21 foreign companies sign contracts with Myanmar to develop SEZ

YANGON - A total of 21 foreign companies and one local's have signed contracts with Myanmar to develop the country's first biggest Thilawa Special Economic Zone (SEZ) project being implemented on the outskirts of Yangon by a Myanmar- Japan joint venture, sources with the SEZ administration said Wednesday.

The 21 foreign companies include nine from Japan, four from China's Taiwan, three from Thailand and one each from Chinese mainland, China's Hong Kong, Sweden, the United States and Australia as well as one from Myanmar.

Under contracts with the Myanmar-Japan Thilawa Development ( MJTD) Co Ltd, these foreign companies will respectively undertake works related to steel pipe, construction, aluminium, finished wood product, textile, beverage can manufacturing and plastic at the 400-hectare Class A Area of Thilawa SEZ in Thanlyin, 20 kilometers southeast of Yangon.

The 21 foreign companies were shortlisted from 51 which submitted intention of interest in the investment project.

MJTD was formed by two Myanmar companies and two Japanese companies sharing under an ownership ratio of 51 to 49.

The two Myanmar companies comprise the government's Thilawa SEZ Management Committee and the Myanmar Thilawa SEZ Holdings Public Co Ltd (MTSH), while the two Japanese companies involve MMS Thilawa Development Co Ltd and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

MMS Thilawa is a consortium group of Mitsubishi, Marubeni and Sumitomo Corporations.

Myanmar has started the land lease procedure for Phase 1 of the Thilawa SEZ project Class A Area which has about 400 hectares divided into two phases out of nearly 2,400 hectares in total.

The project began implementation in November 2013 and the commercial run of the Thilawa SEZ is expected to start in mid-2015.

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