Solidiance Just Released a White Paper Titled "Myanmar, the Manufacturing Hub – with Focus on Special Economic Zones"

Trade and investment liberalization, access to a large domestic market, and low cost labor make Myanmar attractive from a manufacturing perspective. The government is moving forward to increase share of industrials in the overall economy and boost exports to narrow the trade deficit as part of its 5 year plan. Solidiance explores the opportunities that the country offers in their latest white paper titled “Myanmar, the Next Manufacturing Hub – with focus on Special Economic Zones."

Singapore, Singapore, November 23, 2015 --(PR.com)-- Infrastructure and Special Economic Zones (SEZ) overview

Infrastructure remains a key challenge in Myanmar and the government is now depending on the development of industrial and special economic zones (SEZ). The road is the key mode of transportation for local trade, but ~79% of it is still unpaved.

The majority of railroads are nearly 100 years old, and low investment for this segment has led to low speed, quality, and decline of competitiveness of freight and passenger services. Airline cargo and transport, on the other hand, are not popular due to high costs. Meanwhile for sea trade, Yangon has a major port handling nearly 90% of imports and exports in the country.

Three SEZ are expected to further boost economic growth in Myanmar: Kyaukphyu, Dawei, and Thilawa SEZ. These zones offer more generous benefits than industrial zones, such as follow:

1. Tax exemption for first 5~7 years
2. 50% relief on subsequent 5 years of exemption + 5 more years on reinvested profit
3. Investors can lease land up to 75 years
4. Etc.

Thilawa SEZ
Thilawa SEZ is heralded to strengthen Myanmar’s position as a manufacturing hub, offering access to an estimated 2.3 billion consumers across the region. Myanmar’s total manufacturing FDI in 2014-2015 was USD 1.5 billion, a third of which comes from investment in Thilawa.

49% of the investment in Thilawa SEZ is held by a Japanese consortium comprising Mitsubishi, Marubeni, Sumitomo and the Japanese government while the rest is held by a Myanmar consortium.

Low labour costs in Myanmar have attracted low-cost manufacturing and there is a gradual shift toward medium-value manufacturing. Investing in Thilawa SEZ and Myanmar as a whole would offer the investors the following:

· Domestic demand:
Opportunities in automotive, construction materials, industrial machinery, and electronic product sectors.

· Regional demand:
Offers access to a 2.3 bn consumer base through trade with neighboring countries. Natural gas and agricultural products have dominated exports due to limited manufacturing.

The complete version of the white paper further outlines the opportunities in Myanmar’s manufacturing sector and its special economic zones for the investors, along with the key success factors for accessing these untapped opportunities.

Download it for free on http://www.solidiance.com/whitepaper/myanmar-manufacturing-hub-sez.pdf.
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Sitaresti Astarini
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www.solidiance.com
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