Economy Profile 2015 Doing Business 2015

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Economy Profile 2015 Doing Business 2015
Doing Business 2015    Myanmar

                      Economy Profile 2015
                         Myanmar
Economy Profile 2015 Doing Business 2015
Doing Business 2015                   Myanmar                                                                 2

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ISBN (paper): 978-1-4648-0351-2
ISBN (electronic): 978-1-4648-0352-9
DOI: 10.1596/978-1-4648-0351-2
ISSN: 1729-2638
Cover design: Corporate Visions, Inc.
Doing Business 2015                          Myanmar                                                                                        3

CONTENTS

Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 4
The business environment .......................................................................................................... 6
Starting a business ..................................................................................................................... 16
Dealing with construction permits ........................................................................................... 23
Getting electricity ....................................................................................................................... 30
Registering property .................................................................................................................. 36
Getting credit .............................................................................................................................. 41
Protecting minority investors ................................................................................................... 47
Paying taxes ................................................................................................................................ 57
Trading across borders .............................................................................................................. 61
Enforcing contracts .................................................................................................................... 66
Resolving insolvency .................................................................................................................. 74
Labor market regulation ........................................................................................................... 77
Distance to frontier and ease of doing business ranking ...................................................... 84
Resources on the Doing Business website .............................................................................. 87
Doing Business 2015                  Myanmar                                                                       4

INTRODUCTION
Doing Business sheds light on how easy or difficult it is     1, 2014 (except for the paying taxes indicators, which
for a local entrepreneur to open and run a small to           cover the period January–December 2013).
medium-size business when complying with relevant
                                                              The Doing Business methodology has limitations. Other
regulations. It measures and tracks changes in
                                                              areas important to business—such as an economy’s
regulations affecting 11 areas in the life cycle of a
                                                              proximity to large markets, the quality of its
business: starting a business, dealing with construction
                                                              infrastructure services (other than those related to
permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting
                                                              trading across borders and getting electricity), the
credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes,
                                                              security of property from theft and looting, the
trading across borders, enforcing contracts, resolving
                                                              transparency       of      government      procurement,
insolvency and labor market regulation.
                                                              macroeconomic conditions or the underlying strength of
In a series of annual reports Doing Business presents         institutions—are not directly studied by Doing Business.
quantitative indicators on business regulations and the       The indicators refer to a specific type of business,
protection of property rights that can be compared            generally a local limited liability company operating in
across 189 economies, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe,           the largest business city. Because standard assumptions
over time. The data set covers 47 economies in Sub-           are used in the data collection, comparisons and
Saharan Africa, 32 in Latin America and the Caribbean, 25     benchmarks are valid across economies. The data not
in East Asia and the Pacific, 26 in Eastern Europe and        only highlight the extent of obstacles to doing business;
Central Asia, 20 in the Middle East and North Africa and      they also help identify the source of those obstacles,
8 in South Asia, as well as 31 OECD high-income               supporting policy makers in designing regulatory reform.
economies. The indicators are used to analyze economic
                                                              More information is available in the full report. Doing
outcomes and identify what reforms have worked, where
                                                              Business 2015 presents the indicators, analyzes their
and why.
                                                              relationship with economic outcomes and presents
This economy profile presents the Doing Business              business regulatory reforms. The data, along with
indicators for Myanmar. To allow useful comparison, it        information on ordering Doing Business 2015, are
also provides data for other selected economies               available on the Doing Business website at
(comparator economies) for each indicator. The data in        http://www.doingbusiness.org.
this report are current as of June
Doing Business 2015                  Myanmar                                                                      5

CHANGES IN DOING BUSINESS 2015

As part of a 2-year update in methodology, Doing             Finally, the name of the employing workers indicator set
Business 2015 incorporates 7 important changes. First,       has been changed to labor market regulation, and the
the ease of doing business ranking as well as all topic-     scope of this indicator set has also been changed. The
level rankings are now computed on the basis of              indicators now focus on labor market regulation
distance to frontier scores (see the chapter on the          applying to the retail sector rather than the
distance to frontier and ease of doing business ranking).    manufacturing sector, and their coverage has been
Second, for the 11 economies with a population of more       expanded to include regulations on labor disputes and
than 100 million, data for a second city have been added     on benefits provided to workers. The labor market
to the data set and the ranking calculation. These           regulation indicators continue to be excluded from the
economies are Bangladesh, Brazil, China, India,              aggregate distance to frontier score and ranking on the
Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Russian     ease of doing business.
Federation and the United States. Third, for getting
                                                             Beyond these changes there are 3 other updates in
credit, the methodology has been revised for both the
                                                             methodology. For paying taxes, the financial statement
strength of legal rights index and the depth of credit
                                                             variables have been updated to be proportional to 2012
information index. The number of points has been
                                                             income per capita; previously they were proportional to
increased in both indices, from 10 to 12 for the strength
                                                             2005 income per capita. For enforcing contracts, the
of legal rights index and from 6 to 8 for the depth of
                                                             value of the claim is now set at twice the income per
credit information index. In addition, only credit bureaus
                                                             capita or $5,000, whichever is greater. For dealing with
and registries that cover at least 5% of the adult
                                                             construction permits, the cost of construction is now set
population can receive a score on the depth of credit
                                                             at 50 times income per capita (before, the cost was
information index.
                                                             assessed by the Doing Business respondents). In addition,
Fourth, the name of the protecting investors indicator set   this indicator set no longer includes the procedures for
has been changed to protecting minority investors to         obtaining a landline telephone connection.
better reflect its scope—and the scope of the indicator
                                                             For more details on the changes, see the “What is
set has been expanded to include shareholders’ rights in
                                                             changing in Doing Business?” chapter starting on page
corporate governance beyond related-party transactions.
                                                             24 of the Doing Business 2015 report. For more details
Fifth, the resolving insolvency indicator set has been
                                                             on the data and methodology, please see the “Data
expanded to include an index measuring the strength of
                                                             Notes” chapter starting on page 114 of the Doing
the legal framework for insolvency. Sixth, the calculation
                                                             Business 2015 report. For more details on the distance to
of the distance to frontier score for paying taxes has
                                                             frontier metric, please see the “Distance to frontier and
been changed. The total tax rate component now enters
                                                             ease of doing business ranking” chapter in this profile.
the score in a nonlinear fashion, in an approach different
from that used for all other indicators (see the chapter
on the distance to frontier and ease of doing business
ranking).
Doing Business 2015                  Myanmar                                                                       6

