US firms eye Myanmar as sanctions suspended

WASHINGTON/HONG KONG: The suspension of US sanctions barring investment in Myanmar in response to political reforms in the poor Southeast Asian state opens the door to US firms queuing to scout for business in one of the last frontier markets.
US firms are expected to join those from Asia and Europe that have already moved into a market of up to 60 million people in the former British colony. Analysts and experts have said there will be opportunities for foreign companies across the industrial landscape - from energy, mining and construction to agriculture, finance and tourism.
General Electric Co, the biggest US conglomerate, said yesterday it was working with the Myanmar government on possible infrastructure projects and opportunities in the health care and energy sectors.
“We are looking at health care. We are working with the government on energy. Eventually we will look into all of the infrastructure businesses,” GE Vice-Chairman John Rice said in Hong Kong.
“We are looking at Yangon’s power needs, working with the ministry and the government to figure out how we can help reduce some of the shortages,” said Rice, who runs GE’s global operations and visited Myanmar in April.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced the suspension of sanctions at a news briefing on Thursday with Myanmar Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin, on his long-isolated nation’s first official visit to Washington in decades.
“Today we say to American business: invest in Burma and do it responsibly,” Clinton said.
Nabil Barakat, CEO of Wamar International, a US-based energy services firm, met Myanmar government officials this week to discuss projects including repairing gas-fired power plants in Yangon, media reported.
Myanmar, also known as Burma, has huge gas resources, but a dysfunctional power grid, with nationwide rolling blackouts.
A spokesman for automaker Ford Asia told Reuters: “It’s very encouraging to see the rapid and positive developments ... We are sure Ford will find opportunities to participate in this ongoing transformation.” The International Monetary Fund has estimated Myanmar’s gross domestic product at a little more than $50 billion. Neighboring Thailand, with a population of about 67 million, has a GDP of $348 billion. Clinton said Washington would issue a general licence to permit US investments across Myanmar’s economy, allowing US energy, mining and financial services companies to look for opportunities in an economy which is rapidly re-opening after having been run down by five decades of military rule. But she stressed the laws underpinning US sanctions on Myanmar would remain - as leverage while pushing the government further on democratic reforms.