Singapore enhances economic ties with Myanmar

Singapore is aiming to enhance the economic ties with Myanmar by opening an overseas center in Yangon to facilitate trade and investment, as well as announcing a series of partnership cooperation, the city-state's trade promotion agency, International Enterprise (IE) Singapore, said on Thursday.Officiated by Sinagpore's visiting President Tony Tan Keng Yam, the IE Singapore opened its seventh overseas center in Southeast Asia in Myanmar's capital city Yangon. It is also the agency's 37th global office.The agency said the new center will "facilitate trade and investment between Singapore and Myanmar in key sectors including infrastructure, industrial and urban development, transport and logistics, manufacturing and trading. It will also support Myanmar companies looking to use Singapore as a base to expand in Asia and beyond."A series of agreement were also signed between the two countries, ranging from sectors of telecommunications, hospitality, consumer, and business services.Singapore Telecommunications, one of Singapore's telecom operators, made a breakthrough by inking an agreement with Straits Trading (Al Noor Group), one of the largest importers of mobile phones in Myanmar, to "distribute SingTel's satellite phones, its Broadband Global Area Network, and satellite broadcasting bandwidth services in Myanmar".In service sector, Krislite, a lighting solutions provider, signed a deal to supply lighting luminaires for the 2014 ASEAN Summit in Myanmar.Ya Kun International, one of Singapore's traditional coffee chains, will open 10 outlets across Yangon within 24 months under another agreement.Besides, Amara Hospitality Capital will be developing a hotel in Yangon. According to the IE Singapore, the city-state represents the biggest investor in Yangon's hospitality industry. They have three of the largest international hotels there, including Parkroyal Hotel, Sedona Hotel, and Traders Hotel.Business chambers of both countries also inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to develop a program this year, aiming at conferring Singapore participants with the vital business know-how and insights on the dynamics of doing business in Myanmar.The city-state's president is on official visit in Myanmar from this Monday to Friday. It's also a state visit that is a first by Singapore since both countries established diplomatic ties in 1966.When the Myanmar's President Thein Sein visited Singapore last year, the two countries signed a MOU on the Singapore-Myanmar Technical Cooperation Programme.The IE Singapore said the city-state is "currently Myanmar's third largest trading partner. Bilateral trade reached 1.8 billion Singapore dollars (1.45 billion U.S. dollars) in 2012, up from 1.6 billion Singapore dollars (1.29 billion U.S. dollars) in 2011.""Singapore is currently the sixth largest source of foreign direct investments (FDI) for Myanmar, with cumulative FDI of 4.4 billion Singapore dollars (3.55 billion U.S. dollars) as of end- 2011." it added.