Agricultural sector and SMEs to receive private bank loans
The Central Bank of Myanmar will make it compulsory for local private banks to grant a minimum percentage of their loans to the agricultural sector and the small and medium-sized enterprises sector, Central Bank director general U Win Thaw told the Myanmar Times. During a meeting held by the Private Sector Development Committee, members of the agricultural and SMEs sectors raised the issue that private banks do not issue loans for either sector. The members added that if Myanmar’s economy is to develop, the country’s SMEs and agriculture will need to take off and grow. Loans are vital for their growth. Therefore, officials from the Ministry of Planning and Finance, the Central Bank and the Ministry of Commerce decided that a requirement has to be established for private banks to grant loans to the two sectors, said U Win Thaw, who is also the vice chair of the PSDC. It is understood that private banks must dedicate a minimum percentage of their commercial loans to agriculture and SMEs sectors.
