Myanmar as Asia’s Last Frontier: Korea Herald

Myanmar’s government opened its economy this decade, and South Korean firms see “economic potential and geographic attractiveness,” reports Jung Min-kyung for the Korea Herald. For example, Posco International, described as the trade and resources development arm of Korea’s leading steelmaker, has completed a rice processing complex in Myanmar’s rice-producing Ayeyarwady region. The facility could eventually produce and distribute 100,000 tons of rice annually that could be exported to China, the Middle East and even Europe. A Posco statement expressed appreciation for Myanmar’s uncultivated land with minimal use of fertilizers. Such activity will require advances in Myanmar’s financial sector, and South Korean banks have signed agreements with the Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry and other groups to cooperate on applications and processes for financing, investment, insurance, and import and export. The two countries plan to build a joint industrial zone by 2024. Myanmar posts economic growth of about 7 percent. – YaleGlobal