May 21 – The Myanmar government has brought forward the date of permitting foreign banks access to the country by 12 months, Nay Aye, one of the two deputy governors at the country’s central bank said on Friday. Banks from the ASEAN region will be allowed to set up operational branches by 2014, while banks from other countries will be able to establish joint ventures within the same time-frame, he was reported as saying. Continue reading
Op-Ed Commentary: Chris Devonshire-Ellis
May 18 – As the United States has just eased its financial sanctions against Myanmar, now seems an appropriate time to take a look at the actual situation on the ground there and the opportunities for foreign investment. Our practice, Dezan Shira & Associates, has a strong presence throughout Asia and with seventeen offices just between China and India alone, Myanmar – sandwiched right between these two Asian giants – seems an appropriate place to target. However, having visited the country and taken soundings, much remains to be done before Myanmar is even suitable for foreign investors to enter without either huge resources or strong doses of entrepreneurial commitment. It is not, as others have suggested, a destination that foreign investors should be running to. Such talk is hopelessly naive. Continue reading
Afghanistan Parliament Building, Kabul. Funded by India.
May 18 – With the U.S. pulling out of Afghanistan, India is poised to become the nation’s largest investor. When NATO withdraws troops by 2014, the Indian government is keen to take up the mantle of helping redevelop the country.
U.S. research has suggested some US$1 trillion of minerals and deposits exist in Afghanistan, with Indian investors looking to secure contracts to obtain mining and processing rights. India’s Geological Survey Department and the National Mineral Development Corporation are already involved with the country. Delhi is also hosting a Global Investors Afghanistan Conference in the Fall, among several that have started to be announced recently, including recent events that have taken place in Dubai and the Middle East. India already supplies helicopters to the Afghan military, and the Afghan police force has been undergoing training in camps in Hyderabad for some time. Continue reading
By Nicholas Clement
May 17 – On Wednesday, China held negotiations with Japan regarding maritime issues in the East China Sea, with their territorial dispute over the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands on the top of the agenda. Currently involved in a naval standoff with the Philippines in the South China Sea and ongoing border disputes with India, it is increasingly clear that China’s relations with its neighbors are exemplified by geopolitical processes.
The territorial dispute over the Diaoyu Islands (which is currently controlled by Japan, yet also claimed by China and Taiwan) intensified last month when the governor of Tokyo, Shintaro Ishihara, announced plans to buy the islands from a private owner, claiming that they were extremely important to Japan as a source of natural resources. The reaction from China was negative; with Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Liu Weimin stating that “any unilateral action taken by Japan on the Diaoyu and nearby islands is illegal and invalid and cannot change the reality of China’s ownership.” Continue reading
May 15 – India is expected to overtake China as the world’s largest rice exporter this year as the Indian harvest has had a major boost from both the weather and the government, pushing prices to record highs. This means India is likely to overtake not just China, but also Vietnam and Thailand as the biggest shippers, with exports anticipated to rise to 7 million tons in the year to August. That would be more than double the amount shipped over the previous 12 month period, according to the International Rice Research Institute and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Continue reading
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. Continue reading
May 14 – The United Nations Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) launched the 2012 edition of the Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific on May 10, the oldest and most comprehensive annual review of economic and social development in the region. The survey scales down the economic growth of the region to 6.5 percent in 2012, with China and India expanding their economy by 8.6 percent and 7.5 percent, respectively.
Similar to the statement made in the Asia-Pacific Regional Outlook by the IMF, ESCAP sees Asia as the world’s fastest growing region and an anchor for global economic stability. According to ESCAP, the growth rate of the region’s developing economies is projected to slow down to 6.5 percent in 2012 compared to 7 percent in 2011 and 8.9 percent in 2010. However, the slowdown is expected to lower the inflation rate in the region from 6.1 percent in 2011 to 4.8 percent in 2012. Continue reading
