Posted on 25 Sep 2012
Myanmar's president has delayed an eagerly-awaited foreign investment bill, an official said on Monday, asking for amendments to the law that aims to open up the long-isolated nation to overseas trade.
Thein Sein returned the draft law to parliament at the weekend "with remarks", according to Zaw Htay in the presidential office.
"The president wanted to amend some of the provisions in the bill, which was approved by the Parliament," he told AFP.
Myanmar is seen by many investors as the next regional frontier market as businesses eye its huge natural resources, large population and strategic location between China and India.
A spate of reforms have seen the international community roll back many of the tough sanctions imposed during military rule, which was replaced by a quasi-civilian regime last year.
Global corporate giants from Coca-Cola to General Electric have already begun to vie for a share of an expected economic boom in the impoverished nation.
But observers had expressed concern over so-called protectionist measures in the law, including that foreign firms would only be able to own up to a 50-per cent stake in joint ventures with local partners.
