First foreign bank in decades opens in Myanmar
The first foreign bank to open in Myanmar in decades has launched operations amid government efforts to attract foreign investment.
Myanmar’s semi-civilian government, which replaced a military regime in 2011, has initiated sweeping economic reforms. In October, it granted nine foreign banks preliminary licenses to operate on a limited basis, its biggest move to bring in foreign capital to ease poverty.
Approved foreign investment stood at just over USD 8 billion in the 2014/15 fiscal year, nearly double the USD 4.1 billion a year earlier, according to official figures published in state media on Wednesday.
Myanmar’s Central Bank Governor Kyaw Kyaw Maung described the opening of the Japanese Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd (BTMU) in Yangon, the country's largest city, on Wednesday as a "new milestone," expressing hope that the bid would strengthen the economy by providing more investment and business financing.
BTMU said the Yangon branch would provide "full banking services, including deposits, loans, and foreign exchange, to foreign companies and domestic banks operating in Myanmar".
Myanmar's Central Bank said on April 2 that it expected six more foreign banks to submit applications for their final licenses in the coming months.
Japan's largest bank, along with Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) of Japan and Singapore's Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC), earlier this month were given approval to begin operations.
OCBC, which is due to open its branch on Thursday, said earlier this month that it had already seen a "significant increase in queries from both new and existing customers keen to tap on the immense growth opportunities in Myanmar."
OCBC operated in Myanmar for four decades until 1963. However, the country's military rulers, who seized power in 1962, nationalized all banks as they embarked on socialist policies that would send the economy into precipitous decline for nearly half a century.
MRA/HMV/SS
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