Myanmar president announces second stage of reforms

Myanmar's President Thein Sein. File Photo

Myanmar President Thein Sein on Tuesday announced economic reforms including plans to pass a foreign investment law.

The President is widely credited with several breakthroughs last year, including freeing hundreds of political prisoners and opening a dialogue with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

“The foreign direct investment law will be approved soon in the coming parliament sessions,” Mr. Thein Sein said in announcing his second stage of reforms.

The next session will open on July 4, with Ms. Suu Kyi participating.

Mr. Thein Sein announced plans to boost gross domestic product by 7.77 per cent annually over the next five years, during which he hopes to double foreign investment.

The President said future foreign investments should not harm the environment and should promote social development.

The government is also considering a minimum wage law, he added.

Myanmar’s economy suffered from decades of self-imposed isolation during 1962-88, followed by two decades of Western-imposed sanctions between 1988 and 2011.

The country is ranked by the United Nations among the world’s least-developed countries. China is currently its largest investor, primarily in energy and mining projects. The European Union and United States have recently suspended most of their sanctions on Myanmar, in reward for the new government’s political reforms.