Manmohan Singh's Myanmar visit will improve economic ties
Manmohan Singh's Myanmar visit will improve economic ties, says Akash Banerjee, who travelled with him to Naypyidaw.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is welcomed by Myanmar President Thein Sein in Naypyidaw, the capital of Myanmar. <em>Photo: PIB</em>
Ever since the junta in Myanmar loosened its grip on the country and allowed democratic reforms, foreign investments have flooded the country, crossing the $40 billion mark in January 2012.
When Prime Minister Manmohan Singh flew into Myanmar in the last week of May, he knew that India stood a distant thirteenth in terms of those investments. China leads the pack, accounting for close to 40 per cent of overall foreign investments in the country.
While the Chinese got in early with support from the junta, many believe India has not missed the Myanmar investment bus. The 25-member Indian business delegation accompanying the Prime Minister emerged all smiles after meeting Myanmarese officials. "We are very positive about the investment climate here. There is so much to do in Myanmar," said Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chairman of Bharti Airtel, who led the delegation.
Also in the delegation was Naveen Jindal, Chairman of Jindal Steel and Power Ltd, who believes India can only do business with a government that respected democracy and was therefore entering Myanmar at the right time.
The 12 agreements and memoranda of understanding signed between India and Myanmar will bring the two countries together by opening air routes to private carriers, developing border regions and extending a $500 million credit line to Myanmar for infrastructure development. "Once the air routes open and foreign investments are approved, we are looking at explosive growth in demand for hotel rooms," says Ram Nurani, GM of the Park Royal, Yangon.
Myanmar is estimated to be sitting on over 25 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves. Of the 1.47 billion cubic feet of gas (CFG) that it produces per day, the country exports 1.2 billion CFG to Thailand under a 30-year, multi-billion-dollar pact. India, too, needs to look at having such long-term deal.
There are, of course, uncertainties even now. Myanmar does not have a regulatory mechanism and setting up a business can be complicated. Governmental corruption and inefficiency compound the risks.
But there is near unanimity that the economic liberalisation and democratisation of Myanmar is a one-way street. "I lived in India for 24 years as a dissident. If I hadn't been confident of the change, then I wouldn't have come back to Myanmar" says Soe Myint, activist and Editor-in-Chief of Mizzima Media.
When Prime Minister Manmohan Singh flew into Myanmar in the last week of May, he knew that India stood a distant thirteenth in terms of those investments. China leads the pack, accounting for close to 40 per cent of overall foreign investments in the country.
While the Chinese got in early with support from the junta, many believe India has not missed the Myanmar investment bus. The 25-member Indian business delegation accompanying the Prime Minister emerged all smiles after meeting Myanmarese officials. "We are very positive about the investment climate here. There is so much to do in Myanmar," said Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chairman of Bharti Airtel, who led the delegation.
Also in the delegation was Naveen Jindal, Chairman of Jindal Steel and Power Ltd, who believes India can only do business with a government that respected democracy and was therefore entering Myanmar at the right time.
The 12 agreements and memoranda of understanding signed between India and Myanmar will bring the two countries together by opening air routes to private carriers, developing border regions and extending a $500 million credit line to Myanmar for infrastructure development. "Once the air routes open and foreign investments are approved, we are looking at explosive growth in demand for hotel rooms," says Ram Nurani, GM of the Park Royal, Yangon.
Myanmar is estimated to be sitting on over 25 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves. Of the 1.47 billion cubic feet of gas (CFG) that it produces per day, the country exports 1.2 billion CFG to Thailand under a 30-year, multi-billion-dollar pact. India, too, needs to look at having such long-term deal.
There are, of course, uncertainties even now. Myanmar does not have a regulatory mechanism and setting up a business can be complicated. Governmental corruption and inefficiency compound the risks.
But there is near unanimity that the economic liberalisation and democratisation of Myanmar is a one-way street. "I lived in India for 24 years as a dissident. If I hadn't been confident of the change, then I wouldn't have come back to Myanmar" says Soe Myint, activist and Editor-in-Chief of Mizzima Media.
