Looking at so many different types of land According to the Transfer of Immovable Property Restriction Law, foreign-invested companies can lease land only for a short period of up to one year. The Myanmar Investment Commission (MIC), however, abolished this limit for foreign investors operating under an MIC permit by virtue of Notification 39/2011 dated September 30, 2011. In the Notification, the upper limit for a lease of land by a foreign-invested company was set at 30 years. The new Foreign Investment Law, in effect since November 2, 2012, further relaxed the rules, allowing the lease of land for an initial period of up to 50 years. The lease may be extended twice for up to 10 years each time. However, the actually permitted lease periods will often be lower as the MIC does not allow leases to last longer than the approved investment period which depends on the category of the business, the industry and the volume of investment. The investor can lease (i) government-owned land, (ii) land owned by a government department or organisation, and (iii) land held by a citizen with the right to lease land or the right to use land. For farming and livestock breeding and related activities, a foreign investor can lease vacant, fallow and virgin land with the prior approval of the Land Management Committee. “Government-owned land” is land owned by the Union Government or a State or Region Government; and land owned by government departments or organisations is land owned by the government ministries and organisations including the City Development Committees. A “person who has the right to lease land” is a person who is entitled to lease land in order to carry out any business within an approved period. A “person who has the right to use land” is a person who has the right to carry out any agricultural or livestock breeding business. These rights require the payment of a land fee to the state. How can foreign investors apply for the right to lease land? No separate application exists. Documents pertaining to the land have to be filed as part of the application for an MIC permit. For privately owned land, the investor has to submit a draft of the lease agreement. The MIC will ask the government of the state or region in which the land is located whether there are any objections to the use of the land. If the application is approved and the MIC permit issued, the foreign investor or a representative of the investment vehicle incorporated in Myanmar and the landlord sign the lease agreement. Not every business can be done everywhere. Manufacturing for instance can only be done in an industrial zone or on land for which there is a Form LaNa-39. This form certifies that the land can be used for residential or industrial purposes. For wood-based industries, War Ta Yar Industrial Zone in Shwe Pyithar township and for metal foundry work Myaung Tagar Iron and Steel Industrial Zone are recommended.
Posted on: Mon, 30 Sep 2013 04:23:03 +0000
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