Myanmar recently passed a new companies law in the hopes that it will attract increased investment from Thai businesses in the coming years.

The legislation comes after massive drops in investments from Thailand into the Burmese economy in recent years.

Burmese officials point out that the revamped companies law will replace the century-old replaced legislation that stifled foreign investment in the Southeast Asian country.

Now, foreign companies will be encouraged to invest in Myanmar’s economic future and will face significantly less hurdles to do so.

Myanmar hopes to attract Thai investors in a wide variety of industries, including solar, natural gas, and manufacturing.

Thailand makes up for 14.5% of foreign investments in Myanmar, trailing only China and Singapore.

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The court upheld an earlier ruling that found the trader in violation of EUTR

A Swedish court has upheld a ruling that found a teak trader from Myanmar guilty of violating the European Timber Regulation (EUTR). The ruling sets a legal precedent those conservationists hope will be followed in other European countries according to a report by Mongabay.

Trader Almtra Nordic was prosecuted by forest agency Skogsstyrelsen after investigations found that the company could not verify the origin of its timber or who harvested it from the state-operated Myanmar Timber Enterprise (MTE).

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The EUTR came into effect in 2013 and prohibits the sale of illegal or high risk wood in the European markets. The companies are required to produce valid paperwork for the wood they’re buying, going all the way back to where they were harvested.

This principle was adopted by the EU, US and Australia.

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How does money originate? And what is really meant by the term autonomous?

Myanmar is close to having an independent central bank something considered invaluable by investors worldwide.

The Washington Street Journal  has reported that the deputy director of the central bank’s regulation and anti-money-laundering department, Khin Saw Oo, explained in an interview that she was sure that the country’s president, Thein Sein, would sign a new law to pave the way for an autonomous central bank ahead of the parliamentary session finishing at the end of July.

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Currently, the central bank is part of a department in the Finance Ministry. This in turn means it can impact on monetary policies, more seriously it also means more money can be printed as and when it is required to pay off debts.

Many economic analysts consider an independent central bank will help to improve a country’s economy.

The End the Fed movement objects to a federal reserve that it is private and not controlled by the people of the USA. The same could be said for the UK.  A private banking cartel can be argued to work against the interests of everyday citizens and in support of bankers. The movement further holds the opinion that links can be drawn between central banks and war, and some even go further and believe that inflation and devaluations have been used as means of financing war historically by many governments.

At this stage, we are left with more questions than answers:  who owns the autonomous bank of Myanmar? Is it a foreign owned private banking cartel?  Does this explain why Burma’s sanctions are being eased?

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