Asian states in Burma expo

Asian states in Burma expo

YANGON (AFP): Some 50 companies from five Asian nations are taking part in a four-day exhibition of consumer and industrial products that opened here yesterday under joint Singapore-Myanmar sponsorship.

Companies from Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong and Japan are displaying more than US$1 million worth of electronic and consumer products, apparel and textiles and building materials and equipment.

Organizers said they expected some 20,000 visitors from Myanmar and other Asia-Pacific nations.

The Myanmar International Expo '94 is aimed at promoting opportunities to tie up with Myanmar's public and private sectors on agency and joint-venture projects, organizers said. Myanmar is the official name of Burma.

Introducing the exhibition at a news conference late Tuesday, the minister for national planning and economic development, Brigadier General David Abel, said the trade show heralded a new phase in relations with Singapore.

Singapore is currently Myanmar's leading trade partner, with investments of around $500 million out of total investments in Burma of $1.2 billion in the past five years.

Trade between Singapore Burma is increasing about 20 percent annually, Abel said.