5/22/22, 5:08 PM Vicky Bowman: ‘What’s important is to ensure a level playing field’ | Frontier Myanmar A level playing field concerning enforcement is, of course, essential. If a company does not see its competitors being required to apply the law, or certain standards, it will be reluctant to do so. The old government had plans to merge and simplify the Foreign Investment Law and Citizens Investment Law, partly in response to recommendations from the OECD [Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development]. The draft law proposes that these proceses be simplified so that companies don’t need to apply for a Myanmar Investment Commission permit permit simply to get permission to take out a lease for more than a year. Often that’s the only thing they want, not the tax holiday that comes as automatic. Assuming that this plan to merge the two laws is carried over to the next government, what MCRB have been recommending, inter-alia, is that the government require companies who do still receive a permit from the MIC should be required to publish an annual sustainability report addressing how the company has invested responsibly in Myanmar, and establish an effective grievance mechanism designed in collaboration with affected stakeholders. Can responsible companies do business with cronies? Firstly, it’s important to recognise that not all “cronies” are included on the US sanctions or Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list. Companies need to do some very careful due diligence on all their potential partners, not just those who have been on lists. The US sanctions list puts a clear legal block on US companies transacting with those individuals, and by extension most other companies who have US operations, or at least that’s how many cautious compliance officers judge it. But not everyone with questionable connections to drug warlords is an SDN, as the recent Global Witness report [on the jade trade] demonstrated, but that doesn’t make it wise to partner with them. What MCRB has seen from our Pwint Thit Sa/Transparency in Myanmar Enterprises (TiME) report is that those companies and individuals who are on the SDN list exhibit a wide range of commitment and performance when it comes to responsible business and transparent behaviour. At one end, you have Max Myanmar, which has a full suite of corporate governance policies put in place with the advice of globally recognised consultancies, is introducing financial reporting according to IFRS, the global standard, has remedied past grievances on land, and withdrawn from sectors and projects which are high risk for human rights. And the other end you have Zaykabar and Myanmar Economic Corporation which do not yet make any information about their activities publicly available, and which are the subject of a number of unsettled grievances, particularly concerning land. The Htoo Group is sponsoring parliamentary training for NLD MPs-elect. Is that a worry for MCRB? From reports in the media, the NLD has been provided with free hotel facilities for its MPs training by the Htoo Group and by the Yuzana Group, coincidentally both on the US SDN list. The issue with such political contributions in kind is that if a company is to be considered responsible – the question MCRB focusses on – it needs to be transparent about those donations, and publish the details. That’s what both Yuzana and Htoo should do, and neither currently does. That way the media and the wider public can receive information about a company’s relationship with a political party and draw their own conclusions. The think tank International IDEA have a database which details political finance regulations globally: only 22 percent of countries ban corporate donations to political parties. So it is a part of our political life. But there is a fine line between political donations and corruption, depending on the circumstances of the donation. That’s why companies either subject to a legal ban on bribery – bizarrely not yet the case here in Myanmar – or with a corporate commitment should always review such donations at the highest level and publish the details. More stories https://www.frontiermyanmar.net/en/vicky-bowman-whats-important-is-to-ensure-a-level-playing-field/ 4/7