A soldier stands outside Myanmar's Central Bank during a protest against the military coup, in Yangon, Myanmar, February 15, 2021. REUTERS/Stringer
The Central Bank under the military council has announced the blacklisting of 197 export/import companies and their board members for failing to deposit export earnings in foreign currency. These companies had conducted exports during the National League for Democracy (NLD) government between 2016 and 2020. The military council had pressured these companies to deposit foreign currency into their controlled banks, but due to non-compliance, their export-import business registration certificates were revoked according to the announcement.
According to the military council’s statement, based on the review conducted on June 23, 2023, these companies were blacklisted along with their board members for failing to comply with the regulations, rules, and notifications stipulated in the Foreign Exchange Management Law. A Yangon-based exporter-importer analyzed that the military council is pressuring export-import companies to deposit foreign currency into military-controlled banks by reviewing old export earning records from the previous NLD government period due to their shortage of foreign currency.
Business operators have revealed that these punitive actions by the military council are severely impacting export operations, creating policy instability, and significantly affecting export activities. In addition to blacklisting, the military council has threatened to impose prison sentences on export companies and has announced that under the Foreign Exchange Management Law (FEML), violators can face imprisonment for up to one year, a fine, or both. The council continues to threaten that exporters must arrange for the return of export earnings within the specified period.
