WP321 | Financial Development in Myanmar and the Role of Japan

Abstract

Since 2011, under the Thein Sein government, Myanmar has started to build financial institutions almost from scratch. Japan has played a leading role in this effort, writing off debt, opening the Yangon Stock Exchange, vying for the entry of Japanese banks, and laying out finance-related laws. Myanmar’s weak institutions present considerable challenges. By examining common features of financial markets in Southeast Asia, this paper identifies the preconditions for financial development to be a vehicle for Myanmar’s industrialisation as well as the rationale for Japan’s public and private involvement in Myanmar.

About the Authors

Dr Tomoo Kikuchi is a Visiting Senior Fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University. Before joining RSIS, he was a Senior Research Fellow at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy and an Assistant Professor of Economics at the National University of Singapore. He studied in Japan, Germany and the UK, and obtained his PhD in Economics from Bielefeld University in Germany. His research areas are International Economics, Economic Growth and Macroeconomics with a particular interest in the role of financial markets for economic development. He has published many articles in leading journals such as Journal of Economic Theory and edited many books and journal special issues on trade, finance and investment in Asia. He is an Associate Editor of Journal of Asian Economics. He regularly contributes op-eds to newspapers such as The Straits Times and The Nikkei Asian Review.

Mr Takehiro Masutomo is a Ph.D student at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS). Before joining GRIPS, he was a Tokyo correspondent and international news reporter at Caixin Media, covering Northeast and Southeast Asian affairs. He also worked as a Research Associate at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore. He received his Master in Pacific International Affairs from Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies, University of California, San Diego. He has contributed international news stories to various media outlets, including The South China Morning Post and The Nikkei Asian Review, in Chinese, Japanese and English languages.