investors for Economic Zones on Chinese Border

Wariness Over BRI as State Counselor Prepares for Beijing Forum

Your Thoughts …
Tags: Budgetfiscal policyOAsother accountsspending
Htun Htun

Htun Htun

The Irrawaddy

Similar Picks:

Junta Watch: Billion-Dollar Myanmar Military ‘Outgunned’; Dictator Gets New Nickname; and More
Junta Watch

Junta Watch: Billion-Dollar Myanmar Military ‘Outgunned’; Dictator Gets New Nickname; and More

by The Irrawaddy
February 3, 2024
3.7k

Also this week, the regime’s election plan suffered another setback as the state of emergency was extended for another six...

Read moreDetails
Bloodiest Budget Since Coup; Election Fiction Fizzles; and More
Junta Watch

Bloodiest Budget Since Coup; Election Fiction Fizzles; and More

by The Irrawaddy
November 23, 2024
2.2k

Also this week, the junta chief touted his election plan to China and ASEAN, offered gems for hard currency, and...

Read moreDetails
Myanmar Junta Increases Military Budget to US$2.7 Billion
Burma

Myanmar Junta Increases Military Budget to US$2.7 Billion

by The Irrawaddy
April 10, 2023
7.8k

The increase came after the regime chief’s vow to crush resistance to military rule.

Read moreDetails
In Flood-Torn Myanmar, Junta Spends 200 Times More on Military Than Relief
Burma

In Flood-Torn Myanmar, Junta Spends 200 Times More on Military Than Relief

by Maung Kavi
October 1, 2024
940

Regime prioritizing campaign of indiscriminate airstrikes on resistance-held territory, killing 180 people including 15 children last month alone.

Read moreDetails
State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi (center) arrives for a state event in Naypyitaw in early October. / State Counselor’s Office
Analysis

Tracking the Myanmar Govt’s Income Sources and Spending

by Nan Lwin
October 22, 2019
17k

Despite the government’s vow to boost efficiency, Myanmar’s budget deficit has widened annually under the NLD. The Irrawaddy examines the...

Read moreDetails
Junta Watch: Min Aung Hlaing Orders Budget Cuts to Fuel War Machine; Anger at East Timor Over NUG Invite; and More  
Junta Watch

Junta Watch: Min Aung Hlaing Orders Budget Cuts to Fuel War Machine; Anger at East Timor Over NUG Invite; and More  

by The Irrawaddy
July 8, 2023
4.3k

Also this week, foreign minister Than Swe defended the regime’s human rights record even as it simultaneously bombed, shelled and...

Read moreDetails
Load More
Next Post
Mon State Chief Minister Dr. Aye Za / Nyan Soe Win / The Irrawaddy

Group Asks Anti-Corruption Agency to Investigate Mon State Chief Minister

Jon Keesecker, project manager for the Asia Foundation’s recently-released MBEI, holds the published index at the Asia Foundation’s Myanmar office, in Yangon, Wednesday, June 20. / The Irrawaddy

Business Environment Index Shows Transparency a Major Challenge to SME Growth

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

‘Reforms Are Not Optional’: Prominent Activist Urges NUG to Act Before It’s Too Late

‘Reforms Are Not Optional’: Prominent Activist Urges NUG to Act Before It’s Too Late

2 days ago
1k
Trump’s Tariffs to Hit Myanmar’s Garment Manufacturers Hard

Trump’s Tariffs to Hit Myanmar’s Garment Manufacturers Hard

3 days ago
998

Most Read

  • Chinese Investment Reshapes Myanmar’s N. Shan as MNDAA Consolidates Power

    Chinese Investment Reshapes Myanmar’s N. Shan as MNDAA Consolidates Power

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta Deploying Conscripts in Major Push to Reclaim Lost Territory

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta Chief Thanks Trump for Shutting Down VOA and RFA

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • KIA Denies Rumor Chief Under House Arrest in China

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Junta Bombing of Resistance-Held Areas in Mandalay, Karenni Kills Seven Civilians

    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.