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NEWS - Myanmar attracts meagre fore



Subject: NEWS - Myanmar attracts meagre foreign investment

In a message dated 12/31/99 1:32:42 PM Eastern Standard Time, BURMAJAPAN 
writes:

<< Myanmar attracts meagre foreign investment
 
   
 YANGON, Dec 31 (Reuters) - Foreign direct investment approved in 
military-ruled Myanmar in the seven months to October 31 totalled a meagre 
$60.4 million, but represented an improvement on a dismal $24.95 million in 
the same period last year. 
 
 Data from the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development received by 
Reuters on Friday showed the investment for this year was in nine projects -- 
two each from Thailand and Japan and one from Singapore, Britain, Indonesia, 
Hong Kong and South Korea. 
 
 The ministry said five of the projects were in manufacturing, two in mining 
and one each in the hotel and tourism and livestock and fisheries sectors. 
 
 Myanmar made a major shakeup in its investment commission earlier this 
month, replacing Vice-Admiral Maung Maung Khin as chairman with Science and 
Technology Minister U Thaung. 
 
 But analysts do not expect a major pickup in investment without major policy 
changes. 
 
 Yangon's efforts to obtain foreign investment have been hit by Western 
economic and political sanctions and the Asian economic crisis that broke two 
years ago. 
 
 Investment for the whole of last fiscal year to the end of March totalled 
just $29.46 million, against $777.4 million the previous year. 
 
 Realisation rates for approved projects have ranged from about 30 percent to 
more than 50 percent in recent years. 
 
 In its most recent report on Myanmar, the World Bank said the country needed 
to improve its rights record, reform its two-tier exchange rate system, lift 
wide-ranging restrictions on private-sector activity and reform its 
inefficient state enterprise sector if it wanted to attract more investment. 
 
 05:34 12-31-99 >>