Myanmar banks to provide money exchange services to ASEAN neighbors

Money exchange services will be conducted by Myanmar banks in Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand starting February.

Banks in Myamar are bidding to extend foreign trade services with ASEAN members.

Private banks -- the Cooperative Bank, Kanbawza Bank, Asian Green Development Bank and Ayeyawaddy Bank will facilitate migrant workers in Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia in sending back money to their families in the country, the Yangon Times said.

The Cooperative Bank will handle remittances from Myanmar workers in Singapore while Ayeyawaddy Bank in Malaysia, Kanbawza Bank in Thailand, Asian Green Development Bank in Singapore and Malaysia.

Meanwhile, Myanmar has exempted its citizens living abroad from paying income tax in foreign currency from Jan. 1.

Moreover, 11 private banks out of 19 were granted to trade three foreign hard currencies -- U.S. dollar, Euro and Singapore dollar in November last year.

The 11 private banks include Kanbawza Bank, Cooperative Bank, Myanmar Industrial Development Bank, Myawaddy Bank, Inwa Bank, Myanmar Oriental Bank, Asian Green Development Bank, Ayeyawaddy Bank, Myanmar Pioneer Bank, United Amara Bank and Tun Foundation Bank.

There are also three state-owned banks in Myanmar, namely Myanmar Economic Bank, Myanmar Foreign Trade Bank and Myanmar Investment Commercial Bank.

Besides the state-owned and private banks, there have also been 15 foreign bank representative offices from nine countries set up in Myanmar so far, of which four from Singapore, two each from Bangladesh, Malaysia and Japan, and one each from Cambodia, Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam and China.

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