The government of Myanmar has decided to switch its text encoding to unicode from Zawgyi. This is part of its transition to e-government, since Zawkyi encoding does not comply with the international text encoding system.

The government has also ordered all of the telecom operators in the country to change their Zawgyi-encoded text messages over to unicode. Many companies hesitate to do this because most of their subscribers use Zawgyi-encoded fonts. Thus, the new standards will only take effect beginning October 1 of this year. According to the Ministry of Transport and Communications, the operators must use unicode for their SMS, service guides, Facebook pages, and websites, replacing Zawgyi-encoded fonts.

The government has further ordered smartphone operators to import only devices that are compatible with unicode. Unicode has many advantages over Zawgyi. It can store data systematically, it is easier to search stored data, it is able to render text in alphabetical order, gives access to Google translation services, and also supports ethnic languages. The Ministry said that it is cooperating with the Myanmar Computer Federation to conduct awareness campaigns and distribute software that will help users change over to unicode.

Source: Myanmar Business Today

Bkav, the Vietnamese handset maker, will launch its new Bphone3, which is one of the most technologically advanced smartphones in the market, in Myanmar this week. The company will partner with Vietnamese telecommunications operator Mytel, to bring the Bphone to Myanmar. The Bphone 3 will be available for purchase in nearly 100 Mytel stores nationwide starting from the first week of July. Bkav, the parent company of Bphone, is one of the leading Vietnamese corporations with business units in network security, software, smartphones, and smart homes.

Bphone is a well-known high-end smartphone in Vietnam. The launch events of Bphone 1 (2015) and Bphone 2 (2017) were both voted as outstanding technology events of the year. In December 2018, Bphone 3 was voted as the most favoured smartphone by prestigious technology review channels. At the same time, Bphone won the “Best Vietnamese Phone” award in Tech Awards 2018 organised by VnExpress – the most read Vietnamese newspaper and “Design of the year” by two other news sites. Many users have also have given positive feedback when using this latest smartphone of Bkav.

By purchasing Bphone, customers will enjoy the most advanced functionalities including super-qualitative AI Camera, IP68 waterproof, advanced security and anti-theft protection, and top-notch bottomless design; together with the best customer services. As an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM), Bkav will bring the technology and expertise to the country, while contributing to Myanmar’s human resource development. If Bkav becomes one of the manufacturers in Myanmar with a significant market share,  it will build factories in the country to optimise the product’s price. Being an OEM, we can easily realise such plans.

Source: Myanmar Times 

Electronic cash transactions are seeing more adoption in Myanmar as people opt for the convenience of not having to withdraw money from banks or automated teller machines. As such, banking officials and financial technology firms believe that Myanmar would see significant developments of such payment systems over the next two years.

Recent study from Visa showed that in 2018, a quarter of 500 respondents preferred digital modes of payment compared to 2017 that saw only 3pc of respondents preferring digital modes of payment. The rising demand for convenience has seen banks and their partners offering more digital transaction services, with KBZ Bank launching KBZPay, a mobile wallet application, late last year. This app crossed more than a million downloads earlier this year and has since reached more than two million.

However, despite the increase in adoption, the different digital platforms available made it difficult to predict whether transactions through cards, mobile or QR code systems would become more popular. A recent Visa survey revealed that people were more interested in contactless payment and point-of-sales terminal systems rather the use of cards into slots. Recently, Shanghai-based UnionPay International launched a guidebook on cashless transactions, including for QR codes. The Central Bank of Myanmar said payments using QR codes could be launched this year when a standard for such payments has been implemented.

Source: Myanmar Times 

Only 3pc of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) registered with the Ministry of Industry have been given funding by financial institutions.The Ministry of Industry data showed that of 73,085 SMEs registered with it, only 2,207 businesses or 3pc of the total have received funding from financial institutions. The government together with various development agencies and funds such as the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Myanma Economic Bank, Germany’s KfW Development Bank and Denmark’s Responsible Business Fund have a number of loan schemes opened to SMEs and micro businesses.

The government, through Myanma Economic Bank and JICA, has announced support for K60 billion worth of loans to SMEs between July 2017 and January 2019. More than 98pc of all businesses in the country can be classified as SME or microbusiness with most involved in the food and beverage, construction materials, clothing and other retail goods industries. The JICA long-term investment loan has an interest rate of 8.5pc over five years with a maximum limit of K500 million, SME Credit Guarantee Insurance Loan has a 13pc interest rate with collateral or loan up to K20 million over three years while Myanma Economic Bank’s SME loanhas an interest rate of 9pc over five years and maximum loan amount of K300 million.

