Myanmar launches new corporate law to attract foreign investment

Hanoi (VNA) - Myanmar has built a new companies law after amendment of its outdated Companies Act-1914 to adapt to the current age, registering an important milestone with its efforts to promote foreign investment.

The new Myanmar Companies Law 2017 came into effect on August 1, 2018, enabling a company's registration process to be done electronically now.

All companies are set to re-register within six months from August and the re-registration process is to be completed through the Myanmar Companies Online (MyCO) system.

Under the previous Myanmar Companies Act 1914, restrictions were imposed on foreign companies, leading to hesitation of investors and obstacles to foreign capital flows, thus hindering economic development.

According to the new Myanmar Companies Act 2017, foreigners are permitted to own up to 35 percent of stake in local companies, which facilitates business undertakings and paves way for further cooperation between foreign investors and local businessmen.

The new law will also bring an exemption to small companies, allowing them to set up a company with a single shareholder and a single director and such firms no longer need to submit financial reports.

It also allows foreigners to engage in export/import, insurance and stock market as the MyCO system provides better corporate governance.

In addition, Myanmar has mapped out new urban development projects of Yangon region, inviting local and foreign businesses to invest in these projects through public-private partnership.

According to statistics, the country attracted 5.7 billion USD in foreign direct investment (FDI) in the last fiscal year 2017-18 with Singapore topping the list of foreign investors with 2.1 billion USD.
 
The country aims to lure 3 billion USD of FDI during the six-month transitional period as the Myanmar government has changed its fiscal year period from original April-March to October-September, beginning 2018-19.-VNA