The state is lending loans for the development of Myanmar Entrepreneurship and Micro, Small & Medium Enterprise (MSME) and the loans given to them must be paid within a specific period, said Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, chairman of the State Administration Council (SAC).

He added the above in a meeting with MSME entrepreneurs at the Magway Region City Hall on November 28.

In that meeting, he said raw materials, input, capital and human resources are needed for MSME activities. There are manufacturing, trade and service sectors in MSME industry. There is a need to produce products that focus on raw materials from local agricultural and livestock industries. If this is done, more employment opportunities will be created, and regional development will be supported, and socio-economic life will rise. Doing manufacturing based on rural economy is more productive. Therefore, he would like to encourage the people in the rural areas to take measures to improve the socio-economic life of the people led by the Chief Minister of the Region.

If domestic needs such as consumer goods can be produced sufficiently, it will be possible to reduce the consumption of foreign currency. The basic consumer goods that are needed for the country need to be produced from the level of importers to meet the domestic needs, and efforts should be made to reach the level of exporters. In carrying out the national economy, all citizens need to act with a broad vision. There are many trees, forest and cotton resources in the country. We will be able to meet domestic paper demand by producing paper pulp based on cotton. Similarly, we can also produce finished wood products. Using forest products can replace domestic products as well as export them abroad. After the use of forest resources, replanting and environmental conservation activities must also be carried out, he said.

In addition, loans are being provided at reasonable interest rates for the development of MSME businesses. Just like there are national loans, there are also private loans, and these loans also need to be repaid within a specified period. The state is in the process of providing additional loans, he added.