With the opening of its first branch in Yangon on August 3, 2015, Maybank became the first and so far the only Malaysian bank to start operations in Myanmar. This move was made possible by the granting of the final license by the Central Bank of Myanmar in July. Maybank made use of the opportunity which opened when Central Bank of Myanmar decided liberalize the banking sector in the country. In October last year, nine foreign banks were awarded a banking license and Maybank was one of them. Maybank is Southeast Asia’s fourth largest bank and its newly opened Yangon branch has a registered capital of $75 million. The Yangon branch of Maybank will be run by a team comprising mainly of Myanmar nationals and will serve domestic banks along with both corporate and wholesale clients.

Services that Maybank’s Myanmar branch will be offering include such as deposit accounts, working capital financing, cash management, treasury, and capital market solutions. The bank has a lot of expertise in financing of power, utilities, oil and gas as well as the telecommunications sectors. These areas also happen to be priority growth areas for Myanmar. Maybank has plans to make use of its experience and expertise in this area and play a role in financing key infrastructure projects such as airports, telecommunications and gas pipelines. The bank also has plans to develop stable partnerships with domestic banks and work along with them in the areas of international trade, interbank and capital markets.