On January 17, 2023, by exercising Section 462 (a)(ii), the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration announced that the nominal directors and shareholders would not be permitted anymore under Myanmar Companies Law. This notification has come into effect from 17 February 2023.

According to the Myanmar Companies Law Section 4 (a)(v), a company must have at least one director who must be ordinarily resident in the Union, which means the director shall be required to stay for at least 183 days in the period of 12 months in Myanmar. Therefore, this notification may create a new set of challenges, primarily for foreign companies where the foreign directors or shareholders have to stay in the country instead of the nominal director.
Additionally, the appointment of an alternate director is allowed under the existing law.

Furthermore, the notification said any person who holds the shares has to submit reports to a registrar and make entries in a list of the participants of the companies archived at the company, stipulated in the Myanmar Companies Law.