New industrial law drawn up ahead of AEC
Myanmar Times | 21 July 2016
New industrial law drawn up ahead of AEC
By Chan Mya Htwe
An industrial policy to bring Myanmar into the 21st century will be presented to parliament, with the aim of updating the law to equip the country to better compete in the ASEAN Economic Community.
Ministry of Industry assistant secretary U Myo Zarni Win told The Myanmar Times that the new law would support, protect and promote the country’s industries by amending existing legislation that is now out of date.
“Existing laws specify investment levels, the size of the labour force, electricity supply and so on in ways that are no longer appropriate for the modern age. We have presented a revised and updated law to the hluttaw,” he said.
The proposed industrial policy envisages that infrastructure would be built with a mix of domestic and development partner finance.
Priority would be given to labour-intensive industries, including basic food production and low-demand technology-based manufacturing that could be competitive within a short period of time.
An Industrial Support Committee would be formed with staff from the relevant ministries to smooth access to industry registration, tax breaks and the introduction of technology.
Provision will also be made for the support of heavy, medium and small industries by revising existing legislation governing investment and labour conditions, U Myo Zarni Win said.
“We want to present the draft law to hluttaw as soon as possible. When Myanmar enters the ASEAN Economic Community, we will have to be able to compete, or our economy will suffer.”
The new law is expected to be adopted in stages, supplanting existing legislation. The necessary by-laws will then be enacted for the implementation of the law, which is based on a draft submitted under the previous government.
