TODAY

Asean-Myanmar Forum, organized by Singapore Institute of International Affairs (SIIA) with UMFCCI and International enterprise (IE) was held at the ParkRoyal Hotel on 23 March, 2015. Subjects discussed were about Asean new economic track and its impact on the region, challenges Myanmar is likely to face and opportunities to have and prospects for banking sector. The following are what TODAY learnt from some of the participants.

Dr Maung Maung Lay
Vice-President
UMFCCI

What Myanmar SMEs should do within the forthcoming AEC
In the event of AEC developing Myanmar SMEs will have a lot to do in order to keep themselves competitive or to be on a par with foreign businesses on a long-term basis.
In Myanmar some SMEs haven’t yet grown enough even to get to the level of microecono-mic enterprise. They remain so small and have to coated with lots of challenges; for instance, they have so sufficient capital for business expansion and no technological facility either. What tends to happen, unhappily, is by the time they manage to make a go of it there is no more market demand for their products.

Priorities for Myanmar’s economic develop-ment
One of the priorities is to give impetus to SME development, to e-banking services and to infra-structure improvement. The second requirement is for the people to change mind-set and attitude. Mindset change involves cultivating the habit of hard work and competitive spirit. It is something easier said than done. To try to accumulate enough captial for busi-ness and to raise the educational standard of the people are just as inportant. There should be a desire to get rid of the old ways of getting rich quick.

How Myanmar bank should have prepared themselves to work with foreign investors.
Myanmar banking proceduces are old-fashioned now. We should try to acquire as much know-ledge as possible of modern ways for doing banking business. There should be proper accommodation between us and over foreign counterparts. Internet banking should be carried out in an efficient way.

Mr Go Watanabe
Managing Executive
Officer
The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd.

Benefits Myanmar banks can gain from foreign banks.
There should be co-operation between Myanmar banks and their foreign couter-parts for mutual benefit. There are areas of work in Myanmar where foreign banks can’t do. That’s why co-operation is necessary. It can benefit the banks as well as their custo-mers. Foreign banks coming in will make for Myanmar’s finan-cial sector becoming bigger. Myanmar banking business people should learn that foreign banks are here in Myanmar not to wrest away market share but rather to work together in banking business. Foreign banks will provide whatever technical know-how is essential to Myanmar banks. That way the Myanmar banking sector will gain greater progress than before. Foreign banks have many customers, whom they can persuade to come and invest in Myanmar, and that can contribute to the Myanmar market getting bigger.

Views on Myanmar banking sector
I think Myanmar people should have trust and confidence in banking business. When they do business they should do so in contact with banks. And banks should have transparency, which is very important.

Prospective foreign investors in SEZ
A fairly large number of Japanese companies are now already investors in the Dawe SEZ.
Dawe SEZ is about ten times larger than Thilawa SEZ and that will benefit not only Myanmar and ASEAN but also every country interested in investing in it.

Mr Simon SC Tay
Chairman
Associate Professor Singapore Institute
of International Affairs (SIIA)

Views on Myanmar SEZ.
The three special Economic Zones (SEZs) in Myanmar can greatly benefit investors. The Kyaukphu SEZ, specializing in oil and natural gas, has investors from the West, China and India already present. Thilawa, located in the country’s industrial capital Yangon, is obviously where you have good prospects for investors.The Dawe zone is an ideal place for Thai investors. These SEZs can create a lot of job opportunities for young Myanmar people.

Likely benefits from Asean-Myanmar Forum
Forums of this kind can attract more foreign investment. But for all this to happen the country needs internal stability as a precondition.

Benefits Myanmar SEZ can expect from AEC
The development of AEC will mean tremendous growth of the Asean economy, attracting big Asian companies _ a situation which some SMEs are afraid might pose a threat to their market share. But I think SMEs should rather change their mindset and work in cooperation with those companies. Local SMEs know the local state of things better than foreign com-panies. To this better knowledge you add coo-peration with these companies, and what you have will be more technological know-how, more capital and better opportunities for busi-ness expansion. That is of benefit to both parties, I would say.

Prospects for banking in Myanmar
Local companies in Myanmar will have access to loans for capital from banks, but local banks have limited resources. In such a situation foreign banks can help by providing them with financial resources.
Translated by: Nyunt Thaung