Thailand is playing a key role in the economic development in Myanmar as it has become the biggest foreign investor and trading partner of the country, according to local reports.

With huge investment pouring in Myanmar's electric power sector, Thailand's investment has accounted for 7.3 billion U.S. dollars or over 53 percent of Myanmar's total foreign investment received since late 1988.

The Thai investment is significantly represented by a 6-billion- dollar Thai-Myanmar joint venture hydropower project, Tar-hsan, introduced in 2006 and the 7,110-megawatt (mw) project is being implemented on Myanmar's Thanlwin River in eastern Shan state.

The Thai investment prompted Myanmar's contracted foreign investment to hit 14.4 billion U.S. dollars in 19 years as of March 2007 since the country opened to such investment in late 1988, according to the latest figures released by the Ministry of National Planning and Economic Development.

Another Thai major investment in Myanmar is that on oil and gas. Out of the five gas projects mainly in the Mottama offshore area being engaged by the Thai PTTEP, six test wells have been drilled at block M-9 and potential gas deposits on a commercial scale have been found, attracting more Thai future investment.

Thailand is also planning to raise its investment in Myanmar under an economic cooperation strategy program agreed upon at a summit of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand held in Myanmar's Bagan in November 2003. Vietnam joined the subregional program in 2004.

The two countries also agreed in principle on establishing joint venture contract farms near the Thai-Myanmar border with most of the investment to come from the Thai side.

With regard to trade sector, Thailand remains as Myanmar's top trading partner. With a bilateral trade volume of 2.659 billion dollars between the two neighbors in 2006-07, Thailand also stood as Myanmar's largest exporting country with 2.409 billion dollars, according to figures of the Ministry of Commerce.

The Myanmar-Thai bilateral trade accounted for 30 percent of Myanmar's total foreign trade which reached 7.4 billion dollars in 2006-07. Myanmar gained a trade surplus with Thailand for exporting natural gas.

Thailand also had 248 million dollars worth of border trade volume with Myanmar.

At present, Myanmar is building a border trade zone in Myawaddy, which links Thailand's Maesot, as part of its process of transforming border trade system into normal trade one. The Myawaddy border trade zone stands as the second largest one of its kind after the Muse 105th Mile Border Trade Zone bordering China's Ruili in Yunnan province.

Source: Xinhua