Around 20,000 jobs have been created in Myanmar during the current fiscal year due to the increase in foreign direct investment (FDI), reveals government data.During the first five months of the fiscal year 2013-14, the FDI reached $1.8 billion, and was mostly focused in the garment manufacturing sector, reports sources.
Aung Naing Oo, Director General of the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration (DICA), said the majority of investments came from East Asian countries such as South Korea, Japan and China. He said that Japanese automaker Nissan Motor Company was the most notable major investor in recent months.
“Every single garment factory that opens creates an additional 1,000 jobs,” he said. “This fiscal year, we have so far approved 20 garment factories, so can estimate that around 20,000 new jobs have been created.”Naing Oo added that a quicker process now exists for setting up a garment factory; one can now become operational within six months after acquiring the relevant permits.Oo said this fiscal year DICA is expecting around US$ 3 billion of FDI in the country.
