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Myanmar land to get some new action with law change


Myanmar land to get some new action with law change

Decades of leasehold at stake

Panorama of developing Yangon. Perfect Lazybones/Shutterstock
Panorama of developing Yangon. Perfect Lazybones/Shutterstock

In a bid to prevent the country’s infamously pricey land from sitting idly, the Myanmar government is planning to lease state-owned plots to investors, Eleven Myanmar reported.

State-owned land will be made available for leasing to the right investors for up to 70 years, according to Minister of Planning and Finance Kyaw Win.

“Skyrocketing land prices serve as a major deterrent to the influx of foreign investments,” he explained. “We have a plan to reduce land prices for foreign investors as much as we can and allow them to run their businesses without collecting any land rental fees, if possible. Our government will adopt this policy in the future. We have to make reforms with the aim of creating revenue for the country instead of keeping vacant land idle.”

More: Illegal foreign-owned property in Yangon must stop, says MP

The leasing will be staggered in phases: 50 years in the first, 10 years in the second, and 10 years in the third.

The average land price in the country stands at USD605 per square metre, with values in Yangon alone reportedly more expensive than Manhattan. Prices in neighbours Bangladesh and Pakistan, in comparison, stand at USD208 and USD258 per square metre, respectively.

Read next: Yangon high-rise projects up in the air

Source: Property Report