The military government of Myanmar is working on establishing a digital currency that would “support domestic payments and boost the economy” by the end of this year, a top spokesman of the State Administration Council told Bloomberg Friday (Feb. 4).
“We are undecided whether we should do it as a joint venture with local companies or by the government alone,” said Major General Zaw Min Tun, deputy information minister in the military group that took over the country last year. “A digital currency will help improve financial activities in Myanmar.”
Myanmar’s economy shrank 18% in the fiscal year ended in September, according to estimates by the World Bank, which predicts the sector will grow 1% through September 2022. Those numbers could have been about 30% higher without the COVID-19 pandemic and military coup that rocked the country, according to a World Bank report last week.
Two months ago, supporters of ousted Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who is serving jail time for several charges, backed Tether as an “official currency” in a fund-raising effort fighting to dismantle the military leadership structure, the Bloomberg report says.
“We think the country is not in the best position to be able to pursue something like this,” Kim Edwards, World Bank’s senior economist for Myanmar, said at a press conference last week, according to the Bloomberg report, adding the country would need “a very good regulatory structure and high capacity within the administration” for a central bank digital currency (CBDC) to thrive.
Win Myint, the director-general of Central Bank of Myanmar’s currency management department, said the group is “still learning about digital currencies and having discussions” and “we need to consider both pros and cons.”
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Related: Jordan’s Central Bank Considering CBDC
Earlier this week, Central Bank of Jordan Governor Adel Al Sharkas said the agency is considering whether to create its own CBDC that would be linked with the country’s national currency (the Jordanian dinar) and might allow cryptocurrency trading “once the necessary legislation has been put in place.”
