Commercial Litigation Partner Quoted on Growth of Myanmar

​This article, about the rapid growth of Myanmar, quotes Hong Kong commercial litigation partner Robert Pe.

Pe, a frequent visitor of Myanmar, stated that each time he visited in 2012 he saw more changes, more foreign businessmen and, at the same time, higher hotel prices.

"The inflation in hotel prices is a strong indication of the tremendous interest from the rest of the world in Burma," Pé said. "There are lots of conferences going on in Yangon and many foreign companies are sending executive delegations to assess the market and explore business opportunities. There's a sense of a gold rush - everyone wants a piece of Burma right now."

Pe also commented on the country’s welcoming foreign investment laws, stating, "The investment law is a statement of the government's intention to welcome and attract foreign investment. It's generous and lenient in places, but broad-brush and vague in others. There hasn't yet been a flood of investment into the country. It's important to update and revise black-letter law over time but, more crucially, there is a need to rebuild the rule of law."

Additionally, Pe stressed that restoring the rule of law is an urgent task for the government and that the work needs to start with the basics.

"Under 50 years of military rule the country's legal system was in hibernation and its judicial system eroded," he added. "To gain investors' confidence the government must take action to improve the practice of law."