This was announced during the Mon State Investment Fair held last Friday and Saturday.

The six sectors that the state government has decided to focus on are agriculture, fisheries, tourism, trade and logistics, manufacturing and infrastructure.

“We invite local and international organisations to explore investment opportunities in Mon State, and we will do our best to support them. The location of Mon State means there is strong potential to leverage on the trade channels with Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand. At the same time, we are working towards supporting tourism development in Mon State, as there are many beautiful areas to be discovered,” said Mon State Chief Minister Dr Aye Zan during the event. 

Dr. Aye Zan said that Mon State is throwing open its doors for international and local investors to explore investment opportunities in the six sectors. 

“We are seeking local and foreign investment to develop cold storage and cold chain infrastructure which will support the agriculture sector in Mon State. We are also seeking companies to invest in packaging systems and to provide services around dehydration of fruits and vegetables,” said U Htun Htay, Mon State Minister for Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and Transportation. 

“Myanmar has resources such as good soil and a variety of climatic zones to grow different crops. However, one of the key areas that needs to be addressed is inefficient production. Our recommendations to overcome this include introducing contract farming where agricultural production is carried out according to an agreement between a buyer and farmers; to provide education to farmers to improve their production level, and to encourage farmers to grow other higher-value crops,” said one of the speakers at the event Gopikrishana Rengasamy, director for infrastructure and energy with consultangs KPMG Singapore. 

Agriculture, fisheries, and mining are the main sectors for the economy of Mon State. In recent years, foreign direct investment has been flowing into industrial production, services, energy, and electricity in the state. 

“As we work towards growth and progress in the region, we also need to develop the ecosystem comprising the government and its policies, the support of local institutions and local communities,’’ U Aung Thein Naing, Managing Director, AJ Myanmar Co., Ltd, said.

To date, 38 foreign and 42 local businesses have invested and estimated US$5 billion in the state.  

During the investment fair, Singaporean consultancy firm Surbana Jurong presented its Mon State Vision Master Plan (2035) which provides a dynamic conceptual zoning layout of major urban centres in Mon State with distinctive development potential, providing a guide for the strategic and systematic future growth of the state. The Mon State Vision Master Plan (2035) reflects the company’s efforts to contribute its global experience and technical expertise in the urban and infrastructure domains to support Mon State and Myanmar with its growth journey.

Source: https://www.mmtimes.com/news/mon-state-throws-open-doors-investors-six-sectors.html