Myanmar

MYANMAR BUSINESS SURVEY: DATA ANALYSIS AND POLICY IMPLICATIONS
1. Nearly 97 per cent of firms in the sample are SMEs 4
The sampled firms have a range of 1 to 4 000
employees, with an average of 45 employees. Nearly
half of the sample firms belong to the micro firm
category with less than 10 employees (figure 3.2).
One-third of firms are small-sized businesses with
10 to 49 employees, while 10 per cent are mediumsized
with 50-249 employees. More than 3 per cent
of the firms surveyed have 250 or more employees.
While fewer in number, the larger enterprises make
a more significant contribution to employment – 53
per cent of total employment among the respondents
is in firms with 250 or more employees. Among the
sampled firms, more than 14 per cent (and, typically,
smaller by size) operate informally. 5 Three per cent
are foreign firms. Annex 3 provides a detailed sample
profile by size.
2. Most firms have been well-established for more than
15 years
Nearly half of the surveyed firms have been established
for more than 15 years, while only one-sixth have been
operating for less than five years (figure 3.3). The small
number of young firms may reflect the poor business
environment that makes it unnecessarily difficult to start
up and run new enterprises. Streamlined regulations
and institutional framework for startup procedures and
incubator programmes could be beneficial in helping
entrepreneurs overcome initial obstacles.
Figure 3.2. Number of respondents, by size
1 500
Micro (1−9 employees)
Small (10−49 employees)
1 000
500
Medium (50−249 employees)
Large (250+ employees)
0
Source: ESCAP-OECD-UMFCCI Myanmar Business Survey Database.
Figure 3.3. Number of respondents, by firm age
1 500
15+ years
1 000
5 to 9 years
500
2 to 4 years
10 to 14 years
0
1 year
Source: ESCAP-OECD-UMFCCI Myanmar Business Survey Database.
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