Myanmar

This chapter contains an overview of the Myanmar tax system, geared toward those interested in doing business in Myanmar. It also contains a viewpoint with OBG tax partner, Chris Woo, Managing Director, Tax Services, PwC Myanmar.

While many sectors of Myanmar’s economy have great potential, the tourism sector is already highly profitable and growing rapidly. Flights to Myanmar have dramatically increased in number since 2010 as business visitors and leisure travellers flock to the frontier that until recently was isolated by international sanctions. In just four years, visitor numbers surged from 20,000 per year in 1992...

Despite years of isolation and being a relatively poor country, Myanmar has a surprisingly developed transportation network. It has 66 airports, eight airlines, more than 5500 km of rail and about 150,000 km of roads. However, those years of isolation left the country’s transportation infrastructure in poor condition, so Myanmar is making efforts to improve the system, and it is likely that these...

Myanmar is seeking to build upon the growing and steady contribution of industry to GDP. This figure rose from 12% to 15.3% between 1970 and 1995 even as international sanctions affected the garment industry, with clothing exports falling by 60% and a loss of 80,000 jobs. However, with reform has come optimism of a turnaround in the making. As of 2012 the country had around 200 garment factories...

The presence of rubies, jade and other precious gems has been noted for centuries by locals, early Western explorers and colonial powers. Myanmar has an abundance of gold, silver, platinum, tin, tungsten, zinc, copper and gemstones. Yet very little of this has been exploited. One challenge to exploration and production is information. Only about half of the country has been mapped, pre-...

While estimates may vary, the sector contributes 43% to GDP and employs 70% of the working population, according to the World Bank. Almost everything can be grown in Myanmar, from tropical fruits and vegetables to rice and pulses. It is sometimes said to have the most fertile soil in Asia. The country is known for its rice, teak and mangoes, but it also produces rubber, oil seeds, cotton, corn,...