The United States is poised to allow US companies to invest with Myanmar’s state oil and gas enterprise as the Obama administration takes its biggest step yet to roll back sanctions, marking a rare break from democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Suu Kyi, the Nobel Peace laureate who has long been the guiding force on US policies toward Myanmar, last month advised against investment by foreign companies with the state Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise, or MOGE, because of concerns over its accountability and transparency.
While Suu Kyi has cautiously supported suspending sanctions as a reward for Myanmar’s shift from five decades of authoritarian rule, she and other democracy advocates are wary about investment in MOGE, which had been a lifeline for the former ruling junta.
But doing business with MOGE is the only way to gain access to Myanmar’s potentially lucrative energy resources and US companies fear they will lose out to foreign competitors if the restrictions aren’t lifted.
The administration is expected to announce this week the issuance of a general licence that finally opens the door for American firms to operate in one of Asia’s last untapped markets.