"This report is a public document, prepared in June 1997 and released in September 1997 by American Embassy Rangoon. All statistics in this report are unofficial Embassy estimates, not official U.S. Government statistics. That is, they are compiled and reviewed only by Embassy officials, not by U.S. Government officials in Washington, even though they largely originate from the Government of Burma, from the governments of Burma's trading partners, or from such international financial institutions as the IMF and World Bank, as indicated by source notations in the appended statistical tables, and by the section on sources and data. Similar reports are prepared and distributed to the public annually, separately or as part of an annual Country Commercial Guide, by most American embassies throughout the world, in compliance with standing instructions from, and following a standard format specified by, the U.S. Departments of State and Commerce. This report is intended chiefly for economists and financiers; except for its first section, "Major trends and outlook," it is highly technical and sometimes redundant, intended to serve largely as a reference work...I. Economic trends and outlook:- -- Major trends and outlook: -- Major trends; -- 1996/97 economic performance; -- Economic outlook... -- Principal growth sectors: --Tourism; -- Defense; -- Agriculture: -- Paddy (unmilled rice) cultivation; -- State procurement of paddy; ; -- Rice exports; -- Beans and pulses... -- Remaining structural issues in the agricultural sector; -- Living conditions in the agricultural sector; -- The government's role in the economy: -- Historical background; -- The extent and limits of economic liberalization since 1988; -- Fiscal developments; --Non-financial expenditures; -- Non-financial receipts; -- Fiscal balances; -- External financing; -- Domestic financing; -- Errors and omissions; -- Monetary developments; -- The exchange rate regime; -- Exchange rate movements; -- Recorded money supply growth; -- Recorded money supply composition; -- Recorded domestic credit and domestic reserves; -- Recorded net foreign assets (foreign reserves); -- Aggregate price inflation; -- Balance of payments; -- Merchandise trade data and balances; -- Recorded merchandise exports; -- Recorded merchandise imports; ; -- Non-factor services trade; -- The overall trade balance; -- Unrequited private transfers (workers' remittances); -- Foreign direct investment; -- Other recorded cash financial inflows: grants, loans and other; -- External debt, debt service, arrears and debt relief; -- Aggregate external accounts: the flow of funds; -- Errors and omissions: unrecorded external flows; -- Narcotics exports and other foreign exchange rents and their real exchange rate effects; -- Infrastructure situation; -- Human infrastructure: education and health; -- Physical infrastructure; -- Use of uncompensated labor in infrastructure projects; -- Major infrastructural projects; II. Political environment; -- Nature of the bilateral relationship with the United States; -- American concerns: human rights violations, narcotics exports; -- U.S. Government activities and policies; -- Private investment, trade and travel; -- U.S. direct investment in Burma; -- U.S. exports to Burma ; -- U.S. imports from Burma; -- Travel and migration; -- Major political issues affecting the business climate ; -- Brief synopsis of the political system, schedule for elections, and orientation of major political parties; Note on sources, data and method; -- Recent improvements in publicly available economic data; -- Remaining flaws in the publicly available economic data; -- The statistical basis and methodology of this report; List of commonly used abbreviations... Appendix: Statistical Tables; --Table A: Socio-economic profile; -- Tables B.l.a - B.3.c: National income accounts (GDP and GNP); -- Table C: Aggregate price indicators; --Tables D l.a-D.6: Balance of payments accounts; -- Tables E.l.a - E.2: Monetary accounts; -- Tables F.I - F.2.b: Flow of funds accounts; -- Tables G.1.a-G.6: Public sector finance accounts.