Burmese State Enterprises being Auctioned Off

By VIOLET CHO Friday, April 25, 2008
The Burmese military government’s Privatization Commission on Tuesday announced its plan to auction off more than 20 state-owned enterprises, according to the country’s state-run media.

The New Light of Myanmar reported on Tuesday that about 24 state-owned enterprises and institutions, including three soft drinks and ice factories, six bran oil mills and 12 rice mills, as well as the national library, will be auctioned off to private businesspersons and investors.

The two dozen state enterprises and institutions all fall under the jurisdiction of four government ministries: Industry-1; Livestock Breeding and Fisheries; Commerce; and Culture.

A Burmese economist based in Rangoon said the junta is trying to privatize as many state-owned enterprises as they can in the near future because they are a burden to maintain and many have been running at a loss for years.

“Privatization is not for the betterment of the people. They are trying hard to do this because they want to transfer the entire burden onto the shoulders of private businessmen,” he said.

The military government has huge problems with budgeting, so privatization and selling off state-owned assets is the only way they can rebalance their budget, he added.

All of the state-owned projects are located in Arakan State, Irrawaddy Division, Sagaing Division, Pegu Division and Rangoon, said the newspaper report.

7-Day News, a Rangoon-based weekly, reported on Wednesday that the private Burmese company Yuzana has bought two of the main state-owned sugar mills in Pyinmana, Central Burma.

One of the sugar mills was being test-run with the bio-diesel, Gasohol, while the other sugar mill was established in the 1950s with war compensation paid by Japan, the report said.

According to 7-Day News, up to 200 more state-owned enterprises are included in a future privatization plan. They include cigarette, soft drinks, ice, textiles and jute factories, as well as rice and saw mills, cinemas and hotels.

The plan, which was initiated in 1995, entails auctioning off projects or establishing joint ventures with local and foreign investors. According to official statistics, a total of 237 state-owned enterprises out of 288 had been privatized in Burma by the end of 2007.


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