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Japan and Burma Asigned Economic Ag



Myanmar, Japan launch economic cooperation panel

YANGON, Feb 4 (Reuters) - The Union of Myanmar Chamber of Commerce and
Industry (MCCI) and the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) have
signed an agreement to launch an economic cooperation committee in Yangon,
Myanmar (Burma) newspapers said on Wednesday. 

The government newspapers said MCCI chairman Khin Maung Yi and representatives
of JCCI chairman Tomoo Takahara signed an agreement on Tuesday to form the
bilateral Economic Cooperation Committee. 

Local analysts said the pact would help boost direct Japanese investment in
Myanmar. 

``Most Japanese investment has come to Myanmar through third parties, mostly
Singapore, because of U.S.-led sanctions against Myanmar,'' an analyst told
Reuters. 

``The Japanese now seem to have decided to take advantage of the financial
crisis in Southeast Asian countries which used to be Myanmar's biggest foreign
investors,'' he said. 

``It is not too late for the Japanese because Myanmar still offers them a
great deal of investment opportunities,'' he added. 

Up to January last year Japan, Myanmar's biggest trading partner, had proposed
$206.8 million worth of direct investment in 17 local projects. 

More than a fifth of Myanmar's total imports in the 1996/1997 (April-March)
fiscal year came from Japan. 

Japan took 382.2 million kyat ($1.4 million at the current market rate) of
Myanmar's 5.2 billion kyat worth of exports in the same year. 

The kyat has an official value of six to the dollar, but its market rate is
much lower at 280. ^REUTERS@ 

09:56 02-04-98

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