A working group comprising government and bank officials as well as entrepreneurs has been formed with the support of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), to develop business banking services and supply chain mechanisms so that Myanmar's traders can participate more actively in international trade.

State-owned Myanmar Investment and Commercial Bank (MICB) is particularly keen to improve letter of credit (L/C) availability.

Focus areas

The International Trade Supply Chain (ITSC) working group will focus on areas in need of reform, such as trade finance and restrictive trade policies.

While retail banking services in Myanmar have improved over recent years, business services, including the provision of loans, L/Cs and trade financing in general, remain poor.

Representatives

The working group includes officials from 19 ministries - principally the ministry of commerce and the ministry of planning and finance's customs department and the internal revenue department - as well as representatives from private enterprises.

Financial sector representatives include MICB, Myanmar Central Bank and Myanmar Foreign Trade Bank.

L/C availability

State-owned MICB will try to make it easier for traders to use L/Cs, according to the bank's deputy director, U Khin Pe Oo.

"We will try to make the banking system more suited to the use of L/Cs. If anything is unclear, entrepreneurs can get in touch with us to find out which services are available," he said.

This article represents the views of the author and not necessarily those of the ICC or any of the other partners in DC-PRO.