Myanmar: Selected Issues
IMF Staff Country Reports, February 2, 2017
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- Myanmar: Selected Issues
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Bibliographic details
- Published: February 2, 2017
- Series: IMF Staff Country Reports
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.5089/9781475574135.002
Overview
- Examines the strategy and priorities for reform in Myanmar’s financial sector.
- Describes IMF involvement in designing and implementing a foreign currency auction by the Central Bank of Myanmar (CBM) as a first step toward developing foreign currency price discovery.
- Objective: replace a heavily regulated formal market segmented from informal markets with a unified market.
Key findings and analysis
- The foreign currency auction was implemented to develop foreign currency price discovery and begin market unification.
- The formal foreign exchange market was previously heavily regulated and segmented from informal markets, necessitating reforms to create a unified market.
- Legal and institutional reforms have strengthened the CBM’s role in licensing, supervision, regulation of banks, and monetary policy, aligned with a new mandate for price and financial stability.
- Bank supervision has shown significant progress.
Reform priorities and policy implications
- Develop mechanisms to support foreign currency price discovery, including continued use and refinement of the foreign currency auction.
- Pursue legislative and institutional reforms to establish an autonomous central bank with clear authority over:
- licensing of banks;
- supervision and regulation of banks;
- conduct of monetary policy;
- mandates for price and financial stability.
- Strengthen bank supervision further to consolidate gains and support financial stability.
- Move toward market unification by reducing segmentation between formal and informal foreign exchange markets.
Subject areas and keywords highlighted
- Subject areas: Climate change, Environment, Financial inclusion, Financial institutions, Financial markets, Infrastructure, International organization, Monetary policy, National accounts, Natural disasters, State-owned banks.
- Keywords: Climate change, Financial inclusion, foreign currency market, Global, government effectiveness, Infrastructure, market-clearing role, monetary policy arrangement, Myanmar economy, Natural disasters, poverty rate, price discovery, Southeast Asia, State-owned banks.
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- Country Report