THE BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT
For policy makers trying to improve their economy’s
regulatory environment for business, a good place to start     ECONOMY OVERVIEW
is to find out how it compares with the regulatory
environment in other economies. Doing Business provides
an aggregate ranking on the ease of doing business
                                                               Region: East Asia & Pacific
based on indicator sets that measure and benchmark
regulations applying to domestic small to medium-size          Income category: Low income
businesses through their life cycle. Economies are ranked
from 1 to 189 by the ease of doing business ranking. This      Population: 53,259,018
year's report presents results for 2 aggregate measures:
the distance to frontier score and the ease of doing           GNI per capita (US$): 869
business ranking. The ranking of economies is determined
by sorting the aggregate distance to frontier (DTF) scores.    DB2015 rank: 177
The distance to frontier score benchmarks economies
with respect to regulatory practice, showing the absolute      DB2014 rank: 178*
distance to the best performance in each Doing Business
                                                               Change in rank: 1
indicator. An economy’s distance to frontier score is
indicated on a scale from 0 to 100, where 0 represents the
                                                               DB 2015 DTF: 43.55
worst performance and 100 the frontier. (See the chapter
on the distance to frontier and ease of doing business).       DB 2014 DTF: 42.19
The 10 topics included in the ranking in Doing Business
2015: starting a business, dealing with construction           Change in DTF: 1.36
permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting
credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading   * DB2014 ranking shown is not last year’s published
across borders, enforcing contracts and resolving              ranking but a comparable ranking for DB2014 that
insolvency. The labor market regulation indicators             captures the effects of such factors as data
(formerly employing workers) are not included in this          corrections and the changes in methodology. See
year’s aggregate ease of doing business ranking, but the       the data notes starting on page 114 of the Doing
data are presented in this year’s economy profile.             Business 2015 report for sources and definitions.
The aggregate ranking on the ease of doing business
benchmarks each economy’s performance on the
indicators against that of all other economies in the Doing
Business sample (figure 1.1). While this ranking tells much
about the business environment in an economy, it does
not tell the whole story. The ranking on the ease of doing
business, and the underlying indicators, do not measure all
aspects of the business environment that matter to firms
and investors or that affect the competitiveness of the
economy. Still, a high ranking does mean that the
government has created a regulatory environment
conducive to operating a business.
Doing Business 2015              Myanmar

      THE BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT
      Figure 1.1 Where economies stand in the global ranking on the ease of doing business

      Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2015                    Myanmar

 THE BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT
 For policy makers, knowing where their economy                regional average (figure 1.2). The economy’s rankings
 stands in the aggregate ranking on the ease of doing          (figure 1.3) and distance to frontier scores (figure 1.4)
 business is useful. Also useful is to know how it ranks       on the topics included in the ease of doing business
 relative to comparator economies and relative to the          ranking provide another perspective.

Figure 1.2 How Myanmar and comparator economies rank on the ease of doing business

Note: The rankings are benchmarked to June 2014 and based on the average of each economy’s distance to frontier (DTF) scores
for the 10 topics included in this year’s aggregate ranking. The distance to frontier score benchmarks economies with respect to
regulatory practice, showing the absolute distance to the best performance in each Doing Business indicator. An economy’s
distance to frontier score is indicated on a scale from 0 to 100, where 0 represents the worst performance and 100 the frontier.
For the economies for which the data cover 2 cities, scores are a population-weighted average for the 2 cities.
Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2015                    Myanmar                                                                            9

THE BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT

Figure 1.3 Rankings on Doing Business topics - Myanmar
(Scale: Rank 189 center, Rank 1 outer edge)

Figure 1.4 Distance to frontier scores on Doing Business topics - Myanmar
(Scale: Score 0 center, Score 100 outer edge)

Note: The rankings are benchmarked to June 2014 and based on the average of each economy’s distance to frontier (DTF) scores
for the 10 topics included in this year’s aggregate ranking. The distance to frontier score benchmarks economies with respect to
regulatory practice, showing the absolute distance to the best performance in each Doing Business indicator. An economy’s
distance to frontier score is indicated on a scale from 0 to 100, where 0 represents the worst performance and 100 the frontier.
For the economies for which the data cover 2 cities, scores are a population-weighted average for the 2 cities.
Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2015                    Myanmar                                                                               10

THE BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT
Just as the overall ranking on the ease of doing business tells      Doing Business introduced the distance to frontier score. This
only part of the story, so do changes in that ranking. Yearly        measure shows how far on average an economy is from the
movements in rankings can provide some indication of                 best performance achieved by any economy on each Doing
changes in an economy’s regulatory environment for firms,            Business indicator.
but they are always relative.
                                                                     Comparing the measure for an economy at 2 points in time
Moreover, year-to-year changes in the overall rankings do            allows users to assess how much the economy’s regulatory
not reflect how the business regulatory environment in an            environment as measured by Doing Business has changed
economy has changed over time—or how it has changed in               over time—how far it has moved toward (or away from) the
different areas. To aid in assessing such changes,                   most efficient practices and strongest regulations in areas
                                                                     covered by Doing Business (figure 1.5).

Figure 1.5 How far has Myanmar come in the areas measured by Doing Business?

Note: The distance to frontier score shows how far on average an economy is from the best performance achieved by any economy on
each Doing Business indicator since 2010, except for getting credit, paying taxes, protecting minority investors and resolving insolvency
which had methodology changes in 2014 and thus are only comparable to 2013. The measure is normalized to range between 0 and 100,
with 100 representing the best performance (the frontier). See the data notes starting on page 114 of the Doing Business 2015 report for
more details on the distance to frontier score.
Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2015                              Myanmar                                                                                                                                                 11

THE BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT
The absolute values of the indicators tell another part of                                     regulation—such as a regulatory process that can be
the story (table 1.1). The indicators, on their own or in                                      completed with a small number of procedures in a few
comparison with the indicators of a good practice                                              days and at a low cost. Comparison of the economy’s
economy or those of comparator economies in the                                                indicators today with those in the previous year may
region, may reveal bottlenecks reflected in large numbers                                      show where substantial bottlenecks persist—and where
of procedures, long delays or high costs. Or they may                                          they are diminishing.
reveal unexpected strengths in an area of business

 Table 1.1 Summary of Doing Business indicators for Myanmar

                                                                                                                                                                                  Best performer globally
                                                                                                    Indonesia DB2015
                              Myanmar DB2015

                                                Myanmar DB2014

                                                                                                                                        Malaysia DB2015

                                                                                                                                                          Thailand DB2015
                                                                                                                       Lao PDR DB2015
  Indicator
                                                                 China DB2015

