YANGON/BANGKOK -- Sanctions and other measures to curb the Myanmar junta's access to foreign currency are the main financial pressure points that could force the regime to shift its spending priorities and reduce expenditures on military hardware and other requirements, a group of Myanmar-focused economists argue in a briefing paper on the military's finances.
The paper, which was not publicly issued and was authored by Independent Economists for Myanmar (IEM), a group that includes economists who were working in the country, gives a brief overview of the regime's finances since the Feb. 1 coup. It highlights the junta's vulnerability to disruptions in earnings from sectors such as natural gas and gemstones.
