The Central Bank of Burma (Myanmar), under the control of the military regime, ordered banks and companies in the country to suspend or delay payments on foreign loans, local press reports.
The banking entity requests, in a document dated July 13, that “the reimbursement of foreign loans, including interest, should be suspended’.
Military meeting
It is the last effort of the military meetingwhich took power in February 2021, for taking control of the flow of foreign currency, publishes the portal Khit Thit.
Burma has been plunged into a deep political, social and economic crisis since the coup d’état perpetrated by the Armywhich ended a decade of fledgling democracy and economic development.
Since the uprising, which has run into a strong opposition of the population, the value of the Burmese currency has plummeted.
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The current food and energy crisis, together with the strengthening of the American dollarhits hard the economy of this impoverished country, which after the coup has become a pariah for the international community and clings to a handful of partners, such as Russia and China.
Closing accounts
To try to relieve the pressure, the Central Bank of Burma seeks to implement a series of unpopular measures, such as the closure of foreign currency accounts or the automatic conversion to local currency of transfers made with foreign money.
Meanwhile, the authorities have exceptionally allowed trade in border areas with the currencies of China, India y Thailand.
The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Burma it contracted 18 percent during 2021, according to data from the World Bank, which in January projected 1 percent growth through 2022.
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