                                                                                India DB2015

                                                                                                                                                                                  DB2015
  Starting a Business
                               189               189              128            158                155                154                 13                75               New Zealand (1)
  (rank)

  Starting a Business (DTF
                             22.85             20.25             77.43          68.42              68.84               68.95            94.90             87.98             New Zealand (99.96)
  Score)

  Procedures (number)         11.0              11.0             11.0           11.9               10.0                  6.0              3.0               4.0             New Zealand (1.0)*

  Time (days)                 72.0              72.0             31.4           28.4               52.5                92.0               5.5             27.5               New Zealand (0.5)

  Cost (% of income per
                             155.9             176.7               0.9          12.2               21.1                  5.7              7.2               6.6                Slovenia (0.0)
  capita)

  Paid-in min. capital (%
                             6,190.1           7,016.0             0.0          111.2              35.5                  0.0              0.0               0.0             112 Economies (0.0)*
  of income per capita)

  Dealing with
                                                                                                                                                                              Hong Kong SAR,
  Construction Permits         130               134              179            184                153                107                 28                   6
                                                                                                                                                                                 China (1)
  (rank)

  Dealing with
                                                                                                                                                                              Hong Kong SAR,
  Construction Permits       64.93             62.98             43.75          30.89              59.03               68.50            82.49             88.77
                                                                                                                                                                               China (95.53)
  (DTF Score)
Doing Business 2015                              Myanmar                                                                                                                                             12

                                                                                                                                                                            Best performer globally
                                                                                             Indonesia DB2015
                            Myanmar DB2015

                                              Myanmar DB2014

                                                                                                                                  Malaysia DB2015

                                                                                                                                                    Thailand DB2015
                                                                                                                 Lao PDR DB2015
Indicator

                                                               China DB2015

                                                                              India DB2015

                                                                                                                                                                            DB2015
                                                                                                                                                                       Hong Kong SAR,
Procedures (number)         13.0              13.0             22.0           25.4           17.0                22.0             13.0                7.0
                                                                                                                                                                         China (5.0)

Time (days)                128.0             128.0             244.3          185.9          211.0              107.0             74.0              113.0              Singapore (26.0)

Cost (% of warehouse
                               8.8               9.9             7.6          28.2             4.3                 0.6              1.3               0.1                Qatar (0.0)*
value)

Getting Electricity
                             121               124              124            137              78               128                 27                12               Korea, Rep. (1)
(rank)

Getting Electricity (DTF
                           66.78             65.24             66.35          63.06          76.90              65.29             86.67             91.71             Korea, Rep. (99.83)
Score)

Procedures (number)            5.0               5.0             5.5             7.0           5.0                 5.0              5.0               4.0             12 Economies (3.0)*

Time (days)                 91.0              91.0             143.2          105.7          90.7               134.0             32.0              35.0              Korea, Rep. (18.0)*

Cost (% of income per
                           2,801.7           3,175.5           459.4          487.7          353.6              1,650.4           46.3              66.1                  Japan (0.0)
capita)

Registering Property
                             151               151                37           121           117                    77               75                28                 Georgia (1)
(rank)

Registering Property
                           52.26             52.20             80.67          60.40          60.74              71.06             71.16             83.04               Georgia (99.88)
(DTF Score)

Procedures (number)            6.0               6.0             4.0             7.0           5.0                 5.0              8.0               2.0             4 Economies (1.0)*

Time (days)                113.0             113.0             19.4           47.0           27.4                98.0             13.5                2.0             3 Economies (1.0)*

Cost (% of property
                               7.2               7.2             3.6             7.0         10.8                  1.1              3.3               6.3             4 Economies (0.0)*
value)

Getting Credit (rank)        171               169                71              36            71               116                 23                89              New Zealand (1)

Getting Credit (DTF
                           10.00             10.00             50.00          65.00          50.00              35.00             70.00             45.00             New Zealand (100)
Score)

Strength of legal rights
                                   2                 2               4              6              4                   7                7                 3           3 Economies (12)*
index (0-12)
Doing Business 2015                            Myanmar                                                                                                                                             13

                                                                                                                                                                          Best performer globally
                                                                                           Indonesia DB2015
                           Myanmar DB2015

                                            Myanmar DB2014

                                                                                                                               Malaysia DB2015

                                                                                                                                                 Thailand DB2015
                                                                                                              Lao PDR DB2015
Indicator

                                                             China DB2015

                                                                            India DB2015

                                                                                                                                                                          DB2015
Depth of credit
                                  0                0               6              7              6                  0                7                 6            23 Economies (8)*
information index (0-8)

Credit registry coverage
                              0.0              0.0           33.2              0.0         46.4                 3.5            56.2                0.0               Portugal (100.0)
(% of adults)

Credit bureau coverage
                              0.0              0.0             0.0          22.4             0.0                0.0            78.6              52.7              23 Economies (100.0)*
(% of adults)

Protecting Minority
                            178              178              132                 7           43              178                    5              25               New Zealand (1)
Investors (rank)

Protecting Minority
                           29.17            29.17            45.00          72.50          60.83              29.17            74.17             65.83             New Zealand (81.67)
Investors (DTF Score)

Extent of conflict of
interest regulation           2.0              2.0             5.0             6.7           6.0                3.3              8.7               7.7               Singapore (9.3)*
index (0-10)

Extent of shareholder
governance index (0-          3.8              3.8             4.0             7.8           6.2                2.5              6.2               5.5                 France (7.8)*
10)

Strength of minority
investor protection           2.9              2.9             4.5             7.3           6.1                2.9              7.4               6.6              New Zealand (8.2)
index (0-10)

                                                                                                                                                                   United Arab Emirates
Paying Taxes (rank)         116              115              120            156           160                129                 32                62
                                                                                                                                                                           (1)*

Paying Taxes (DTF                                                                                                                                                  United Arab Emirates
                           68.64            68.01            67.44          55.53          53.66              66.10            83.95             77.99
Score)                                                                                                                                                                   (99.44)*

Payments (number per                                                                                                                                                 Hong Kong SAR,
                           31.0             31.0               7.0          33.0           65.0               35.0             13.0              22.0
year)                                                                                                                                                                  China (3.0)*

Time (hours per year)      154.5            154.5            261.0          243.0          253.5              362.0            133.0             264.0              Luxembourg (55.0)

Trading Across Borders
                            103              135                98           126              62              156                 11                36                 Singapore (1)
(rank)

