Nov 23, 2016

MicroCapital reports from the EMW 2016 session 'Myanmar, the new Golden Land for microfinance ?':

Paul Luchtenburg, who serves as coordinator for the UN Capital Development Fund in Myanmar, described several of the contrasts in the microfinance industry in Myanmar at European Microfinance Week Thursday. Five years into civilian rule, Mr Luchtenburg says "I've never seen a government work so hard. You go to a meeting and the results go up the leadership chain that night.... There's this rapid push for development." To accept deposits, institutions must pay at least 10 percent per year and be deemed "sustainable" by the government. However, lending rates are capped at 2.5 percent per month, a level that all of the panelists agreed was too low, especially for serving rural areas. Rommel Caringal, the CEO of the local unit of US-based VisionFund, said, "The inconsistency is causing big problems, but the government is making adjustments." Mr Luchtenburg agreed that regulators are more open to new ideas than their peers in other countries.

Read the full report here

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