Singapore has been listed as the top investor so far in a huge industrial zone on the outskirts of Yangon, Myanmar, according to the country's Directorate of Investment and Company Administration.
A special report by the Eleven Media Group showed that the $1.5 billion (S$2 billion) Thilawa Special Economic Zone (SEZ) has attracted a total of $713.3 million of investments including everything from children's toy manufacturing to a car assembly plant and a deep sea port.
According to the report, 13 foreign countries have invested and Singapore leads the list among all the investors. Investments from the Republic amounted to US$298.15 million (S$406 million), which is followed by Japan, Hong Kong, Thailand, the UAE, Panama, China, Malaysia and South Korea.
The total amount of investments from within Myanmar topped US$28 million. Most of the investments were in the industrial sector which was followed by trade and services.
The investment report said that other countries like US have used Singapore as a pipeline in order to avoid the trade sanctions which are maintained by Washington against the former military junta.
Myanmar is seen to have 51-per-cent stake while Japan has 49 per cent in the project.
