Burma

As a military ruler transformed to a president, transformed to political kingpin, Gen. NE WIN was in control from 1962-1988. After the 1990 elections put the National League for Democracy (NLD) -opposition party- on the winning seat, the junta did not let NLD take power; the leader of NLD, AUNG SAN SUU KYI, was put to jail in 2003, and then put under house arrest, where she still is today practically incommunicado. Advocates of democracy and human rights continue to be harassed. Partly because of its poor infrastructure, Burma has not been able to take advantage of its potential in the tourism industry. Also, the U.S. has enforced trade sanctions on Burma, given its reputation of human rights abuses.

Main Airports

U.S. Embassy

581 Merchant Street, Rangoon (GPO 521)
tel: [95] (1) 379880

Statistics

GDP: purchasing power parity:

$78.74 billion (2005 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:

2.9% (2005 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity:

1,700 (2005 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):

20.2% (2005 est.)

Labor force:

27.75 million (2005 est.)

Exports:

$3.111 billion f.o.b.

Exports - partners:

Thailand 44.9%, India 11.5%, China 6.9%, Japan 5.1% (2005)

Imports:

$3.454 billion f.o.b.

Imports - partners:

China 29.3%, Thailand 22.2%, Singapore 18.7%, Malaysia 5.4% (2005)

Population:

47,382,633

Population growth rate:

0.81% (2006 est.)

Population Below Poverty Line:

25% (2000 est.)

Major Industries:

agricultural processing; wood and wood products; copper, tin, tungsten, iron; cement, construction materials; pharmaceuticals; fertilizer; natural gas; garments, jade and gems

Employing Workers: *

Registering Property: *

Enforcing Contracts: *

Closing a Business: *

*2006 World Bank rank out of 175 countries

Starting a Business

The table below shows the number of steps and the amount of time needed to start a business, on average

Indicator

Burma

Region

Burma Risk Assessment

Country Rating

Rating: D

A high-risk political and economic situation and an often very difficult business environment can have a very significant impact on corporate payment behaviour. Corporate default probability is very high.

Risk Assessment

Myanmar's military regime stood up to a wave of protest in September 2007. With social demands on the cost of living after new increases in petrol and gas prices, political demands were also put forward including compliance with the roadmap for democracy formally accepted by the junta, dialogue with the opposition whose leader Aung San Suu Kyi remains under house arrest, and respect for fundamental rights. Despite calls for negotiations, the State Peace and Development Council launched violent repressive measures that prompted the United States and Europe to impose tougher sanctions and Japan to suspend bilateral aid. China and Russia remained aloof, however, due to their close economic ties. The sanctions will thus have limited impact on the economy. The repercussions on the business climate will, however, be more severe with the political uncertainties compounding the concerns of foreign investors over the lack of transparency and frequent legislative changes.

In this context, statistical data is not very reliable. While the military junta announced double-digit growth, the IMF estimated it at 5.5 per cent in 2007 with 4.0 per cent expected in 2008. The gas and oil sectors should continue to drive the economy in view of the high demand from Myanmar's dynamic, energy-consuming neighbours: Thailand, India and China. Still dominated by commodities, the economy remains weak in this respect. Agriculture, which represents 40 per cent of GDP, has not performed up to its potential due to administrative controls limiting harvests. Lacking competitiveness and hampered by import prohibitions in the United States, industry is underdeveloped. The extent of the informal economy and above all the unpredictability of the junta's economic policy have clouded the outlook. Myanmar thus remains the Asian economy most affected by poverty as evidenced by social indicators that rank it lower than Laos or Cambodia.

While the consolidation of external accounts certainly paved the way for a substantial increase in foreign exchange reserves, the public sector nonetheless continues to run a deficit entirely financed by money creation. Inflation has thus been out of control and has eroded purchasing power. Despite the consolidation of the banking sector undertaken after the crisis in 2003-2004, intermediation remains very poor and prudential regulations underdeveloped.

• Agriculture
• Apparel
• Arts & Crafts
• Automobile
• Bags, Cases & Boxes
• Chemicals
• Computer Hardware & Software
• Construction & Real Estate
• Consumer Electronics
• Electrical & Electronics
• Energy & Environment
• Food & Beverage
• Furniture & Furnishing
• Health & Medicine
• Home Supplies
• Industrial Supplies
• Lights & Lighting
• Machinery
• Mineral & Materials
• Office Supplies
• Security & Protection
• Service
• Sports & Entertainment
• Telecommunications
• Textile
• Toys
• Transportation