Trading Across Borders     70.02            63.22            71.68          65.47          77.46              52.96            89.94             83.57               Singapore (96.47)
Doing Business 2015                              Myanmar                                                                                                                                              14

                                                                                                                                                                             Best performer globally
                                                                                              Indonesia DB2015
                            Myanmar DB2015

                                              Myanmar DB2014

                                                                                                                                   Malaysia DB2015

                                                                                                                                                     Thailand DB2015
                                                                                                                  Lao PDR DB2015
Indicator

                                                               China DB2015

                                                                               India DB2015

                                                                                                                                                                             DB2015
(DTF Score)

Documents to export
                                   8                 9               8               7              4                10                  4                 5               Ireland (2)*
(number)

Time to export (days)       20.0              25.0             21.0            17.1           17.0                23.0             11.0              14.0              5 Economies (6.0)*

Cost to export (US$ per
                           620.0             670.0             823.0          1,332.0         571.8              1,950.0           525.0             595.0             Timor-Leste (410.0)
container)

Cost to export (deflated
                           620.0             709.0             823.0          1,332.0         571.8              1,950.0           525.0             595.0
US$ per container)

Documents to import
                                   8                 9               5             10               8                10                  4                 5               Ireland (2)*
(number)

Time to import (days)       22.0              27.0             24.0            21.1           26.0                26.0               8.0             13.0                Singapore (4.0)

Cost to import (US$ per
                           610.0             660.0             800.0          1,462.0         646.8              1,910.0           560.0             760.0             Singapore (440.0)
container)

Cost to import (deflated
                           610.0             698.4             800.0          1,462.0         646.8              1,910.0           560.0             760.0
US$ per container)

Enforcing Contracts
                             185               185                35            186           172                    99               29                25               Singapore (1)
(rank)

Enforcing Contracts
                           27.31             27.31             68.21          25.81           37.28              57.49             69.39             70.05             Singapore (89.54)
(DTF Score)

Time (days)                1,160.0           1,160.0           452.8          1,420.0         471.0              443.0             425.0             440.0             Singapore (150.0)

Cost (% of claim)           51.5              51.5             16.2            39.6           115.7               31.6             37.3              15.0                 Iceland (9.0)

Procedures (number)         45.0              45.0             37.0            46.0           40.0                42.0             29.0              36.0              Singapore (21.0)*

Resolving Insolvency
                             160               159                53            137              75               189                 36                45                 Finland (1)
(rank)

Resolving Insolvency
                           23.51             23.51             55.31          32.60           46.75               0.00             65.61             58.73               Finland (93.85)
(DTF Score)
Doing Business 2015                               Myanmar                                                                                                                                              15

                                                                                                                                                                               Best performer globally
                                                                                               Indonesia DB2015
                               Myanmar DB2015

                                                Myanmar DB2014

                                                                                                                                     Malaysia DB2015

                                                                                                                                                       Thailand DB2015
                                                                                                                    Lao PDR DB2015
 Indicator

                                                                 China DB2015

                                                                                India DB2015

                                                                                                                                                                               DB2015
                                                                                                                    no
 Time (years)                     5.0              5.0             1.7             4.3           1.9                                   1.0               2.7                Ireland (0.4)
                                                                                                                  practice

                                                                                                                    no
 Cost (% of estate)            18.0             18.0             22.0              9.0         21.6                                  10.0              36.0                 Norway (1.0)
                                                                                                                  practice

 Outcome (0 as
                                                                                                                    no
 piecemeal sale and 1 as              0                0               0              0              0                                     1                 1
                                                                                                                  practice
 going concern)

 Recovery rate (cents on
                               14.7             14.7             36.0           25.7           31.7                   0.0            81.3              42.3                 Japan (92.9)
 the dollar)

 Strength of insolvency                                                                                             no
                                  5.0              5.0           11.5              6.0           9.5                                   7.0             11.5              5 Economies (15.0)*
 framework index (0-16)                                                                                           practice

Note: DB2014 rankings shown are not last year’s published rankings but comparable rankings for DB2014 that capture the effects of such
factors as data corrections and changes to the methodology. Trading across borders deflated and non-deflated values are identical in
DB2015 because it is defined as the base year for the deflator. The best performer on time for paying taxes is defined as the lowest time
recorded among all economies in the DB2015 sample that levy the 3 major taxes: profit tax, labor taxes and mandatory contributions, and
VAT or sales tax. If an economy has no laws or regulations covering a specific area—for example, insolvency—it receives a “no practice”
mark. Similarly, an economy receives a “no practice” or “not possible” mark if regulation exists but is never used in practice or if a
competing regulation prohibits such practice. Either way, a “no practice” mark puts the economy at the bottom of the ranking on the
relevant indicator.
* Two or more economies share the top ranking on this indicator. A number shown in place of an economy’s name indicates the number
of economies that share the top ranking on the indicator. For a list of these economies, see the Doing Business website
(http://www.doingbusiness.org).
Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2015                        Myanmar                                                                     16

STARTING A BUSINESS
Formal registration of companies has many                                WHAT THE STARTING A BUSINESS
immediate benefits for the companies and for
business owners and employees. Legal entities can                        INDICATORS MEASURE
outlive their founders. Resources are pooled as
several shareholders join forces to start a company.                     Procedures to legally start and operate a
Formally registered companies have access to                             company (number)
services and institutions from courts to banks as well
                                                                          Preregistration (for example, name
as to new markets. And their employees can benefit
                                                                          verification or reservation, notarization)
from protections provided by the law. An additional
benefit comes with limited liability companies. These                     Registration in the economy’s largest
limit the financial liability of company owners to their                  business city1
investments, so personal assets of the owners are not
                                                                          Postregistration (for example, social security
put at risk. Where governments make registration
                                                                          registration, company seal)
easy, more entrepreneurs start businesses in the
formal sector, creating more good jobs and                               Time required to complete each procedure
generating more revenue for the government.                              (calendar days)

What do the indicators cover?                                             Does not include time spent gathering
                                                                          information
Doing Business measures the ease of starting a
business in an economy by recording all procedures                        Each procedure starts on a separate day (2
officially required or commonly done in practice by                       procedures cannot start on the same day).
an entrepreneur to start up and formally operate an                       Procedures that can be fully completed
industrial or commercial business—as well as the                          online are recorded as ½ day.
time and cost required to complete these procedures.                      Procedure completed once final document is
It also records the paid-in minimum capital that                          received
companies must deposit before registration (or
within 3 months). The ranking of economies on the                         No prior contact with officials
ease of starting a business is determined by sorting                     Cost required to complete each procedure
their distance to frontier scores for starting a                         (% of income per capita)
business. These scores are the simple average of the
distance to frontier scores for each of the component                     Official costs only, no bribes
indicators.                                                               No professional fees unless services required
To make the data comparable across economies,                             by law
Doing Business uses several assumptions about the                        Paid-in minimum capital (% of income
business and the procedures. It assumes that all                         per capita)
information is readily available to the entrepreneur
and that there has been no prior contact with                              Deposited in a bank or with a notary before
officials. It also assumes that the entrepreneur will                      registration (or within 3 months)
pay no bribes. And it assumes that the business:
      Is a limited liability company, located in the                    Has a start-up capital of 10 times income per
       largest business city and is 100% domestically                     capita.
       owned1.
                                                                         Has a turnover of at least 100 times income per
      Has between 10 and 50 employees.                                   capita.
      Conducts general commercial or industrial                         Does not qualify for any special benefits.
       activities.
                                                                         Does not own real estate.

