The World Bank Group has launched an enterprise survey in Myanmar to assess the business environment and barriers facing firms doing business in Myanmar, the Washington-based lender said.
The survey is part of the World Bank’s Investment Climate Assessment with funding from the UK Department of International Development (UKAID). The survey includes interviews with almost 1,400 manufacturing and services companies – domestic and foreign, small and large – in Myanmar.
The survey results and analysis will help inform government policy to promote investment, productivity and economic growth, the World Bank said.
“Myanmar is implementing a broad range of reforms to stimulate investment and growth. Hearing from businesses in Myanmar on what they see as the main issues and comparing constraints they face with those in other countries can help to focus on policies with the most impact,” said Kanthan Shankar, World Bank country manager in Myanmar.
The World Bank has conducted similar surveys in over 120 countries around the world including in East and South Asia. The result is a set of comparable indicators at country level on business performance and environment including access to finance, access to electricity, roads and water, and business regulations.
“As a first survey, this will also set a benchmark and help in measuring progress as the Myanmar businesses environment improves,” Shankar said.
The lender said the enterprise survey will provide more detailed information to help answer such questions as: What is the main obstacle for growth for small businesses in Myanmar? What are they key obstacles to exporters? How does productivity and the cost of labour in Myanmar compare to other countries?
The World Bank has contracted MMRD, a local research company, to implement the survey using the standard World Bank methodology.
The survey commenced in November and covers Yangon, Mandalay, Monywa, Taunggyi and Bago cities. Preliminary results of the survey are expected in June 2014, the bank said.
The lender said to ensure reliability of the collected data and to protect the identity of the interviewed firms the World Bank guarantees confidentiality of individual information of firms.
