As Financial Action Task Force (“FATF”) reported, one of the outcomes of the FATF 20-21 October 2022 Plenary, was that Myanmar has been added to the list of “jurisdictions subject to a call for action”.   FATF is an ‘inter-governmental body’ that ‘works to generate the necessary political will to bring about national legislative and regulatory […]

The Bank of the Lao PDR (“BOL”)Issued Decision No.779/BOL dated 11 October 2022 on the Determination of Exchange Rates to support currency stability. Commercial Bank Exchange Rates The purchase and sale exchange rates for Lao Kip (“LAK”) to US dollars (“USD”) must be set to fall within the range of ±4.50% of the reference exchange rate […]

In order to ensure the effective implementation and to realize the President’s Decree on Fees and Charges No. 002 dated 17 June 2021, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce has issued Notice No. 2053 dated 30 September 2022 on the Collection of Fees and Service Charges for enterprise registration with the following key objectives: Fees […]

Aiming to widen the scope for banks, Bangladesh Bank published a circular to settle cross-border payment in yuan. Previously, the authorized dealers could maintain a foreign currency clearing account with the Bangladesh Bank in the Chinese currency. But now banks will start to hold Chinese currency to settle payments in the future.

Aiming to facilitate transactional services by Authorized Dealers (ADs) to their merchanting traders’ customers, The Bangladesh Bank published some guideline. According to the circular, “merchanting trade” is defined as “procurement of goods and services from another country and shipment of goods and services from that country directly to buyers in a third country. As per […]

Aiming to sustainable development goal, The Bangladesh Bank has issued a circular on green bond facility for banks and financial institution. As per the circular banks or NBFIs which hold more than 10% defaulted loans are not allowed to issue such bonds. According to circular, after being approved by the board of directors’ bank or […]

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has withdrawn the provision of mandatory income tax return certificate submission for obtaining loans and credit cards on a limited amount. According to the circular, an individual who has a tax-free income limit can get loans up to 19,398.64 USD from the scheduled banks without submission of a tax […]

The Bank of the Lao PDR (“BOL”) issued a decree (No. 184/G) on 20 June 2022 (the “Decree”) replacing the Decree on Microfinance Institutions (No. 460/G) dated 3 October 2012, that previously regulated the licensing and business activities of deposit-taking and non-deposit taking microfinance institutions in the Lao PDR. In this article, we have listed […]

Aimed to facilitate smooth transaction, Bangladesh Bank has decided that international cards (debit/prepaid) can be used for online payments of visa processing fees. In this context, banks may issue international cards in the name of officially designated by nominated agents. Generally, visa processing fees, among others, were collected through nominated resident agents of foreign embassies, […]

The Bangladesh Bank has tightened the country’s imports further as the importers will have to maintain up to 100 per cent margin against the import of luxurious and nonessential items, including Sedan car, sport utility vehicle and multi-purpose vehicle. According to the circular, Bangladesh Bank has also brought several items under its high import letter […]

On 2 June 2022 the Ministry of Transport and Communications issued letter no. PaSa-4/ (F.E-1/1)/2022 (709) (“Letter“) in implementation of a circular from the Foreign Exchange Supervisory Committee (“FESC”). The Letter states that FESC now permits logistics service companies to retain specific amounts of foreign currency in their foreign currency bank accounts in Myanmar. Any […]

On 14 June 2022, the Bank of the Lao PDR (the “BOL”) issued Decision No. 449/BOL (“Decision 449”) to manage currency exchange services provided by commercial banks and currency exchange bureaus operating in the Lao PDR. The purpose is to ensure the stability of the Lao Kip (“LAK”), which has weakened considerably against the U.S. dollar, and has been trading on the domestic market at a value below the BOL’s official exchange rate, and to close this exchange rate gap. Effective immediately, Decision 449 replaces Decision No. 109/BOL dated 1 February 2019.

As the costs of essential commodities continue to soar, driven by the unfettered weakening of the Lao Kip (“LAK”), the pandemic, and other external factors, many people in the Lao PDR are having a hard time making ends meet. In consideration of the ongoing monetary crisis and following a tripartite discussion between the Lao Federation […]

The Central Bank of Myanmar (“CBM”) issued Notification No. 195/2022 to Union Ministers, Regional or State Governments, City Development Committees of Nay Pyi Taw, Yangon and Mandalay on 25 May 2022 directing domestic payments to be made in Myanmar Kyat (“MMK”).   This is a follow-up to Notification no. 12/2022 issued on 3 April 2022 […]

In this briefing the team of VDB Loi (Vietnam) answers to the most frequently raised questions relating to the provision of foreign loans to companies in Vietnam. This article generally assumes that parties are looking to implement long-term financing for a company registered in Vietnam. Note that additional requirements may apply to certain specifically regulated […]

In accordance with the notification issued by the Central Bank of Myanmar on 3 April 2022 regarding the conversion of USD into MMK within one working day, the Ministry of Commerce (“MOC”) has confirmed that it will assist importers/exporters regarding the facilitation of applications to buy USD used for their businesses with the Foreign Exchange […]

On 3 April 2022, the Central Bank of Myanmar (“CBM”) issued two regulations to be aware of—Notification No. 12/2022 (the “Notification”) to all Myanmar residents (both Myanmar citizens and foreigners) and Directive No. 4/2022 (the “Directive”) to banks holding authorized dealer licenses, instructing them on complying with matters under the Notification. The Notification repeals CBM […]

The Ministry of Finance of the Lao PDR is aware of the difficulty in submitting the FY2021 financial statements due to the new wave of COVID-19 that is spreading. Thus, today the Minister of Finance issued Notice No. 0933/MoF to postpone the deadline for submission of the FY2021 financial statements to the accounting and tax […]

Recently, the Trade Department of the Ministry of Commerce issued Newsletter No. 2/2022 for additional items requiring an import license. This follows previous action by the department of adding commodity lines 3070 (Newsletter No. 18/2021) and 826 (Newsletter No. 1/2022) to the list of those requiring an import license. Effective from 2 March 2022, the […]

The Central Bank of Myanmar (“CBM”) issued two notifications on 3 March 2022 providing permission and guidelines for Baht/Kyat direct payments at the Thai-Myanmar Border. They are effective from the above date and apply to designated banks and all exporters and importers involved in the Thai-Myanmar cross-border trade. Purpose In order to promote the local […]