China Industry Expo opens in Myanmar Yangon

A Chinese expo -- China Industry Expo (Myanmar) -- was inaugurated at the Tatmadaw Hall in Myanmar' s former capital of Yangon Wednesday to promote Chinese brands in the Myanmar market and bilateral economic and trade cooperation.

Major-General Tin Ngwe from the Ministry of Defense of Myanmar, Yangon Commander and Chairman of the Yangon Region Peace and Development Council Brigadier-General Tun Than and Yangon Mayor U Aung Thein Lin as well as Charge d'affaires of the Chinese Embassy Wang Zongyin attended the opening ceremony.

The four-day expo, which will last until Saturday, is organized by the Trade Development Bureau of China's Ministry of Commerce, Department of Commerce of Yunnan Province and China Economic and Trade Consultants Corporation.

The launching of the expo is supported by the Chinese Embassy in Myanmar, the Myanmar Ministry of Commerce and the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

With 50 companies from a dozen of provinces in China, the expo, which covers an area of nearly 2,700 square-meters, mainly exhibits Chinese transport equipment, machinery and equipment, electrical equipment, construction material, home appliances, hardware products and household products.

Chinese Embassy Economic and Commercial Counselor Jin Honggen told Xinhua that due to favorable geographical condition and strong mutual supplementation economically, there exists vast prospects in launching mutually beneficial cooperation, adding that the expo contributes to economic and trade development and push investment.

The Chinese organizers also hope that the expo will serve as a trade platform for companies from Myanmar to have a better understanding of Chinese companies and products and promote purchasing and communications as well as a way for Chinese exhibitors to get to know the market demand and potential of Myanmar.

Chinese commodities, which possess high quality and are available at reasonable price, accounted for 80 percent of Myanmar 's import goods, merchants said.

According to official statistics, bilateral trade between China and Myanmar hit 3.427 billion U.S. dollars in the first ten months of 2010, increasing by 54 percent compared with the same period of 2009.

Myanmar's latest official statistics of the Ministry of National Planning and Economic Development also show that as of the end of July 2010, China (including Hong Kong SAR) stood top for the first time in Myanmar's foreign investment with 12.3 billion U.S. dollars out of a total of 31.9 billion dollars from 31 countries in 12 sectors' 440 projects.

The Chinese investment accounted for 38.64 percent in eight sectors' 69 projects with 5.31 billion dollars in electric power, 4.95 billion dollars in oil and gas and 1.87 billion dollars in mining.

There are 170 Chinese companies investing in Myanmar according to the figures.