Burma’s banking sector is bracing for a shakeup as three foreign banks have opened branches in the commercial capital, Yangon. One of the new arrivals, Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp., immediately expressed interest in acquiring a minority stake in Burma’s largest lender, Kanbawza. This would require amendments to the tight restrictions imposed when the Central Bank of Myanmar issued licences last October allowing foreign banks to open branches in Burma, also known as Myanmar. Foreign banks are not permitted to engage in retail banking, may not hire staff from local banks and may lend in only four named currencies to foreign companies and Burmese banks.
