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In the six years since the "Belt and Road" initiative was put forward, China has adhered to the principle of "extensive consultation, joint construction, and sharing" and has signed 173 "Belt and Road" cooperation documents with 125 countries and 29 international organizations. Statistics from the Ministry of Commerce show that from 2003 to 2018, China's textile industry's foreign direct investment totaled 9.796 billion billion US dollars, with an average annual growth rate of 15.6 percent, accounting for 5.2 percent of the total manufacturing foreign direct investment. The textile industry is a leading industry for my country to actively promote the construction of the "Belt and Road", and it is also the preferred industry for countries and regions along the "Belt and Road" to promote industrialization, create national wealth, and provide a large number of jobs. Myanmar and Vietnam are important nodes of the "Belt and Road" and important members of the Lancang-Mekong cooperation. They have broad development prospects in deepening cooperation and complementing each other's advantages. In order to better help enterprises in my country's line belt industry understand the "Belt and Road". The development status, investment prospects, economic and trade cooperation and future trends along the route, the China Industrial Textile Industry Association, together with the China Textile International production capacity Cooperation Enterprise Alliance and the Textile Industry Branch of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, led by Zheng Junlin, vice president of the China Industrial Textile Industry Association, went to Myanmar on August 12-14, 2019. Ding Junmin, chairman of the thread belt branch of the China Industrial Textile Industry Association and chairman of Zhejiang Sanding Weaving Co., Ltd, as well as Fujian Rongshu, Dongguan Yongheng, Hujiang Line Industry, Xiamen Yao Ming, Zhejiang Aoya, Kaiping Qifan, Dongguan Jiayi, Xiamen Lude, Zhongshan Yonglilai and other key enterprises of the Line Belt Branch visited together.

Overview of Myanmar

The Republic of the Union of Myanmar (abbreviated as: Myanmar) is located on the west side of the Indochina Peninsula, with a land area of 676000 square kilometers (slightly smaller than Qinghai Province). It is the country with the largest land area in Southeast Asia. It is divided into 7 provinces, 7 states and two central municipalities (Yangon and Naypyidaw). In November 2005, the administrative capital was moved from Yangon to Naypyidaw. Yangon is the largest city. Myanmar has a total population of more than 5300 million and 135 ethnic groups, of which Burmese account for about 68% of the total population. More than 89% of the people in the country believe in Buddhism and about 8% believe in Islam. At present, the number of Chinese and overseas Chinese in Myanmar is about 2.5 million. Burmese Chinese are involved in almost all fields of Myanmar's social economy, especially commerce, service industry and processing and manufacturing industry.

Myanmar's main trading partners are Asian countries and regions, and trade with leading countries accounts for 90% of Myanmar's total foreign trade. According to the latest data from the Myanmar Central Bureau of Statistics, China is Myanmar's largest trading partner, and the top five trading partners are China, Thailand, Singapore, Japan and India. According to data from the Ministry of Commerce of Myanmar, in the 2017/2018 fiscal year, Myanmar's total foreign trade reached US $33.32 billion billion, of which exports were US $14.675 billion and imports were US $18.645 billion. As a member of ASEAN, Myanmar has joined the ASEAN Free Trade Area, China-ASEAN Free Trade Area, South Korea-ASEAN Free Trade Area, Japan-ASEAN Free Trade Area, India-ASEAN Free Trade Area, etc. At the same time, it enjoys the United States, the European Union, etc. GSP (GSP) treatment.‍

01 Discussion with Myanmar Chinese Enterprise Chamber of Commerce

The delegation had a discussion with Luo Jun, Executive Vice President of the Myanmar Chinese Enterprise Chamber of Commerce, Luo Muzhen, Deputy Secretary-General and others.

Vice President Luo introduced that in February 2017, under the leadership and support of the Chinese Embassy in Myanmar, the Myanmar Chinese Enterprise Chamber of Commerce was reorganized and officially registered in November of the same year. At present, there are 300 registered members, and 7 branches have been set up, including textile and garment, real estate and construction, ICT communication, agriculture, electric power, tourism and service industry. The main purpose of the Chamber of Commerce is to build an important platform for Chinese-funded enterprises in Myanmar to communicate, coordinate and cooperate with the government departments of China and Myanmar.

