“Is Burma a ‘Global Leader’ of Corporate Transparency?”, 10 October 2014

Newly disclosed corporate ownership data has prompted one international advocacy group to label Burma as a “world leader” in transparency and urge the government to maintain pressure on industry stakeholders as the country moves toward achieving global standards. Transparency watchdog Global Witness…published a 30-page breakdown of 25 foreign and domestic oil and gas companies operating in Burma that have—upon being solicited by the group—published full or partial information about their “ultimate beneficial ownership,” which has been defined as the individual person or persons “right at the very top of the chain.”…[S]ome analysts argue that proclaiming the notoriously corrupt nation as a success story and a potential precedent may be premature, speaking more to the inadequate state of global transparency than to Burma’s accomplishments…The Global Witness report focused specifically on gas and oil companies freshly permitted to work in Burma, and does not yet examine the transparency of any other sector, which some suggest could offer misleading conclusions about investment and industry in Burma on the whole…