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| Issue date:01/02/2012 |
| Source:ATA Editorial Team |
| by Kelvin Yau |
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| A production facility in Myanmar (Image source: Shwe Zin Aye Garment and General Trading Co-Op Society Ltd in Myanmar) |
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For almost half a decade since 1962, Myanmar was under military rule and its economy is one of the least developed in the world. Following the country's November 2010 general election held in accordance with Myanmar's new constitution, the military junta was dissolved and a civilian government led by new President Thein Sein took power in 2011. Since then, a series of political, economic and administrative reforms have been initiated in the country, including laws regarding anti-corruption, currency exchange, foreign investment and taxation.
"It is a beginning of a new era in Myanmar with the firm political commitment of the government for economic and social development. The government will try to improve the living conditions for all nationals by building more roads, railways and bridges; to upgrade the education and health standards; to lay economic foundations to improve the socio-economic status of national races," said Wai Lwin Than, Consul General of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar in Hong Kong and Macau SARs, at a Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC) seminar themed "Current Investment Environment in Myanmar".
According to him, Myanmar's government is striving to develop proper market economy designed to reduce the economic gap between the rich and the poor, and development gap between urban and rural areas, and is also determined to improve the living conditions of farmers and workers by updating the laws safeguarding their rights.
Speaking at the HKPC seminar on Myanmar's latest development are (from left) Arthur Leung, Director of Poscelin; Wai Lwin Than, Consul General of Myanmar in Hong Kong and Macau SARs; and Lewis Leung, President of PERM |
"The new government has opened doors for opportunities, made reforms and invited investments so that the country will enjoy better socio-economic status. The president has also given mandate on the overall strategy that they will exercise the market economy in which the government takes less control over the market," he stressed.
Moreover, according to Mr Wai, for the enhancement of foreign direct investment in Myanmar, two more laws namely Special Economic Zone Law and Dawei Special Economic Zone Law have been enacted by which investors can enjoy special privileges and rights to boost their business through a promised investment environment.
A textile maker's experience
From a manufacturer's point of view on investing in Myanmar, Arthur Leung, Director of Poscelin Co Ltd, a Hong Kong-headquartered outerwear garment manufacturer which has operated garment factories in the country for 14 years, says, "For the advantages of producing in Myanmar, I could summarize that it has abundance of human resources, hardworking, loyal and conscientious workers as well as a safe working environment. This is why we still decided to rebuild our production facility in the country, after the tornado damaged our plant in 2006."
Now Poscelin has more than 2,000 workers in Myanmar, compared to some 1,000 before the tornado.
Arthur Leung also finds that Myanmar is one of the top five safest countries in the world, but unstable electricity supply remains a problem. "Electricity supply is still not sufficient, and that's why it is necessary to have our own electricity generators. The country's unstable electricity voltage also accelerates depreciation of equipment and machinery, which have direct impact on our production efficiency," Arthur Leung explained.
He added that the communication and network system in the country is also a problem, although it saw apparent improvement last year. "But I am confident that within one to two years, it can live up to our standard," said Arthur Leung.
Good potential forecast for Myanmar's textile and garment industry
At the seminar, Lewis Leung, President of Prince Edward Road Management Co Ltd (PERM), a global consulting firm focusing on apparel industry, stressed at the seminar that the competitive advantages of Myanmar's textile and apparel industry lie in its long history, government backup, vertical integration from yarn to garment, ample supply of labors and skilled technicians, duty-free status to the ASEAN countries, South Korea and Japan, GSP status to Europe, and technical assistance from Japan.
Compared with the textile and garment industries in Cambodia and Vietnam, which shared similar history and background as that in Myanmar, Lewis Leung believes that "the country has the potentials to increase in significance in the global textile and garment industry."
He reported that Cambodia's textile and apparel exports reached US$4 billion in 2011, while Vietnam's textile and garment exports grew by 38% to US$15.6 billion in 2011.
But according to Myanmar's local news media, in the fiscal year 2010-11 ended March 2011, Myanmar's garment exports amounted to only US$243 million, despite a 30% increase from over US$187 million in 2009-10.
It is also reported that Japan accounted for 34% of Myanmar's garment export, making it Myanmar's largest garment export market, followed by Germany, Spain and South Korea.
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| Copyright © Adsale Publishing Limited. Any party needs to reprint any part of the content should get the written approval from Adsale Publishing Ltd and quote the source "ATA Journal for Asia on Textile & Apparel", Adsale Textile English Website - www.AdsaleATA.com. We reserve the right to take legal action against any party who reprints any part of this article without acknowledgement. For enquiry, please contact Editorial Department. |
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| Copyright © Adsale Publishing Limited. Any party needs to reprint any part of the content should get the written approval from Adsale Publishing Ltd and quote the source "ATA Journal for Asia on Textile & Apparel", Adsale Textile English Website - www.AdsaleATA.com. We reserve the right to take legal action against any party who reprints any part of this article without acknowledgement. For enquiry, please contact Editorial Department. |
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