Foreign investors poured in $810 million in foreign direct investment in the first six months of this year, a top government official said.
“Foreign investment in agro sector stood at $569.466 million, while hotel, service, and husbandry and marine sector saw $221 million, $0.3 million and $17.166 million respectively,” Deputy Union Minister for National Planning and Economic Development Daw Khin San Yi told the parliament. She was answering a question from Pyithu Hluttaw representative U Win Oo from Yay Phyu constituency about foreign investment scenario in 2013.
In terms of countries, Australia invested $17.166 million, Brunei $1.233 million, Canada $1.092 million, China $4.86 million, India $9.6 million, Malaysia $3.5 million, South Korea $34.474, Singapore $136 million, England $52.949 million and Vietnam invested $140 million in the first half of this year.
However, Thailand topped the investor lineup in Myanmar by investing $410 million during the period.
Thailand stood as the second largest foreign investor in Myanmar with a total investment of $10 billion as of March after China, which brought in nearly $15 billion, according to the Ministry of National Planning and Economic Development statistics.
However, about 85 percent of the foreign investment in Myanmar is in the electricity and energy sector, according to the Myanmar Investment Commission.
Investment from Myanmar citizens also rose to $183.322 billion as of June. “Most of the investments from local entrepreneurs are in the hotel industry and service sector,” U Aung Naing Oo, secretary of Myanmar Investment Commission, said.
The Myanmar Citizen Investment Law came out at the end of July, but entrepreneurs say they are waiting for the announcement of Myanmar Citizen Investment Rules, which is expected to clarify and explain the investment law in detail.
Thailand is also Myanmar’s second largest trading partner with a bilateral trade volume of $4.5 billion, according to the Ministry of Commerce data.
According to official statistics, total foreign investment in Myanmar stood at $42.118 billion as of March this year since 1988.
Myanmar promulgated a new foreign investment law in November 2012 to facilitate foreign investors.
