Foreign investment has topped $492.62 million in the first quarter of the 2014-15 fiscal year, with half of the total being directed at the communications sector, according to the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration (DICA).
The communication sector saw an influx of investment of $278.61 million, which was followed by the manufacturing sector receiving $141.145 million.
“We have also received proposals for more investment into the telecommunications sector. The sector is expected to receive the most investment this year,” told U Lin Tun, director of DICA.
The Myanmar Investment Commission (MIC) is approving mostly labor-intensive businesses and the total foreign investment is expected to reach at least $4 billion this year, he said.
Foreign direct investment in the 2013-14 fiscal year amounted to $1.19 billion.
Regionally-based companies make up the bulk of foreign investment, while European companies are investing heavily in the telecommunications sector, according to DICA.
International telecommunications companies, Telenor and Ooredoo have invested a large amount of capital and expects to launch service in the third quarter of this year.
“Myanmar’s telecommunications industry will catch up to other countries in the region. We expect mobile usage in ASEAN to soar by 2019. So we are working together with Telenor to install communication towers across Myanmar,” said Jan Wassenius, president of Ericsson Myanmar, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.
Ericsson aims to provide advanced technical support and solutions for the problems faced by telecommunications enterprises in Myanmar.
MIC has approved 96 foreign companies from January to June of this year, which are investing in telecommunications, manufacturing, hotel and tourism, mining and the agricultural sectors.
