Myanmar investors need to be watchful

The rains in Myanmar do not fall softly on the plains. At this time of the year, the skies are tinted royally blue in the morning in Yangon. But more often than not, dark menacing clouds loom in the afternoon. They hover lower and, without further warning, unleash a veritable downpour.

The local populace are used to such splashings. It is the Burmese way of life. They take the rough with the smooth in what is essentially a Buddhist culture, clearly manifested by the towering presence of two of the world's most famous pagodas, the Shwedagon and the Sule.

The visitors get caught in the downpours. They have come unprepared, unlike the gents in the city of London with their brollies. Sheepishly, they get wetter than wet and hastily hail taxis or run to their tour coaches.

And that, says a local businessman friend of mine, is what is going to happen to many who now come to Myanmar for a piece of the action that seems so enticing in the wake of the country's own version of China's "opening up and reform".

The ruling military junta is to all intents and purposes retired and the new president, Thein Sein, himself a military man and a member of the junta, appears to be working out well the details of a new governing structure with Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize winner and the leader of the opposition.

That bodes well for foreign investors, for Myanmar is rich in natural resources. Land and labour are easy to come by and there is a foundation for the rule of law as laid down by the British during their time in power. There is a building boom. Serviced apartments in the better parts of town are in great demand.

Granted, there needs to be some fine-tuning but the question really boils down to whether the two major players have time to finish their game. And whether they act on their own, or as proxies.