China's rivals catching up in investment race in Myanmar

Although China remains the biggest foreign investor in Myanmar, investments from other countries are quickly catching up in the Southeast Asian nation, which was once a pariah in the international community.

This was demonstrated in the energy and telecommunications sectors, where Myanmar has awarded licences and contracts to companies from several nations, but none as of late to any Chinese companies.

"Myanmar's promise of economic reforms may reduce its heavy economic and strategic reliance on China, but this is expected to be politically difficult as doing so may affect entrenched political and military interests," said John Lee, a visiting fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore, in a paper presented late last year.

"If such reforms succeed, then the aim of limiting Chinese economic and strategic influence may also succeed. Should the economic or political reform process stall, Western governments and firms may begin to lose interest in the country.

"If that occurs, then [Myanmar] will have little choice but to revert to economic reliance on Beijing, which will once again strengthen Chinese strategic and political leverage over its neighbour," Lee wrote.

China is the largest investor in Myanmar, with US$14.25 billion in cumulative investment as of the end of last month, according to the Myanmese state Directorate of Investment and Company Administration. China accounted for 30.5 per cent of total investments of US$46.71 billion.