Hello this is Andrew here. I am the Director at Consult-Myanmar Company Limited. Today we are going to talk about “Myanmar Investment 
Opportunities – What you need to know.”      This is Part 1 of an investment series on Myanmar. In Part 1 we discuss about the 
Investment Opportunities in Myanmar; and in Part 2 we will talk about Myanmar Company incorporation.    So let’s start with Part 1. 
What are the key legal framework that you must know before you make any investment decision in Myanmar?    There are basically 3 legislations 
that you must know. The State Owned Economic Enterprises Law; The Foreign Investment Law; Myanmar Companies Act.  In 
Part 1 we will only cover State Owned Economic Enterprises Law and Restricted Industry. The Foreign Investment Law and the Myanmar 
Companies Act will be covered in Part 2 of this video series – when we talk about Company Incorporation.      For your information 
Restricted Industry is not a legislation. It is a set of guidelines and clarifications that are issued by the government. 
The clarifications expand upon some of the grey areas in the FIL.  The restricted Industry list out sectors that the Myanmar people need help in 
due to lack of technology, management knowhow or capital. It tells you where the gaps are in the market and where the government 
want foreign investment to come in to make a positive impact, subject to meeting certain conditions.     
There are 12 industries or sectors that are reserved for State Owned Economic Enterprises i.e. only the government can exploit these 
sectors. We call these 12 industries – the “Reserved Sector”.  They are in industry such as the extraction and sales of teak wood; oil and 
gas; precious stones; postal and telecom services; and so on and so forth. Please read this at your own leisure.  Now just because 
these 12 sectors are reserved for the State does not mean that foreign investor cannot invest in these sectors.     In Oil & Gas sectors it is a 
standard practice for Ministry of Energy to invite oil companies to JV with the state via production sharing contract. This is normally done thru’ an 
open tender.     In the Telecom sector for example, the Ministry of Post and Telecom will issue 2 telco licence to 2 foreign investment 
groups in end of June 2013. This is part of the government efforts upgrade the telecommunication network in Myanmar and to 
increase mobile phone penetration from 7% to 50% in 3 years.       Take note that in the reserved sector you need to be among the top 
10 players in your industry before you can have a chance to be pre-qualified to be a bidder for a licence. The investment involve in the reserved 
sectors can start from US one hundred million to a few billion dollars. So to be successful in the reserved sector you need to be a major player in 
your industry, have a good track record and have a very deep pocket.       In the reserved sector if you want to invest in it you can either approach 
the government to propose a joint-venture or most likely you can bid for a licence via an open tender when the government wants to bring in 
foreign expertise and capital.    Restricted industry is where you will find many opportunities that require investment in the 
range 2 to 10 million US dollars. The capital required is reasonably sized as opposed to the reserved sector.  Restricted Industry is an area 
that the Myanmar government has studied hard and carefully and has indicated that they need help from foreign investors. As  the segment that 
they are looking to develop, the local Myanmar people may not have the technology, management knowhow or capital to fully exploit 
them and to bring the industry to an international level.  So the Myanmar government is saying that there is a gap in the market and foreigners 
could exploit these gaps under certain conditions. That is why I say that the restricted industry is a Gold Mine.    Before we talk about 
what industry foreign investors can invest in – let’s talk about the industy that foreign investors cannot invest in.  Any industry that degrades the 
water resources of Myanmar, pollutes the environment, or can affect the culture of the Myanmar people in an adverse way – will not be 
permitted.  As usual there are exceptions. If for example the relevant ministry felt that it is in the best interest of the Myanmar people to open 
that sector to foreign capital, technology and competition – it will call for an open tender and all foreign investors with the right qualifications 
can participate by bidding for a licence.  Altogether there are 21 economic activities that are listed in the prohibition list. If you want to 
know more please do contact me.    This list stipulates the industries that foreign investors can participate only if they joint venture with a 
local Myanmar citizen. There are a lot of goodies in this list but in order to invest in it you need to partner a local citizen.  I am going to 
jump to the next slide and show some snapshots of the opportunities in this list.      So if you want to manufacture and market 
consumer food products such as biscuits, wafers, chocolate, canned food and alcoholic beverages you need to joint venture with a local 
citizen.  If you want to open an international resort golf course – you need to partner a local.  You want to open a real estate business and get 
involved in sales, lease or rental of residential or commercial property – you need to partner a local.    Do take note that under the Foreign 
Investment Law – foreign investors must own at least 35% of the total share capital in the joint venture. Unless otherwise stated foreign 
investors can own up to 80% of total share capital in restricted industries i.e. you will be the controlling shareholder.  This is very significant 
because many of the opportunities in this list you can get by with an investment of between US$ 2-10 mil and this is an amount that many 
investors can afford. Most important you will be the majority shareholder. At the same time it is also an opportunity for the small and medium 
enterprises in Myanmar that have the experience, to participate in the JV and learn from the foreign investors.  Do take note that 
what I am showing you just is a selection of the more interesting opportunities on the list.  There is a total of 42 business opportunities listed in 
this list. If you want to know more please do contact me.     This is the list of activities that are permitted only with the recommendation of 
the relevant ministry.  Under the auspices of the Ministry of Industry - one opportunity you can look at is the manufacturing of cigarette. At least 
90% of the production must be exported and at least 45% of tobacco must be sourced locally in Myanmar.  Not many people is aware that 
Myanmar has deposits of rare earth like Xenotine, Monazite, Columbite and Tantalite. Rare earths are vital for the manufacture of 
smart phones and hybrid cars. Currently China controls 95% of the rare earth trade in the world.  There are opportunities here for mining 