Deputy Secretary-General Luo said that before 2004, Myanmar's clothing industry was relatively developed, but due to sanctions imposed by Western countries, Myanmar's clothing industry has been in a long-term recession. In 2012, Myanmar promulgated the "Foreign Investment Law" and formulated investment rules for the garment industry to encourage the development of foreign garment industry. With the lifting of economic sanctions in Europe and the United States and more and more Chinese enterprises have begun to invest and build factories in Myanmar, Myanmar's textile and clothing industry has grown significantly, and the scale of trade has also grown rapidly. However, the current imbalance in the development of Myanmar's textile and garment industry chain is prominent. The garment industry is growing rapidly, the development of the textile upstream industry is slow, and the scale is obviously smaller than that of the garment industry. Myanmar's textile industry is dominated by garment processing. There are no large textile mills and printing and dyeing factories. Readymade raw materials such as yarns and fabrics are mainly imported. China is its main source of raw materials.

As of July, there are more than 600 garment factories in Myanmar, with foreign capital and joint ventures accounting for more than half. Chinese-funded enterprises are the main force, accounting for about 60%, and about more than 300 enterprises. These garment factories are mainly concentrated in the Yangon area.

Advantages of Investing in Myanmar:

bilateral relations between china and myanmar develop well

Myanmar enjoys GSP policy granted by EU, Japan

Foreign investment can get 3-7 years tax exemption policy

Myanmar's population advantage is obvious-65% of the nearly 53 million population are of working age, and half of them are female, which is favored by garment manufacturing. Burmese people attach importance to family, learning adaptability, suitable to become garment manufacturing workers. The labor cost is low, the minimum wage is about 654 yuan/month, plus 2 hours of overtime and other benefits are about 1500 yuan/month.

The cost of electricity is relatively cheap, about 0.9 yuan per degree of electricity.

The main industrial park is about 0.5-1 hour away from the port and airport, with convenient transportation.

Companies don't have to provide room and board to their employees, reducing management costs, but they need to provide a place to eat.

Good social security and simple folk customs

The China-Myanmar railway is in the exploration stage, starting from Mujie, a city in China and Myanmar. It will reach Yangon from Mandalay hub to the south through the capital Naypitaw. The whole railway line is 430 highway and is expected to be completed in 2021.

Challenges in investing in Myanmar:

Inadequate infrastructure, especially insufficient power, poor transportation facilities, and serious traffic jams

Less financing channels, bank financing difficulties

There is a lack of localized management personnel, workers' skills are not high, and companies need to train their employees.

The industrial chain is not complete, the main surface and auxiliary materials rely on imports, secondary auxiliary materials such as cartons, tapes, lines, some shipping marks, etc. can be localized procurement.

Higher rental of plant:

About 2-3 US dollars per square meter. Foreigners cannot buy land. Investment in the industrial park can rent land for 50 to 20 years to build factories.

Myanmar's social system, language, cultural differences and trade union system are all problems that enterprises need to face.

02 Visit to Hengtian (Yangon) Garment Co., Ltd.

In November 2014, Hengtian (Yangon) Garment Co., Ltd. settled in Shuiling Ban Industrial Zone, Ledaya District, near Yangon. The first factory was completed in June 2015 with 1000 employees and 24 sewing lines, with a production capacity of 600000 pieces/month. The products are exported to Europe and China. The second factory was completed in May 2016 with 2000 employees and 44 sewing lines with 20 embroidery and 10 embroidery, the production capacity is 1.2 million pieces/month, and the products are exported to Japan and Europe. At present, the factory covers an area of 42000 square meters and currently has 3000 people, including 31 Chinese managers, 68 assembly lines and an average production capacity of 1.8 million pieces per month. The third factory has been completed, with 35 sewing lines, 60 printing lines and 30 embroidery machines. It is expected to employ 1500 employees. Its products are mainly exported to Japan and Europe. Hengtian Enterprise plans to form a garment factory by 2020: about 11000 employees, 230 garment assembly lines, with a production capacity of 10 million pieces/month; Size of the fabric factory: 6 assembly lines with a production capacity of 1000 tons/month.

