Myanmar inaugurates a new stock exchange

Myanmar has inaugurated a new stock exchange with plans for six companies to start trading in March. Minister of Finance Win Shein said, the Yangon Stock Exchange will initially be open only to Myanmar companies and investors, but planned law changes will eventually allow foreigners to invest in Myanmar shares. The exchange was set up by local companies in a joint venture with Daiwa Institute of Research Japan and Japan Exchange Group, which operates the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Officials hope a stock market will help companies raise capital and fuel economic development in one of Asia's poorest countries. Myanmar's economy was stunted by decades of international sanctions until military rulers yielded to a civilian government in 2010.