MYANMAR’S OPENING

BURMESE SEE PROS AND CONS TO OPEN ECONOMY

SouthEastAsiaRealTime, December 1, 2011

Businesses in Myanmar are beginning to realize they may have a looming problem on their borders — and this time it’s not cheap goods from China.

As the country’s economy begins to open up further, it is clear to many entrepreneurs here that decades of isolation have led them to lag far behind competitors in places such as Thailand and Singapore. That’s worrying to some, as firms from across the region, including Japan and South Korea, step up their presence here, especially after the severe floods that have shut down much of Thailand’s manufacturing base in the last few months. There also are some Europeans and Americans waiting in the wings to do more business in the country if Western sanctions against the Myanmar government are eventually dropped.

“A lot of us feel we might be swept away — we can’t compete because we’ve been locked away for so long,” said Maung Maung Lay, vice president of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry in Yangon and the proprietor of a business that distributes medical equipment. “We might all just end up being the employees of foreign companies.”

He says there is little risk of a backlash against the globalization of Myanmar’s economy, though, mainly because most people realize Myanmar desperately needs investment, even if it creates some growing pains.

“It’s part of what we’ve been waiting for — to become part of the international family of nations instead of relying too heavily on one country, China, for support, which is not healthy,” Dr. Maung Maung Lay said. “We need to improve our human development indices, and foreign investment can help us.”

With U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visiting Myanmar this week, anticipation is growing that long-standing sanctions against the country’s military-backed rulers will sooner or later be dropped, though many dissidents remain wary of easing them too soon. U.S. officials have made clear they’re not ready to ease just yet, but they’ve been pleasantly surprised by a series of reforms this year, including easing of press restrictions and new laws to allow protests and labor unions.

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