Myanmar and nine other South-east Asian countries are preparing to ring in the formal birth of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) on December 31, 2015, but they are not preparing to celebrate. Instead, they are engaging in a collective soul-searching exercise. At the November 2014 ASEAN summit in Naypyidaw, the crowning event of Myanmar’s chairmanship of the bloc in 2014...
After spending decades as one of the most isolated and least-developed countries in Asia, Myanmar is emerging as one of the world’s fastest-growing economies. Since a historic reform process began in 2010, foreign investment has been pouring in, driving annual growth to more than 8%, according to IMF estimates. Investment inflows and growing exports have also helped...
As Myanmar has changed course since 2010 and pursued political and economic reforms, Japan is the country that has responded most enthusiastically, both to offer assistance and to take advantage of emerging investment opportunities. Although Japan is not seeking to be the monolithic major partner that China was to Myanmar while it was under international sanctions, the...
Two things are clear about Myanmar’s international trade: it is growing, and fast. By just how much is less certain – sources vary widely in their estimates, and even the best data available have obvious holes.
As it emerges from a half-century of economic isolation, Myanmar is undergoing an extraordinary surge of foreign investment and international trade. Of all foreign direct investment (FDI) accumulated in the country as of the end of 2013, half had entered in the previous three years, while recorded trade volumes more than doubled from 2009 to 2013.
Foreign investment in manufacturing, already strong, is set to accelerate further with the long-awaited launch of Myanmar’s first special economic zone (SEZ), located near the port of Thilawa about 25 km south-east of Yangon. A greenfield project comprising 2342 ha of former farmland, the Thilawa SEZ aims to simplify the process of foreign investment by providing a ready...
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