Hanoi (VNA) - Myanmar has built a new companies law after amendmentof its outdated Companies Act-1914 to adapt to the current age, registering animportant milestone with its efforts to promote foreign investment.

The new Myanmar Companies Law 2017 cameinto effect on August 1, 2018, enabling a company's registration process to bedone electronically now.

All companies are set to re-registerwithin six months from August and the re-registration process is to be completedthrough the Myanmar Companies Online (MyCO) system.

Under the previous Myanmar CompaniesAct 1914, restrictions were imposed on foreign companies, leading to hesitationof investors and obstacles to foreign capital flows, thus hindering economicdevelopment.

According to the new MyanmarCompanies Act 2017, foreigners are permitted to own up to 35 percent of stakein local companies, which facilitates business undertakings and paves way forfurther cooperation between foreign investors and local businessmen.

The new law will also bring an exemptionto small companies, allowing them to set up a company with a single shareholderand a single director and such firms no longer need to submit financialreports.

It also allows foreigners to engagein export/import, insurance and stock market as the MyCO system provides bettercorporate governance.

In addition, Myanmar has mapped outnew urban development projects of Yangon region, inviting local and foreign businessesto invest in these projects through public-private partnership.

According to statistics, the countryattracted 5.7 billion USD in foreign direct investment (FDI) in the last fiscalyear 2017-18 with Singapore topping the list of foreign investors with 2.1billion USD.
 
The country aims to lure 3 billion USDof FDI during the six-month transitional period as the Myanmar government haschanged its fiscal year period from original April-March to October-September, beginning 2018-19.-VNA