Myanmar's parliament on Thursday approved a revised, more
business-friendly foreign investment bill aimed at boosting the
struggling economy as it emerges from decades of junta rule, lawmakers
said.
The bill is expected to be signed into law within days by reformist
President Thein Sein, who sent an earlier draft back to parliament amid
concerns that it was too protectionist.
"I think the law will be quite flexible and easier for foreign
investors," Zaw Htay, an official at the presidential office, told AFP
by telephone.
"The previous law had restrictions which could be barriers. Even some
foreign experts described it as the 'No Investment Law'," he said.
An earlier limit of 50 percent for a foreign investor's stake in a joint
venture has been dropped at Thein Sein's request, and the new version
allows the investment ratio to be decided by the foreign and local
partners, MPs said.
More detailed rules for each sector will be drawn up by the Myanmar Investment Commission.
"The law became more flexible for foreign investors. The former version
had many restrictions," said Myat Nyana Soe, a lawmaker with Aung San
Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy opposition party.
The move comes as global corporate giants from Coca-Cola to General
Electric line up to enter the impoverished but resource-rich nation,
which is emerging from decades of military rule and international
isolation.
One of the major complaints of businesses eager to enter the country
formerly known as Burma has been the lack of a clear legal framework.
Myanmar is seen by many investors as the next regional frontier market
as businesses eye its huge natural resources, large population and
strategic location between China and India.
President Thein Sein has vowed to put the economy at the centre of a new
series of reforms, following dramatic political changes since almost
half a century of outright military rule ended last year.
Source: AFP
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