General Manager Yan Qiuhong said that the main thing enterprises are facing is the strike movement. In order to fundamentally prevent strikes, the company and the trade union have established regular trade union meetings and dialogue mechanisms to ensure that the company understands the opinions and needs of the trade union in a timely manner, and develops constructive interaction with the trade union, and properly handles the relationship between employers and labor or labor organizations. relationship. In order to prevent the loss of employees, according to different cultural customs, the company comprehensively considers the living habits of Myanmar employees. Myanmar traditional holidays such as Water Splashing Festival, Lantern Festival and Full Moon Festival are closed, and holiday gifts are distributed to all employees, and Chinese and Myanmar employees get together. The company respects the beliefs of employees and sets up Buddhist halls in the company to facilitate employees to worship Buddha every day. Employees get married, children do full moon wine, the company sends them blessings and gifts. Through these real and in-depth care actions, the company has become the second trusted home of Myanmar employees. In 2018, the company released its first overseas factory social responsibility report based on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

03 Research Star Mai Li Ya Yangon Trade City

Singapore Xingmailiya Group is committed to the development, construction and operation of overseas trade infrastructure, gathering comprehensive service functions such as commodity display, procurement trade, exhibition marketing, residential life, etc. Based in Singapore, the international trade center, the group has 16 overseas projects in the world, with more than 6 billion land reserves. It is located in Myanmar, Cambodia, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and other emerging Southeast Asian countries, Dubai, UAE, and the United States, Canada, Australia and other developed countries and regions.

The Xingmailiya Yangon Trade City project covers an area of 720000 square meters and a construction area of more than 3 million square meters. It is located in Yangon Dilowa Special Economic Zone, 15 kilometers away from Yangon city center and 16 kilometers away from Yangon Port International Terminal. It is a key development area in Yangon. At present, Yangon Trade City has fully entered the stage of project construction and investment promotion. The market property is self-sustaining and the shops are only rented but not sold. The investment promotion industries include: textile leather, jewelry and accessories, luggage and accessories, clothing, shoes, hats and accessories, industrial electrical, hardware tools, hotel and kitchen supplies, auto and motorcycle supplies and accessories, home appliances, digital and mobile phone accessories, security equipment, daily necessities, etc.

04 Research local wholesale market

Yuzana Plaza is currently the largest indoor wholesale market in Myanmar and opened in early 1995. The market has 5 floors and more than 700 shops, mainly engaged in clothing, furniture, household goods, accessories, electronic products and other small commodities. The market is currently also one of the main places for local residents in Yangon to purchase items.

Bogyoko Aung San Market was built in 1926 under the original name of Scott's Market. After Myanmar's independence in 1948, it was renamed Bogyoko Aung San Market to commemorate General Aung San, the "Father of Myanmar. The market has more than 1000 shops, mainly engaged in handicrafts and clothing.

Top-level designs such as the Belt and Road Initiative, the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Mechanism and the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor have brought important development opportunities for China-Myanmar garment industry cooperation. China is not only an investor in Myanmar's textile and garment industry, an important source of raw materials and intermediate products, but also a consumer of Myanmar's textile and garment products. Chinese textile and garment enterprises have brought the organization and management experience of industrial production, continuously trained management talents for the local, improved the overall technology and process level of Myanmar's garment manufacturing industry, played a technology spillover effect, and directly promoted the healthy development and transformation and upgrading of Myanmar's garment manufacturing industry. As a supporting industry of textile and clothing, thread belt has not yet formed mass production in Myanmar. Except for a small amount of sewing thread produced locally, most of them rely on imports from China. However, the development of textile industry in Myanmar is still in its infancy and there is still a long way to go in the future.