Economy

Government efforts to open up the economy and stimulate private sector development appear to have made a good impression on the majority of executives who participated in the Business Barometer: Myanmar CEO Survey. Of the 100 respondents, 77% indicated that their firm intends to make a significant capital investment in 2019, while 64% have...

Currency depreciation continues to challenge macroeconomic growth in Myanmar, with the kyat losing more than 65% of its value against the US dollar between 2014 and 2018, straining import-dependent manufacturers and causing inflation to spike. More recently, the kyat lost 18% of its value against the US dollar between April and August 2018....

Myanmar made significant strides in macroeconomic policy-making in 2018 with the release of the Myanmar Sustainable Development Plan (MSDP), a long-term strategy aimed at achieving peace, economic prosperity and sustainable growth. The MSDP is much more in-depth, detailed, and actionable than previous policies, with stakeholders praising...

Although Myanmar’s economy has grown above the regional average in 2018, a fall in overseas investment, crop losses and a weakening of the kyat have combined to slow the pace of economic growth. However, moves to open up sectors of the economy to foreign ownership may boost inward investment in the coming year. According to estimates by the...

While 2018 is unlikely to earn the description of a time of significant global trade cooperation, the year did end on a note of cautious optimism for advocates of open trade, when, at the G20 summit in Buenos Aires, the US declared a 90-day truce in its 10-month-long trade war with China. It is hoped that this ceasefire will stand, leading to...