Myanmar weighs change in exchange rate
Plan prompted by rise in kyat’s value against the US dollar, which is threatening exports and hitting farmers.
Published On 8 Sep 2011
The government of Myanmar is planning to change the country’s official exchange rate for the first time in almost four decades.
The country’s currency, the kyat, is soaring in value against the US dollar, threatening exports.
Economists believe that huge inflows of foreign cash for infrastructure projects, high oil and gas prices, and a mass sell-off of government assets are combining to drive the kyat up.
Farmers, who constitute almost 70 per cent of the country’s economy, are being hit very hard.
Al Jazeera’s special correspondent reports from Yangon. Because of Myanmar’s restrictions on media, we are not naming her.
Source: Al Jazeera