1
    For the 11 economies with a population of more than 100 million, data for a second city have been added.
Doing Business 2015                    Myanmar                                                                              17

STARTING A BUSINESS

Where does the economy stand today?
What does it take to start a business in Myanmar?                 largest business city of an economy, except for 11
According to data collected by Doing Business, starting a         economies for which the data are a population-weighted
business there requires 11.0 procedures, takes 72.0 days,         average of the 2 largest business cities. See the chapter
costs 155.9% of income per capita and requires paid-in            on distance to frontier and ease of doing business
minimum capital of 6190.1% of income per capita (figure           ranking at the end of this profile for more details.
2.1). Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the

Figure 2.1 What it takes to start a business in Myanmar
Paid-in minimum capital (% of income per capita): 6190.1

Note: Time shown in the figure above may not reflect simultaneity of procedures. Online procedures account for 0.5 days in the
total time calculation. For more information on the methodology of the starting a business indicators, see the Doing Business
website (http://www.doingbusiness.org). For details on the procedures reflected here, see the summary at the end of this chapter.
Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2015                  Myanmar                                                                    18

STARTING A BUSINESS
Globally, Myanmar stands at 189 in the ranking of 189        average ranking provide other useful information for
economies on the ease of starting a business (figure 2.2).   assessing how easy it is for an entrepreneur in Myanmar
The rankings for comparator economies and the regional       to start a business.

Figure 2.2 How Myanmar and comparator economies rank on the ease of starting a business

Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2015                    Myanmar                                                                      19

STARTING A BUSINESS

What are the details?
Underlying the indicators shown in this chapter for
                                                               STANDARDIZED COMPANY
Myanmar is a set of specific procedures—the
bureaucratic and legal steps that an entrepreneur
must complete to incorporate and register a new                 Legal form: Limited Liability Company
firm. These are identified by Doing Business through
collaboration with relevant local professionals and             Paid in minimum capital requirement: MMK
the study of laws, regulations and publicly available           50,000,000
information on business entry in that economy.                  City: Yangon
Following is a detailed summary of those procedures,
along with the associated time and cost. These                  Start-up Capital: 10 times GNI per capita
procedures are those that apply to a company
matching      the    standard     assumptions      (the
“standardized company”) used by Doing Business in
collecting the data (see the section in this chapter on
what the indicators measure).
Table 2.2 Summary of time, cost and procedures for starting a business in Myanmar
                                                                                    Time to
 No.    Procedure                                                                                 Cost to complete
                                                                                   complete
       Obtain reference letter from the ward chief

       Yangon is divided into 4 districts, and 33 townships. Each township is
       then divided into a certain number of wards, which is the smallest
       administrative unit grouping several households or ‘each block’. The
   1   ‘ward chief’ provides a letter confirming the address of the new             2 days           no charge
       business.

       Agency: Ward Chief

       Obtain criminal history from the township police station

       After obtaining the reference letter from the ward, the relevant
       township police station signs a letter containing your criminal history.      1 day           no charge
   2

       Agency: Township police station

       Conduct a name check at the Company Registration Office (CRO) at
       the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration (DICA)

       On the first visit to the CRO at the Yangon DICA office, and after having                   paid as part of
       obtained the letters from the ward and police station, the proposed           1 day           company
   3
       name for the new business must be checked and cleared. There is an
                                                                                                 incorporation fees
       electronic database since October 2012 that makes it easier to check
       and to complete this procedure within the same day. The request is
       made and depending on the workload the check will be done in either
       a few minutes or a few hours at most, in the meantime the business
Doing Business 2015                     Myanmar                                                                                 20

                                                                                      Time to
No.   Procedure                                                                                          Cost to complete
                                                                                     complete
      owner or representative can wait in the office.

      Agency: the Company Registration Office (CRO) at the Directorate of
      Investment and Company Administration (DICA)

      * Request temporary business incorporation certificate

      Once the name check is complete, the following documents are
      automatically generated based on the info provided on the application
      form and are checked for accuracy by the applicant:
      o Application form (company name, list of directors with ID# and
      addresses, start-up capital, address)
      o Memorandum of Association (for local company, only Burmese
      version is required, though for English there is also a standardized
      format available)
      o Business plan of activities
      o Photocopy of the family certificate for each director (includes dates of          1 day,
      birth, relationship, occupation, ID#, ethnicity, citizenship, religion). This simultaneous with       Kyat 1,000
4
      is a standard form which each family already has in possession.                   previous         (application fee)
      o Pledge of directors (affidavit)                                                procedure
      o Ward reference letter
      o Criminal history letter from the township police station

      The applicant checks the accuracy of the generated documents, and
      goes back to the directors to obtain their signatures on the
      memorandum and articles of association.

      Agency: Yangon Directorate of Investment and Company Administration
      (DICA)

      Obtain signature of the directors before a lawyer or certified public
      accountant
                                                                                                         Kyat 40,000 for
      The memorandum and articles of association are signed before a lawyer                               witnessing the
      or CPA. The cost of witnessing the signature of the memorandum and                                 signature of the
5                                                                                      1 day
      articles of association are about 40,000 Kyat.                                                    memorandum and
                                                                                                             articles of
      Agency: Law or Accounting firm                                                                        association

      Payment of registration fees
                                                                                                            Kyat 1 million
      Payment of registration fees occurs at the accounts department in the                             (registration fees) +
      same DICA building.                                                                                    Kyat 15,000
6                                                                                      1 day
                                                                                                           (administrative
      Agency: Yangon Directorate of Investment and Company Administration
                                                                                                         fees) + Kyat 1,000
      (DICA)
                                                                                                            (stamp duty)
Doing Business 2015                     Myanmar                                                                             21

                                                                                        Time to
No.   Procedure                                                                                        Cost to complete
                                                                                       complete
      Obtain temporary certificate of incorporation

      After making the payments, the applicant returns to the Company
      Registration Office to obtain the temporary certificate, which is
      generated automatically. It needs to be reviewed and signed by the
      Assistant Director and the Deputy Director of the CRO. This can be
      done in 1 day if all is ready and the directors are available, but usually                         paid as part of
7     takes a few more days. This temporary certificate allows entrepreneurs            3 days             company
      to begin operating the business immediately while waiting for the                                incorporation fees
      permanent certificate, and is valid for 6 months.

