World Bank: Coup and Coronavirus Shrink Myanmar’s Economy by 18%

VOA
Vijitra Duangdee
July 26, 2021

Vehicles make their ways as pedestrians cross a road with Sule pagoda seen the in background in downtown Yangon, Myanmar, July 19, 2021.

BANGKOK - Myanmar’s economy is forecast to shrink by 18% as it grapples with the coronavirus and the political turmoil unleashed by a coup, the World Bank said Monday. The contracting economy threatens millions with poverty, joblessness and hunger.

A decade ago, the Southeast Asian nation was seen as a promising frontier market. Its military began to slacken its grip, the economy opened up to the outside world for the first time in decades and Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy Party was democratically elected.

Myanmar refugee crisis brewing as turmoil hits economy

my JOURNAL COURIER

ELAINE KURTENBACH
AP Business Writer
April 21, 2021

FILE - In this April 8, 2021, file photo, anti-coup protesters walk through a market with images of ousted Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi in Yangon, Myanmar. Aid workers and activists are warning Myanmar's political upheavals could cause a regional refugee crisis as political strife following a Feb. 1 coup displace growing numbers of people who have lost their livelihoods. coming in a couple hours.AP

BANGKOK (AP) — Aid workers and activists are warning Myanmar’s political upheavals risk causing a regional refugee crisis as the strife following a February coup displaces growing numbers of people who have lost their livelihoods.

Tom Andrews, the U.N. special rapporteur for Myanmar, said violence has left nearly 250,000 people displaced. As Myanmar’s neighbors prepare for a summit this week to discuss the coup, he and other rights advocates are warning that the situation could spiral out of control.

“The world must act immediately to address this humanitarian catastrophe," Andrews said in a Twitter post on Wednesday.

With Its Economy in Free Fall, Myanmar Braces for the Worst

Bloomberg News
12 April 2021,

Investors are fleeing and businesses are teetering close to the financial edge as the junta’s crackdown worsens.Bloomberg News

Protesters taking part in a candlelight demonstration against the military coup in Yangon's Tamwe township on April 3. Source AFP/Getty Images

With a tea shop right next to key protest zones in Myanmar’s biggest city, Soe is never quite sure whether he should keep the business open.

If protesters enter to evade authorities, the 43-year-old risks getting shot, arrested or having his property destroyed as the military and police hunt them down. But if he turns away fleeing demonstrators, he may face a backlash on Facebook and a boycott of his tea shop, among hundreds in Yangon that have long served as de facto community centers.

How China has Tightened its Grip on Myanmar’s Economy

NEWS18

FEBRUARY 09, 2021

While China Was Rapidly Making Inroads Into Myanmar, Indian Economic Presence In Myanmar Has Been More Or Less Limited To The 2010 Trade Statistics Level, A Bilateral Trade Over 11 Times Smaller Than China.

The bilateral trade between Myanmar and China in 2010 was US$1.22 billion. China’s share in Myanmar’s imports was 19.81%, while it accounted for just 2.93% of Myanmar’s exports. Back then, Thailand was the biggest trading partner with US$3.65 billion in bilateral trade. But it was largely export driven with 35.83% share of Myanmar’s total exports, while Singapore was at number three with US$1.58 billion of bilateral trade, according to the World Bank data.

India’s bilateral trade with Myanmar stood at US$1.12 billion and it was largely import driven. Myanmar’s import share with India was just 3.32%, while India’s share in Myanmar’s export was 10.80%.