Myanmar Investment Climate Assessment : Sustaining Reforms in a Time of Transition

This is the first investment climate
assessment (ICA) for Myanmar. The main objectives of this
ICA are to: (i) provide an up-to-date and fact-based
analysis of the business environment for the government and
other stakeholders in Myanmar to help prioritize and
contextualize the reform agenda, and (ii) to offer a
baseline for future assessments of progress in terms of the
investment climate reform agenda. As requested by the
government, the Myanmar ICA will directly support the
ongoing reform program. The government has requested an
analytical foundation for the ongoing reform program, and a
means for prioritizing the legal and institutional changes
that are currently being initiated. This ICA is based on the
2014 Myanmar enterprise survey (ES). The Myanmar ICA
provides a comprehensive analysis of the country's ES.
The ES in Myanmar was carried out between February and April
2014, although significant work preceded and followed the
survey itself. This ICA report is organized into four
chapters. The first chapter provides an introduction into
the context of Myanmar's challenges in terms of the
overall economy and the investment climate in particular.
The second chapter analyzes the main constraints faced by
firms operating in Myanmar today, in particular the
constrained access to inputs like finance, land,
electricity, and skilled workers. The third chapter looks at
policies the government has in place for overseeing the
economy, such as firm regulations and taxation. The fourth
and concluding chapter provides policy recommendations that
follow from the analysis, in terms of the process of reform
and the specific reform steps needed over the short and
medium terms. The annex to this report provides details on
the methodology of the ES.