The Ministry of Labour, Immigration and Population published the Leave and Holidays Rules (Notification 69/2018) and the Shops and Establishment Rules (Notification 68/2018) (the “Rules”) which implement the relevant laws. The Rules provide new forms for use by employers in lodgments to labor offices, and clarify entitlements relating to days off, public holidays, leave and […]

Seniority payment On 11 July 2018, the Labor Law was amended by Royal Decree (“Labor Law Amendment”), particularly Articles 89, 90, 91, 94, 110, 120, and 122. One notable amendment is the elimination of the “indemnity for dismissal”, which is equivalent to severance pay and paid upon employment termination only, and the introduction of the […]

Myanmar Companies Law 2017 (“MCL”) has introduced a special corporate approval procedure for “related party transactions” into the Myanmar legal system. While such type of transactions are often subject to particular scrutiny under corporate governance laws in many jurisdictions, there are a number of peculiarities to be followed under the MCL, and they are summarised […]

The recently effective Myanmar Companies Law (the “MCL”) brings about groundbreaking changes to the corporate landscape in Myanmar, as it modernizes the rules related to entities (companies, branches and representative offices) conducting business in Myanmar. Despite the changes companies still need to act so they can reap the benefits of the new measures. In this […]

On 20 August 2018, the Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training (“MLVT”) issued notice No. 028 K.B./S.Ch.N (“Notice 028”) regarding approval requests for employing foreign employees (“Quota Approval”) and renewing work permits for 2019. According to Notice 028, employers or managers of any corporate entities employing foreign employees must apply for the 2019 Quota Approval […]

In July 2017 the Central Bank of Myanmar (“CBM”) introduced a fresh set of four regulations (Notifications 16-19/2017 pertaining to capital adequacy, asset classification and provisioning, large exposures and liquidity ratio requirement respectively). Issued under the Financial Institutions Law 2016 (“Financial Institutions Law 2016”), for the most part these were reinforcements of the existing regulations […]

A Special Task Force has been launched in cooperation with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (“JICA”), to provide consultation services to new companies interested in listing on Yangon Stock Exchange.  Companies wanting to list on the YSX have to hire an underwriter, law and accounting firm, and this process can be somewhat difficult. The Special […]

The National Committee for The Minimum Wage (the “Committee”) publicized a Notification on 2 January 2018 in which a new minimum wage of MM4,800 per day, calculated at a rate of MMK600 per hour, was proposed. In relation to the previous effective Minimum Wage (MMK3,600 per day / MMK450 per hour), this represents an increase […]

Re-register or be ceased! Directorate of Investment and Company Administration (“DICA”) has issued a draft of the Companies Regulations 2018 called Myanmar Companies (Electronic Registry System and Miscellaneous Matters) Regulations 2018 (“Regulation”) with a commencement date of 1 August 2018. The Regulation is a continuation of the Myanmar Companies Law issued in 2017 and is […]

Per announcement from CBM dated 17 May 2018: “The Central Bank of Myanmar has issued a business license to Myanmar Credit Bureau Limited on 17 May 2018 to establish a credit bureau in the Republic of the Union of Myanmar. Myanmar Credit Bureau Limited may collect information regarding the repayment capacity and other related information […]

Further to its Notice No. 012/18 dated 29 March 2018, the Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training (“MLVT”) issued Notice No. 016/18 dated 25 April 2018 (“Notice 016”) to further extend the deadline to apply for renewal of foreign employees’ work permits. According to Notice 016, the previous deadline of 30 April 2018 is extended […]

On 7 March 2018, the Ministry of Commerce (“MOC”) issued Prakas No. 088 MOC (“Prakas 088”) regarding the filing of business association statutes. According to Prakas 088, as part of ongoing obligations after registration with the government authorities, all business associations must file their statutes with the MOC. The filing must include their statutes as […]

Good news for corporate entities that have not yet renewed the 2018 work permits for their foreign employees with the Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training (“MLVT”).On 29 March 2018, the MLVT issued Notice No. 012/18, extending the previous deadline of 30 March 2018 to 30 April 2018 to give employers more time to renew […]

Commercial Law – Filing Statute of Business Associations On 07 March 2018, the Ministry of Commerce (“MOC”) issued Prakas No. 088 MOC (“Prakas 088”) regarding filing statutes of business associations. According to Prakas 088, as part of ongoing obligations after registration with government authorities, all business associations, including foreign chambers of commerce, must file their […]

As part of ongoing efforts to strictly enforce work permit requirements, following a notice from the Office of the Council of Ministers, the Ministry of Interior (“MOI”) and the Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training (“MLVT”) issued a joint Prakas (No. 719 Br.K) dated 19 February 2018 (“Joint Prakas 719”) on the enforcement of foreign […]

Insurance, Finance and Trading Poised for Acquisitions in the Wake of the New Companies Law Myanmar’s economy is already quite open to foreign investment, but the few areas previously entirely closed to foreign ownership have just – nearly all- been opened as well. The new Companies Law 2017 allows, as the reader will by now […]

The National Assembly has passed Myanmar Companies Law (the “MCL”) after extensive debate on various aspects of Myanmar’s long awaited corporate reform. The Law is finally here, passed on 23 November, pending signing into law by the President. Key areas which were hotly debated in recent weeks included the highly contentious question of whether small […]

In our previous client briefing note, we outlined five key things to look forward to under the Myanmar Companies Law (“MCL”). Following on from this, and as part of our continued coverage of the MCL, we will outline five potential drawbacks with regard to the MCL and how they may affect companies in practice. 1. […]

Introduction: The end of the comprehensive overhaul of Myanmar’s corporate legal framework is finally in sight with an updated Companies Law (the “MCL”) approved by Myanmar’s Parliament. Once the MCL is signed into law by the President, the outdated Myanmar Companies Act of 1914 (the “1914 Act”) will be abolished, bringing Myanmar Companies Law in […]

Contents Towards a policy on government guarantees for public-private partnerships in Myanmar Stamp duty aspects of financing instruments Foreign lending and security in Myanmar:Overview and the latest updates A critical first look at Myanmar’s new arbitration law Update on use of foreign currency in Myanmar