AFP, Yangon :
Inside the graceful halls of Myanmar’s first modern bourse a huddle of business leaders crowds into a crash course on sharetrading, as the former junta-run country takes another leap towards economic revitalisation.
Yangon Stock Exchange (YSX) is due to debut its first listed company on Friday, just days before a new civilian government overseen by Aung San Suu Kyi comes to power in a nation fast opening up after decades of military rule. The start of trading, long after the bourse was first envisaged, is a vivid illustration of Myanmar’s economic handicap — a country that still has no credit rating and where business has long been hamstrung by ingrained corruption.
But it also encapsulates the excitement and optimism that has gripped both local and foreign investors alike.
Dozens of people every week have attended the YSX classes for those unfamiliar with sharetrading, which include lessons on investment risks and rewards as well as multimedia guides to stock purchasing.
“It is great for Myanmar people to learn about the stock market. It will bring new hope for our business sector,” business consultant Nwe Ni Soe told AFP at a recent training day.
Under the military, Myanmar was plunged into poverty and pummelled by banking crises, international sanctions and arbitrary economic policies that destroyed the once vibrant economy and saw ordinary people hoard savings in assets like gold.
The tide began turning under the outgoing reformist quasi-civilian government which took power in 2011.
A handful of foreign banks have slowly crept into the country, while a raft of new business and finance laws have begun to untangle a messy legal landscape. The World Bank says the country could grow by as much as eight percent a year for the next five years, but says firms are struggling with access to finance. Myanmar’s incoming government is faced with a raft of challenges as it looks to encourage investment and create jobs.
In the way is a weak kyat currency, decrepit infrastructure, patchy electricity and an urgent need to improve skills in a nation whose education system withered with neglect under the junta.
Inside the graceful halls of Myanmar’s first modern bourse a huddle of business leaders crowds into a crash course on sharetrading, as the former junta-run country takes another leap towards economic revitalisation.
Yangon Stock Exchange (YSX) is due to debut its first listed company on Friday, just days before a new civilian government overseen by Aung San Suu Kyi comes to power in a nation fast opening up after decades of military rule. The start of trading, long after the bourse was first envisaged, is a vivid illustration of Myanmar’s economic handicap — a country that still has no credit rating and where business has long been hamstrung by ingrained corruption.
But it also encapsulates the excitement and optimism that has gripped both local and foreign investors alike.
Dozens of people every week have attended the YSX classes for those unfamiliar with sharetrading, which include lessons on investment risks and rewards as well as multimedia guides to stock purchasing.
“It is great for Myanmar people to learn about the stock market. It will bring new hope for our business sector,” business consultant Nwe Ni Soe told AFP at a recent training day.
Under the military, Myanmar was plunged into poverty and pummelled by banking crises, international sanctions and arbitrary economic policies that destroyed the once vibrant economy and saw ordinary people hoard savings in assets like gold.
The tide began turning under the outgoing reformist quasi-civilian government which took power in 2011.
A handful of foreign banks have slowly crept into the country, while a raft of new business and finance laws have begun to untangle a messy legal landscape. The World Bank says the country could grow by as much as eight percent a year for the next five years, but says firms are struggling with access to finance. Myanmar’s incoming government is faced with a raft of challenges as it looks to encourage investment and create jobs.
In the way is a weak kyat currency, decrepit infrastructure, patchy electricity and an urgent need to improve skills in a nation whose education system withered with neglect under the junta.
