After two years of breaking out of isolation and heading towards integration with the world, Myanmar has seen its economy grow by as much as it did in the 20 years beforehand.

An economic boom in Myanmar is forecast to take place in the near future, according to Chu Cong Phung – former Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Vietnam in Myanmar. Up until recently the nation had been under almost 50 years of isolation from the outer world.

Prior to 2010, Myanmar had attracted only US$16 billion in foreign investment, but it now has received around $32 billion in just the last two years.

Currently Vietnam has approximately $500 million worth of investment capital in the nation, compared to $22 million before 2009.

Positive changes are rapidly taking place in Myanmar. In 2009, streets were narrow and became deserted after 8:00pm. Then, a packet of monosodium glutamate (MSG) was a precious gift to locals, as goods were scarce, Phung recalled.

But things are quite different now, and traffic jams are becoming more and more common even though streets have been upgraded. Just Yangon imported 70,000 cars in 2012. The real estate market is changing rapidly, with land and house prices steadily surging.

In 2011, a five star hotel room in Yangon was $60-70 a night, now it is $300.

Enormous chances

Myanmar has a population of 60 million people, but its local manufacturing industry can only meet 15 percent of local need, leaving a wide gap and an enormous chance for Vietnam and any country.

All categories of Vietnamese goods are quickly accepted in Myanmar, based on quality, design, and technology. Vietnamese goods are qualified enough to defeat rival merchandises from China and Thailand, who are big rivals in the nation, Phung noted.

Vietnamese goods from the refrigeration industry, electricity, canned and dry foodstuffs, agricultural processed food, and machine-tools have been heavily consumed in the nation.

The other advantage for Vietnamese manufacturers is that both Vietnam and Myanmar have nurtured strong political ties. Agriculture and aquaculture are two fields Vietnam has an advantage in Myanmar thanks to its great unexploited potential, from 3,100km of coast to over eight million hectares of water surface.

Myanmar has big demand for construction and decoration materials, now equaling around six million tons of cement a year, while local production is only 1.5 million tons.

The challenges of doing business in Myanmar include loose assistance from local banks, weak investment capital, as most import-export firms are privately owned, and complicated procedures for import and export and to get investment certificates granted.

But challenges are always accompanied by chances, Phung says. Now, the Myanmarese government has great determination in settling the problems to smooth their economic machine in the future.

The Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) has recently set up offices in Myanmar to facilitate Vietnamese enterprises.

Business mode in Myanmar

As a newly emerging market for foreign investors, Myanmar has stuck to its traditional mode of doing small business by relying on individual trust.

Myanmarese people are honest and good natured and have a strong sense in obeying laws and regulations, Phung said.

“During my four years of working in Myanmar, I saw Myanmarese firms sue their Vietnamese partners for problems with in debts and payment. But I never saw a Vietnamese firm sue or complain a local partner,” Phung told Tuoi Tre.

“Myanmarese people like Vietnamese goods, but they sometimes complain that Vietnam brought qualified goods for advertisements and later supplied inadequate merchandise.”

Visiting Myanmar, visitors can see jars of fresh water covered by cylindrical lids in every public place, such as police stations, bus stops, shops, markets, pagodas, and along streets.

It is free grift for anyone to relieve their thirst. Myanmarese people feel happy to prepare the offering, according to Phung.

A taxi driver named Dyn Dyn frankly admitted, “I don’t know when Myanmarese people started doing that, but my father did it and previous generations did it.”