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Doing business & staying in touch

Lightweight suits are recommended during the day; jackets are needed for top-level meetings. Most commercial business transactions will be conducted in English. Business cards in Burmese script can be useful. The best time to visit is October to February.

Office hours: 

Mon-Fri 0930-1630.

Economy: 

While rich in resources, Myanmar's development is hindered by its politics. The largest single sector is traditional agriculture, mainly livestock and fishing. Teak wood is the country's other main export (much of it felled and traded illegally).

Myanmar has significant deposits of tin, copper, zinc, gemstones, silver, oil and coal: commercial exploitation provides some income. Further significant sources of revenue include opium trafficking and gemstone mining, both of which are largely controlled by the military government and have been mainly used to finance substantial arms purchases.

There are few reliable economic statistics for Myanmar; the government reports growth as significantly higher than international estimates and understates the black market. However, growth is estimated to have been 3%, unemployment 10.2% and inflation a worrying 20% in 2006.

After years of political isolation, Myanmar became a member of ASEAN in July 1997. However, many potential investors are deterred by the government's appalling human rights record.

GDP: 

US$9.6 billion (2006).

Main exports: 

Gas, wood products, agricultural products and marine products.

Main imports: 

Fabric, petroleum products, fertiliser, plastics and machinery.

Main trading partners: 

Thailand, China (PR), India, Singapore and Japan.

Staying in touch in Myanmar

Telephone: 

Only larger cities can be dialled direct from within Myanmar; smaller towns still use manual switchboards and callers need to ask the operator to connect them to a specific town operator. International calls are difficult to place outside hotels.

Mobile phone: 

There is no international roaming in Myanmar. Note: Mobile phones may be collected by customs on arrival and released to you upon departure.

Internet: 

There are a few Internet cafes, but access to many free international e-mail services is blocked. All Internet use is monitored by the government and is usually expensive.

Post: 

Service to Europe takes up to one week and letter forms are quicker than ordinary letters. To ensure despatch, it is advisable to go to the post office personally to obtain a certificate of posting, for which a small fee is charged.

Media: 

The military junta closely oversees the media, thereby preventing criticism from within, suppressing any bad news (even bad sport results), and heavily censoring all other programming. Radio Myanmar is state-run; City FM is a Yangon-based entertainment channel; Democratic Voice of Burma is an opposition station based in Norway and broadcasts via shortwave radio. TV Myanmar is state-run; MRTV-3 is a state-run international service; TV5 is a joint state-private Pay-TV service, while New Light of Myanmar is the English-language voice of the government. Myanmar Times is a state-run English-language weekly newspaper; Kyehmon is the principal state daily.

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