Myanmar is developing a regional economic agenda with China

The economic program is called Central Economic Zone and it is being implemented in the border town of Muse, project officials have informed.

Following a series of economic and democratic tax reforms intended to encourage foreign direct investment, Myanmar saw FDI increase from USD 300 million in 2009-2010 to USD 20 billion in 2010-2011 and a resulting rise in GDP rate from 5% in 2009 to 6% in 2012.

The Central Body for the Myanmar Special Economic Zone, a regulatory body to oversee and further facilitate the country’s economic growth, was established in 2011 and has since set up several Special Economic Zones (SEZs) which provide tax and land incentives to encourage FDI.

China is Myanmar’s biggest investor with nearly USD 14.251 billion spanning 65 projects as of June 2014.

Bilateral trade between the 2 countries stood at USD 6.619 billion in 2013, making up 28.4% of Myanmar’s total foreign trade value.

In the fiscal year 2013-2014, over 60% of Myanmar’s total border trade (over USD 3 billion) came in from China via Muse, making it the highest border trade transaction between the 2 countries.

In January 2014, Muse registered cross-border transactions worth USD189 million.