Miles to go
Though foreign investment is soaring and GDP is expected to grow by at least 8% this year and next, both are from a tiny base. Before the army seized power, Myanmar had been one of the world’s leading rice exporters and one of Asia’s wealthiest countries; today it is among the poorest. Last year GDP per person was just $1,204—less than a fifth the level of neighbouring Thailand—and tax revenue, as a share of GDP, was the lowest in the region. Most of the population is poor and rural: scant access to credit, energy, seeds and fertiliser keeps agricultural productivity low. Bad roads, inefficient ports and sporadic electricity impede industrial growth: the advantage afforded by a cheap, young workforce is frittered away if they sit idle during power cuts. Transporting goods to market costs a fortune. On July 29th in Naypyidaw, the capital, Miss Suu Kyi presented her long-awaited plan to tackle these problems.
