MYANMAR business leaders have been meeting this month to brainstorm alternatives to using Singaporean banks for conducting international trade.

Top businesspeople were first summoned to present their views on Myanmar’s current economic situation and banking procedures at a meeting in Yangon on October 4 called by the chairman of Myanmar Economic Holdings Ltd, Lieutenant General Tin Aye.

Business owners explained during separate discussions with Lt-Gen Tin Aye how their companies operate, paying particular attention to transactions through banks in Singapore, said the managing director of a company at the meeting.

It was the first in a series of talks this month to plan for any disruptions to trade due to potential banking restrictions.

The majority of Myanmar’s international business transactions are conducted through Singaporean banks.

“United Overseas Bank and the Development Bank of Singapore are the main banks Myanmar traders rely on for transactions,” the chairman of one of Myanmar’s leading international trading companies said on condition of anonymity.

To obtain a trade licence from the Ministry of Commerce, companies must open a letter of credit (LC) at either the Myanma Foreign Trade Bank (MFTB) or the Myanma Investment and Commercial Bank (MICB), which are both state-run. LCs are then transferred to banks in Singapore through the MFTB or MICB to facilitate payment for imports and exports.

“So far, all transactions and remittances through Singaporean banks are continuing as usual,” an official with the Central Bank of Myanmar said on October 9.

A Myanmar employee at the Singapore embassy in Yangon confirmed on October 11 that Singaporean banks had until then not received orders to alter their operations with any Myanmar business.

Senior officials from the Union of Myanmar Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI) met in Yangon on October 8 to prepare for any potential change, however, and discuss ways to continue trade should transactions via Singapore become unviable.

The UMFFCI Central Executive Committee used the meeting to start drafting a proposal for bypassing Singapore and continuing remittance and LC services through different channels, a member of the committee said.

“We are currently discussing the proposal, which is to be submitted to the authorities,” the UMFCCI official said on October 9, requesting not to be identified.

UMFCCI executives met with top Ministry of Commerce officials and finance minister Major General Hla Tun in Nay Pyi Taw on October 12 for further strategic planning talks.

The Trade Council held its own talks in Nay Pyi Taw on October 9 to discuss the matter.

Traders were last year urged to start using euros rather than US dollars for international transactions.