Singapore top investor in hotel sector

Vietnamese investment, however, is expected to surpass Singapore’s after companies from Vietnam last month signed a deal with Nay Pyi Taw to invest $300 million in hotels. The massive build-operate-transfer deal was the first surge of investment into the hotel sector since the new foreign investment law was passed.

Ministry figures show that foreign investors have poured about $1.4 billion into the hotel sector. Thai investment totals $236 million, which will put it in third spot after the Vietnamese funds arrive. Japanese investors will be fourth with a combined $183 million, followed by Hong Kong investors ($77 million) and Malaysian ($20 million).

Investment from Western countries is beginning to enter the sector with $3 million from the United Kingdom.

Ministry figures shows foreign companies have invested in 36 hotel projects, including 30 that have been completed.

The number of tourist arrivals surpassed one million for the first time last year, leaving hotels in major tourist destinations struggling to meet demand.

 

Tycoon Tay Za’s bank to list shares

Privately owned Asia Green Development bank has received the green light from the Central Bank of Myanmar to start selling shares to the public, which will allow it to prepare for listing on the stock market expected to debut in 2015.

The bank still needs approval from the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration (DICA) before it can sell shares to the public, but its general manager, Soe Thuya, appeared confident that this would be granted.

The bank is owned by tycoon Tay Za.

“Shares will be open to the public when DICA approves it,” Soe Thuya said.

The bank said it would transfer some shares to key staff, without providing a number or the names of the staff. It opened in August 2010 and now has 25 branches. The country has 23 banks, 19 of which are privately owned. State-owned Myanmar Agriculture Development Bank has announced plans to become a public bank ahead of the planned stock market’s opening.

 

Nay Pyi Taw opens door to tourists 

Once off-limits to tourists, the administrative capital Nay Pyi Taw is now being marketed as a destination for international travellers, the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism said.

Nay Pyi Taw, located about 320km north of Yangon, is preparing for an influx of visitors as Myanmar hosts the SEA Games later this year and moves to the chair of the Asean next year. New package tours offer sightseeing in the capital and surrounding areas, a ministry official said.

Travel agents say most foreign nationals who visit the capital do so for business. Both houses of Parliament and the head offices of all ministries are located in Nay Pyi Taw, which is one of the fastest-growing cities in the world. Many buildings in the capital remain under construction. Its landmarks include a replica of Shwedagon Pagoda, Uppatasanti Pagoda, which includes a Buddha tooth relic from China. The capital’s name means “Royal Palace”.