IMF Staff Concludes Visit to Myanmar

An International Monetary Fund (IMF) team led by Mr. Yongzheng Yang visited Myanmar during May 12−20 to assess macroeconomic developments and discuss economic policies with the authorities […]

IMF Executive Board Completes 2015 Article IV Consultation with Myanmar

On August 28, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) concluded the 2015 Article IV consultation1 with Myanmar […]

Nearly US$100 Billion Flowed Illegally through Myanmar from 1960-2013, Finds New GFI Report

Nearly US$20 billion flowed illegally out of Myanmar between 1960 and 2013— draining domestic resources, driving the underground economy, exacerbating inequality, and facilitating crime and corruption—according to a new report released today by Global Financial Integrity (GFI), a Washington DC-based research and advocacy organization […]

World Bank Should Promote Human Rights in Burma, NGOs Say

RANGOON — Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Burmese civil society organizations have urged the World Bank Group to put human rights at the center of its new Burma country strategy.

They said the bank should encourage an improvement in respect for rights within the Burmese government, while also ensuring that its development projects do not exacerbate ethnic conflict and the land rights’ situation […]

Statement by the IMF Mission to Myanmar

An International Monetary Fund (IMF) team led by Mr. Matt Davies visited Myanmar during June 4–17 to hold the 2014 Article IV Consultation discussions with the authorities.1 The mission met with Minister of President’s Office U Soe Thane, Union Minister of Finance U Win Shein, Central Bank of Myanmar (CBM) Governor U Kyaw Kyaw Maung, as well as other senior officials, parliamentarians, representatives from private sector and civil societies, donors and the diplomatic community […]

IFIs must “engage with the Burmese people”

Over 20 civil society groups from Burma, also known as Myanmar, have written to the heads of the IMF and World Bank requesting that the IFIs involve grass roots actors in their newly revived activities in the country and that their operational policies “guarantee maximum transparency, accountability, social inclusiveness and safeguards”. International NGO Human Rights Watch has also written to Bank president Robert Zoellick calling on the Bank to “actively engage with the Burmese people” and ensure that “no one who engages with the Bank shall face reprisals” […]

Sanctions on Burma: A Review by the NLD

In recent months sanctions have repeatedly featured in discussions over the kind of policies that would best encourage positive change in Burma. Are current administrative policies and practices conducive to a healthy economy, with or without sanctions? Are allegations that sanctions have exacerbated the hardships of the people of Burma justified or are such accusations based on political motives? Are sanctions in their present form likely to achieve the desired objectives? Are there credible signs of progress in the democratization process? The issue of sanctions needs to be examined within the broad context of political desiderata and economic realities […]

Opportunities and Pitfalls: Preparing for Burma’s Economic Transition

The Burma Project/Southeast Initiative has published Opportunities and Pitfalls: Preparing for Burma’s Economic Transition, a report by Yuki Akimoto.

Opportunities and Pitfalls covers key topics addressed at the conference regarding Burma’s prospective economic transition and the role of IFIs. The report contains case studies of other countries that have dealt with IFIs and their prescriptions for development, highlighting issues and circumstances that Burma shares with those countries.

Forward-looking and accessible, this report promises to stir practical debate about how Burma should manage the challenges of working with IFIs when these institutions become fully engaged there […]

Multilateral Development Banks and Burma: A Resource Book from the Bank Information Center

Multilateral development banks, or MDBs, are a significant source of economic assistance for developing countries. MDBs lend tens of billions of dollars to low and middle income countries each year. In the Asia-Pacific region, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) loans $5 to 6 billion a year to its borrowing countries. If and when the MDBs decide to resume engagement with Burma, they could be a very large source of financial support for Burma’s development agenda.

Many of those in the movement to promote democracy in Burma have engaged in debates and discussions about whether or not economic assistance should be extended to the military regime. The Resource Book is meant to help expand this discussion to include the issue of multilateral assistance from MDBs […]