Page 21 - Insurance Times August 2020

region of the Eurasian tectonic plate and one of three most and villages. As most of the population lives in rural areas,
affected countries (others are Puerto Rico & Honduras) by infrastructure, transportation and health care remains
climate change during 1999-2018 (Global Climate Risk Index challenging task before government.
2020)
Economy
The currency of Myanmar is Kyat and economy is dominantly
agrarian. Agriculture is the largest contributor to GDP (more
than 35% in 2014) and employs more than 65% of the
population which indicates that economy is in primitive stage
and need to shift from agrarian to industrialisation further
to service sector for rapid growth. Around 24.80 % of
population live below the national poverty line (Asian
Development Bank, 2020) but considerable decline in
poverty from 48% in 2005. Being rich source of natural gas,
petroleum sector is likely to play a leading role in generating
economic growth.

Limited infrastructure still remains a major obstacle in
economic growth - for instance, only 37% of the population
have access to electricity (World Bank 2017).
Figure 1: Myanmar
Source: Encyclopedia Britannica Myanmar presently has many challenges before it takes off
on the path of rapid growth. It has been ranked 165/190 in
In terms of area, it is the 40th largest country in the world ease of doing business 2020 indicative of failing business
and has population of approximately 54.34 million (2019). environment. Such issues need immediate appraisal and
Country can be classified into lower & upper Myanmar. quick fixes. Although it is home to abundant minerals, huge
Lower Myanmar is mostly covered with tropical forests and potential for tourism and youthful population, availability of
coastal areas. This region is rich in minerals and valuable low cost labor are strengths of the Myanmar and shall boost
forests such as teak forests. Upper Myanmar is the the economy of the country.
considered heartland of the country. The central region has
highly fertile region formed by Irrawaddy river (Ayeyarwady) According to Global Infrastructure Outlook's report (2018),
delta. Irrawaddy river runs for about 2100Kms from Myanmar's positive economic trajectory will be challenged
Northern Myanmar to Bay of Bengal. Not far from Equator for immediate need of massive infrastructure. The country
& on the Tropic of Cancer make Myanmar a tropical country needs an estimated $112 billion worth of infrastructure.
with influence of monsoon. Myanmar has three seasons, the
cool, relatively dry from late October to mid-February, the Myanmar has an urgent need for foreign direct investment
hot, dry season (from mid-February to mid-May), and the (FDI) and require investment in power-sector. Now FDI has
rainy southwest monsoon (mid-May to late October). started flowing in and actual FDI inflows rose from an
average of US$394 million per quarter in 2017/18 to a
Myanmar has rich ethnic diversity. Although it has no official quarterly average of US$671 million in 2018/19. Singapore
region but around 88% population follows Theravada followed by China and Hong Kong remains Myanmar's
Buddhism. Most of the population live in villages. It is largest foreign investor. India has been a long term partner
estimated that around 70% people live in villages and 30% and strong pillar in the development of the region. Trilateral
in urban areas. expressway India-Myanmar-Thailand is already in progress
and shall be operational by 2021.
It has been divided in to seven provinces largely based on
ethnicity and seven administrative divisions. These states Insurance Industry in Myanmar
and divisions are further divided in townships, urban wards Insurance business in Myanmar is operated in controlled

The Insurance Times, August 2020 21