NEWS - Myanmar, Japan Launch Econom

[Philip.Mccracken@xxxxxxxxxxx]

Myanmar, Japan Launch Economic Cooperation Panel

               Reuters
               04-FEB-98

               YANGON, Feb 4 (Reuters) - The
               Union of Myanmar Chamber of
               Commerce and Industry (MCCI) and
               the Japan Chamber of Commerce
               and Industry (JCCI) have signed an
               agreement to launch an economic
               cooperation committee in Yangon,
               Myanmar (Burma) newspapers said
               on Wednesday.

               The government newspapers said
               MCCI chairman Khin Maung Yi and
               representatives of JCCI chairman
               Tomoo Takahara signed an
               agreement on Tuesday to form the
               bilateral Economic Cooperation
               Committee.

               Local analysts said the pact would
               help boost direct Japanese
               investment in Myanmar.

               ``Most Japanese investment has
               come to Myanmar through third
               parties, mostly Singapore, because
               of U.S.-led sanctions against
               Myanmar,'' an analyst told Reuters.

               ``The Japanese now seem to have
               decided to take advantage of the
               financial crisis in Southeast Asian
               countries which used to be
               Myanmar's biggest foreign investors,''
               he said.

               ``It is not too late for the Japanese
               because Myanmar still offers them a
               great deal of investment
               opportunities,'' he added.

               Up to January last year Japan,
               Myanmar's biggest trading partner,
               had proposed $206.8 million worth of
               direct investment in 17 local projects.

               More than a fifth of Myanmar's total
               imports in the 1996/1997
               (April-March) fiscal year came from
               Japan.

               Japan took 382.2 million kyat ($1.4
               million at the current market rate) of
               Myanmar's 5.2 billion kyat worth of
               exports in the same year.

               The kyat has an official value of six to
               the dollar, but its market rate is much
               lower at 280.