The first branch of Myanmar Tourism Bank (MTB), located in Yangon, has started operation on Monday offering financial assistance to tourism companies.
MTB is one of five sector-specific banks granted a banking license by the Central Bank of Myanmar (CBM) in 2017. It is founded by a public tourism company. Initiated during U Thein Sein’s government, K2 billion was raised to finance the MTB to help promote the tourism sector, but it failed to get the necessary approvals from relevant authorities.
“As a tourism-related bank, we will focus on lending to this sector. But we also plan to offer financial support to other related sectors and businesses. We will support the inbound and outbound tour businesses,” U Saw Bo Bo, managing director of Myanmar Tourism Bank told The Myanmar Times.
The bank aims to offer low-interest loans to assist the tourism sector.
The CBM has also relaxed its restrictions on collateral this February. As such, loans at rates of 16 percent are available for borrowers without collateral.
For those who are able to provide collateral, lending is a maximum of 13pc.
The Myanmar Tourism Bank will decide on the loans to extend depending on the nature of the business of the borrowers, said MTB’s managing director.
Read the full article at Myanmar Times: https://www.mmtimes.com/news/myanmar-tourism-bank-starts-operating-first-branch.html
