For the first time, the report will provide official details and statistics on Myanmar’s geography, population and climate as well as its education transportation, healthcare and communications systems according to each region.

The report will help foreigners interested in Myanmar make better investment decisions and raise the volume of foreign direct investments coming into the country.

“In the past, foreign investors encountered many difficulties in obtaining data on Myanmar. They had to travel to the related departments to collect details on the various sectors, which was tough work. Now with this report, investors can get access to information on any type of business they want to do,” U Thitsar, private sector specialist at the World Bank told The Myanmar Times.

“This report is extremely comprehensive. It contains information about the population to topographical conditions in Myanmar. It includes data on the various regions where it is densely populated, for example.”

The report will not only help investors at a time of rising interest in Myanmar’s economy but also organisations and individuals responsible for drawing up policies or planning public projects.

“Take urban planning projects for example. Which locations should they develop? Which locations have the densest population? As the report also includes information on infrastructure requirements such as roads and bridges, it would greatly benefit policy makers,” said U Thitsar.

The Socio-Economic Atlas of Myanmar focuses on historical and social-based data as opposed to hard economic data and current business conditions. So, it will be useful as a directory for preparations and analysis of potential investments, said U Thantsin Lwin, deputy director of DICA.

The release of the report comes after a separate report entitled Cost of Doing Business was published by DICA and GIZ earlier this year. The two reports contain sufficient data and information required to make investment decisions in Myanmar, U Thantsin Lwin said.

The statistics in the book are based on 330 villages and towns in 15 Regions and States since 2012. This includes the population, religions, area, number of townships, wards and villages of each Region and State.

The land area, type of land and landscape are stated precisely and include the cultivation and farming areas of each region. There are also maps, captions and data on roads and bridges, electricity accessibility, hospitals, clinics and location of schools.

“In promoting investment, it is necessary to provide solid data, together with a detailed map of the country. That’s why this report was made and published,” said Daw Aye Aye Myint, deputy director general of Urban and Rural Development Head Department under the Ministry of Construction.

The report was prepared using the ground survey methods of the respective Ministries, Yangon University, Cologne University in Germany, Myanmar-Germany Urban and Rural Research Department and published in Germany.

Source: https://www.mmtimes.com/news/myanmar-publishes-first-socio-economic-report-investors.html