Source: Myanmar Times 

Visa this week has published findings from its Consumer Payment Attitudes Study, which examines the perceptions, attitudes and behaviours Myanmar people have towards payment and emerging payment methods. The report found Myanmar people are more interested in getting financial products than last year. They also continued to have improved perceptions towards banks on safety, trust and facilitating payments. Forty-one percent of respondents said they now own bank accounts, compared to 34pc last year. Further to this, 70pc of those surveyed who are currently without a bank account plan to open one this year.

It also found a significant increase in use and interest in owning payment cards, such as prepaid and credit cards. Currently, 26pc of people surveyed use or own payment cards, compared to only 3pc in the previous year. Respondents also cited that it is safer to carry cards than large amounts of cash and it’s more convenient as they would not have to deal with small change. Attitudes towards banks also continued to improve. Four in five people surveyed (82pc) said that they agreed that banks are safe and secure, compared to 68pc from the preceding year. A further 77pc said banks are a convenient way of managing their personal finances.

Even though Myanmar people rely heavily on cash for daily transactions – one in four people surveyed have tried going cashless and all of the people surveyed believed Myanmar has the potential to become a cashless society within the next 15 years or less. Myanmar people are also interested in using emerging forms of payment, such as contactless payments. Nearly half of the respondents said they would like to use this model of payment.

Source: Myanmar Times 

Renting a car either for a short drive or long-term has never been easier with Yoma Fleet’s Yoma Car Share daily vehicle rental service. With just a few clicks and online registration including a photo of the front and back of your driver’s licence, you can “reserve, drive, and return” your car.

Yoma Car Share, launched last year, is a vehicle hire company under Yoma Strategic with several categories of cars (compact, economy, fullsize, SUV, pickup, van) and trucks. The fee starts from K1600K to K16,000 per hour or K85 per kilometre but it will vary based on the type of cars, rental period and the distance. The service is now in 19 locations in Yangon, Southern and Northern Shan State, Nay Pyi Taw, Myitkyina, Mandalay, Dawei, and Bagan. You can find the exact locations on https://www.yomacarshare.com/locations

Source: Myanmar Times 

The Microfinance Business Supervisory Committee under the Ministry of Planning and Finance (MOPF) issued Directive (1/2019) to revise interest rate for microfinance loans and saving on June 5. The new rates are to take effect on June 1, but the announcement was released after four days of the effective date, causing microfinance institutions to be in a difficult position.

The committee amended the interest rate where a loan of K100 monthly will be charged K2.30 and the yearly maximum interest rate will be 28 percent. The previous rate was for K100 monthly at K2.50 and the yearly maximum interest rate is at 30pc. In comparison, the directive has decreased 2pc of the yearly interest rate. Furthermore, the new interest rate on compulsory saving will be for K100 monthly, it will be charged K1.20; while the annual minimum interest rate has been cut by 1pc to 14pc. The previous specification was for K100 monthly it will be K1.25 with the yearly minimum interest rate at 15pc.

Interest rate on voluntary saving remained the same. The directive designated that for K100 monthly, the amount charged will be K0.80 and the yearly minimum interest rate will be 10pc. Currently, the finance ministry in April 2019 has allowed microfinance licence to 3 INGOs, 16 NGOs, 47 foreign financial institutions, 110 local, and 5 partnership – a total of 181 microfinance providers.

Source: Myanmar Times 

Japanese operator KDDI and conglomerate Sumitomo have revealed plans to jointly enter Myanmar’s mobile game industry through newly created joint venture Funcreate Myanmar.

Funcreate Myanmar, a subsidiary of the companies’ Singapore-based joint venture Funcreate, will localize and distribute mobile games from Japan and other countries throughout Myanmar.

The two regional utilities in western Japan Chugoku Electric Power Co and Shikoku Electric Power Co will invest in the operation of a gas-fired power plant in Myanmar in a bid to cash in on the growing electricity demand in the emerging economy.

They have sealed a deal on the acquisition of a 28.5 percent stake each in the operator of the Yangon plant via their subsidiaries, marking their first investments in Myanmar.

The Japanese power companies said they will provide expertise in operation and maintenance and expect to gain long-term stable investment revenue and the total transaction value is estimated at US$85 million (K130.4 billion).

Source: Myanmar Times

Fuji Xerox company said that they have agreed on the local distribution of its products and services with Dagon Win Win Co., a firm under diversified business group Dagon Group of Companies, and Direct Channel Distribution Co., under major information and communication technology group KMD to expand sales of printers and multi-function copy machines as well as to provide consulting and solutions in the country.

A subsidiary of Japan’s Fujifilm Holding Corp., Fuji Xerox was the first Japanese office equipment maker in Myanmar since 2013.

Source: Myanmar Times