It is one of those dilemmas when heading into what many perceive as a significant opportunity when a country opens up after many decades of being fairly closed to the world. Business and industry quite rightly see it as an opportunity to do business, to expand and grow. Aid agencies and donor governments see it as a chance to help a country build towards openness, transparency and democracy so, for all the rights reasons we see opportunity abound for all. Until you realise, that unless you have an effective and co-ordinated plan your assistance, whether from business, civil society or governments, can overwhelm the very country you are wanting to invest in or support. Such is the case with Myanmar and many developing countries across Asia and Africa - read the full article by downloading it! or go to www.sustaingroup.net and click on the blogs link!

1. New Zealand Inc:
Expanding New Zealand’s business reach
By Matthew Tukaki, CEO of Sydney based Sustain Group
It is one of those dilemmas when heading into what many perceive as a significant opportunity when
a country opens up after many decades of being fairly closed to the world. Business and industry
quite rightly see it as an opportunity to do business, to expand and grow. Aid agencies and donor
governments see it as a chance to help a country build towards openness, transparency and
democracy so, for all the rights reasons we see opportunity abound for all. Until you realise, that
unless you have an effective and co-ordinated plan your assistance, whether from business, civil
society or governments, can overwhelm the very country you are wanting to invest in or support.
Such is the case with Myanmar and many developing countries across Asia and Africa.
When I attended the Myanmar Business Roundtable convened in Sydney in June of 2013 I alluded to
both the risk and opportunity. Attending this very exclusive roundtable were representatives from
business and industry, senior Ministers and trade officials from the Myanmar Government and civil
society executives. As we moved around the table the discussion invariably led to all of the different
ways and means through which business could invest and invariably (and since) a lot of the
discussion was centred on manufacturing, technology and telecommunications, infrastructure and
services. While all of this is interesting you first have to understand the three dynamics in play that
will need to be the foundation of development in Myanmar moving forward. If you understand the
juncture of where these three dynamics intersect then New Zealand business will not only be
effective, the opportunities presented will be sound and commercial.
The first dynamic is understanding the need for further reform when it comes to law and legislation.
In recent years the Myanmar Agriculture Bank has doubled funding for farmers over the last two
years while new currency arrangements were introduced in 2012. A microfinance law was approved
in 2011 expanding micro-credit to farmers and land reform is underway allowing the leasing of farm
land. Yet, there are still many laws on the books that remain untouched as far back as the 1920’s
that relate to labour and wages.
The second dynamic is understanding the unfolding need for constitutional reform . As it currently
stands the Chief of the Army has appointed a quarter of all MP’s which renders constitutional reform
useless. This in turn bars Aung San Suu Kyi from running for President given under the current
constitution she is effectively barred from running for reasons such as her status as having been
married to a foreigner.
The third dynamic, and something that Aung San Suu Kyi made clear to an audience at Sydney
University several days ago, was the fact that 70% of the population are agriculturally based. The
fact is a business can go right ahead and establish a manufacturing industry in Myanmar but the
existence of a skilled workforce that can implement and manage the machinery let alone produce
the product just does not exist in volume. The same is true for the very technical and vocational skills
required to manage large scale infrastructure projects and mining. It takes time to build skills
capacity and the challenge with initial business investment is always rooted in the short to medium
www.sustaingroup.net I www.sdgp2015.com I matthew.tukaki@sustaingroup.net

2. term and not the longer term. Yet, here we have a situation where companies and governments
from across the Asia region are seeing the investment opportunity more through industries that
currently don’t have the skills capacity through which they can take hold. The temptation of brining
in foreign labour is a double edged sword as we have witnessed in tensions between Chinese
companies operating in African countries where the expectation had been that large scale
employment opportunities would be created locally. When this did not happen local communities
began to rise up against those foreign companies demanding more jobs which, in turn, created
significant political problems.
Through a shared understanding of those three dynamics you unpack the opportunity for New
Zealand business and organisations a lot more strategically and they include:
1. The opportunity for our agricultural and horticultural companies when it comes to
knowledge transfer, joint venture initiatives and joint development of agricultural
infrastructure and assets.
2. The opportunity for our legal and professional services firms to work directly with Myanmar
institutions and Government departments when it comes to skills development and capacity
building. This includes Government to Government exchanges to clear the decks of old and
cumbersome legislation and regulation
3. The opportunity for New Zealand’s Agriculture sector to play a significant role in terms of
building skills capacity. One obvious institution that could benefit would be Massey
University or regional Polytechnics who specialise in Agriculture and Horticulture.
In doing so New Zealand business and industry make more informed strategic decisions that will
essentially grow the brand of NZ Inc offshore by focussing on areas of expertise that we not only
have but own as world leaders. From a New Zealand Government perspective the negotiation of an
Investment Protection Guarantee with the Myanmar would serve to better protect NZ Inc in the
same way that Japan, South Korea and Thailand have when it comes to their own sectors. Myanmar
is but one example of the power and reach of New Zealand business if only we look at opportunities
through the lens of strategic engagement – engagement that includes our academic institutions,
large and small business moving as a single entity – NZ Inc.
*Figures mentioned in this piece are sourced from the United Nations Development Program and the Myanmar
Government.
www.sustaingroup.net I www.sdgp2015.com I matthew.tukaki@sustaingroup.net