Singapore biggest investor in Myanmar as FDI crosses $1 bn
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Singaporean companies have been expanding their investments in Myanmar - making it the largest foreign investor in the country, it has been revealed.
The Directorate of Investment and Company Administration said the energy, construction, hotel and tourism, agriculture and industrial sectors were some of the industries benefitting from Singaporean investment.
DICA’s statistics for last month show that overall foreign investment reached more than US$1 billion, with Singapore followed by Hong Kong, South Korea and Japan as the leading investors.
There was heavy investment in the garment, manufacturing, beverage distribution and communication sectors.
The Myanmar Investment Commission allowed a total of 13 foreign investments last month.
Of those, three companies were Singaporean and Hong Kong, two were South Korean and Japanese and the rest were from China, Thailand and the United Kingdom.
As of December, the total amount of foreign investment was US$44.2 billion.
Foreign investors are also putting their money in energy, oil and natural gas, mining, real estate and construction, and transportation.
Most foreign investment is in the energy sector, which accounts for 42.5 per cent of all foreign investment.
According to the Ministry of Hotel and Tourism, 14 Singaporean hotel groups invested a total of US$880.4 million, followed by 10 Thai hotel groups investing US$235.7 million, six Japanese groups investing US$183 million and four Hong Kong groups investing US$150 million.
It said two Malaysian hotel groups invested US$20 million, one Vietnamese group invested US$440 million, one British group invested US$3.4 million and one United Arab Emirates group invested US$4 million.
A ministry official said the government gave the green light to 39 foreign investors to work in Myanmar’s hotel and tourism sector last year and those companies invested a total of US$1.9 billion in 2013.
