Company registration fees for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) will be halved from K500, 000 to K250, 000 from April 1 onwards, according to a statement issued by the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration (DICA) Tuesday.

The latest move comes after DICA, together with the Ministry of Planning and Finance halved company registrations fees for private companies to K500, 000 on June 1, 2016.

The company registration fees have been reduced again to facilitate business and make incorporation of new companies easier. “The main point is to encourage more SMEs to emerge. In addition, new company registrations can also be done online,” said U Than Aung Kyaw Deputy Director General of DICA.

The move also comes after the Union Parliament approved the New Myanmar Companies Law on December 6, 2017, replacing the former 100-year-old Myanmar Companies Act with the aim of improving the ease of doing business, promoting private sector development and modernizing the legal framework for companies in Myanmar.

Currently, DICA is making preparations to implement the new law starting August 1. These include new regulatory notifications, public education and the establishment of a new electronic companies’ registry system.

Notably, “once the electronic registry system starts on August 1, a new company can register itself within just one step. Currently, there are ten steps to company registration,” said DICA director U Myo Min.

Although official figures state that there are about 200,000 SMEs in Myanmar, only 59,000 are registered under DICA.