In a move to stamp out the growing problem of illegal share sales, the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration has issued a statement naming 55 registered public companies.
The list includes four companies – First Myanmar Investment, Myanmar Thilawa SEZ Holdings, Myanmar Citizens Bank and First Private Bank – that are listed on the Yangon Stock Exchange, while the rest are mostly traded over the counter.
The public companies include Myanmar Economic Holdings Ltd, Myanmar Agribusiness Public Corporation Ltd, Yatanarpon Teleport Public Company Ltd and Yangon Bus Public Company Ltd.
The public notification comes in response to a number of recent scams in which private companies have illegally sold “shares” to the public. The DICA statement said some were using social media to promote their businesses to a wider audience.
Frontier recently reported on the case of SCL Myanmar, a Ponzi scheme that promised investors guaranteed high monthly returns. Authorities are yet to apprehend those responsible for the scam, which is thought to have cheated thousands and netted several million dollars from December 2016 to March 2017.
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In late June, the Securities Exchange Commission of Myanmar, the country’s financial regulator, issued a notice warning the public not to invest in SCL Myanmar.
The SECM has also warned that another company linked to SCL Myanmar, I Smart Golden Myanmar, has been illegally selling shares in Mawlamyine.
