Move will boost ability for businesses to buy and sell
May 15 – Myanmar will lift its existing restrictions concerning international payments and transfers by the end of this year, according to the International Monetary Fund, making it easier for businesses to trade in and with the country.
The government is expected to finalize the unification of the existing system of multiple exchange rates also by this time, following the Central Bank’s decision to scrap the 35-year-old fixed exchange rate last month. The fixed rate had created a huge black market for U.S. dollars within a country with barely any financial infrastructure.
The IMF is assisting Myanmar draft laws to govern its Central Bank and has recommended it handles all central banking functions, in addition to managing reserves – all of which are currently divided among three state-owned banks. Myanmar’s gross official reserves are estimated to be just US$9.9 billion, with foreign debt at US$5.7 billion.
GDP is expected to rise to 6 percent in 2013, while the nation possesses the second largest land area in Southeast Asia, behind Indonesia.
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