      Agency: Yangon Directorate of Investment and Company Administration
      (DICA)

      Obtain the permanent incorporation certificate

      The Company Registration Office will carry out internal reviews in order
      to issue the permanent incorporation certificate. The file is sent to the
      Ministry of Home Affairs, where it is checked by the Bureau of Special
      Investigations (BSI) and the Police. The applicant is informed by the                              paid as part of
      DICA when the definitive certificate is ready to be picked up. The               2 months            company
8
      applicant can follow up by phone on the status of the application. The
                                                                                                       incorporation fees
      certificate is valid for 5 years.

      Agency: Yangon Directorate of Investment and Company Administration
      (DICA)

      * Pay the stamp duties for the permanent incorporation certificate

      Before going back to pick up the permanent incorporation certificate,              1 day,
      the applicant pays stamp duty on the Articles of Association, which          simultaneous with
9     must be shown at the DICA.                                                                         Kyat 200,000
                                                                                       previous
                                                                                      procedure
      Agency: Internal Revenue Department Branch Office

      Obtain a seal or a rubber stamp

      According to the law, a company seal is required for a newly constituted
      firm to operate. However, in practice a rubber stamp is used and
      accepted. It can be produced in shops in downtown Yangon for a cost               1 day             Kyat 2,000
10
      of 2,000 kyat.

      Agency: Sealmaker
Doing Business 2015                     Myanmar                                                                22

                                                                                    Time to
  No.    Procedure                                                                            Cost to complete
                                                                                   complete
        Register for commercial tax

        Registration for commercial tax (similar to VAT): companies are obliged
        to register with the tax authorities one month before the start of their
        business if the business is expected to generate turnover subject to
        commercial tax (a broad array of products fall into this category,
        including manufactured goods). Furthermore, within 10 days of starting
        a business the tax authorities should also be informed.                     1 day        no charge
  11

        DICA compiles a list of newly registered companies each month and
        sends this information to the relevant townships where the businesses
        are located.

        Agency: Township Internal Revenue Department Office

* Takes place simultaneously with another procedure.
Note: Online procedures account for 0.5 days in the total time calculation.
Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2015                   Myanmar                                                                   23

DEALING WITH CONSTRUCTION PERMITS
Regulation of construction is critical to protect the      WHAT THE DEALING WITH CONSTRUCTION
public. But it needs to be efficient, to avoid excessive
                                                           PERMITS INDICATORS MEASURE
constraints on a sector that plays an important part in
every economy. Where complying with building
regulations is excessively costly in time and money,        Procedures to legally build a warehouse
many builders opt out. They may pay bribes to pass          (number)
inspections or simply build illegally, leading to            Submitting all relevant documents and
hazardous construction that puts public safety at risk.      obtaining all necessary clearances, licenses,
Where compliance is simple, straightforward and              permits and certificates
inexpensive, everyone is better off.                         Submitting all required notifications and
What do the indicators cover?                                receiving all necessary inspections

Doing Business records the procedures, time and cost         Obtaining utility connections for water and
for a business in the construction industry to obtain        sewerage
all the necessary approvals to build a warehouse in          Registering the warehouse after its
the economy’s largest business city, connect it to           completion (if required for use as collateral or
basic utilities and register the warehouse so that it        for transfer of the warehouse)
can be used as collateral or transferred to another         Time required to complete each procedure
entity.                                                     (calendar days)
The ranking of economies on the ease of dealing with         Does not include time spent gathering
construction permits is determined by sorting their          information
distance to frontier scores for dealing with
                                                             Each procedure starts on a separate day.
construction permits. These scores are the simple
                                                             Procedures that can be fully completed online
average of the distance to frontier scores for each of
                                                             are recorded as ½ day.
the component indicators.
                                                             Procedure considered completed once final
To make the data comparable across economies,                document is received
Doing Business uses several assumptions about the
business and the warehouse, including the utility            No prior contact with officials
connections.                                                Cost required to complete each procedure (%
The business:                                               of warehouse value)
                                                             Official costs only, no bribes
       Is a limited liability company operating in
        the construction business and located in                Will have complete architectural and
        the largest business city. For the 11                    technical plans prepared by a licensed
        economies with a population of more than                 architect or engineer.
        100 million, data for a second city have
                                                                Will be connected to water and sewerage
        been added. Is domestically owned and
                                                                 (sewage system, septic tank or their
        operated.
                                                                 equivalent). The connection to each utility
       Has 60 builders and other employees.                     network will be 150 meters (492 feet) long.
The warehouse:                                                  Will be used for general storage, such as of
                                                                 books or stationery (not for goods requiring
       Is valued at 50 times income per capita.
                                                                 special conditions).
       Is a new construction (there was no
                                                                Will take 30 weeks to construct (excluding all
        previous construction on the land).
                                                                 delays due to administrative and regulatory
                                                                 requirements).
Doing Business 2015                    Myanmar                                                                            24

DEALING WITH CONSTRUCTION PERMITS
Where does the economy stand today?
What does it take to comply with the formalities to build        business city of an economy, except for 11 economies for
a warehouse in Myanmar? According to data collected              which the data are a population-weighted average of the
by Doing Business, dealing with construction permits             2 largest business cities. See the chapter on distance to
there requires 13.0 procedures, takes 128.0 days and             frontier and ease of doing business ranking at the end of
costs 8.8% of the warehouse value (figure 3.1). Most             this profile for more details.
indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest

Figure 3.1 What it takes to comply with formalities to build a warehouse in Myanmar

Note: Time shown in the figure above may not reflect simultaneity of procedures. Online procedures account for 0.5 days in the
total time calculation. For more information on the methodology of the dealing with construction permits indicators, see the
Doing Business website (http://www.doingbusiness.org). For details on the procedures reflected here, see the summary at the
end of this chapter.
Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2015              Myanmar                                                                     25

