Four more foreign banks have been given preliminary approval to operate in Myanmar, state media reported yesterday, the latest government attempt to attract overseas investment to the emergent nation.
Myanmar’s banking system was closed for decades to outside competition under junta rule, leaving the country laden with a creaking financial infrastructure and a populace deeply suspicious of banks.
However, that has slowly begun to change since outright military rule gave way to a reformist government in 2011 that paved the way for landmark elections in November last year.
The four new banks that have been given initial approval are Taiwan’s E.Sun Commercial Bank (玉山銀行), Vietnam’s Bank for Investment and Development, South Korea’s Shinhan Bank and the State Bank of India, the Global New Light of Myanmar said, quoting the Central Bank of Myanmar.
A total of 13 foreign banks have now been given permission to operate inside the Southeast Asian nation. Eleven banks from Taiwan have set up representative offices there, the Central News Agency reported.
Most are still in the process of meeting regulations before opening branches, but some are already up and running.
In April last year, Japan’s Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd became the first foreign bank in decades to open a branch inside Myanmar.
Among other banks that have opened branches are Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp, as well as Singapore’s Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp.
Most of the foreign banks who have applied for licenses hail from the Asia-Pacific region. Myanmar’s military rulers nationalized all banks when they seized power in 1962 as they embarked on socialist policies that would send the economy into precipitous decline for nearly half a century.
Local people remain deeply reluctant to embrace the banking system and many deal only in cash.
Authorities have implemented sweeping political and economic changes in recent years that have seen most Western sanctions lifted, opening up the country to new streams of international investment.
Both the outgoing military backed government and Burmese stateswoman Aung San Suu Kyi’s incoming National League for Democracy have vowed to increase capital flows to local businesses and to spur investment.
The World Bank has said firms cite access to finance as the main obstacle to conducting business in Myanmar.
SEMICONDUCTORS: The German laser and plasma generator company will expand its local services as its specialized offerings support Taiwan’s semiconductor industries Trumpf SE + Co KG, a global leader in supplying laser technology and plasma generators used in chip production, is expanding its investments in Taiwan in an effort to deeply integrate into the global semiconductor supply chain in the pursuit of growth. The company, headquartered in Ditzingen, Germany, has invested significantly in a newly inaugurated regional technical center for plasma generators in Taoyuan, its latest expansion in Taiwan after being engaged in various industries for more than 25 years. The center, the first of its kind Trumpf built outside Germany, aims to serve customers from Taiwan, Japan, Southeast Asia and South Korea,
Gasoline and diesel prices at domestic fuel stations are to fall NT$0.2 per liter this week, down for a second consecutive week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) announced yesterday. Effective today, gasoline prices at CPC and Formosa stations are to drop to NT$26.4, NT$27.9 and NT$29.9 per liter for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded gasoline respectively, the companies said in separate statements. The price of premium diesel is to fall to NT$24.8 per liter at CPC stations and NT$24.6 at Formosa pumps, they said. The price adjustments came even as international crude oil prices rose last week, as traders
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), which supplies advanced chips to Nvidia Corp and Apple Inc, yesterday reported NT$1.046 trillion (US$33.1 billion) in revenue for last quarter, driven by constantly strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI) chips, falling in the upper end of its forecast. Based on TSMC’s financial guidance, revenue would expand about 22 percent sequentially to the range from US$32.2 billion to US$33.4 billion during the final quarter of 2024, it told investors in October last year. Last year in total, revenue jumped 31.61 percent to NT$3.81 trillion, compared with NT$2.89 trillion generated in the year before, according to
PRECEDENTED TIMES: In news that surely does not shock, AI and tech exports drove a banner for exports last year as Taiwan’s economic growth experienced a flood tide Taiwan’s exports delivered a blockbuster finish to last year with last month’s shipments rising at the second-highest pace on record as demand for artificial intelligence (AI) hardware and advanced computing remained strong, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. Exports surged 43.4 percent from a year earlier to US$62.48 billion last month, extending growth to 26 consecutive months. Imports climbed 14.9 percent to US$43.04 billion, the second-highest monthly level historically, resulting in a trade surplus of US$19.43 billion — more than double that of the year before. Department of Statistics Director-General Beatrice Tsai (蔡美娜) described the performance as “surprisingly outstanding,” forecasting export growth
RSS