ABSTRACT

Myanmar (Burma) is the second largest country in Southeast Asia with an area of 676,000 square kilometres. It is situated to the east of India and Bangladesh, to the southwest of the People’s Republic of China and to the west of Laos and Thailand. Its coastline extends from Bangladesh to Thailand and fronts the Bay of Bengal. The country has an estimated population of over fifty-five million, the vast majority of whom are devotees of Theravada Buddhism. A host of ethnic minorities, long disaffected from the central government, inhabit the border areas of the state. Myanmar’s primarily agricultural economy has barely advanced beyond its condition under colonialism. Indeed, for almost fifty years, it regressed economically in the charge of a military junta for whom power became an end in itself, reflected in defence expenditure consuming a third of the annual budget. In reconstituted form since 1988, that junta attempted to open the county to foreign investment and trade, in particular from the early 1990s but with only superficial success. The initial momentum of foreign investment was reversed, partly as a consequence of external sanctions driven by a deplorable human rights record and evidence of regime involvement in narcotics production and trafficking. In 2010 the country held general elections for parliament and the following year a new civilian government took power, albeit with a strong military influence. Economic reforms initiated by the new government aimed at encouraging foreign investment included the drafting of a new foreign investment law, a labour law and other legislation. Most of the economic sanctions against the military government have been rescinded and with the country’s reputation gradually improving, it has received enormous interest from foreign investors from Asia as well as Europe and the United States. Nevertheless, years of mismanagement of the economic, agriculture and education sectors as well as poor infrastructure still need to be addressed.