By Trefor Moss
Some foreign companies, notably from Singapore, have already started exploiting this situation, despite the regulatory barriers. “Some Asian companies have proved very adept and flexible, taking on Burmese front people or using silent partners,” Turnell says. The early presence of companies from China, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and elsewhere in Asia has created an impression that Western companies may already have left it too late to take advantage of the country’s opening. However, Clayton disagrees with this reading of the situation.
“There are too many opportunities in Myanmar for one or two countries to take them all,” he says. “So while there’ll certainly be Chinese and Thai companies coming in, there’ll be opportunities for Western countries too.”
Turnell adds that the government is keen to encourage Western involvement: “Their attitude is that they would very much like Western investment if they can get it, especially in areas like financial services.” For the Burmese government, this isn’t just about business. It wants the international acceptability that the arrival of respectable Western companies would bring and, from a strategic perspective, it wants to dilute the growing influence of China in particular.
The toughest question of all is whether ordinary Burmese citizens will benefit from the anticipated influx of foreign enterprise. There is an obvious risk that they will fall victim to the “resource curse” and watch foreign investors and the Burmese elite trouser the profits of their country’s forthcoming boom. In the final analysis, this could be the true litmus test for the Thein Sein government and for the foreign companies that decide to do business with it: whether Burma starts to get rich, as well as themselves.
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Edwin
Cutting Military snpdeing, spreading our military all over the gliobe, what is this man?, thinking? Cut back on missiles in agreement with Russia. I see this country becoming a third world power. Oh, my God!