companies who are familiar with the rare earth market to propose to the Myanmar government some sort of JV arrangements.  Under the 
auspices of the Ministry of Tourism - if you want to open a Wellness Spa you can do so in a hotel that is 3-star and above.  But much more 
interesting is the casino business targeted only at foreigners. To operate a casino first you must find a restricted area of the country whereby it is 
easy for international tourists to access the casino and yet is not easy for Myanmar people to access. You must first get approval of the 
Ministry of Tourism and then the Ministry of Home Affairs.  Now let’s look at the map of Myanmar and see where can you find such a 
place?     Now this is the map of Southern Myanmar. The lighter shade is Myanmar the darker shade is Thailand. This is Yangon here, 
this is Bangkok and towards the South just off this map is Phuket.  And this is the Mergui Archipelago. This is a group of 800 mostly 
uninhabited islands. There are around 2,000 sea gypsies that live on some of the islands, most of them are fishermen. You will find pristine islands 
with crystal clear water there. Excellent reef can be found around the islands. Phuket in the south is like 200 km away and Bangkok is 400 km 
away in the north east.  So what is life like on these remote tropical islands? Now I am going to quickly run through a few snap shots to give 
you a flavour of what life is like on these islands.      On Land this is what you will find.    On Water this is what you will find.    In the Water there 
are rich marine life around the island.    The Mergui Archipelago is remote and mostly unpopulated save for some fishermen. You will 
no have problem controlling access of Myanmar people going to the island – so it will be easy for you to convince the Ministry of Home Affairs to 
allow you to open a casino resort on it.  The Mergui Archipelago is like what Phuket was 50 years ago before it became the vacation island 
of choice for many Western tourists.  If Thailand can receive 22 million tourists in year 2012. Is it possible to attract just half a million tourists to a 
group of island resorts in Mergui Archipelago? A high-speed ferry from Phuket could reach Mergui in 3 hours and a flight from Bangkok take less 
than an hour.  Of course to exploit this island casino resort opportunity you need to have very significant capital and also experience in running 
a casino.  Take note that there are altogether 115 business opportunities listed in this list requiring Recommendations from the various 
ministries. If you want to know more please do contact me.    This list stipulates the activities that are permitted if foreign investors meet 
certain conditions that have already been set by the relevant ministry. That means that if you meet these conditions you do not have to go 
through a lengthy process of submitting proposal  to the relevant ministry without knowing what the outcome will be.  You can 
read this list at your own leisure – I am going to jump to the next slide and show some snapshots of the opportunity listed here.          If 
you want to setup a 100% foreign owned hotel – you can do so if you invest in a 3 star hotel and above.  If you own the master franchise for Asia 
for say Subway Sandwich – you can open a branch in Myanmar and be a franchisor there. Take note that foreigner can only be the 
franchisor they cannot be the franchisee – only Myanmar people can be the franchisee.  If you want to open chain store to sell for example 
European fine food such as wine, sausage or cheese – the store must be 2,000 to 4,000 sq ft in size and you need to submit a plan as to how 
many stores you intend to open within the term of your company licence.  If you want to invest in retail stores – take note that it must be a joint 
venture with a local citizen with the local holding at least 40% share. You can only invest in big retail format like Supermarket, Department Store 
or Hypermarket.     Investment in retail property development in Myanmar is something you should seriously look at if you have experience 
in this area – as the retail market is under developed in Myanmar.  Take for example the supermarket scene in Myanmar. It is very 
fragmented and undeveloped. Most supermarket chain are small like 2 to 3 outlets and are family owned that are focus mainly in Yangon. Store 
design and merchandising are very traditional. Emphasis is on selling low price daily necessities.  There is only 1 strong player in 
this market and that is City Mart.     City Mart has over 48 outlets in Yangon. City Mart runs its own drug stores and bakery café next to its 
supermarket.  It is good by Myanmar standard but by Western standard it is just an average supermarket that you would expect in your 
neighborhood.  There is opportunity to open more Western style supermarkets not just in Yangon but in major cities outside Yangon.  
There is also opportunities for foreign investor to open hypermarket with big parking facilities in the suburbs of Yangon or Mandalay, selling an 
assortment of international branded consumer goods and services. As most of the middle-upper class Myanmar families send their 
children to private schools and then to Singapore, Australia or UK for their education – they are used to shopping from the Carrefour or 
Walmart of the world.  Now altogether there are 27 business opportunities in this list requiring the investor to meet Certain Conditions. If you 
want to know more please do contact me.     Now that we have seen the reserved sector and we have also seen what are the restricted 
industries that foreign investors can invest in – it is important that we realized that for the average investors with a budget of 2 to 10 million dollar 
US – the restricted industry is probably the best area to focus on.  As the capital required is more affordable; the market entry requirements 
are simpler as it is clearly spelt out by the government. Foreign investor can own up to 80% of the JV company. But most important by 
highlighting these industries in their Restricted Industry List and making the rule of engagement more transparent – the Myanmar government is 
encouraging investment in these industries.      We have come to the end of Part 1 video. Please proceed to the next video entitled 
“Myanmar Company Incorporation – What you should know”.     My last slide. I would like to let you know that Consult-Myanmar Company 
Limited is a 100% foreign owned company that is incorporated in Myanmar. We are a member of the Union of Myanmar Federation of 
Chambers of Commerce and Industry.  If you have any question about the market opportunities that I have just covered in my 
presentation – please do send me an email . Or you can visit our website.  Before we part, I would like to wish you a fruitful and profitable 
investment experience in Myanmar.  Bye Bye and see you in the next video.   
