Investors optimistic after Myanmar election

Описание: (20 Nov 2015) While Myanmar's nascent political transition has only just begun after Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi's opposition party won an overwhelming majority in the general elections, investors are optimistic over the nation's economic prospects in the long term.
In view of booming business ahead, one Japanese hotelier thinks that the change of government will boost the level of foreign investment in Myanmar.
Koki Onodera opened the Yangon International Hotel in the early 1990s, when the country was still under military rule and in need of foreign funds.
With visitors barely trickling into the country, revenues back then mainly came from renting floors to the United Nations.
All that, he says, has been changing fast since the military-backed government began opening up five years ago.
Plans are underway to build five new structures around his hotel – a new annex hotel that will open in 2017, as well as two parking structures and two serviced apartment blocks.
What will propel the country's business forward, he says, will be increased support from the West on the back of Suu Kyi's party and government-to-be.
The International Monetary Fund expects Myanmar's economy to grow by around 8.5 percent in the fiscal year ending March 2016.
Foreign direct investment topped eight (b) billion US dollars this year – evidence that the nation's reforms are making progress.
Tourists are already flocking to the nation's capital in anticipation of dramatic changes to come.
Yet concerns remain over how smooth the transition of power will be and on the untested economic policies of Suu Kyi's administration.
Over a third of Myanmar's 51.4 million people are still living on less than 1.25 US dollars a day; rural poverty and urban slums also remain a dire reality.
In addition, the nation's economy faces a double-digit inflation rate and soaring debt.
The spokesperson for the victorious National League for Democracy, Nyan Win, says the party will be concentrating on negotiating the transfer of power.
But little is known about the process and Suu Kyi has yet to meet with the current President, Thein Sein.
The people of Myanmar overwhelmingly voted for Suu Kyi and her party in the historic elections of 8 November – focus will now be on whether they can meet the expectations of voters and of international investors.

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