Country Profile
From The Report: Myanmar 2019
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Considered to be the last frontier market in South-east Asia, Myanmar remains focused on creating the required conditions to attract and facilitate foreign investment, in turn spurring economic development. Following decades of military rule that maintained a socialist and centrally planned economic model, cutting off access to the world’s financial markets and main trading routes, Myanmar’s ongoing transition towards a market economy and electoral democracy has caught the attention of investors worldwide. The gradual removal of economic sanctions, by both European governments and the US, contributed to putting Myanmar on the map, gaining a reputation as an increasingly attractive investment destination in the early 2010s. Investors have been drawn by the size of its market, abundant natural resources, fertile land and strategic geographic location between the world’s most populous countries, China and India. This chapter contains viewpoints from State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu and President U Win Myint.

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

The last frontier: Investors show interest in a market newly open to global trade
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Considered to be the last frontier market in Southeast Asia, Myanmar remains focused on creating the right set of conditions to attract and facilitate foreign investment to spur economic development. Following decades of military rule that maintained a socialist and centrally planned economic model, cutting off access to the world’s financial markets and main trading routes, the country’s ongoing transition towards a market economy and electoral democracy has caught the attention of investors…

Viewpoint

Right direction: State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, on meeting economic challenges and transitioning to democracy
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During the last three-quarters of a century Myanmar has undergone three major transitions: from colonial rule to independence in 1948, from parliamentary democracy to military dictatorship in 1962, and – in progress since 1988 – the transition from dictatorship to democracy. The first transition was the culmination of a hard and costly struggle; a clean-cut change from the status of a colonial subject to that of sovereign, independent nation. The second transition was also sharply defined, with…

Viewpoint

Membership duties: President U Win Myint, on the country’s democratic transition and role within ASEAN
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Our country is still in poverty and should develop every sector of the economy, which is why we must persevere with our efforts in all sectors. We are currently witnessing the transformation of an era and a system, in accordance with democratic principles. This is just the beginning of the transition. To make the process smooth and successful, it is very important for our people, government employees and civil servants to change their dogmatic mindset as well as their habits. Government institutions…