Myanmar is one of the world’s last greenfields. With a population as large as Italy and a per capita income about the same as Bangladesh, the country’s growth potential is huge. The International Monetary Fund predicts 8%-plus gross domestic product growth over the next few years.
What is more, the scope for investment is equally massive. Since the country was closed off from the global market for some 50 years while under military rule – it only opened its doors in 2011 – Myanmar is short of many things, including basic infrastructure, and adequate power and transport systems. It is also behind the curve in all the regular goods and services that citizens of most other Association of South-east Asian Nations countries take for granted. Myanmar is unbanked, uninsured and unconnected.
