Legal and Tax Updates

On 13 November 2019, the Microfinance Supervisory Committee under the Ministry of Planning and Finance released Directive No. 2/2019 on Customer Due Diligence for Anti-Money Laundering and Combatting the Financing of Terrorism (“Directive”). This Directive must be followed by Microfinance Institutions (“MFIs”) operating in Myanmar and is aimed at strengthening reporting requirements for suspicious transactions...

The Myanmar Government recently made a significant amendment to the Myanmar Stamp Act focusing on the reduction of penalties for late or deficient stamp duty payments. On 26 November 2019, the Union Parliament enacted Pyidaungsu Hluttaw Law No. 32 (Law Amending the Myanmar Stamp Act) which reduces penalties for late or deficient payments of stamp...

The Royal Government of Cambodia on the 25th of November 2019 signed its ninth (9th) Double Tax Agreement (“DTA“) with the Republic of Korea in Busan, South Korea.  The DTA was one of five agreements that were signed by Cambodian Foreign Affairs Minister Prak Sokhonn and his Korean counterpart Kang Kyung-wha on the sidelines of...

With the aim of reducing unofficial offshore remittances and to provide a legal framework for such activities, the Central Bank of Myanmar (“CBM”) issued Notification No. 21/2019 regarding offshore remittance business license regulations on 15 November 2019 (“ORBLR”). The ORBLR embodies important provisions such as the application process for an offshore remittance business license (“ORBL”),...

The amendment of the Labor Code 2012 passed through the legislature with 90.06% approval from the National Assembly Deputies on 20 November 2019. These amendments shall take effect from 1 January 2021. The most important change in the revised Labor Code is the freedom of association whereby employees may form or join a representative organization...

The Directorate of Investment and Company Administration (“DICA”) has issued a directive on Disclosure of Information on Beneficial Ownership on 15 November 2019 (“Directive”), which will be effective from 1 January 2020. The primary objective of this Directive is to effectively increase the transparency and accountability of beneficial ownership of a legal entity or an...

Further to our previous alerts, we take this opportunity to remind you that the deadline to file your 2020 foreign employee quota will expire on 30 November 2019. If your organization fails to apply for the 2020 foreign employee quota, it will not be able to hire foreign employees or obtain work permits for such...

Introduction With the Central Bank of Myanmar (“CBM”) conducting two rounds of foreign bank licensing in 2014 and 2016, Myanmar’s banking sector liberalization and modernization has been slowly progressing in sporadic phases. As of today, there are 13 foreign bank branches licensed to conduct business in Myanmar, though their business activities are largely restricted. In...

Following approval by the Council of Ministers on 30 August 2019, the National Assembly of Cambodia on 8 October 2019 and the Senate on 18 October 2019, the Law on Construction has now been promulgated by the Royal Krorm No. NS/RKM/1119/019 dated 2 November 2019. This new law contains 22 chapters and 111 articles and aims...

Myanmar has recently seen what is believed to be the first registration of mortgage over leasehold interest of an immovable property in favour of a foreign lender. Registration of deeds evidencing rights or interests in land is mandated under the Registration Law of 2018 (“Registration Law”) and prior to 2018 was required under the Registration...