4,160,000 Yen
(Direct Cost: 3,200,000 Yen Indirect Cost: 960,000 Yen)
Research Abstract
This study examines why Myanmar's private exporters and importers continue to engage in informal foreign currency transactions even after the 2012 reforms eliminated dual exchange rate conditions. In place of a firm survey, which could not be conducted due to the political upheaval in Myanmar, this study uses firm survey data from Cambodia, where foreign currency transactions outside banks are as common as in Myanmar, to analyze firms' choice of foreign currency exchange between banks and non-banks. The results revealed that the degree of cash use and exchange rate perceptions influence the choice of foreign currency exchange method. Furthermore, case studies of Myanmar's border trade and worker remittances confirmed that informal foreign currency markets combined with remittance systems have developed and provided competitive services that outperform the formal market.
