A Memo on the Economic Situation in the Union of Myanmar in early 1994 with Special Attention to Kachinland and Shan State. After years of isolation, Burma has recently made some tentative steps towards economic opening and liberalization of the rigidly state-controlled economy. Press reports have described the results of these measures as a "mini-boom" and the presentgovernment actively encourages foreign investment. Having been able to visit areas in the north of the country which have previously been closed to foreigners for over 30 years, I will report in the following memo some of the casual evidence which we could observe. I will also try to asses the solidity of the changes, given the limitations of reliable data and statistical material.Finally I will draw some conclusions for the peace process with the ethnic minorities. My reflections are based on observations and discussions during my trip with a European delegation of Burma friends to Rangoon, Mandalay, Myitkyina and Lashio at the turn of 1993/94 following an invitation by the Kachin Baptist Church. Some of the explanations which I tried to find for my observations are highly speculative and would require greater in-depth studies to be substantiated. Nevertheless, I present them here as food for thought.