"...Despite an improved international business climate surrounding Myanmar, its garment industry is still facing serious challenges inside the country, including a rapidly increasing wage rate, particularly when denominated in US dollars as a result of an acute appreciation of the local currency. Another challenge is the high production costs due to shortages of electricity and a poor transportation infrastructure. These bottlenecks have already played out negatively in hampering garment suppliers? overall export performance, particularly when compared with other major Asian garment exporters. In this context, the Vietnamese experience provides an interesting reference point. Myanmar and Vietnam are in a way similar, as both have opened up their economies and started exporting garments in the early 1990s. However, their performance since has been very different. In 2000, Vietnam?s garment exports were just about double those of Myanmar. With a booming economy creating alternative job opportunities, labor shortages and wage increases in Vietnam?s garment industry have been serious as well..."