INTRODUCTION

The Republic of the Union of Myanmar or Myanmar lies in a very strategic location, between China to the northeast, India and Bangladesh to the west, southwest and northwest and Thailand and Lao PDR in the north, north east and southeast. This makes Myanmar an important economic destination as it is situated in one of the most economically dynamic and important regions in Southeast Asia. Myanmar's population is about 53.9 million people representing 135 ethnic groups, one of the most diverse ethnic groupings in the world. Myanmar is a member of the United Nations, the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

For 60 years Myanmar had been ruled by a military government and the transition into an elected civilian government took place in 2016. Towards the end of the semi-civilian government, Myanmar undertook further reform in its investment policy and law by initiating the process for a new comprehensive Myanmar Investment Law (MIL). The MIL was approved by Parliament after the new civilian took over in 2016.

One of the important elements of the MIL is the setting up of the investor grievance mechanism (IGM), which is an early conflict and dispute avoidance system. Myanmar seeks to avoid another case under the investor-state dispute settlement system (ISDS). Myanmar has had an experience in the ISDS through the case of Yaung Chi Oo Trading Pte Ltd v. The Government of the Union of Myanmar.

The chapter focuses on the reform of the Myanmar investment law framework which includes the creation of IGM both at the central and state and regional levels. The desire to avoid another ISDS case, which can be costly and time-consuming for an emerging economy like Myanmar, is a key element for setting up the IGM. The chapter will first discuss the investment climate in Myanmar. This is to provide an overview of the recent investment flow into the country. This is followed by a discussion of Myanmar's investment policy reform. This part discusses the reform of Myanmar's Foreign Investment Law (FIL) and Citizens Investment Law (CIL) into a single Myanmar Investment Law 2016 (MIL).