Myanmar has the potential to more than quadruple its economy to over $200 billion by 2030, declared the McKinsey Global Institute back in 2013.
Should it get a second chance, the international think-tank may want to rethink that.
Similar to Bangladesh, Myanmar, aka Burma, was once seen as Asia’s untapped jewel. And, to be sure, it has also grown by more than 5% a year in recent decades with the exception of post-crisis 2009 when its GDP growth slowed to 4.4%, much like its neighbour.
But Myanmar also has the unwanted Bangladeshi characteristic of having low levels of foreign investment. In...