The representatives from World Bank and Treasury Department, under Myanmar’s Ministry of Planning and Finance signed an agreement as per which a loan US $100 million will be provided for Myanmar Financial Development Project. Mr. Ulrich Zachau, Country Director, Southeast Asia, East Asia and Pacific for the World Bank has signed the financial agreement with the representative of the Treasury Department, under the Ministry of Planning and Finance, and the project agreement with the Central Bank representative for loan requests. World Bank has International Development Association’s fund which is intended for developing countries and this loan comes from that fund. There will be a service charge of 0.75 per cent per year which will be postponed for the first six years and the repayment period is 32 years.

Myanmar Financial Development Project is aimed at promoting a strong and stable financial sector, expanding the banking sector and making required changes to improve loan and financial services. There are also plans to improve small-scale financial businesses and insurance companies by modernising the basic building blocks of the financial sector and assisting the expansion of financial services to support the public and small- and medium-sized businesses.