Investment opportunities remain favorable in Myanmar

BANGKOK, April 2 (TNA) - A Thai government authority and a senior economist say trade and investment opportunities remain favorable in neighbouring Myanmar. Prajuab Supinee, Minister Counselor for Commercial Affairs at the Thai Embassy in Yangon, told a seminar on investment opportunities in Myanmar on Tuesday that Myanmar government agencies are welcoming international investors, in parallel with favoring local business operators, with China becoming the large-scaled investor accounting for 34.5 per cent of total investment projects in Myanmar, while Thailand's investment in the neighbouring country accounts for some 23.67 per cent of total, especially in the power, oil, natural gas and production sectors, in which Japan and Singapore appear to be now tough competitors. Prajuab urged the Thai public and private sectors to cooperate, as Thailand has lacked continuation and knowledge on market structures in Myanmar and many businesses have relied on brokers and have, thus, faced high costs. Meanwhile, Thanawat Polvichai, Director of the Economic and Business Forecasting Center of Bangkok-based University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, projected that the Myanmar economy should grow by about 7 per cent over the next 5-10 years, when sales of consumer products in Myanmar should also soar and the value of bilateral trade should rise to 300 billion baht, noting that Thailand has exported products worth hundreds of billions of baht to Myanmar annually. Thanawat pointed out that Thai business operators have considerable investment opportunities in Myanmar, where wages are now the lowest in the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and there are plans to connect domestic transport networks with the immense Chinese and Indian economies. The senior economist suggested that Thailand can benefit from Myanmar's economic growth, as bilateral connection should raise the country's gross domestic product (GDP) by 0.3-0.5 per cent, and that several new transport projects to be funded by the Thai government's planned 2-trillion-baht borrowing will connect with neighbouring Myanmar through Thailand's Ranong, Satun, Tak and Chiang Rai provinces. The director said he expects Myanmar will amend its laws in the near future, including laws governing land rights and trade of foreigners, to support the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), set to formed by 2015. (TNA)