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Forests Investments

Myanmar Must Clarify the Legal Framework for Its State-Owned Economic Enterprises

By Forest Trends
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State-owned Economic Enterprises (SEEs) dominate Myanmar’s economy. They are reportedly responsible for 7% of GDP, and generate at least one-fifth of government revenue from extractive sectors alone. Yet, they operate “simultaneously within a sparse legal framework and a vast bureaucracy …lack[ing] supervision,” and the institutions meant to provide oversight “are largely unable to provide substantive accountability.”  

This brief encourages the Union Government of Myanmar (UGoM) to continue with SEE reform, with a focus on legal clarity and budget transparency within a reformed financial regulatory system. Given their importance, SEEs share in the responsibility to help the National League for Democracy (NLD) government “work to ensure a fair distribution across the country of the profits from natural resource extraction in accordance with the principle of a federal union.”