Turning Off the Tap

Nearly every week here in Myanmar, a new expo or summit or forum happens, highlighting some until-recently-dominated-by-domestic-firms business sector. Last month you could have attended the Myanmar Agribusiness Forum, or the Into Myanmar Telecoms and IT Summit, or BuildCon Myanmar. The idea, I presume, is to stimulate foreign investment now that the government has declared such a thing both possible and desirable. 

This past week featured Myanfood, the first-ever international food, drinks, and hospitality exhibition. Among the many sponsors of the event was a high-end wine importer whose Canadian manager sometimes joins the same group of Friday-night bicyclists that I do.

When he showed up last Friday, he was enraged. “I told my wife that I needed to get out of the house… I gotta try and forget this day!” It seems his exhibit at the expo had been closed and cordoned off by the government. Same with his warehouses on the edge of town.

“I’m standing there under a huge banner, looking up at my company’s name as a lead sponsor of the event, and some goon is basically telling me that I don’t exist. No notice. Just ‘go home, seeya later, your stuff belongs to us now.’ For two years I work 14-hour days to build this business, and as of today I am finished. I really need this bike ride!”

None of us listening to his rant had a clue what to say. We could tell that he wasn’t looking for solutions anyway. Best for us to just keep nodding. It emerged that much of the problem revolved around inconsistent enforcement of an import law that restricts foreign alcohol sales to hotels. Evidently this guy brings in his wine on behalf of hotels, but also sells some of it through his own channels… just as most supermarkets and other liquor stores here do.

The old-timers in the group began whispering. “Obviously he’s gotten too big, and somebody in the government wants a piece of his action.” They muttered to themselves that his major mistake was not hiring staff who have friends in high places. “With the right people on board, issues can be avoided,” they said.

As it turns out, the old-timers may be in for a surprise. Already newspapers are reporting that many bigger wine importers, even those locally owned, are saying they will stop all sales voluntarily until the government clarifies the rules. Nobody else wants to get shut down without warning because of an arbitrary or even vindictive decision by a bureaucrat. Historically, who-you-know has trumped what-the-rules-say in this country. Will this episode be a small victory for transparency?