International banks will lend up to $900 million to country

The World Bank, the Interna-tional Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Asia Development Bank (ADB) are considering providing up to US$900 million (Bt27.65 billion) in loans to Myan-mar, a Japanese daily reported. 

Lending institutions such as World Bank and ADB had been barred from granting loans to Myanmar in the past as US representatives had objected to it, the business paper Nikkei wrote.

Myanmar’s total debt will reach $1 billion should it accept the new loans. The paper said the Japan Bank for International Cooperation and other Japanese banks are scheduled to disburse bridging loans of $1 billion to Myanmar for the country to pay off old debts. 

Japan is the country’s largest creditor. The paper Mainichi reported that Japan has recently urged ADB, World Bank and other institutions to write off some of Myanmar’s debts. In April, Japan cancelled 300 billion yen (US$ 3.9 billion) of the 500 billion yen ($6.4 billion) loan to Myanmar. 

Poor in natural resources, Japan relies on exports for its economy and seeks ways to speed up development in the resource-rich Mekong region. 

The US, meanwhile, has gradually eased sanctions in the country. In July, it allowed American companies to invest in Myanmar and recently, it eased its import ban on Myanmar’s goods following the consecutive visits of President Thein Sein and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. 

Thein Sein had even told BBC Hardtalk that he would accept Suu Kyi as president if the people voted for her. 

“Whether she will become a leader of the nation depends on the will of the people. If the people accept her, then I will have to accept her,” Thein Sein told BBC during an interview on September 29. But he also said the army, which holds 25 per cent of seats in parliament, will continue to play a central role in the country’s politics.

“There isn’t any problem between me and Aung San Suu Kyi. We are working together,” he added. During his address at the 67the United Nations General Assembly in New York in September 27 , the president said Suu Kyi is not only a member of parliament but she is also the chairperson of the parliament’s rule of law and stability committee.

Myanmar’s 2008 Constitution bars Suu Kyi from becoming a president. The constitution requires a candidate to be a citizen, along with “one of the parents, the spouse, one of the legitimate children or their spouses who owe no allegiance to a foreign power, not be subject of a foreign power or citizen of a foreign country. They shall not be persons entitled to enjoy the rights and privileges of a subject of a foreign government or citizen of a foreign country.” Suu Kyi’s sons are not Myanmar citizens. 

For her to be able to run, the parliament must amend the provision in the constitution. Any revisions would require the prior approval of more than 75 percent of all the representatives of the Union Assembly, after which a nationwide referendum will be held. 

During Suu Kyi’s visit to New York, the US awarded her the congressional honor for her strenuous efforts towards democracy.