How Not to Invest in Myanmar
The Risks for the World's Newest Frontier Market
Brian P. KleinBRIAN P. KLEIN, a former Director of Southeast Asia Affairs at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, is a macroeconomic and geopolitical strategist.
Aung San Suu Kyi in June at the World Economic Forum on East Asia (World Economic Forum / flickr)
Since Aung San Suu Kyi's parliamentary election victory last April, Asian and Western businesspeople have flocked to Myanmar (also known as Burma), eager to take part in the re-emergence of a regional economic power. Over the last several months, Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and, as of May, the United States, have reopened some economic ties with Rangoon. U.S. sanctions that had long prohibited direct investment, development funding, and visas for military leaders have now been largely suspended.
Coca-Cola, GE, and oil and gas companies have already expressed strong interest in entering Myanmar. Hotels are filling fast, and rooms that rented for $60 six months ago go for $400 today. After several decades of isolation, Myanmar has moved to the center of frontier markets' maps. But Myanmar's potentia