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More News on Burma [Reuters]




                       Myanmar says to privatise more
                       state concerns

                       YANGON, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Myanmar's military
government plans to
                       open up more state-run enterprises to the private
sector, the Myanma
                       News Agency said on Wednesday.

                       Senior General Than Shwe, the head of the ruling
State Peace and
                       Development Council, told entrepreneurs in the
southern Ayeyawaddy
                       delta region on Tuesday they would have to take the
lead and
                       responsibility for the economy in future.

                       ``The government will only be giving guidance,
control, protection and
                       assistance,'' the official news agency quoted him as
saying.

                       Than Shwe said the government planned to transfer
state-owned
                       concerns such as textile and sugar mills to the
private sector.

                       He also said it would offer 30-year leases to
entrepreneurs wanting to
                       set up farms of 5,000 acres (2,000 hectares) and
larger.

                       A government official said foreign investors could
invest in such
                       projects through wholly owned or joint ventures by
applying to the state
                       investment commission.

                       On Monday, the state news agency quoted Lieutenant
General Khin
                       Nyunt, number three in the government and chairman
of the
                       privatisation agency, as saying factories and other
enterprises that could
                       not be run effectively by the state would be
transferred to private
                       entrepreneurs.

                       Myanmar moved away from rigid state control of its
economy in 1988
                       when the military seized direct control by crushing a
nationwide uprising
                       for democracy.

                       Many economic sectors have since been opened to
private investment,
                       but agriculture was only recently opened up.

                       Farming in Myanmar has suffered for decades from a
chronic shortage
                       of investment and lack of incentives. The country
used to be one of the

                       world's major rice exporters but shipments have
slowed to a trickle.

                       According to official statistics, more than 22.5
million acres (9.0 million
                       hectares) are under cultivation, while another 22
million acres (8.8
                       million hectares) are vacant -- either fallow, virgin
or wet land.

                       Tin Htut Oo, a director of the Ministry of
Agriculture, told Reuters
                       recently that about 30 private firms had been
permitted to reclaim more
                       than 400,000 acres (160,000 hectares) of wetland in
the Ayeyawaddy
                       Divison as well as in the Yangon, Bago and Magway
regions.

                       The enterprises planned to grow rice and crops like
sesame, cotton and
                       pulses, he said.