Myanmar President Thein Sein signed an economic agreement with
Singapore on Monday to receive advice in financial management, monetary
policy and urban development. He also said Burma would eventually like
to create a stock market, according to reports in the local press.“If all goes well, Burma certainly looks forward to being welcomed
from the political wilderness,” said Song Seng Wun a regional economist
with Malaysian bank CIMB, using Burma’s former name.Singapore, a regional financial centre and a favourite hub for global companies, is often seen as a model by its neighbours.
Burma is advancing with fast pace to transform its financial system in a range of areas, including economic planning, central banking, trade facilitation and legal reforms, according to a statement issued on Monday by Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Thein Sein wrapped up a four-day official state visit to the country on Wednesday. Thein Sein is in Singapore to tap the financial centre's expertise as the country emerges from political and economic isolation, analysts said.
Thein Sein met with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding on Monday under which Singapore will provide training for reforms in the legal, banking and financial sectors.
The pact also calls on Singapore to share its best practices in trade, tourism and urban planning.
President Thein Sein visit concluded with an agreement for technical assistance and training in a number of key areas including finance, investment law and trade facilitation.Sein reaching out to Singapore brings into the spotlight an economic dimension to the ongoing political reform.
Businesses from many countries have been eager to explore investments in Myanmar. Considered the last large and untapped market in Asia, many sectors of the economy have been underdeveloped or else dominated by Chinese firms.ASEAN) - the regional group to which Myanmar belongs - wants to be supportive and so does Singapore, as a major hub for the region. This goes beyond the politics of having Myanmar assume the group's chairmanship in 2014.
ASEAN's plan for a more integrated economic community, targeted for 2015, can also gain.
Much, however, depends on whether sanctions put in place by the West for more than two decades are lifted. The European Union has already begun to unwind its sanctions. In Washington, a complex legal process is gaining bi-partisan support.
There is cause for optimism, but is Myanmar ready for business and investment? Can the country follow up on its current political reform with parallel reforms to the economy and boost the country's development?
A recent publication by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicts the economy will grow at a rate of some 5.5 per cent for 2012. Such projections - in line with neighbouring Indochinese economies - are significant given the weak global outlook. But there is potential for greater, sustained growth.
Consider the country's ample natural resources of oil and gas, as well as forestry products and minerals. Factor in a strategic location that can link China, India and South-east Asia. Add also that Myanmar has a sizeable population of some 54 million, many of whom are of working age and eager for jobs. The economy, among the region's poorest at present, has the potential to grow.
There are, of course, concerns, many of which are typical of frontier economies - like the need for infrastructure and concerns about corruption and power shifts during this political change. But Myanmar also faces special challenges.
One key issue - as pointed out by the IMF - are exchange controls and currency stability. Officially, US$1 (S$1.26) is exchanged for just six Myanmar kyats. But in the widespread black market, the rate currently hovers around 750 kyats and has been as high in recent years as 1,250 kyats. Only with astute financial management can the country hope to liberalise its currency while maintaining macro-economic stability.
Experts are in opinion ,Another issue to watch will be the central government's effort to settle decades of fighting with different ethnic groups. The recent ceasefire deal with the Karen is a prime example. The Karen have been active in the Dawei industrial zone in the south of the country and this is now undergoing a major overhaul worth US$50 billion as a cornerstone of the government's revitalisation plan.
When economic moves ahead, essentially one go beyond for development is to be attained in tandem with political reform, the government must give attention to skill education, training,providing basic needs health,dwelling and education.
Myanmar requires Singapore's expertise in finance, law and providing public services can help Myanmar kick-start holistic development. The agreement was in many ways to be expected, given that the countries have long-standing ties in trade, training programmes for public officials.Economic reform is merging an issue and the agreement with Singapore is an early step on this path. Advocates for human rights and democracy will continue to watch developments in Myanmar but expect that businesses too will increasingly be part of the equation for change.
Burma, once it brings its financial system and laws up to international standards, has a rapid growth potential, observers say, but for now establishing more democratic reforms, more reliable business regulations, a stable foreign exchange system, and the rule of law are pre-conditions to serious business investments by international companies, which nevertheless are lining up to enter the country when conditions improve.
International Monetary Fund said on Jan. 25. that Burma’s economy may grow 5.5 percent in the 2011-2012 fiscal year and 6 percent in 2012-2013 on commodity exports and higher investment.
Singapore and Southeast Asian Nations gave a clarion a call this month for Western nations to lift sanctions against the former military dictatorship. Singapore was Burma’s third-largest trading partner in 2010 behind Thailand and China, said Voice of America, quoting statistics compiled by the European Union. Some members of the EU are calling for a removal of some sanctions after Burma’s April 1 by-election, provided it is free and fair.
Thein Sein, in a series of meetings with Western foreign ministers and high-level officials, has been pushing for the removal of Western sanctions. During the past year, he has granted amnesty to hundreds of political prisoners to achieve national reconciliation and repeated statements that achieving peace with ethnic armed groups is now his highest priority.
Hla Maung Shwe, vice president of the Myanmar Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said in a Jan. 27 interview in Hong Kong the end of sanctions would “have a huge impact on our economy.
New Light of Myanmar said that last year, when a new nominally-civilian government took power and implemented a series of reform gestures, was a “transition period from the old era to the new one”.
