"...we should look back Myanmar?s history on industrial policy. Every government to date since independence, either civilian or military, and either democratic or socialist, has approached the problem of the pri?vate sector with great concern and trepidation. Whenever they wanted to accommodate and integrate the energy of private enterprises into the na?tional economy, the socialist philosophy, anti-capitalist attitude, control-prone disposition and xenophobia based on the bitter colonial experiences provided obstacles, with the redefinition of the role of the private sector being left vague and halfway. The transition to market-oriented economy in the 1990s seems to be a his?torical exception. The various reform measures taken by the military gov?ernment apparently show their strong commitment toward a full-fledged market economy. The author calls the present transformation of the economy the Third Wave, and assures himself that it has been the biggest wave of liberalization in Myanmar?s industrial history. Compared with the previ?ous two waves, which the author thinks occurred in the latter half of the 1950s and in the mid-1970s, the present regime has committed itself much more clearly to market economic principles and the enhanced role of the private sector. Nevertheless, the history still exhibits a reserve to be fully confident in government policy toward a market economy. Recent backtracking of eco?nomic reforms is certainly something to be worried. It would be necessary for the military government to commit itself again to such ideas as open markets, free competition, transparency, accountability, consistency, level playing field, freedom of information and rule of law, which are the foun?dations for a free and fair market-oriented economy. Without the govern? ment?s commitment to those ideas, the private sector would never be con?fident on public polices, and as a result, the full-fledged investments would never be forthcoming." See Toshihiro Kudo, ?Industrial Policy in Myanamr: Lessons from the Past? in Industrial Devel? opment and Reforms in Myanmar: ASEAN and Japanese Perspectives, (Bangkok, The Sasakawa Southeast Asia Cooperation Fund, 1999). 43