Two years have passed under a period of broadly recognised political disruption, economic discontent and social damage. From weakness in implementing policies on many fronts to exchange rate volatilities, inflation, and continued conflicts across the country, 2021 and 2022 presented both locals and foreigners with hard choices to make. Going forward, 2023 poses more tough questions, one of those being what to expect of the economy and the investment environment of Myanmar.
The ultimate solution to achieving an upward trend in the Myanmar economy is political. And a bigger question is whether the motivation for foreign investment born out of trust has been completely destroyed.
“Money is nothing but an item of trust … without society capable of fulfilling that sort of promises nothing is going to be fixed anyway,” said an economist who watches Myanmar closely.
Little can be changed without the willingness of a positive intention for the overall development of the country’s over 50 million population, said the same economist in discussion with MPE&VCA. With that said, the technical solutions are already prepared and available if there is willingness to adopt those. The solutions already developed have looked at areas of improving economic institutions, having liquid finance and developing the monetary system.
Can technical solutions be applied to recover the economy?