Back when it looked like Myanmar had a chance at democracy, American lawyer Eric Rose opened a firm in Yangon to advise investors interested in the newly opened country. In 2014, a client asked him to evaluate a potential joint venture with several state-owned pharmaceutical companies, Rose got a glimpse at how the military ran business ventures.
As part of due diligence, Rose talked to the directors and reviewed the financials of the companies, which were under the control of a government still dominated by generals that had run Myanmar since the 1960s. The businesses were inefficient, the equipment outdated, the employees poorly trained veterans, he said. The companies’ leaders were former military officers without business experience. “They were losing money left and right,” he said. “There was no prospect of these businesses ever turning around.”
Business Lobby Group Demands US Envoy to Tackle Myanmar Crisis
Business Lobby Group Demands US Envoy to Tackle Myanmar Crisis
State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi addresses the US-ASEAN Business Council in Washington in 2016. / US-ASEAN Business Council
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By The Irrawaddy 7 May 2021
The US-ASEAN Business Council has called for Washington to appoint a special envoy for Myanmar, saying bold US leadership could help resolve the crisis.
A US special envoy could coordinate a strategic approach involving smart, targeted sanctions and create room for effective dialogue in tandem with allies, said the business council.
It urged President Joe Biden to empower a special envoy with a support base in the region by also swiftly filling US ambassadorial posts in Singapore and Thailand and for Asean, the 10-member regional body which includes Myanmar.
Since
Myanmar’s military seized power in a coup just over three months ago, more than
765 people have been killed by state security forces and over 4,700 people have been arrested,
including the country’s democratically elected leaders.
Hundreds have been shot in the
streets, others taken from their homes in nighttime raids, many turning up dead with bruised and broken bodies. More than 50 children have
been killed, the youngest just
six years old shot in
her home. There are also disturbing reports of torture and sexual abuse by
state forces.
The internet has been blocked,
leaving most people without access to information at a time when they need it
Calls Grow to Cut Myanmar Junta’s External Financial Lifelines
Calls Grow to Cut Myanmar Junta’s External Financial Lifelines
Myanmar soldiers are seen during the Armed Forces Day commemoration in Naypyitaw, the capital of the country, on March 27.
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By The Irrawaddy 5 May 2021
Tougher action is urgently needed to cut off foreign currency flows to the Myanmar military regime, suggested local and foreign financial experts, who argued that severing its financial lifeline would hasten the collapse of military rule.
“The largest inflows of foreign currency to the military are from the oil and gas and mining sectors. We need to totally shut off the flow of foreign currency that is keeping the junta alive,” a local economist who asked not to be named told The Irrawaddy.
Adani Ports could abandon Myanmar project if found to violate U.S. sanctions
Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSE.NS) said on Tuesday it could abandon a Myanmar container terminal project and write down the investment if it is found to be in violation of sanctions imposed by the United States.
“In a scenario wherein Myanmar is classified as a sanctioned country under the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), or if OFAC opines that the project violates the current sanctions, (Adani Ports) plans to abandon the project and write down the investments,” the company said in a filing to exchanges on Tuesday.