Banking Reform Is Central to Burma’s Economic Progress

December 15, 2012

Burma Overhauls Financial Controls In Search of Growth

From VOA Learning English, this is the Economics Report in Special English.

Burma's financial industry has suffered from years of mismanagement under military rule. But more recently, the government has pushed through economic reforms. Those measures are changing the nation’s banks and reenergizing businesses. There are even hopes that Burma could become one of Asia’s fast growing economies: an Asian Tiger.

Burma had the one of the best-performing economies in Southeast Asia before the military seized power in 1962. Many years of state control over the economy followed. Widespread corruption and international sanctions left it one of the poorest countries in the area.

Economist Sean Turnell says turning around the economy will require strong measures against corruption. That is why he says political change is important to economic reform. He says restrictive measures make it harder for Burmese to do business internationally.

"At present the most destructive regulation is the one that restricts access to foreign exchange and restricts access to import licenses. Because the effect of that is not only to restrict the amount of imports that come into this country, and it really needs a lot of imports, but there’s an added effect to it and that is that keeps the exchange rate artificially high."