Garment manufacturers from Hong Kong have entered into an agreement to set up their first industrial park in Myanmar, reports the South China Morning Post.
The apparel park would be set up on 200 hectare area in Yangon, the former capital of Myanmar. The park would be part of the 400-hectare Thilawa Special Economic Zone, co-built by Myanmar and Japan.
About 12 Hong Kong clothing firms participating in the apparel park aim to benefit from the low cost of production in Myanmar, as the cost of labour is only about 20 percent of the wages in China. The construction work is expected to begin in mid-2015 and the garment units in the park are likely to go operational by the 2015-end, according to the report. Once the garment park becomes operational, it would create employment opportunities for at least 30,000 Myanmarese people, who will be paid salary at market rates. At present, garment workers in Myanmar get salary of about US$ 100-120 per month.Hong Kong entrepreneurs also expect to benefit from the duty-free access enjoyed by Myanmar while exporting to the EU.
In recent years, several apparel manufacturers have either opened new production facilities or shifted their existing ones to Bangladesh and Southeast Asia, owing to rising wages, appreciation of the Chinese renminbi and other factors.