“Most international observers were taken aback by the fact that Myanmar [Burma], which had been ruled by an authoritarian Tatmadaw government… has started practising democracy,” said an editorial ahead of Independence Day on 4 January. Tatmadaw is the term for the military.
Burma is advancing with fast pace to transform its financial system in a range of areas, including economic planning, central banking, trade facilitation and legal reforms, according to a statement issued on Monday by Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Thein Sein wrapped up a four-day official state visit to the country on Wednesday. Thein Sein is in Singapore to tap the financial centre's expertise as the country emerges from political and economic isolation, analysts said.
Thein Sein met with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding on Monday under which Singapore will provide training for reforms in the legal, banking and financial sectors.
The pact also calls on Singapore to share its best practices in trade, tourism and urban planning.
President Thein Sein visit concluded with an agreement for technical assistance and training in a number of key areas including finance, investment law and trade facilitation.Sein reaching out to Singapore brings into the spotlight an economic dimension to the ongoing political reform.
Businesses from many countries have been eager to explore investments in Myanmar. Considered the last large and untapped market in Asia, many sectors of the economy have been underdeveloped or else dominated by Chinese firms.ASEAN) - the regional group to which Myanmar belongs - wants to be supportive and so does Singapore, as a major hub for the region. This goes beyond the politics of having Myanmar assume the group's chairmanship in 2014.
ASEAN's plan for a more integrated economic community, targeted for 2015, can also gain.
Much, however, depends on whether sanctions put in place by the West for more than two decades are lifted. The European Union has already begun to unwind its sanctions. In Washington, a complex legal process is gaining bi-partisan support.
There is cause for optimism, but is Myanmar ready for business and investment? Can the country follow up on its current political reform with parallel reforms to the economy and boost the country's development?
A recent publication by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicts the economy will grow at a rate of some 5.5 per cent for 2012. Such projections - in line with neighbouring Indochinese economies - are significant given the weak global outlook. But there is potential for greater, sustained growth.
Consider the country's ample natural resources of oil and gas, as well as forestry products and minerals. Factor in a strategic location that can link China, India and South-east Asia. Add also that Myanmar has a sizeable population of some 54 million, many of whom are of working age and eager for jobs. The economy, among the region's poorest at present, has the potential to grow.
There are, of course, concerns, many of which are typical of frontier economies - like the need for infrastructure and concerns about corruption and power shifts during this political change. But Myanmar also faces special challenges.
One key issue - as pointed out by the IMF - are exchange controls and currency stability. Officially, US$1 (S$1.26) is exchanged for just six Myanmar kyats. But in the widespread black market, the rate currently hovers around 750 kyats and has been as high in recent years as 1,250 kyats. Only with astute financial management can the country hope to liberalise its currency while maintaining macro-economic stability.
Experts are in opinion ,Another issue to watch will be the central government's effort to settle decades of fighting with different ethnic groups. The recent ceasefire deal with the Karen is a prime example. The Karen have been active in the Dawei industrial zone in the south of the country and this is now undergoing a major overhaul worth US$50 billion as a cornerstone of the government's revitalisation plan.
When economic moves ahead, essentially one go beyond for development is to be attained in tandem with political reform, the government must give attention to skill education, training,providing basic needs health,dwelling and education.
Myanmar requires Singapore's expertise in finance, law and providing public services can help Myanmar kick-start holistic development. The agreement was in many ways to be expected, given that the countries have long-standing ties in trade, training programmes for public officials.Economic reform is merging an issue and the agreement with Singapore is an early step on this path. Advocates for human rights and democracy will continue to watch developments in Myanmar but expect that businesses too will increasingly be part of the equation for change.
Burma, once it brings its financial system and laws up to international standards, has a rapid growth potential, observers say, but for now establishing more democratic reforms, more reliable business regulations, a stable foreign exchange system, and the rule of law are pre-conditions to serious business investments by international companies, which nevertheless are lining up to enter the country when conditions improve.
International Monetary Fund said on Jan. 25. that Burma’s economy may grow 5.5 percent in the 2011-2012 fiscal year and 6 percent in 2012-2013 on commodity exports and higher investment.
Singapore and Southeast Asian Nations gave a clarion a call this month for Western nations to lift sanctions against the former military dictatorship. Singapore was Burma’s third-largest trading partner in 2010 behind Thailand and China, said Voice of America, quoting statistics compiled by the European Union. Some members of the EU are calling for a removal of some sanctions after Burma’s April 1 by-election, provided it is free and fair.
Thein Sein, in a series of meetings with Western foreign ministers and high-level officials, has been pushing for the removal of Western sanctions. During the past year, he has granted amnesty to hundreds of political prisoners to achieve national reconciliation and repeated statements that achieving peace with ethnic armed groups is now his highest priority.
Hla Maung Shwe, vice president of the Myanmar Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said in a Jan. 27 interview in Hong Kong the end of sanctions would “have a huge impact on our economy.
New Light of Myanmar said that last year, when a new nominally-civilian government took power and implemented a series of reform gestures, was a “transition period from the old era to the new one”.
“Most international observers were taken aback by the fact that Myanmar [Burma], which had been ruled by an authoritarian Tatmadaw government… has started practising democracy,” said an editorial ahead of Independence Day on 4 January. Tatmadaw is the term for the military.
No comments:
Post a Comment