MYANMAR’S trading sector stands to benefit from the government’s relaxing of shipping restrictions, which will allow private companies to operate international shipping lines for the first time, industry sources said last week.

U Aung Kyaw Min, president of the Myanmar International Freight Forwarders’ Association, predicted a rosy future for traders due to the likelihood of more frequent voyages, greater competition and an increased supply of containers.
“It will be easier for exporters and importers, especially during peak season, because they won’t have to wait for vessels to be able to load their goods.

Containers will be able to be delivered on time, without delays,” he said.

Transport Minister Major General Thein Swe announced late last month that Myanmar’s private sector would be allowed to operate international shipping lines for the first time in order to increase the country’s trade volume and earn more foreign exchange.

High-level businesspeople attending a meeting in Nay Pyi Taw on June 29 were told by Maj Gen Thein Swe that they should begin setting up such companies.

State-owned Myanma Five Star Line currently offers Myanmar’s only international shipping service.

It was founded in 1959, operates 26 vessels and has offices in 11 countries, but currently only ships from Yangon to Singapore and two ports in Malaysia.

“We need more foreign-going vessels and containers,” a senior official with the Myanmar Mercantile Marine Develop-ment Association told The Myanmar Times on condition of anonymity.

“Every now and then the industry faces a lot of difficulty when containers can’t be shipped due to a limited number of foreign-going vessels harboured at Yangon ports.

“Our industry welcomes national entrepreneurs who want to invest in an international shipping line,” he said.

“At the moment, there is no direct shipping line from Yangon to China, which is Myanmar’s top trading partner (excluding natural gas sales to Thailand). So this route will be attractive to potential investors.”

U Aung Kyaw Min noted that more containers, as well as ships, were needed.
Maj-Gen Thein Swe on June 29 also called for increased private investment in Myanmar ports, which were already open to the private sector.

“There are many ports that could be upgraded to handle international foreign vessels and cruises,” an assistant director at the Myanmar Port Authority told The Myanmar Times.

He said ports at Thaketa township in Yangon, Mawlamyine in Mon State, Dewai in Tanintharyi Division, and Sittwe and Kyaukphyu in Rakhine State all held good potential for development, which could attract international cargo and cruise ships.

Private Myanmar firm Asia World Co., Ltd is set to build a deepsea port at Kyaukphyu on Maday Island, which will serve as a transit point for goods destined for ports in Yangon, Kolkata in India and Chittagong in Bangladesh. The company has already finished surveying the site.