Foreign investors are interested in the energy, hotel and marine sectors in Rakhine State, said Thant Zin Lwin, Acting Director-General of the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration (DICA)

Currently, according to the Myanmar Investment Law, the Myanmar Investment Commission (MIC) is largely dealing with the types of investments worth five million US dollars and above, where Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), huge investments and impacts are involved.

The relevant region and state governments scrutinize and approve the investments worth less than five million US dollars.

Rakhine State Chief Minister U Nyi Pu at the Rakhine investment show said The Rakhine State government will give the nod to the investors in a hurried manner. Foreign countries interested to make investments in Rakhine State are: Singapore, South Korea, China and India. Currently, Singapore leads the FDI list in Rakhine State. The energy sector sees the huge FDI investments in Rakhine State while the hotel and tourism sector tops the list of the citizen investments.”

At the Rakhine investment show, Myanmar State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said: “The gas and oil exploration has a good potential for Rakhine State. The commercial production of natural gas from the off-shore natural gas reserves is expected to start in the coming years.”

From 1988-1989 FY till May, 2018-2019 FY, Myanmar allowed 1,725 foreign investments worth over 80.234 billion US dollars. 

During the above-mentioned period, Myanmar granted the permits to 154 foreign investments in the oil and gas sector.

The oil and sector led the list of FDI with an investment of over 22 billion US dollars (27.94 per cent of the total FDI), followed by the energy sector, with over 21 billion US dollars (26.40 per cent), the productions sector, with nearly 11 billion US dollars (over 13 per cent) and the transport and communications sector, with over 10 billion US dollars (over 13 per cent), 

The real estate sector accounted for  over six per cent, the hotel and tourism sector, for around four per cent, the mining sector, for over three per cent and other services sector for over three per cent.

But the inflows of FDI into the agricultural, industrial housing and construction sectors were less than one per cent.