Myanmar End Game Dangle Evokes Economy Destruction

The Myanmar stock index with less than ten listings is off another 10% this year, after shedding two-thirds its value since launch a decade ago to ample pre-frontier market fanfare. Then Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi led the government with a raft of Western educated economic reformers in tow, including the deputy central bank governor who along with her has been under arrest since the military coup over four years ago and was just awarded a human rights prize for standing up to monetary as well as political repression. As the Obama administration left office in 2016, the President visited Yangon to announce a partial sanctions thaw with elections and the return of civilian rule, and we were overwhelmed by inquiries over the exchange’s recent launch with technical assistance from Japan. An acquaintance moved to the country to start a venture capital fund in parallel, and the hype reached a crescendo when a heavyweight tycoon owned company cross listed on the Singapore market. Activity since has been mostly frozen with the Rohingya refugee genocide leading to an exodus of 750,000 to next door Bangladesh in 2017, the covid crisis, and then new elections later overturned by the senior generals in 2021, although a small family firm pre-listing roster has been established to groom future prospects.