Myanmar reached 98 percent of its foreign investment target for 2019-20 fiscal year despite the outbreak of COVID-19 according to State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in her televised speech on October 27.

“Even if we could not fulfill the overall target, achieving 98 percent is a considerable success amid the crisis,” she said.

Under its Myanmar Investment Promotion Plan (MIPP), the government set a target to attract US$5.8 billion (7.46 trillion kyats) in fiscal year 2019-20, which ended on Sept. 30. It received nearly $5.7 billion—around $110 million short of its target. However, the amount represents an increase of more than $1 billion compared to the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Economic Relations (MIFER).

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi mentioned that in terms of FDI, Myanmar is performing better than some neighboring countries. “Most of the neighboring countries have faced worse situations. I don’t mean any disrespect to other countries. I just want our people to understand”.

According to the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) latest report, Myanmar’s GDP growth fell to 1.8 percent in September due to the effects of COVID-19, while other countries in Southeast Asia are experiencing negative GDP growth. The ADB said Thailand’s GDP growth fell to -8 percent, while Cambodia’s stood at -4 percent, Indonesia’s at -1 percent and Laos’s at -2.5 percent.

The ADB also projected that Myanmar’s growth would bounce back to 6 percent in 2021, while projecting Thailand at 3.5 percent, Cambodia at 5.9 percent, Indonesia at 5.3 percent and Laos at 4.5 percent.

Source: The Irrawaddy