VDB Loi contributed to the 2019 edition of the Project Finance Market Intelligencepublication by Getting the Deal Through. VDB Loi team prepared a regional project finance overview for Southeast Asia. Please download the pdf version below.

MoPF announcement The Ministry of Planning and Finance of Myanmar has just announced[1] the preferred applicants for the licenses of life insurance business in Myanmar to be operated by 100% wholly-owned subsidiaries of  foreign insurers.  The list of selected applicants included: AlA Company Limited Chubb Tempest Reinsurance Limited Dai-ichi Life Insurance Company, Limited Manufacturers Life Insurance […]

According to the recent Directorate of Investment and Company Administration (“DICA”) announcement issued on 8th March 2019, companies who missed the 31 January deadline now have until March 30 to re-register. However, any companies who fail to re-register by this new deadline will be struck off from the registry, and will not be able to carry on business […]

We are trusted legal advisers for many of the region’s most active lenders, whether international financial institutions or development financial institutions, commercial lenders or non-bank financial institutions. International financial institutions have chosen us for several of their largest-ever financing transactions in our markets. To corporate borrowers and lenders alike, we are known for our pragmatism […]

Since the implementation of the new Myanmar Companies Law (“MCL”) in August, the so-called 35% rule has been subject to interpretation by each government Ministry. Slowly, we have been seeing updates from Ministries on whether they will allow 35% foreign shareholding in various sectors. On 29 January 2019, the Central Bank of Myanmar (“CBM”) issued […]

According to a previous notice of the Ministry of Commerce (“MOC”) dated 22 December 2017, all corporate entities were required to complete their online re-registration with the MOC by 31 December 2018. Recently, the MOC issued another notice, No. 0384, dated 30 January 2019, regarding further extension of the online re-registration deadline to 31 December […]

Financing and tax 2018 saw several changes to the tax regulations. The application of transfer pricing rules in Cambodia is now a reality. Starting from 2018, companies have to comply with the regulations issued in October 2017, which adopt the arm’s length principle in accordance with the OECD’s guidelines. The regulations left many questions unanswered, […]

Looking back, it is evident that 2018 has seen a lot of changes in the Myanmar legal framework. There is also a number of developments that can be expected in the near future. Banking regulations Until early November, foreign bank branches could only provide banking services to foreign companies, i.e., companies incorporated in Myanmar with […]

RfP for licenses to carry on life insurance business in Myanmar as 100% foreign company As reported earlier by VDB Loi, (read here: http://www.vdb-loi.com/mlw/myanmar-opens-up-insurance-sector-to-foreign-investors/) when a foreign life insurer wishes to obtain an individual license in Myanmar, it is required to submit a proposal in response to a Request for Proposal (the “RfP”), issued on 18 […]

Following the recent directive of the Central Bank of Myanmar (the “CBM”), interest rate caps of 13% and 16% shall apply for secured loans and unsecured loans,. The Directive provides that “the maximum interest rate … includes all other fees collectible in lump sum or in partial payments such as guarantee fees, management fees etc. […]

In another exciting development in the Myanmar financial regulatory landscape, foreign life and non-life insurers can form joint ventures with local life and non-life insurers respectively. In addition, up to 3 (three) licenses will be granted to foreign life insurers to operate as wholly-owned subsidiaries. Therefore, foreign insurers will now play a much more active […]

Further to the amendment in 2018 of the Labor Law and Prakas 443 on seniority payment, which is applicable to all existing unlimited duration contracts (for more details, please see our Cambodia legal update here), the Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training (“MLVT”), through its information declaration on seniority payments dated 28 December 2018, has provided […]

As of late last week, online registration of mortgages and charges on the new electronic companies’ registry system, Myanmar Companies Online (“MyCO”) has become operational. This is achieved using the prescribed ‘Form H’ to comply with the statutory requirements under Section 229 of the Myanmar Companies Law 2017 (“MCL”), whereby Myanmar companies are required to […]

In an exciting development, the Central Bank of Myanmar (the “CBM”) on 8 November 2018 issued Directive No. 6/2018 (the “Directive”) which grants permission to foreign bank branches to extend banking services to local companies wholly owned by Myanmar nationals. As the reader may already be aware, there are 13 foreign bank branches operating in […]

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 […]