Trade & Investment

Trade and investment has expanded rapidly in Myanmar since 2011, bolstered by economic liberalisation, legal reforms, a large untapped domestic market and a favourable geographic position bordering Bangladesh, China, India, Laos and Thailand, which together comprise 40% of the world’s population. However, several factors weigh on 2018’s investment outlook, including ambiguous legislation and red tape, depressed global commodity prices and India’s agriculture import quotas. Concerns over the country’s human rights record could also act as a deterrent to Western financiers, even as Chinese firms move in to fill the funding gap in infrastructure, real estate, transportation and industry. Nonetheless, new opportunities created by China’s Belt and Road Initiative are set to play a significant role in supporting Myanmar’s trade and investment growth over the medium term. This chapter contains interviews with U Than Myint, Minister of Commerce; Jin Liqun, President, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank; and Mai Trang Thanh, President, Honeywell Indochina.