DEALING WITH CONSTRUCTION PERMITS
Globally, Myanmar stands at 130 in the ranking of 189   other useful information for assessing how easy it is for
economies on the ease of dealing with construction      an entrepreneur in Myanmar to legally build a
permits (figure 3.2). The rankings for comparator       warehouse.
economies and the regional average ranking provide

Figure 3.2 How Myanmar and comparator economies rank on the ease of dealing with construction permits

Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2015                     Myanmar                                                                        26

DEALING WITH CONSTRUCTION PERMITS
What are the details?
The indicators reported here for Myanmar are based
                                                                BUILDING A WAREHOUSE
on a set of specific procedures—the steps that a
company must complete to legally build a
warehouse—identified by Doing Business through                  Estimated cost of
information collected from experts in construction                                       MMK 40,386,793
                                                                construction :
licensing, including architects, civil engineers,
construction lawyers, construction firms, utility
                                                                City :                   Yangon
service providers and public officials who deal with
building regulations. These procedures are those              The procedures, along with the associated time and cost,
that apply to a company and structure matching the            are summarized below.
standard assumptions used by Doing Business in
collecting the data (see the section in this chapter on
what the indicators cover).
Table 3.2 Summary of time, cost and procedures for dealing with construction permits in Myanmar
                                                                                     Time to
  No.    Procedure                                                                                Cost to complete
                                                                                    complete
        Obtain a land title certificate and a cadastral map at the Yangon
        City Development Committee (YCDC) Land Department

        BuildCo visits the Yangon City Development Committee (YCDC) Land
        Department in order to request a land title certificate, which will prove
   1    ownership of the land that is to be developed, and a cadastral map,         30 days         MMK 40,000
        which will show the plot's dimensions.

        Agency: Yangon City Development Committee (YCDC) Land Department

        Request and obtain a ‘pre-approval’ (or design approval) at the
        YCDC Design Department

        The YCDC Design Department will check that the designs, which must
        be prepared by a licensed engineer, are compliant with building and          7 days           no charge
   2
        urbanism standards and regulations.

        Agency: YCDC Design Department

        Receive an inspection from a YCDC technician

        A YCDC technician will visit the plot of land in order to check that it
        corresponds to the land certificate and designs provided and to check
        the conditions for water and electricity connections. While there, the
        technician also checks with neighbors to ensure there are no land
        disputes or other issues. The inspector will issue a report to the YCDC,
   3    and the builder will be informed when they can proceed with the               1 day           no charge
        permit application. Soil tests are only required by law for buildings 3
        stories or higher or for large factories, though some builders prefer to
        perform the soil test, regardless of the building height. In such cases,
        the cost is MMK 150,000 and it takes about 2 weeks. Similarly, seismic
        and environmental checks are not required for small warehouses.

        Agency: YCDC Engineering Department (Building)
Doing Business 2015                     Myanmar                                                                  27

                                                                                    Time to
No.    Procedure                                                                              Cost to complete
                                                                                   complete

      * Obtain a recommendation letter or certificate from the ward

      The ward administrator or chief will issue a letter certifying the address
      of the builder. This is usually performed through an agent.                   1 day        no charge
4

      * Obtain consent from the neighbors

      A standard consent form obtained at the YCDC must be filled out by all
      the neighbors of the land which will be developed. This is usually
5     performed through an agent as well.                                           1 day        no charge

      Apply and obtain a construction permit at the YCDC Engineering
      Department (Building)

      The builder or representative must submit all the following in order to
      begin the application process for the construction permit:

      • Owner ID and family certificate
      • Application forms
      • Land title certificate from the YCDC Land Department
      • Cadastral map from the YCDC Land Department
      • Neighbor consent form completed
      • Drawings and structural designs – 3 sets
6     • Bills of quantity (BQ) – 3 sets                                            60 days    MMK 1,000,000
      • Recommendation letter from the Ward

      Once the application has gone through all the internal reviews at the
      YCDC, BuildCo is informed that the permit is ready and is provided with
      an invoice of how much is to be paid. The payment is either made at
      the YCDC Engineering (Building) Office directly or at the YCDC Bank for
      large amounts. About one week after the payment has been made, the
      construction permit can be picked up.

      Agency: YCDC Engineering Department (Building)

      Request and receive foundation inspection

      The Inspection Department of the YCDC will have received all the plans
      submitted by BuildCo and will be ready to conduct inspections during          1 day        no charge
7
      construction. BuildCo is supposed to inform the YCDC at the beginning
      of three stages: foundation, floors, and roofing.

      Agency: YCDC Engineering Department (Building)
Doing Business 2015                      Myanmar                                                                 28

                                                                                    Time to
No.    Procedure                                                                              Cost to complete
                                                                                   complete

      Request and receive flooring inspection

      The Inspection Department of the YCDC will have received all the plans
      submitted by BuildCo and will be ready to conduct inspections during
      construction. BuildCo is supposed to inform the YCDC at the beginning         1 day        no charge
8
      of three stages: foundation, floors, and roofing.

      Agency: YCDC Engineering Department (Building)

      Request and receive roofing inspection

      The Inspection Department of the YCDC will have received all the plans
      submitted by BuildCo and will be ready to conduct inspections during
      construction. BuildCo is supposed to inform the YCDC at the beginning         1 day        no charge
9
      of three stages: foundation, floors, and roofing.

      Agency: YCDC Engineering Department (Building)

      Request a building completion certificate from the YCDC

      After construction work is completed, a building completion certificate
      must be requested at the YCDC Engineering (Building) Department.              1 day        no charge
10
      Agency: YCDC Engineering Department (Building)

      Receive final inspection to obtain completion certificate from the
      YCDC

      Two to three days after requesting the completion certificate, YCDC
      engineers will visit the warehouse to check that it has been built            3 days       no charge
11
      according to the plans.

