Myanmar

The global economy is entering the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), or Industry 4.0, based on the application of new digital and automated technologies in production processes and service delivery. These changes are bringing emerging markets improved productivity, as well as risks – namely, reshoring and the displacement of human labour by...

With more than 6100 km of railway lines nationwide, Myanmar has the largest rail network in South-east Asia. While much of the infrastructure was built during British colonial rule – including major routes between Yangon and Mandalay and onwards to Myitkyina, Kachin State – more than half of the network was built under the State Law and Order...

Myanmar’s growing retail sector received a boost in 2018 with regulations aimed at encouraging foreign investment in the sector and the economy as a whole, with more foreign brands now entering the market.

Myanmar instituted sweeping increases to the national minimum wage in 2018, boosting the rate to MMK4800 ($3.40) per eight-hour day, up from the MMK3600 ($2.55) rate set in September 2015. The changes come as Myanmar’s fast-paced growth draws an increasing number of rural workers into the larger cities for employment in the surging garment and...

Myanmar’s retail segment has boomed in the years since the economy was liberalised, with foreign goods hitting the market and local sellers making their offer more sophisticated. Legacy retail conglomerates are investing in Western-style upgrades to supermarkets and malls, and foreign investors are entering into joint ventures to bring...

A major factor constraining the development of the real estate sector is the lack of a mature mortgage market. Ambiguities on regulations related to immovable property rights, and incomplete or incorrect ownership records, are two of the main reasons why a mortgage culture has not yet developed in Myanmar.