Mining
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Coal mining (12)
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Copper mining (20)
Individual Documents
Description:
"In 2015, Burma (also known as Myanmar) produced a
variety of mineral commodities, including antimony, cement,
coal, copper, lead, manganese, natural gas, nickel, petroleum,
petroleum products, precious and semiprecious stones, tin,
tungsten, and zinc. On July 30, Cyclone Komen brought heavy
rains that caused widespread flooding and landslides across
12 out of 14 States and regions in the country. Chin and Rakhine
States and the Magway and Sagaing regions were declared
natural disaster areas. Basic infrastructure around the country,
such as roads and bridges, was severely damaged or destroyed,
which impeded traffic within and among the affected areas.
In the aftermath, the performance of the mineral industry was
affected as many mineral facilities were located in the areas
(tables 1, 2; ReliefWeb.com, 2016).
According to data published by the Central Statistical
Organization, since the opening of Burma’s economy in 2011,
many sectors of the country’s economy had seen a surge
in foreign direct investment (FDI). FDI in fiscal year 2015
(April 1, 2014, to March 30, 2015) amounted to $8 billion
invested in a total of 211 projects. In fiscal year 2016, FDI
amounted to $9.5 billion invested in a total of 213 projects,
including $4.8 billion invested in 13 projects in the oil and gas
sector and $28.9 million invested in 1 project in the mining
sector. Investors in fiscal year 2016 included those from
Singapore (55 projects), China (43), Japan (25), Hong Kong
(23), and India (5), among others. Burma’s leading investor was
Singapore, which invested about $4.2 billion, followed by China
($3.3 billion), Hong Kong ($231 million), India ($224 million),
and Japan ($220 million) (Central Statistical Organization, 2016).
In recent years, many legal instruments had been introduced
in Burma’s legal and regulatory framework, mainly to
encourage the participation of foreign and local investors
in the country’s economy. In June 2015, a new draft of the
Myanmar Company Law was published to replace the Myanmar
Companies Act of 1914. The new company law was drafted by
the Department of Investment and Company Administration of
the Ministry of National Planning and Economic Development
with the assistance of the Asian Development Bank. The new
law is intended to update the previous version of the law
by incorporating consistent international best practices
(Greenlee, 2015).
Other legal instruments include the Foreign Investment Law
of 2012, the Foreign Investment Rules of 2013, and Notification
No. 49/2014 (New Notification) of August 2014, which were
issued by the Myanmar Investment Commission (MIC).
According to the Myanmar Ministry of Mines, the set of laws
and notifications related to FDI were created to attract interest
from investors and include such provisions as tax exemptions,
tax holidays, and income tax relief, granting full venture
ownership to foreign investors, and a Government promise
not to nationalize businesses while the contract is in place...".
Yolanda Fong-Sam
Source/publisher:
United States Geological Survey (USGS)
Date of publication:
2018-09-30
Date of entry/update:
2019-02-12
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Mining, Oil and gas
Language:
English
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