      Agency: YCDC Engineering Department (Building)

      Obtain completion certificate from the YCDC

      After the visit, the completion certificate will be issued if there are no
      problems.                                                                    21 days       no charge
12
      Agency: YCDC Engineering Department (Building)
Doing Business 2015                     Myanmar                                                           29

                                                                               Time to
  No.    Procedure                                                                       Cost to complete
                                                                              complete
        * Drill well for temporary water supply

  13                                                                           7 days    MMK 2,500,000

* Takes place simultaneously with another procedure.
Note: Online procedures account for 0.5 days in the total time calculation.
Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2015                      Myanmar                                                                    30

GETTING ELECTRICITY
Access to reliable and affordable electricity is vital for     WHAT THE GETTING ELECTRICITY
businesses. To counter weak electricity supply, many
firms in developing economies have to rely on self-            INDICATORS MEASURE
supply, often at a prohibitively high cost. Whether
electricity is reliably available or not, the first step for   Procedures to obtain an electricity
a customer is always to gain access by obtaining a             connection (number)
connection.
                                                                Submitting all relevant documents and
What do the indicators cover?                                   obtaining all necessary clearances and permits
Doing Business records all procedures required for a            Completing all required notifications and
local business to obtain a permanent electricity                receiving all necessary inspections
connection and supply for a standardized warehouse,
as well as the time and cost to complete them. These            Obtaining external installation works and
procedures include applications and contracts with              possibly purchasing material for these works
electricity utilities, clearances from other agencies           Concluding any necessary supply contract and
and the external and final connection works. The                obtaining final supply
ranking of economies on the ease of getting
electricity is determined by sorting their distance to         Time required to complete each procedure
frontier scores for getting electricity. These scores are      (calendar days)
the simple average of the distance to frontier scores           Is at least 1 calendar day
for each of the component indicators. To make the
data comparable across economies, several                       Each procedure starts on a separate day
assumptions are used.                                           Does not include time spent gathering
The warehouse:                                                  information

        Is owned by a local entrepreneur, located              Reflects the time spent in practice, with little
         in the economy’s largest business city, in             follow-up and no prior contact with officials
         an area where other warehouses are                    Cost required to complete each procedure
         located. For the 11 economies with a                  (% of income per capita)
         population of more than 100 million, data
                                                                Official costs only, no bribes
         for a second city have been added.
                                                                Excludes value added tax
        Is not in a special economic zone where
         the connection would be eligible for
         subsidization or faster service.                          Is to either the low-voltage or the medium-
                                                                    voltage distribution network and either
        Is located in an area with no physical
                                                                    overhead or underground, whichever is more
         constraints (ie. property not near a railway).
                                                                    common in the area where the warehouse is
        Is a new construction being connected to                   located. Included only negligible length in the
         electricity for the first time.                            customer’s private domain.
        Is 2 stories, both above ground, with a total             Requires crossing of a 10-meter road but all
         surface of about 1,300.6 square meters                     the works are carried out in a public land, so
         (14,000 square feet), is built on a plot of                there is no crossing into other people's
         929 square meters (10,000 square feet), is                 private property.
         used for storage of refrigerated goods
                                                                   Involves installing one electricity meter. The
The electricity connection:                                         monthly electricity consumption will be
                                                                    26880 kilowatt hour (kWh). The internal
        Is 150 meters long and is a 3-phase, 4-wire
                                                                    electrical wiring has been completed.
         Y, 140-kilovolt-ampere (kVA) (subscribed
         capacity) connection.
Doing Business 2015                      Myanmar                                                                                 31

GETTING ELECTRICITY
Where does the economy stand today?
What does it take to obtain a new electricity connection             Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest
in Myanmar? According to data collected by Doing                     business city of an economy, except for 11 economies for
Business, getting electricity there requires 5.0 procedures,         which the data are a population-weighted average of the
takes 91.0 days and costs 2801.7% of income per capita               2 largest business cities. See the chapter on distance to
(figure 4.1).                                                        frontier and ease of doing business ranking at the end of
                                                                     this        profile        for        more         details.

Figure 4.1 What it takes to obtain an electricity connection in Myanmar

Note: Time shown in the figure above may not reflect simultaneity of procedures. For more information on the methodology of the
getting electricity indicators, see the Doing Business website (http://www.doingbusiness.org). For details on the procedures reflected
here, see the summary at the end of this chapter.
Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2015                  Myanmar                                                                     32

GETTING ELECTRICITY
Globally, Myanmar stands at 121 in the ranking of 189        average ranking provide another perspective in assessing
economies on the ease of getting electricity (figure 4.2).   how easy it is for an entrepreneur in Myanmar to
The rankings for comparator economies and the regional       connect a warehouse to electricity.

Figure 4.2 How Myanmar and comparator economies rank on the ease of getting electricity

Source: Doing Business database.
Doing Business 2015                     Myanmar                                                                            33

GETTING ELECTRICITY
What are the details?
The indicators reported here for Myanmar are based on
                                                                      OBTAINING AN ELECTRICITY CONNECTION
a set of specific procedures—the steps that an
entrepreneur must complete to get a warehouse
connected to electricity by the local distribution utility—                                         Ministry of Electric Power
                                                                      Name of utility:
identified by Doing Business. Data are collected from the                                           (MOEP)
distribution utility, then completed and verified by
electricity regulatory agencies and independent                       City:                         Yangon
professionals such as electrical engineers, electrical
                                                                    The procedures are those that apply to a warehouse and
contractors and construction companies. The electricity             electricity connection matching the standard
distribution utility surveyed is the one serving the area           assumptions used by Doing Business in collecting the
(or areas) in which warehouses are located. If there is a           data (see the section in this chapter on what the
choice of distribution utilities, the one serving the largest       indicators cover). The procedures, along with the
number         of        customers         is       selected.       associated time and cost, are summarized below.
Table 4.2 Summary of time, cost and procedures for getting electricity in Myanmar
                                                                                          Time to
  No.    Procedure                                                                                        Cost to complete
                                                                                         complete
        The client requests the new connection at the township
        administration office

        The application for a new electricity connection begins with the
        contractor paying a visit to the relevant township where the warehouse is
        located. At this stage, the desired load and type of equipment (air
        conditioning, machines) that will operate in the warehouse must be
        specified. The following documents must also be submitted:
        o Building completion certificate (BCC)
        o Business license or company registration certificate
        o ID certificates
        o Family certificate
        o Ward administrator reference letter (obtained during construction
        permit)
        o Electrical design                                                       49 calendar days         MMK 4,051,000
   1
        o List of utilities
        o Capacity load expected

        After the inspection of the client's warehouse by the township, the
        application is internally distributed among the levels of government,
        from the township to the district, without the intervention of the
        applicant. There are 4 districts in Yangon, divided into 33 townships.
        Then the application is internally distributed from the district to the city
        level (Yangon Electricity Supply Board), without the interaction of the
        applicant.
        Subsequently the application is distributed from the city to the national
        level (Ministry of Electrical Power) without the interaction of the
        applicant. At the Ministry, there is an Executive Committee meeting once
        a week to decide on new connection requests to allocate capacity
        according to priorities and availability. The Minister needs to sign the
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