Earnings Call, Interview, Panel, Fireside Chat, Roundtable, Other
A Fireside Chat with Serge Pun Building Myanmar
Milken InstituteSerge Pun, Staci Warden, Mike Milken, Mahendra Lama, Minseok Lee, Dickey Yuhuiko, Brad Gordon
- Countries with zero interest rates are expected to seek alternative investment avenues within the next year or so, potentially involving direct government intervention if institutions fail to invest in high-yield bonds, stress bonds, and global stocks following the sale of Japanese government bonds.
- The Milken Institute anticipates creating financial incentives to develop cities and correct problems, citing the resolution of 95% of acid rain issues within a little more than a decade following the creation of sulfur index credits.
- Aung San Suu Kyi consulted with the US government to lift sanctions, which is projected to extinguish barriers to American business investment in Myanmar and allow the country to export with no or very little taxes under the General System of Preferences.
- A company established with seven local staff in 1991 grew to 4,500 employees by 2003 and expanded into 30 companies, including a security force of 850 and a laundry chain with 15 shops.
- Greenfield Bank became the second largest privately owned bank with approximately 40 branches before the 2003 financial crisis, survived a period without a full license where it processed 35,000 transactions daily after modernizing in three months, and rose to number four in the country three years after regaining its license in August 2012 despite starting from zero deposits and loans.
- The period from the "dark years" of 2005 to 2010, characterized by a no-bribery policy that nearly ruined the company, is viewed as a precursor to a potential five-year window of growth beginning from the current time.
- The government has designated the eradication of corruption as a top priority to build a nation on a firm foundation of the rule of law, aiming to create a unique regional example that avoids future corruption and environmental problems over the next 15 years.
- While the next four to four-and-a-half years are expected to be all positive, potential problems may arise toward the end of this five-year period when the next election approaches, with the government explicitly stating it will not provide short-term returns to short-term players.
- Investors are advised to focus on large infrastructure investments, specifically connectivity including roads, trails, and waterways between Yangon and Mandalay and connections to China, Thailand, India, and deep-sea ports, as projects will remain isolated without this main backbone.
- Specific incentives for infrastructure investors remain unknown, though the current administration has embraced the concept and is rectifying previous Special Economic Zone awards that were done in haste and without regard for project survivability.
- Ministry behavior has shifted from preventing collaboration to working for the people, removing self-interest due to the lack of corruption, a change that is particularly prevalent in the Yangon region.
- A 21-member committee has been established as a top priority to address the Rakhine problem, including the appointment of Kofi Annan to head a commission for the issue.
- The government believes it is possible to create a "birth of a nation" and an opportunity to change the nation within the speaker's lifetime.