Local and Foreign Partnerships Key to Business Expansion in Myanmar

Business partnerships through merger and acquisition, joint-ventures or strategic alliances will be a driver for business expansion in Myanmar going forward into 2015, says Managing Partner of KPMG in Myanmar Yasuhide Fujii.

“Opportunities in Myanmar are increasing for businesses, but so is competition. Looking forward, some local firms may feel the pinch as international companies move in on their turf,” notes Fujii.

“We’re starting to see cases where it would make more business sense for local and international firms to work together and complement each other, instead of competing, in order to become sustainable in the long term. Local and international firms in Myanmar each have their distinct strengths. We could see some positive partnerships down the road.”

With confidence from the enactment of the Foreign Investment Law, the Myanmar Government continues to apply its best efforts in reforming the legal system. At the very beginning of this year, the Government enacted the Special Economic Zone law which grants income tax exemptions for 7 years and 5 years to businesses in the free zone and the promotion zone respectively.

Other important bills have been proposed, including amendments to the land laws, the foreign investment law, the Small and Medium Enterprises Development bill, the Condominium bill, an amendment to the Mining Law.

“We are well aware of the rapid pace of change in Myanmar. One way that we can help the business community is by holding The KPMG Myanmar Business Forum on a quarterly basis to keep business people up to date about what’s going on, what to look forward to and how to deal with the challenges in Myanmar,” says Fujii.

KPMG’s third Myanmar Business Forum, The Road to the AEC: Creating positive business partnerships, brought out key points for doing business in Myanmar through merger and acquisition, joint-ventures and strategic alliances. The panel discussion featured business people with real experience of the trends relating to their business activities in Myanmar.

“The KPMG Myanmar Business Forum attracts both local and foreign business people who come together to share ideas and experiences. The business environment in Myanmar is changing very fast and we are keen to play our part in equipping business leaders with knowledge that will help them navigate the evolving business environment,” adds Fujii.

source: CFO Innovation

http://www.cfoinnovation.com/content/local-and-foreign-partnerships-key-business-expansion-myanmar