“Our country’s economic base is primarily the agriculture sector so investing in this area as well as health and education will eventually lead to industrialisation, like other developing countries [in Southeast Asia],”

“In the past, the United States and France used to be key player of FDI in oil and gas sector. Now, multinational oil and gas companies from China and South Korea play an important role in Myanmar,”

Natural gas is expected to start flowing from the site in 2011 or 2012 and is likely to be sold domestically, with a portion destined for export to Thailand. PTTEP has held a production-sharing contract with Myanmar since 2003 and has total control over the M9 blocks.

A favourable tax climate is also a necessity. Although tax incentives geared to attract initial investments are important, a company’s final investment decision is usually based on how a country’s taxation will affect the normal operating environment once the venture is off the ground.

As Myanmar does not possess the capabilities to exploit all the identified hydropower resources, the government has signed joint- venture agreements with neighbouring countries like Thailand, China and Bangladesh for the harnessing and exporting of hydroelectricity.

“Companies like CNOOC, Twinza and ONGC are also exploring aggressively in offshore blocks so I am sure that another commercial gas reserve will be found in Myanmar’s offshore region,”

“We need to increase the use of the technology so that more people have the opportunity to take advantage of it. While the initial cost is a little bit expensive, if a person or organisation invests in providing the village with electricity, it will be very beneficial for both sides,”

“Even within our quarter, there is only one person who uses biomass. Maybe most people don’t know the procedure. But the light is so satisfying I think it’s worth the little extra effort involved in preparing the mixture”

“We used bio-ethanol for water pumps in the storm-hit areas of Ayeyarwady Division to pump the salt water from ponds. The fuel costs were reduced by about 60 percent because we didn’t need to use petrol,”

“One of the major factors in the downturn was that there are no more new imported cars on the market, which leaves a limited selection for buyers to choose from. This can be frustrating for customers and results in delays in trading,”

“If domestic companies can provide services such as drilling and surveying the country will get more revenue and it could help to create more job opportunities,”

Daewoo International Corporation told The Myanmar Times it has been carrying out the wide range of relief activities to cyclone victims in severely-affected areas. The company’s contribution, both monetary and in-kind donations, so far totals more than $350,000, but Daewoo has also provided voluntary labour to help in the relief effort.