Two new foreign investment projects have been submitted to invest in the Thilawa Special Economic Zone by 2025, according to sources.

Foreign investment in the Thilawa SEZ has increased by $150 million between 2021 and 2024.

To date, 117 companies from 21 countries have invested more than $2.2 billion in the Thilawa SEZ, creating more than 15,000 jobs.

The Thilawa SEZ has been attracting international investors since it opened in September 2015. However, some business operations were disrupted during 2019-2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and about 80 percent of businesses in the Thilawa SEZ were suspended after the political changes in 2021.

The Thilawa Special Economic Zone Management Committee was then reconstituted to resume operations.

In this regard, the Thilawa Special Economic Zone Management Committee has focused on restarting existing factories, meeting the needs of factories that are likely to stop operating, and attracting new investments. In implementing this, policies have been established to act in accordance with the principles of the state, the law, procedures, and in accordance with non-discrimination among companies in the special economic zone, and in order to eliminate corruption in all operations.

As of the end of April 2025, the Thilawa SEZ had more than $2.247 billion in foreign investment, accounting for 2.34 percent of the total foreign investment, according to the Department of Investment and Companies Administration (DICA).

The investment activities permitted in the Thilawa SEZ are permitted under the Myanmar Special Economic Zone Law.