Myanmar’s disappointing new investment law
A new investment law has been rushed through Burma’s Parliament, with the Upper House giving its approval on October 6. According to the Myanmar Investment Commission, the law is expected to take effect soon. Earth Rights International and other civil society groups are concerned that the consultation period for the law was too short, and the law itself is incomplete and too weak to secure responsible investment in many of the country’s most destructive industries. Despite the ruling National League for Democracy’s rhetoric of responsible investment in the lead-up to the 2015 general election, the Investment Law is a significant disappointment. The NLD government’s new sense of urgency in passing the Investment Law came in the wake of State Counselor and Foreign Minister Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s visit to the United States, during which President Obama announced that the US would end its economic sanctions program and Responsible Investment Reporting Requirements for US investment into Myanmar.
