"In Myanmar, Chinese and Thai companies fill economic vacuum" 10 September 2023

From infrastructure to consumer goods, Chinese and Thai companies have expanded in Myanmar as their countries maintain relations with the Western-sanctioned military-led government...

Myanmar approved $5.4 billion in foreign direct investment between February 2021, when the military took over the government, and March of this year, according to the Institute for Strategy and Policy-Myanmar, a private think tank. China, including Hong Kong, accounted for 55%, or $3 billion...

China's Union Resources & Engineering and Yunnan Energy Investment are building a $2.5 billion power plant in the Ayeyarwady region in southern Myanmar... While China has reined in its infrastructure-building Belt and Road Initiative, in part due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, Chinese money talks with a bigger voice in Myanmar amid a decline in other foreign investment.

The larger Chinese presence can be seen in Myanmar's garment industry... The more than 300 Chinese clothing factories in Myanmar, according to the Myanmar Garment Manufacturers Association's tally, account for more than half all garment factories operating in the country.

Thai companies are also filling the void... This move represents an expansion for F&N. Since 2019, the company has produced and sold ThaiBev's signature Chang beer in Myanmar through a separate joint venture...

Energy companies from Thailand are entering Myanmar as well... Thailand's state-owned oil and gas group PTT Exploration and Production took over TotalEnergies' lead operator role when the French energy major exited Yadana, Myanmar's biggest undersea gas field.

While critics say buying gas from Myanmar funds the military, the country plays an important energy security role in the region. Myanmar supplies roughly 15% of the natural gas consumed by Thailand.

European multinationals have withdrawn from Myanmar's telecom and energy sectors, which have close ties to the military. They also are shrinking their presence in the garment industry, a major economic driver...

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Though Japanese beverage company Kirin Holdings and Eneos have withdrawn from Myanmar, most of the roughly 400 Japanese businesses that operate in the country are biding their time... For companies that have put down capital, leaving poses a difficult choice. Offshoring will remain in Myanmar in industries like manufacturing and systems development where low wages provide an advantage, said a Japanese accountant based in the country.