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NEWS - Foreign Investment in Myanma



Subject: NEWS - Foreign Investment in Myanmar Plummets in 1998-99

Foreign Investment in Myanmar Plummets in 1998-99

               Xinhua
               01-AUG-99

               YANGON (Aug. 2) XINHUA - Myanmar received a total of
               29.45 million U.S. dollars of foreign investment in
fiscal
               1998-99, accounting for only 3.78 percent and 1.04
percent
               of that drawn in 1997-98 and 1996-97 respectively,
official
               figures show. 

               According to the latest Economic Indicators published by
the
               country's Central Statistical Organization, there were
only 10
               investment projects during 1998-99 that came from eight
               countries and regions. 

               They are from Britain, China, the Hong Kong Special
               Administrative Region, India, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore
               and Thailand. 

               Of the investment, that in the manufacturing sector made
up
               the highest with 19.57 million dollars in 5 projects,
followed
               by fisheries with 5 million dollars in one project and
mining
               with 4.88 million dollars in 4 projects. 

               The Economic Indicators show that the foreign investment
in
               the country in 1998-99 dropped to the lowest level as
               compared with the past five fiscal years. The foreign
               investment hit a peak in 1996-97 with 2.814 billion
dollars. 

               One of the main reasons for the steep drop in Myanmar's
               foreign investment is the impact of the Asian financial
crisis.
               Brigadier-General Abel, Myanmar Minister at the Office of
               the Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council,
               admitted recently that due to the effect of the crisis,
the
               direct investment in Myanmar from member countries of the
               Association of Southeast Asian Nations fell by 70
percent. 

               According to official statistics, Myanmar had drawn a
total of
               7.108 billion dollars of foreign investment from 24
countries
               and regions up to the end of April this year since the
country
               opened to foreign investment and adopted a
market-oriented

               economic policy in late 1988. 

    Other reasons are because of the poor infrastructure, money
laundering through high level officials in and out of the military and
the SPDC knows nothing about business management.