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ONCE a nation clouded
in obscurity Myanmar is today attracting
more and more attention, particularly in
the shipping industry as shipping lines
around the world are now making a beeline
for its shores.
Since the release of its most celebrated
political prisoner, Aung San Suu Kyi, and
the heralding of economic and political
reforms; the country has been like an unstoppable
freight train - on track to unleash economic
growth and prosperity that has never been
seen in its troubled history.
The old status quo of fear and foreboding
that Suu Kyi complained about, is now said
by some to be fading into history as a new
and confident Myanmar emerges in its place.
Myanmar's location is said to be "strategic"
according to the CIA World Factbook. And
it is this "strategic" location
that is what many are excited about in the
aftermath of the country's opening to the
world...
 click image
to enlarge
It lies at the crossroads of the world's
major shipping lanes in the Indian Ocean
and boasts a plethora of natural resources
from petroleum, timber, tin, antimony, zinc,
copper, tungsten, lead, coal, marble, limestone
and precious stones to natural gas and hydropower.
Loosely translated it means Myanmar is
more than a "strategic" nation.
In fact, the Myanmar of today is perhaps
the safest bet - or as some would say a
"saving grace" - for companies
ranging from container liners, bulkers,
trampers and tankers etc, reeling under
today's withering economic conditions and
cargo output.
With close to 680,000 square kilometers
in land mass it undoubtedly has enough space
to build the likes of seaports, warehouses,
container yards and all other ancillary
infrastructure.
"It is always something worth exploring"
was the sentiment expressed by a retired
port consultant actively contemplating inaugurating
a shipping business; clearly casting aside
old fears and laying claim to the climate
of freedom breaking out all over the nation.
Already French container giant CMA CGM
has hardly wasted any time.
Officials in its Singapore office confirmed
the liner is running a service with calls
at Myanmar, due no more than to the relaxation
of crippling trade sanctions.
Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) totalled
US$133million at the end of May 2012-13,
the Myanmar Times said quoting Myanmar Investment
Commission officials.
Like Vietnam that opened in the late
1990s and early 2000s, the Myanmar of today
is actually beginning to mirror the same
very hopes and aspirations.
Yet even as that is being touted, the
contrast between both nations cannot be
starker.
Though both are known to have a thriving
underground economy¡Xwhich will potentially
threaten Myanmar with the same kind of crippling
inflation Hanoi faced in 2008
The nation's capital, Naypyitaw, also
has the added attraction of having an English
speaking labour force and the legacy of
English laws, owing to its time as a former
British colony, thus giving it a certain
level of transparency that Vietnam did not
have.
From a maritime standpoint, that may
just what is needed to satisfy and quell
the pent-up frustrations of liner companies
sore at their experiences in other newly-emerging
economies.
Widely circulating reports now say some
more than 10 leading container liners have
either made calls and some are negotiating
port calls to the nation.
And just how Mitsui OSK Line (MOL) declared
its exuberance could not be understated
enough
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